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00:05 S1

Hi, I'm Gordon Allan, bronze medalist from the Paris Paralympics, and you're listening to Leisure Link with Peter Greco on the Vision Australia Radio network.

00:39 S2

It's just gone 5:00. There's the siren sounds on the AFL men's competition. We say a big hello and welcome to Leisure Link here on Vicious Radio. Radio 1197AM in Adelaide. Online at VA radio or through the TuneIn radio app. Look for Vision Australia, Radio Adelaide and we try the Community Radio Plus app via Radio Digital in Adelaide via Radio Digital in Darwin. Also your favourite podcast or streaming service or also find us. And if you're listening through 103.9 Hope FM in Esperance in Western Australia, a big hello to you. This program is coming to you from Kaurna Land. Peter Greco saying so fantastic to be here. Thank you so much for joining us. 

Coming up very shortly... We'll meet Gordon Allan. He's just back from Paris with a medal in the sport of cycling. We'll catch up with Gordon very soon. We'll then meet Marty Farrugia who's the coach of this year's C6 netball competition. Which club is it? We'll find out very, very soon. We'll catch up with Adriana Petrakis over there in Athens, who's just played some very good tennis in France. We'll find out about that. We'll also look very much forward to catching up with one of the winners of this year's Australian Mental Health Prize, Professor Julie Coffin is the person will be speaking to. 

Looking forward to speaking to Julie will also speak to Madeline Ruskin about the Spooner Act. It's just been launched. What's it about? Who can it help? Well, if the yoga from River breeze blocks, they catch up with Bray's isabelo and also Joe Sheehy talking about a very important event that was on in Western Australia last week. Perth welcoming event. A chance for you to also get involved. 

What's fabulous? Being able to welcome home our Paralympians and those that have won medals, especially great bronze medallist from Paris is cyclist Gordon Allan. Gordon, great to catch up. Thanks for your time and congratulations.

02:39 S1

Thank you. And thank you for having me. 

02:41 S2

Gordon, when you were dared to ride a bike down a hill quickly, did you ever think it would lead to this?

02:47 S1

Oh, probably not. Honestly. No, no, probably not. But I'm very thankful for it has happened so far.

02:54 S2

This event that that day. Can you still remember that? What, you were 12 or 13 or something?

02:58 S1

Yeah. Yeah. It's... quite vague. But I just remember being able to being able to learn to do something that or think I could do something that I'd never think I could have done before. So I think it was just like, in my mind, it's just like one of those days that I was hanging out with my mates. So it's not nothing too special. I know it's led to a few special things, but for me it's nothing too special in particular.

03:20 S2

Tell us about Paris then, kind of with a bit of time to reflect, and I would chat about some of the celebrations in a second as well. What's your kind of overall impression that you're kind of processing it all? I guess for a bit of time there, your head's kind of spinning. You're not even sure where you are or what's going on.

03:36 S1

Yeah, no, it's been great. Especially. Yeah, since I've come home. It's it's definitely started to settle in and and sink in and know just just a feeling of, I guess, content and happiness that sort of the work, the work over the last not just three years for this cycle, but since I started to achieve a Paralympic medal, it's always been there's always been a goal. It was a goal to come, apparently. And then you obviously you want to go there. And if you're there, you want to compete and you want to compete for medals. So to to claim my first medal, it was it's been pretty awesome. 

04:08 S2

One of the comments that's been made about the coverage at channel nine in particular, did was the kind of backstories of the athletes, and you missed out selection in all four Rio in 2016, then went to Tokyo and obviously, you know, made you a qualified Paralympian and now you've won a medal. You know, the kind of the rise to this point has been quite gradual, but also quite spectacular in a sense. Yeah.

04:31 S1

Yeah, definitely. I think like Rio. Looking back now, you know, I was definitely way too young. And I guess as a kid you always look at. Oh, yeah, yeah, that'd be awesome to go. And the thing with para sport is so much you can be, you can be like ranked first in the country, but on an international scale. I still wasn't wasn't competitive. So I think, yeah, definitely Tokyo came at the right time and it was good to good to get a taste of it. And then I knew what I needed to do between then and and Paris, and to sort of tick those boxes off and and win a medal and not just the medal itself, but the performance and the process and how I executed race day. It's just... things that you learn every year and as you get older. 

05:09 S2

Now, three years ago was Tokyo. Normally the cycles, of course, the four years, the kind of sense how much you've improved both physically and I guess emotionally, psychologically in that three years. I mean, a lot can change in three years. And you've kind of, you know, capped it all off with this bronze medal in that three year period. 

05:27 S1

Yeah, yeah. I think there's always going to be a bit of physical improvement. The field itself has gotten a lot quicker and same with the sport. So there's always going to be that improvement in times. But I think it's I think it's everything else on the side. Your execution your race process, everything that you do to get ready before you get to the start line and to nail all those things on race day. And you know that whatever, whatever will happen, will happen. But it was a good day for me, and I followed my process, and I knew that... I'd done everything I could. And as long as I tick my boxes, that I was going to get a good outcome just about that.

05:59 S2

Because, I mean, obviously when you're in the helter skelter of things, it must be hard to kind of be thinking clearly. You're kind of, well, you know, us being world is probably just be trying to get to the finish post there as quick as we can. But there is a bit more than... that goes into it.

06:14 S1

Yeah. Yeah. Well. it's like... most things - you have a plan on how to how to execute something. And especially when you're at a big competition, there's a lot going on and there's a lot that can distract you and your mind will wander. So if you have a if you have a race process and you have a goal and a plan and you just follow that in your head, then you know, as you're as you go through each step, whether it's coming out the gate, whether it's, it's accelerating down the back straight or whatever it might be, if you stick to those, those targets and those goals and you tick them off, you know, you're performing and then you're giving yourself the best chance to succeed.

06:46 S2

So it's about the event, your particular event that you won bronze in. 

06:51 S1

Yeah. So it was the the team sprint, the team sprint which was on the final day of the track competition. I had my individual event the day before, which went pretty well. I got a PB there and finished fifth and then knew that I was in good form. And so yeah, coming in, we'd done a few sessions in the in the pre-camp and we knew we were going up. We just didn't know how quick, how quick we were going to go. So after qualifying to, to qualify third, um, and to sort of do a real quick time, it was like, Oh, we're on a chance here. We really got a chance at medalling. So it was it was good. 

And we just sort of went back and pulled down and followed our plan and chatted about things. And then in the final, we just we just did what we could and, just executed as best as we could. And yeah, it turned out really well.

07:35 S2

And pretty close for third and fourth, wasn't it?

07:37 S1

Oh, we'd say yeah, yeah, it was about a second... we really put the smoke on the approach. It was, it was good. It was good. We came out about half a second faster and they they didn't really go any quicker in the final. And we crossed the finish line and the crowd went quiet. So it was, it was pretty interesting because with the... race you race against, you got two people on the track. So like or two teams. So you've got us on the front straight. Then you had the French on the back and they were cheering for them and it was neck and neck. And then it was a one lap with one lap to go. Corey's just the guy that was anchoring at the end. Yeah. He's just come through and and put him to the sword and yeah, they just went quiet and it was... interesting. It was... a bit of a like, do we celebrate? Do we not? But no, it was a good feeling.

08:20 S2

It's a bit like, I don't know if you follow football, but certainly in the AFL, you know, they talk about to take the home crowd out of it when you're a visiting team to a foreign ground, as it were. And, you know, if you get a good start, you kind of silence the crowd. I guess it's a similar sort of thing. And it probably is a little bit odd because you're kind of up and about and wanting to sort of cheer and sort of celebrate, but the crowd's not quite with you.

08:40 S1

Yeah, yeah. Well, it's a, French crowd was awesome. The atmosphere that they had all week, it was... great. Definitely something I don't think anyone anyone's experienced before. It was quite loud. So even though even when you were racing and you weren't racing against the if there was no French riders on the track, there were still very loud and cheering. So it was a... great experience.

08:59 S2

So it sounds like France really got behind the sport, because I guess there's always a little bit of apprehension. The Olympics seem to have been really successful. Paris seem to have got behind the games and then the country as a whole. But then you think of the Paralympics. Will that still continue? It sounded like it did.

09:15 S1

Yeah, yeah. The the track sessions were all of them were pretty much sold out. You couldn't get tickets with like, two weeks to go. So it was. Yeah, it was great. And obviously, if you if you've ever been in a track before, they're quite small. And so the seating there's, there's not a lot of seating in there, but it makes for a really good atmosphere because of how small the track is. And it's obviously a lot smaller than like a football stadium. Yeah. But it really sort of echoes and just makes the sound a lot louder, which is great.

09:41 S2

And you kind of feel like people on top of you.

09:42 S1

Yeah, yeah. Well, they're right on the fence. They're right on the seatings, right on the fence. So they can be banging on the inside of the on the fence on the track and yeah, no, it's awesome. But you just think. Sometimes you think, Oh, if they're cheering for the French guy on the other side, well, they're also just cheering for you. So you can use that, you can use it to help. So yeah. I did set a PB in your personal event, the day before, individual event the day before, and then the bronze medal as a team.

09:59 S2

Does that kind of make it pretty special as well to kind of share with a couple of other guys?

10:11 S1

Yeah. Yeah, definitely. I enjoy the team events. It's great, obviously, to perform for yourself, but when you've got two other mates there that have also been pushing and grinding for the last three years, you know what they've been through and you know what you've been through as well. So to do it with team mates and to sort of support each other, um, it's definitely a great feeling to have someone else to celebrate with and the.

10:32 S2

Paralympic cycling team overall. I think we'd be pretty happy with that performance. Do you think?

10:36 S1

Yeah, yeah, the team as a whole very strong. I think everyone got at least a top four performance at best or better. So yeah, we were quite strong and especially across the road down the track. so it's a bit more of a smaller team this year compared to Tokyo. But no, we held our own, I think, and did pretty well.

10:53 S2

Gordon, you talked about the teammates there were sharing bronze with you. Any family members there watching you ride?

10:59 S1

Yeah. I had my fiance and her brother and sister over, which was which was pretty good. They had a they had a trip planned for Europe anyway and just happened to be in Paris, happened to be in Paris at that time. So it was it was good. They'd planned it to be there. If I got selected that they were going to come watch the racing. So it was awesome to have have them in the crowd cheering. 

11:18 S2

And your parents, because it's a lovely story about, you talk about your parents sort of wanted you to have a go at everything. That's such a powerful story, isn't it?

11:26 S1

Yeah, yeah. No, they've been awesome. They weren't able to weren't able to travel over this time. But they, they make it to most world championships. So yeah, they decided to not couldn't make it over this time. But I knew they were at home watching on TV and after racing I was giving them a call anyway. So it was it was great. It felt like they were there.

11:44 S2

It's such a powerful message they touched on because, you know, you were a child, obviously with the disability. And, you know, some might think the sort of protective nature of a parent would be, you know, to wrap you in cotton wool. But there seems to have been quite the opposite and obviously paid off. Yeah.

11:59 S1

No, definitely. I don't think I'd be out here now without them, with all the, all the experience that I've had. And it was really just making me feel like a normal child, a normal boy growing up, just getting into sport, hanging out with mates, all that sort of stuff. I think it's really shaped who I am today, not just as an athlete, but as a person.

12:17 S2

Terrific. What about the celebrations since we're here? You've been enjoying them, Gordon?

12:22 S1

Yes. Yeah. No, it's been good. We got home. We got home and had a welcome home ceremony in Sydney, in the city, which was nice to have some people there and sort of experiencing that as a, as a athlete. It's been awesome. Because we had a bit of a crowd there and people wanted photos with you and that sort of thing. So the attention like, that's been sort of great to have interest in para sport and to hopefully see that there's there's kids there that were there, parrot parrots or not that they're interested in... getting into sport. And yeah, just being able to catch up with family and friends and that sort of stuff afterwards has just been great as well.

12:56 S2

And of course, the the thing is that, you know, you've got the luxury, if I can call it that way, of comparing this... sort of comeback after the games compared to Tokyo.

13:06 S1

Yeah, yeah, I think I think they've both been pretty similar. It's just that probably that bit of extra feel of of excitement, uh, and satisfaction having a medal this time around. But I think regardless, it's that sense of, well, four years of work has been done and it's a reward regardless of what happens.

13:23 S2

I know you're fit and healthy and all that, and probably still catching your breath in a sense. Do you think much ahead now, or do you just sort of chill out and kind of... soak up all that's happened and... think about tomorrow, you know, tomorrow rather than now?

13:35 S1

Yeah, I think at the moment it's more just a bit of bit of time off. Still, I'm coming to the end of that, in the next week or so. So just get back into some a bit more casual training and enjoying it rather than strict routine, which would be nice. And getting out to ride the bike just for just for fun rather than rather than actually just a strict strict sessions, which would be good. And then. And then we'll slowly ease our way back into things. But four years is a long time. There's no rush, there's no rush to get back into things at the moment, which is good for sure.

14:03 S2

And you're studying as well, or you've studied as well. 

14:07 S1

Yeah. Finished up, finished up, end of last year... did a degree in sport and exercise science. So that's been good. It was lined up well to finish up at the end of last year. So I could focus on training and racing for this year.

14:19 S2

Is that sort of helped you with your own kind of personal preparation?

14:23 S1

I think it I think it's been a good distraction, not so much in terms of what the content is, but like, yeah, being a good distraction when when training's been stressful or when you've been stressful. It's been great to either get out on the bike or do some uni work. So it's a good balance. I like to have that, that distraction of having something else to focus on and to to stretch your mind on. So it's been great. And now now I've got to have a look for some work hopefully, hopefully in the next few months of in... that industry or something like that. So now I'm looking forward to it.

14:53 S2

But without [?pastor] Gordon, I think you got a little check from the government for your bronze medal, don't you?

14:57 S1

Yeah, yeah. We'll get we'll get some support, which would be nice. It'll be a nice little reward. But yeah.

15:03 S2

Well, I guess if you put into how many dollars per hour, it's probably not much given the amount of time you've put into it. To you and Alastair, congratulations. It's fantastic news. Great to catch up with you. Enjoy the moment and I look forward to catching up with you down the track, Gordon.

15:18 S1

Thank you. Thanks for having me.

15:19 S2

That's it, Gordon Allen there, along with Alastair and Corey winning a bronze medal at the Paris Paralympic Games in the sport of cycling. 

The big three six netball grand final was on last weekend. The winner was Tango - their coach, Mardi Foweraker, is on the line. Mardi, welcome and congratulations.

15:43 S3

Oh, thank you so much. And thank you for inviting me, Peter.

15:46 S2

It's a pleasure. How was the match? Well, how was the season? And, of course, it all comes down to one match, doesn't it, with these sort of competitions?

15:53 S3

Yes it does. However, the season was fantastic. It started, um, obviously in April. Prior to that, we had trials and got 12 players who came and wanted to play for tango. Quite a few new ones, and it started from there, and they've been developing every week and it's been amazing to watch them play. So there's eight teams in the competition and yes, the grand final on the 21st was amazing and luckily enough, uh, tango were enough. Good enough to come away with a win, playing a very, very good metrics team.

16:30 S2

Well, I think you're being a little bit modest there, being lucky there. Mardi, you had a pretty good year, didn't you - like in terms of win losses throughout the year and through the finals?

16:39 S3

Yes. That's right. We were very fortunate. We only lost one game throughout the season and that was to a very competitive semaphore team who, you know, have been playing very well throughout their season and they had only lost to us as well. So he was a very hard fought competition. But yes, we were successful throughout the year and the girls played and developed throughout the season, and it's just a delight to see the smiles on their face and the camaraderie between not only Tango, but all the other clubs. It's a community that is fantastic.

17:13 S2

We've been following the competition for a while. Semaphore have really dominated in more recent years, haven't they? So you've, you know, kind of changed the leadership a bit or changed the dynasty a bit.

17:23 S3

Yes, yes. We've just been very fortunate and the girls are all gelled and are just really happy to play for the pink, black and white, and for Tango. So it's just, we're just really lucky to have such a beautiful group of girls.

17:36 S2

Well, I think they might be lucky to have you as well, Mardi. You're being very, very modest. I'm very impressed with your modesty. Now, of course, most people that follow netball here in South Australia are very well known club. As a club, they've been around for a long time and very successful. Have they, they go back a long way, go back a very long way.

17:52 S3

I think we've done 70 years and, well I can't remember. Yeah. So we had our 70th year. So yes, I have been around, and have been very competitive over the many years in the Premier League and reserves and other participating teams. Yeah. So we're just very fortunate the club is out north and... we have quite a few people that travel from long distances, just for example, to C6 team. I have players coming from Saint Mary's and down south to come and train at Hope Valley, which I'm really fortunate that they can make that trek for me to come and train.

18:29 S2

I know I've mentioned this on the program over the years, but, you know, Saturday afternoons you play your games throughout winter, and sometimes those Sunday afternoon winters can be very bleak. But the girls turn up and play, which is a wonderful sense of commitment.

18:42 S3

Oh, it is, it is. We were very fortunate this year that we only had a few light showers, a couple of the games, and Saturday was going to be meant to be heavily with rain, but we were lucky that we missed that completely. So I think this year particularly we haven't had too much rain, so it's been great. Actually, they've complained that it's been hot. Okay.

19:01 S2

Oh well, a bit of a variety. What about for your journey, Mardi? How long have you been coaching the C6 team and how did that come about?

19:08 S3

I've been coaching for tango for for the last 14 years, coaching all different grades from primaries up through to Premier League. I'm an assistant Premier League coach. I've always wanted to coach the C6 team because you hear them on the courts and just hear their their laughter. And some of the other clubs are Paul Binky from contacts, you know, said to me, you know, you should coach. And so I was very fortunate that tango was successful in getting into the competition. And we started off last year. We only had four players to start with, and there were only two young players, one 15, one 16, and it grew from just... putting it out there and advertising that we were got ten players in the end, which was excellent. 

So we competed last year and we came fifth last year and then this year. Yeah, we were lucky to to come first, which was awesome. So... I thoroughly enjoy coaching this team and, and all the supporters and all the community around them. They're great. 

20:13 S2

Well, Paul is certainly a wonderful worker behind the scenes who actually are all over the scenes as far as his work with netball and other sport for people with disabilities go here in South Australia. He's a wonderful etiquette and a wonderful role model for many. Now I know you've got, as in Paul, have got an awards start coming up in the next week or so. We'll chat about that, I'm sure, after the awards get announced. But was there a best on ground or did you have a best player for the grand final announced on on Saturday?

20:39 S3

We actually had our presentation night Saturday just gone, where we had three players from our um, team that... got best and fairest runner up, best and fairest and then coaches award, which was really, really good. But it's very hard to distinguish between them all. Who who is the best because they all bring a part to the team that, is obviously it's a team sport, and not one person can make the... make you win. It's the whole team that make you win. So without the team, you can't win. But we were very fortunate that they won. And we also won for tango the team of the year. So Tango's team of the year. So I thought that was just such a great accolade for the girls. And they were chuffed that they received a medal. Each and every one of them received a medal.

21:25 S2

Oh that's brilliant. Of course, being the, uh, the club that you are with, the history that you've kind of touched on that. That's wonderful recognition. 

21:32 S3

Yes it is. It's absolutely fantastic. The smiles on their faces when they all came up to get their medallion was amazing. So, yeah, accolades to them and the smiles that they bring with it, it's just amazing.

21:45 S2

We've spoken to people like Tricia Crockford and Paul and others over a number of years on this program. And, you know, yes, the game of netball is important. And the fact that they get out and play and the fitness, the health, the camaraderie and all that, but it's the kind of the social skills, the the integration into the community, those things you almost, you know, can't even put into words just how important they are.

22:06 S3

Oh, definitely. Just about... friendships, teamwork, and how that they're out there working. Some of them are working, some are still at school, and just how they have got so many good friendships and a lot of them play multiple sports and not just netball, but they, you know, play basketball or football or any other sport that comes along. It's just amazing that you wouldn't. You know, their disabilities never hamper their spirits and what they how they integrate into the community.

22:36 S2

Marty, anyone else you'd like to thank before we wrap up?

22:39 S3

Yes, I'd like to thank my assistant coach, Toby Solito. She's been my friend for 44 years and has also helped me coach the team in the last two years. But I also want to thank active OT Golden Grove, who sponsor the Tango C6 team so that they can compete in this competition. Also want to thank Trish Crockford and Paul Binky and Sam Luck because I was lucky enough to be an assistant Ruby's coach this year as well. And their work with the the community has been fantastic.

23:14 S2

You came back with a bronze medal? 

23:15 S3

Yes. It was so fantastic. Yeah, the girls played really well so we were really happy and stoked with that.

23:21 S2

Terrific, Mardi, good to catch up. Enjoy the moment.

23:24 S3

Okay. Thank you so much, Peter.

23:25 S2

That's, uh, Mardi Foweraker there, the coach of this year's C6 netball grand final winners, the Tango Netball Club.

23:34 S4

Hi, I'm Denise Wood from USC, one of Queensland's universities, with a strong commitment to accessibility and inclusion. And I enjoy being with you and talking about accessibility in technology. Each month on leisure link with Peter Greco on Vision Australia Radio.

23:53 S2

Well, it's really fantastic. We get to go all the way to Athens and speak to our one of our leading tennis players, Adriana Petrakis. Yes. So, Adriana.

24:03 S5

Yes. So, Peter.

24:05 S2

How's it going there in Athens?

24:07 S5

Everything is going really amazing here. Thank you.

24:11 S2

The first time to Athens, I believe. Yes.

24:13 S5

First time in Athens.

24:15 S2

And what are your impressions? What do you think of the place?

24:17 S5

The place is very enjoyable. And there were lots of [?The] people is a special treasure for me.

24:28 S2

Is there a busy place, Adriano? There are like people everywhere and traffic everywhere.

24:32 S5

Yes, it is very hustle and bustle, Peter.

24:35 S2

So you'll be glad to get back to Adelaide.

24:38 S5

I'll be coming back home in Adelaide on the 6th of October.

24:43 S2

All right. Well, I'm sure there'll be a lot of people that will be very happy to see you back in Adelaide. Now you're in Athens at the moment, having a bit of a break, but you'll be. You've been doing some celebrating. You've had some very good tennis news lately.

24:55 S5

Yes I did. 

24:56 S2

Tell us how you went.

24:57 S5

During this month. I went to the World Tennis Championships in Annecy, France. I won two silver medals, one for the teams event and another one for women's doubles. I've also won a bronze medal for mixed doubles with Archie Griffin.

25:20 S2

Congratulations.

25:21 S5

Thank you. Peter.

25:23 S2

See, that's a pretty good effort, isn't it? Well, better than good. It's an outstanding effort. And a silver medal for the team's event... that's a great performance by all of Australia. 

25:33 S5

Yes. Thank you.

25:34 S2

Were you pleased with the way you personally played? 

25:37 S5

Yes, I felt very pleased with the way I played, and there were some of the toughest matches I have experienced.

25:47 S2

So do you think you're still improving because you're still, what, 22 this year, I think, aren't you? Later on in the year, yes.

25:53 S5

I'll be turning 22 next month on the 30th of October. 

25:56 S3

All right. I'll put that in my diary so I can remind you to send me a, or to send you a cheerio on air. And what about some of the kind of highlights of the event. Can you talk about what what pleased you about either the way you played or you played in the doubles and the teams event?

26:13 S5

Yes. My favourite highlights from [?amnesty] were that I competed my best level of tennis on clay courts. I have been improving with my tennis, and I've also enjoyed hitting with my forehand and backhand swings very intensely on the clay courts.

26:43 S2

You don't play on clay very often, do you? Is that right? 

26:46 S5

No. I train on clay court with my squad training group on Wednesday mornings.

26:52 S2

Okay, so I guess you've got a bit of experience playing on clay.

26:55 S5

Yes.

26:55 S2

Who was over there as far as coaches go? Were you did you have any coaches over there that were watching you play and sort of getting tips for things to work on now that you're back in Australia?

27:05 S5

Yes. The coaches were Alison Scott from Queensland. Oh yes. Lance Everett from South Australia. And the other coach name was Steve Manly from New South Wales.

27:20 S2

Good variety of states represented. Now the team.

27:24 S5

Manager was Jay Schubeck from Victoria.

27:28 S2

Well, you got all that I saw at the top of your head. That's very impressive. Now you're back in Adelaide in a few days time and you're also stopping off in Melbourne, are you? 

27:38 S5

Yes. We'll be leaving Athens this Friday night to head off to Melbourne.

27:44 S2

And then are you back to Melbourne later on in a few days after that as well?

27:48 S5

No, straight from here to Melbourne and playing the Australian Tennis Championships from the third until 6th of October. Oh, you're playing straight away.

28:02 S2

Then you come back to Adelaide.

28:04 S5

Yes that's right.

28:05 S2

You're virtually a professional. You're on the circuit like a pro.

28:09 S5

Yes. Thank you. Well, it's like a pro tour for me. 

28:14 S2

It is a pro tour a lot prior to the successful pro tour. 

28:18 S8

Yes. Thank you.

28:19 S2

Let us know how you go at the Australian Open as well, because we love keeping in touch with you and finding out your results. What's been the best thing about Athens? Of course you got some family members there. I guess people that you might not have seen either before or for a long time.

28:34 S5

I loved the food with my mum's family. Yeah, I went to the beach, which was beautiful and relaxing. We saw the... Poseidon Temple. OK. We went sightseeing, which was lots of fun. Terrific.

28:56 S2

When you said you liked the food, what's the best thing you've eaten there, do you reckon?

29:01 S5

I love the gyros with chicken tzatziki, lettuce and hot chips inside of it.

29:10 S2

Adriana, we've got to stop right now because I'm getting hungry.

29:17 S5

Oh, look, thank you so much for being in touch. 

S2

And thank you so much for making yourself available, because obviously with the different time zones, you're very accommodating and obliging and we love speaking to you. Congratulations. You nearly need a new plane to bring all those medals home in.

29:31 S5

My pleasure. And thank you, Peter.

29:35 S2

That's Adriana Petrakis there with a couple of silver medals and a bronze medal from France. And going to Melbourne to play in the Australian Open as well. What a lovely person and a champion tennis player.

29:46 S6 (program ID)

You're in elite company listening to Leisure Link here on official Australian radio, on the radio, digital radio, radio.org and through the TuneIn radio app.

29:57 S2

Well, this year's Australian Mental Health Prize has just been announced. The winners have just been announced and I'm delighted to welcome to the program, Professor Juli Coffin. Juli, welcome and congratulations.

30:07 S7

Thank you. Thank you very much, Peter. 

30:10 S2

How's it feel to be such a prestigious award - because this has been going for a little while now and it's got a bit of gravitas about it, hasn't it?

30:16 S7

Yeah, yeah, it's... I believe it's the 10th year next year, of the award. So, yeah, very, very humbling to be... recognised around this type of work and for the program to be recognized really in a pretty remote spot in Australia, for us to get a get a guernsey. Very, very exciting.

30:38 S2

Well, we've got to be inclusive. And that includes every inch of this great country of ours. Tell us about your program. It sounds absolutely fascinating. You work with people with mental health and horses. Did you kind of stumble on that? How did it come about?

30:53 S7

It's probably from one thing that. Yeah, from my life experiences, I guess. You know, one thing I was often asked was what... sort of made you turn left instead of right, you know, how did you how did you end up getting going and doing the things you are doing? And I always attribute that to, well, amazing people around me and, and a beautiful family. A very a lot of strengths from my family and country and community. But one of the really important factors for me was the horses. And I just thought, well, the horses really, you know, they really kept me grounded. They they definitely helped me regulate and... live to my potential as much as I could do. And I thought when I wasn't around the horses, it's when I really recognized how much I really did value and need the things that they were providing that are often kind of unseen. Right? 

So it's just that holding space for you and no judgment and all the great things that horses do for us. It wasn't until I was away from the horses that I started to recognise that. And I guess as I got older, I just thought, well, the two passions I really have are seeing our Aboriginal young people do better because, you know, we're not not doing so well in many ways, and particularly in the Kimberley region in terms of mental health and wellbeing. And my other passion, of course, is horses that are. I don't know if they found me or I found them, but we found each other and I just thought, it's a bit of a it's a bit of a gift that I've received and something I'd really like to pass on from the things I've learned and know about horses and, and our young people. And how could I combine them together.

32:35 S2

Talk about your passion and wanting young people to kind of do better. You also talk about healing from within. Do you want to kind of expand a bit on that? 

32:45 S7

Yeah. So the reason I love this work is that it's kind of based on phenomenology, and that is that we don't know what someone else is experiencing in terms of wellbeing, trauma, pain and what they carry. And, you know, like your capacity to carry and deal with something is very different to the next person. And what I love about the horses is they they tune in to us on an individual level so they, you know, they'll offer what they think we need. And it's it's very much individualised. And it's not something that humans really have the capacity to do because it's based on feel. It's based on what's going on in the inside of us. 

And one of the best examples I can give you is, you know, some of the things I see very often. And, you know, I had I had a young male, for example, one day and he said, look, I don't even know why I'm here. There's nothing wrong with me. UYou know, I don't even like horses. And I sort of convinced him that I hear that. But if maybe you've come all this way. So how about you just give me an opportunity to introduce you to a couple of horses, and, you know, we'll see how you go. And if you don't want to come back next week. Yeah. That's cool. No worries. This was also a young man that had really hadn't spoken more than those kind of words to me in the whole session. 

And, you know, he went in and he... sort of was telling me he was all good. Didn't know why he was there, but what... the horses showed up what was... going on inside this young man. And it was it was things that maybe even if I was the best... psychiatrist or psychologist in the world, I wouldn't be able to have really a window into that and what was happening for him. Whereas the horses showed me really clearly what was going on with this young person. And it was also a real turning point when he allowed the horse into his space and connected in a... it was a turning point for him. His whole body language changed. He really softened. He made a connection with the horse. 

And I think it was also just that real, unconditional love and some of those things that humans are not great at offering that he he was really needing and the horse knowing what he needed And to be able to, you know, visually see that it's... pretty amazing because it's about the way someone feels about themselves. And sometimes we can hear it in someone's voice or, you know, we can be near them and we can kind of feel their energy or not. But what the horses do and the way they tune into us is kind of beyond those things that... our capacities set up for as human beings.

35:35 S2

Can you explain a bit more how it kind of works? Are they did they ride the horses? Do they pat the horses? Do they just look at the horses at different for different people? 

35:44 S7

Yeah.

S2

So what? 

S7

There is an opportunity to be on the horse, but the majority of our work and sessions consist of being in the space with the horse and participating in a whole lot of different kind of experiments or activities with the horse. So the reason we say the word experiment is because we don't really know what's going to happen. So we set up an opportunity. So for example, let's take for example the theme of leading the horse. Right. Looks like a pretty easy task. We do some horsemanship work, teach the young person, but there's a whole lot of stuff going on in creating that connection. And there's a whole lot of assessment points that we look at. 

So it's around the young person's body language, whether or not the horse is following with or without a rope, for example. How engaged is a horse in seeing this young person as the leader? And and where are the spots where things go really well, and where are the spots where maybe they don't like the horse disengages or young person makes a request and the horse doesn't answer or respond. And how do we work around that cycle of ask, wait and reward? And so it's very clear to us to see whether the connection is there or it's not. And that's kind of, I guess, an example of what what we might see and how we, we clinically assess the situation and what's going on and what our notes look like. 

But really importantly, most of our sessions are captured by all of our sessions, are captured with our photos and videos and the young person's words, it's just verbatim. We don't muck around with what a young person says and how they feel, and it's very individualised. So, you know, we could offer that same session on the same day, the same horse to another young person, and the outcome will be totally different. It could be polar opposite, in fact, or there'll be similarities, but we never know. And so I look at us as just the facilitators. You know, we're bringing horses and young people into this space together with a thing. We don't have an agenda. The young person really dictates that, and the way the horse responds kind of leads the outcomes as well. So it's very much a bit of an experiment I guess, at times, you know.

38:16 S2

And I guess the fact that it is different for different people makes it more powerful because one size doesn't fit all and we are all different.

38:23 S7

Absolutely. And and we have young people come in with many different issues that they're facing in life, you know, or it could be just something that might be quite minor at the time, even, you know, look, I'm having a few problems. I don't want to go to school getting a bit, you know, getting a bit of bullying. Or it could be something much deeper, like, you know, some post-traumatic stress that's showing up. It could be something that's diagnosed or it could be something that's undiagnosed. But whatever it is, it's a challenge that this young person is facing. And our job in this space is to provide those mechanisms to develop the skills in relationships, in facing life's challenges. 

And one of the best ways to do that, that I've seen and that I personally experienced, is with the horses and being led by the horses and tuning into that kind of vibration that horses offer. You know that I think sometimes we describe it as almost like Bluetooth, you know, it's like this. It's kind of vibration that happens that we don't have to talk and we don't have to be asked a myriad of questions, and we don't have to give our young people, you know, like questionnaires, and they can just come in, be themselves, be seen for exactly what they offer, the good and the bad. And and they can work through those things that are facing them. 

And it's really not up to us to say what that is or even to say, well, you know, that person's going to learn X, Y, and z. But we know that they've had a positive experience. We've seen, you know, and sometimes it's negative. Like sometimes the horses walk away. But there's learning in everything that happens in every opportunity. And often when horses don't engage, for example, it's things like, well, you know, what level are you vibrating at? What are you thinking about right now? And for a little six year old, you know, obviously our language is quite different. But you know, we we'll be saying the same thing like, Oh, what's kind of coming up for you inside, you know, what's happening? 

And it's a real privilege. And it's a space to be able to get inside of somebody around the way they feel about themselves. It's just not the everyday way we've really ever approached mental health particularly, or these kind of therapeutic responses. And the bonus for us is that it's in a culturally secure way. You know, it's like our people working with our young people and and seeing... all those things, but holding somebody in a cultural way as well, appropriately, you know, due to the fact that you cannot evaluate it.

41:08 S2

And your professor at Murdoch University, the fact that you can kind of evaluate it, does that make it a more powerful, but also, you know, more able to kind of spread the word about or say, Look, this is really working - we've got this to prove it. So you can maybe seek extra funding or get more people involved with the program. Is that part of it as well, do you think?

41:29 S7

Yeah, absolutely. Peter. So it's all about us sharing the story and sharing the things that we see and giving people insight. And I really believe if people knew more intimately about the story and sort of come along with us, you know, they'll start to unpack those really complex traumas and things that we we are seeing with our young people. And and unfortunately, the Kimberley is renowned for its beauty, but also for its very high suicide rate amongst First Nations people there. So we've got to try something different, you know. We can't wait any longer. We can't lose any more of our young people. 

And and given being given this opportunity to share the story is exactly that. We've got to find a way that's that means we can share it. And the data that we capture is photos and videos. And we're starting to look at AI technology, for example, to help analyse the photos. So the more we can make it really objective rather than subjective, which we know it's around emotional healing and health. It's very subjective, but it is for that person. But in terms of us evaluating an approach, it kind of gives us this mechanism to say we can see how these changes have occurred. This person behaves differently. They see themselves differently. They move differently in the world. And this is the way we can evaluate it. It does really create a I don't know how many steps up in power, but but evidence is power. 

And this is a space where it's traditionally really hard to capture evidence. So the fact that we've had this kind of start up grant and this kind of five years or more of capacity-building ourselves in the space and understanding these complexities has been amazing. And, you know, our supporters so far, you know, we couldn't do any of this without without all of them. And yeah, we'd love to see this grow. We'd love to see this type of program everywhere that it's needed or all population groups, you know.

43:39 S2

Juli, it's been a pleasure speaking to you. Congratulations. You've richly deserved the award and long may you continue.

43:45 S7

Thank you so much, Peter, and thank you for having me today. Really appreciate it. That's amazing.

43:50 S2

That's Professor Juli Coffin there, day one of this year's winners of the Australian Mental Health Prize. 

43:57 S8

Keep in touch with Vision Australia Radio in Adelaide on 1197AM.

44:03 S2

A long time listener of the program, we're not that long ago we spoke to Nick Carlton, talking about the spoonie and the app. That was the process of being worked on. With some good news. It's now here. Let's find out a bit more about it and catch up with Madeleine Ruskin. Maddy, great to meet you. Thanks for your time.

44:19 S9

Thank you so much for inviting me, Peter. I'm so excited to be here. 

44:23 S2

Oh well, I think you should be excited. And also, I guess there must be a great feeling of feeling very rewarded and affirmed about the work that's gone into this.

44:30 S9

Yes, we've been so lucky. We have such an incredible community to help boost Spoony. And Spoony is a social platform for disabled, chronically ill and neurodivergent people. And we launched just last week and we shot to number 15 in the social platform category on the App Store within 24 hours of launching, which was absolutely nuts. It was fantastic. And yeah, it's been such a beautiful space on there and lots of people just so excited to have a place where they can talk about different parts of themselves that they haven't been able to talk about before.

45:11 S2

Isn't it kind of interesting, Maddie, in the sense that, I mean, you know, these sort of ideas, if you like, that, you can come up with them and then it's a kind of a matter of following them through. But also, like in recent times, there's been quite a bit of discussion about social media and apps and all that sort of stuff. So the timing is kind of impeccable. As far as launching something like this goes. 

45:31 S9

Yeah, it really is quite impeccable with like everyone has seen all of the articles about the statistics, about loneliness and how people's social isolation is growing. And like, I know, being chronically ill myself, that adds a whole new level of social isolation because not many people can understand what you're going through. So I think Nick, our founder and CEO, really saw a place where he could make a difference in. He also struggles with chronic illness as well. So he knows that, you know, sometimes it's really hard to make friends, and it's really hard to find people who understand what you're going through. And so yeah, being able to target that, Nick was able to build an app and tap into a global community that has been underserved and undervalued for so long, and high quality social connections makes such a difference. 

Like with our beta testing, we recruited 1200 early users, which was amazing... and they reported 25% reduction in their loneliness over three months of using the app, which was incredible. and just so affirming because we knew that something like this was needed. We knew that people deserved to have a place where they could find friends who got it. So yeah. Very exciting, yeah.

46:59 S2

You talked about loneliness and chronically ill and sometimes sort of one can lead to the other in a sense, kind of like they're kind of not necessarily mutually exclusive, but they don't necessarily are the same thing either.

47:09 S9

No, no, it it can be. I feel like one can very much, well, they can influence one another a lot. And the difference of being able to have a friend who understands... why you can't go catch up on a certain day, or just knows that you're having a rough time and is there to support you with kind words or... dog pictures or something to cheer you up or just, yeah...  it just means the world. It's a very different feeling than having to kind of hide it from other people. And yeah, it's just being able to talk openly about... how life is with chronic illness, a disability or living, life being neurodivergent. It's, yeah, I think that's what I've noticed a lot about, wonderful community has found, just being able to talk and be open. Yeah.

48:09 S2

And in many respects, the kind of professionals in quotes in this area do their best. But you can't beat lived experience, can you? And sharing those experiences.

48:17 S9

Exactly. You got that right, Peter. You just can't beat lived experience. And... having people who have been through it as well just it's so different, to hear their experiences and like, everyone's got stories about terrible medical practitioners and things like that. And so just, in so many places where people have tried to reach out and get help, whether it is professionally or through friends or something like that, and it hasn't worked out, it's very hard, and I know I've needed a place to vent myself. So, yeah, then being able to then share about... lots of different aspects of your life too. Not just venting, but, it does, it makes a difference to have people who are totally understanding of what you're going through, whether they have lived it themselves or they have a similar experience. It just makes a huge difference.

49:24 S2

Venting can be very therapeutic.

49:26 S9

Oh it can.

49:28 S2

Well, tell us a bit about how the how the app works then. People may be tuning in for the first time, but hearing Spoony okay, it's a pretty cool name, you know, sort of captures the imagination straight away, but how does it kind of work?

49:40 S9

Yeah. So Spoony is a social platform, so it's all about making connections and making friends. And it's beyond social networking. The platform offers integrated health management tools such as symptom tracking and AI driven insights, and also is in the process of working on a feature that connects users with care providers like psychologists and therapists in their area. So it's not, like I know it can sound so corporate sometimes, all of this talk about apps and you know, you think of huge, big companies, but Spoony is very small. I think we're under 15 people. And we're we're not so much building an app is what I see... or we haven't built an app, we've created a space that empowers the whole community to thrive. 

And it shifts, I think, a lot of expectations and perceptions about disability and chronic illness and neurodivergence. It just like we've tapped into a global community that really very much needs a space of their own. So yeah, it's a social networking app, but so, so much more.

50:59 S2

And safety is a high priority.

51:00 S9

Oh yes. We take safety and privacy very seriously. It's very important to us to keep our users safe, which is why we use a few different types of technologies to ensure that everything is being moderated and ensuring. And it's 18 plus as well. So we are in the process of developing... a version for under 18, because we know that community is also very interested. But yeah, it's really, that is one of the most important parts about Spoony is the safety. And then the other part I would say is accessibility. And Spoony... takes accessibility seriously and recognises that everyone's experience of disability and neurodivergence and chronic illness is very different. 

So we take the approach with the app of not one size fits all with user accessibility. So the tech team has designed the app to be customized so it makes people's individual needs. And of course, we hired developers when we were designing the app, who specialized in user accessibility to ensure that it worked and was compatible with assistive technology, and would also make sure that it was exactly what the community needed. 

We also worked with consultants from different disability groups, chronic illness and neurodivergence, who consulted on the app throughout the design process to ensure that the app addressed the community's needs, which I think was so important and has, Spoony has a policy of always wanting to hear from its community and always like, we want to hear what's working, what's not working, how can we make it better? Because this is screening is for everyone. It's not, yeah, it's... a pretty special place. We're very lucky.

53:07 S2

You talked about the kind of global part of it, if you like. So it's not just for people in Australia?

53:13 S9

No. We are Australia and beyond. We are international. So we, you can talk to people from all over the world, which is I find another kind of interesting part because, yeah, we sometimes feel so isolated in Australia in our little, on our little islands that... it's nice to be able to travel across just through an app to visit lots of friends internationally.

53:39 S2

And it's free.

53:40 S9

Yes, it is free, and it's always going to be free. Don't worry, we're not seeing it like that.

53:46 S2

Okay, well, we've got that on tape. So we're, you know, in 50 years time, if anyone decides to charge, we can say, Well, actually, Maddy said back in September 2024 that it wasn't going to be, it was always going to be free. I might be joking. I won't hold you to that because I probably won't be here in 50 years time. Actually, speaking about that, he talked about people over 18 and there's no kind of... upper age limit, if you like. I mean, I know, you know, 18 to 118 can be part of it.

54:11 S9

118 please. We want... people of all ages. Yeah. It's quite the diverse community over on Spoony. People have made friends with all different age groups, which is pretty fantastic because I. Yeah, why not connect with people who understand regardless of their age? Yeah. It's such a lovely place, I think. and people have become pen pals as well, which is lovely.

54:38 S2

Well, I guess that's the thing you can kind of take it away from the Apple stuff. There's sort of a, you know, kind of a - quote unquote - "relationship" that develops from it.

54:44 S9

Exactly. Some people have been able to catch up in person for a coffee catch up, which is really nice. It's like a landing place that you can kind of take what you want from the app, whether you are looking for like in person friends to talk to in person or just friends to talk to online. The app is really what you make of it, which I think is why people have loved it so much.

55:10 S2

Well, I say number 15, and as they used to say in the old days with hit parades and with the bullet going ever higher as far as popularity goes. What about its availability or its compatibility with the different devices? Do you know much about that? 

55:25 S9

Well I'm not a tech person myself, but I am, I studied up. So it is currently out on the App Store. So for iPhones, yeah. And it is coming on Android in early October. So we will be letting you know all about that, through all of our social media. But yes, it is compatible with those devices. We're also working on expanding our compatibility with, say, desktop and different devices. 

S2

Okay. You want Spoony to be accessible to everyone. So really, this is just the first step. This is just the first step.

56:06 S9

Yeah. It's only one week in. So a few more chapters to be written here.

56:11 S2

All right. Well, if someone's got an iOS device or an iPhone in particular, and they've got access to the App Store, which they, of course they would have... what are we looking for? What... is exactly the name of the app? What do we type in? And then we can download it, install.

56:25 S9

So you type in Spoony to the App Store and you will see, it will just pop right up there in the App Store.

56:33 S2

Spoony, s-p-o-o-n-y.

56:36 S9

Yes that's right.

56:37 S2

They've also got a website if people do want to check that out as well, if they look like looking at websites, etc.. 

56:43 S9

Absolutely. We've got, our website is Spoony Dot. I can't remember the exact. It's the Spoony website. Sorry. And we've also got... social media platforms as well. We're on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, LinkedIn I think. Yeah. So we've got them all covered.
We do. And now to add to that, Spoony.

57:10 S3

Well, it sounds like most, most worthwhile. Thank you for spending a bit of time with us. It'll be great to catch up with you and or Nick or other members of the team. Or maybe if you're out there and you've had a bit of a play with Spoony and you want to give us some feedback as a radio program, I'd be more than happy to hear from you to chat about it. So, Maddy, great to meet you. Congratulations on your involvement with this, I'm sure. As you said, it's been a team that's put it together over a thousand beta testers. That's very, very impressive. We wish you well. And I'd love to catch up with you again in the future.

57:40 S9

Thank you so much, Peter. I'm so grateful to be invited on here. And it's been lovely to chat to you. Thank you so much.

57:47 S3

Madeleine Ruskin there from Spoony. If you want to find out more about Spoony, you can go to their website WWW dot Spoony dot WP dot app.

58:04 S10

Hi, I'm Lauren Parker, world champion Para-triathlete. And you're listening to Leisure Link with Peter Greco on the Vision Australia Radio network.

58:26 S2

Well, that means that Riva Brice is on the line, our yoga expert - and Riva, welcome. Good to have you back with us again.

58:33 S11

Hello, Peter. Another month that's going by. I know I've said this before, but they are slipping by so quickly, aren't they?

58:40 S2

They certainly are. And yeah, we're in spring now as well. What have you got for us tonight?

58:46 S11

Oh, tonight is... Uddiyana Bandha. Bandha means lock, but this is an abdominal retraction lock. And you, Dhan Yojana means to float upward. They have a private practice. Is that through the use of this bandha, the great bird prana, which is the breath and energy. It's meant to flow out through Sushumna. The Nari, which is the spinal canal. It's an abdominal lock. It's basically an inward, inward pull of the abdominal muscles above and below the navel. Okay. And these muscles help to protect those in our small intestines and other organs that we have. 

Our precautions should be practice on an empty stomach. Because this area, as I said, yeah, you got your small intestines, etc. there. They say first thing in the morning is best. Now heart problems, peptic and journal ulcers, etc.. shouldn't, you shouldn't do this with them. And also definitely, pregnant women, you know, and I think people are realistic about that in any case. So that's the precautions there. 

And I'll go into very simple posture, actually very simple one. So you stand with your feet about hip width apart, bend the knees slightly and bend forward, and you place your hands firmly on the thighs. Your fingertips might be touching, just touching the knees. You round your spine a little bit and you tuck your tailbone up. I know people say, well, how do you tap? You know, Tucker, bone up. You know, it's muscles again that sort of use that. So when you're adding your spine, the tailbone is going to come up a bit in any case. Now inhale. Inhale deeply and then exhale completely pressing your hands down on the sides. That helps to get that breath out. 

Lift your chin lower towards your chest but don't tuck it right in. Contracted dominant muscles. Once you've left that breath out it must be out. And you draw the abdomen in so you know concaves inwards and you hold for as long as you can. But don't force yourself. Don't start gasping for air and you slowly release that breath out. You let it go. You release on an, the inhalation. So you've got the breath out. You've done contract the abdominal area and you need to inhale. And then as you start to let that breath out, you straighten up and you take just a few recovery breaths. And then you can repeat three times. 

But don't overdo it. Otherwise you'll end up with your muscles being tight and then the next day or the day after. But that could make you feel a bit nauseous. Having tight muscles. It doesn't matter where in your body you have tight muscles, it's if you overdo it and too much so it can be painful as well.

1:02:01 S2

Mhm.

1:02:02 S11

So that's it. Very simple. You just you know emptying those lungs out as much. Get that air out as much as you can, hold it out and contract those muscles and just hold for as long as you can and then release on the inhalation. Look at that hole for too long. Don't force yourself. It's not about that again. It's about one step at a time. And, uh. Let's see. Benefits. Yeah, there's quite a few here. The contraction of the abdominal muscles stabilises the core of the body and protects the spine. It is the panacea for all abdominal and stomach ailments such as constipation, indigestion, and more. 

And they say that the digestive fires are stimulated. It helps your digestive system as well. All the abdominal organs are toned, then, thereby rendered more rendered more efficient so that the liver, pancreas, kidneys, spleen, etc. are all massaged and that makes them more healthy and they perform better then as well. The adrenal glands, which is situated above the kidneys are normalized, thereby giving vitality. So you feel a bit less lethargic or, you know, just don't feel right. And anxious people can bring their tranquility.

1:03:34 S2

Mm.

1:03:34 S11

So yeah, that's part of it. Now we get on to the sympathetic nerves of the solar plexus are stimulated and these nerves illuminate many other many organs in the body, especially those abdominal organs. The functioning of all these organs are improved for, for this reason as well as that massage that we mentioned before. So everything, all those organs within are being made more healthy.

1:04:03 S2

That's great. 

1:04:03 S11

And then the third Chakra, which is located in the region of the navel, is stimulated. Now this is the center of prana of energy. And the color we use for that one is yellow. The color we tend to see the sun in. So the distribution and flow of prana is improved in the body. In particular, prana is encouraged to raise up the tissue nadi which is our spinal cord. But in yoga is called shunya nadi. So there's a lot of benefits there. Yeah. And it's health and energy as well as, you know, the flow of our energy... can improve with all this. But as I mentioned before, please be careful. Don't overdo. Yeah.

1:04:57 S2

And would you like to take us through it again, please, Riva?

1:05:00 S11

Yes I will. So you stand with your feet hip width apart. Bend the knees slightly and bend forward. Not too far. Close your hands firmly on the thighs, fingertips touching the knees. And you round your final. Round up a little bit. And the tailbone tucking is well there. Inhale deeply, then exhale completely. Bringing your hands down on the sides will help to let that breath out. Then you can come a little bit lower towards your chest. Contract their double muscles while that breath is out, draw in the abdomen so a concave inwards and you hold there. Hold the breath out as long as you comfortably can, and before you start gasping for air and slowly release the posture on an inhalation, relax. Straighten up. Take a few two three recovery breaths in and then repeat if you feel you can three more times. It doesn't have to be three more times, it can be once.

1:06:07 S2

So if people want to contact you for some one-on-one, how can we get in touch?

1:06:12 S11

Oh, obile would be best. As in 041 286 096.

1:06:19 S2

Riva, wonderful to catch up again. We'll speak again at the end of October.

1:06:23 S11

Yes we will. And I'll tell you a bit more about those locks.

1:06:28 S2

Terrific. Have a good evening.

1:06:29 S11

Thank you Peter. Good night everyone.

1:06:31 S2

Riva Brice there. Yeah, we've got a contact Riva 041 286 096. Hashtag senior citizen of the year for Campbelltown.

1:06:43 UU (ID)

On the Australia Network through your favourite podcast service on 1197AM in Adelaide, you're listening to Leisure Link.

1:06:54 S2

What a really important week was on in Perth last week. Let's find out a bit more about it and speak to the Community Engagement Manager for Refugee Sponsorship Australia Blaise Itabello. Glad to meet you. Thank you for your time.

1:07:08 S12

Likewise, Peter. Thank you for having me. [?Joe See], he's with me as well.

1:07:11 S2

He's with us as well. Good to meet you too, Joe.

1:07:13 S13

Yeah. Thanks, Peter.

1:07:14 S2

Just about this week. Please... tell us a bit about what it is and what it does.

1:07:19 S12

Basically, we've been celebrating Welcoming Week, and Welcoming Week is actually a global sort of... work that has been set aside for people to just sit back celebrating the welcoming spirit into their communities. It is celebrated all around the world. And, we also celebrated it in Australia this week. And for us at Community Refugee Sponsorship Australia, we decided to celebrate it in WA in Perth.

1:07:49 S2

Any particular reason for choosing Perth this time around?

1:07:51 S12

We have been... trying to grow the movement in Perth and, and a large and obviously there were never a better time for us to join the community in Perth to really celebrate the milestone that they've done since we were in Perth last year. And now we're, we've now had a number of groups across WA that are making some great efforts in welcoming and supporting refugees settlements in Australia. Joe, tell.

1:08:17 S3

Joe, tell us a bit about your involvement. How have you got involved with this? 

1:08:20 S13

Oh, well we heard about it probably about 18 months ago. There was already a program started in in the eastern states. The federal government had sponsored the or got the program underway, modelling it very much on the model in Canada where instead of there being just an individual taking care of a family when they arrive, they are letting five people in the community, or in our case, five families in a local community to prepare the way to welcome a family arriving here to make their new home here. So we heard about it, and we'd often wanted to be able to do something. 

I think that's the issue. You don't often have a job. I really appreciate what the Red cross did because they carry the load entirely in terms with their case management. But you can imagine single case management and they're really under the pump, are dealing with a dozen or so different families in different parts of Perth. Makes it very difficult to actually make a real neighborly kind of welcome. They do a great job. There's no knocking that. But obviously if people in the local community get involved, then obviously it makes it much more of a seamless sort of transition into the local community. So that's really what appealed to us. Um, the fact that we're able to do something and actually make a difference to a family arriving here in Australia.

1:09:32 S2

And Joe, when you say "us", who is us?

1:09:34 S13

Okay. Well, for us, it was... initially my wife heard and she co-opted me. And then we co-opted my eldest son and his family. They were not co-opted, really. We shared it amongst our friends. And... they said, yeah, we've been looking for an opportunity like this. Our group is pretty diverse. We had another fellow in his family who have similar age kids as my son. My son's got four children, and he I'd met up only because I went and bought a book from him on Gumtree actually about two years ago, and we chatted and became friends and we visited one another. So that's not like a lifelong relationship, but a very precious one to us. He knew a friend of a friend who was also interested. 

She's a single... Chinese Australian girl. He's actually a wonderful vet and is doing some voluntary work at the present moment overseas. So she said, Oh, this sounds just like what I'd like to be involved in. And then finally, the last couple were a delightful couple that lived just down the road from us. Because obviously this thing is fairly local to help the refugee family integrate into the community where we are. My wife met them through, I Love Leaning or By Nothing Leaning. She was I put something on the local I Love Leaning program and my wife went down to meet that need. And she actually, I think, supplied us with a mattress when we were looking for a mattress. 

So it was just a connection that kind of grew from there. And in actually being a part, these five families have really grown closer together. I think that's the thing that's been wonderful. We had a three month preparation period, which, um, which actually Chris had arranged, which was fantastic. And during that time we got together, we had a lot of laughs. We actually got to know each other a bit closer, and we prepared to the family to arrive, which was fantastic.

1:11:21 S2

Blaise, I'd imagine that is not an unfamiliar story.

1:11:24 S12

No, not at all. So across Australia, we've had over 250 groups, such as Joe's group in Perth. These are groups of volunteers, everyday Australians who are really putting their hands up to be welcoming and supporting refugee resettlement, settlement in their local communities. We've so far had about four, five, 464 people calling Australia home today as a result of the generosity, the welcoming spirit of groups of everyday Australians. And so, yes, these stories are really happening across all Australian states and territories as we speak.

1:12:01 S2

And how does it work? So you've got a group like Joe's got together five kind of families who all sound very, very friendly and wanting to be part of it. Do you then find the family for them to welcome or how does that happen?

1:12:14 S12

Basically, what we ask people to do, those that are interested with groups or without a group, already tune into one of our public information sessions, and these are available online. They happen during the waiting hours or... in the evenings. And we know, I know we've got one or this week probably at [?] in at 7 p.m., or we ask you to tune into one of our info session where we explain the program at large. Or if you can watch one of our recorded version of this information session online. Essentially, what we're asking people to do is to form a group of five or more adult within your community. 

And what we do is we train you. We provide you with all the resources. And then at some point when you're ready for, as part of the welcoming stage, we will match you with a family or an individual, who is overseas about to come to Australia as a refugee. And your group will provide that wraparound support for 12 months from the day of arrival.

1:13:15 S2

Oh. That's fantastic. Gee, that'd be... enormously great for the refugee individual or family, wouldn't it? Because, you know, we kind of could only kind of imagine or maybe not even try to imagine what they've been through to get to this point and then to kind of have, you know, five different families with open arms and sharing experiences and friendliness. It'd be a wonderful thing to behold. 

1:13:41 S12

Absolutely. And, you know, I'm not sure if you know much about this, Peter, but the truth is, for many refugees coming in this country, obviously it's exciting at first because you're finally free, you know, you know about your children or your wife or your own safety. You come in a land of opportunities. You know where there is safety, but at the same time, you're starting a new journey. You leave behind everybody you know. You leave behind everything you know. And really coming into this country and finding five, five people in your local communities telling you you're welcome. I'm now your friend. You know, if you need anything, you can call me. If you need support with anything. You know, we're here to help you. 

It's very significant for anybody starting a new life in a new country. And really, these five or more people, do they really come with their open arms, with their networks, they come in with their local knowledge. They know how to access the services. They will navigate all the complexity of, you know, you settling anything. It really makes a difference, to be honest. 

1:14:41 S2

And the risk of producing five families, if you like, is obviously to kind of share the load, if I can put it that way... or indeed share the fun, that is.

1:14:47 S14

Correct. And, you know, because, you know, life does happen. Peter, it's... we try to make sure it's five or more, and that is because, you know, 1st May want to go now on... holidays. And I know the experience. They've had some of these but you know, life happens. And so if there is more than, you know is five, chances are there will be a few of you around every now and then within the third day, the next 12 months. 

1:15:10 S2

Joe, you said something earlier which pricked my ears up. It sounded like you've had a bit of lived experience yourself moving to Australia. Have you?

1:15:17 S13

Yeah. I think the thing that really hit me there, Peter, was that we'd been in a number of places. I've worked overseas in a number of locations and from Australia, and also coming back into Australia. And every time we've been somewhere, it's been the fact that we've had neighbours who've reached out and made us feel welcome. That's what's made the difference. And it always struck me when I talked to people that overseas, I'd say, well, look, the great thing about Australia is mateship. The great thing is that there is a community here who will at heart will, and they may give you a hard time. They may sort of, pull your leg a bit, but the truth, the truth is there's a real welcome there if you're willing to make a go of it. 

And I think the issue that we have, and I put my hand up to this is, we often see that refugee is a problem, but in actual fact it's a solution. I'll give an example. The family we have that arrived here, the oldest girl had managed to teach herself English through watching movies and stuff. So. Yeah. So she had she had a certain amount of English as she arrived, and she's acting as a translator, partly for her family. And so she's 17. Okay. When they found out that there was another family coming, her immediate response was, I can go and I can translate for them when they arrive. Not with any thought for herself, but purely to actually pass on the welcome she'd experience from the five families here. The consequence of that is she's also done the same at a number of different opportunities for people because as far as she can see, that's what Australians do. So you see it, you do it. 

And I think the truth is we as a government have made possible refugees from the United Nations to come here. The issue only is, is will will their settlement be a good settlement or will it be a trauma settlement? And I think if you make it a good settlement, then you actually make people in your community who will actually be a part of what the ethos of community is, which is caring for one another. And I think for me, that's the that's the big plus. It's not a... there's a problem. These people can be a solution to a problem. 

I don't know, Peter, if you heard there was a big influx, we were in Germany at this particular point. It was a big influx. Yes, a few years back. And the government there welcomed them in. And the general sense was, well, there's a lot of people, a lot of issues. Well, how do we deal with that? Well, come about a year in, the people who received help felt like Angela Merkel's response was really great. They looked to her, a number of people saying, Oh, this is my mother. You know, she really looks after me. But there was a massive flood in one of the small towns in the south of Germany, and the relief services went in. But of course it's a big thing and you can't manage everything. 

So a group of the Syrian refugees who were there, who'd been refugees themselves and knew what it was like, went down with their truck and started to help in the cleanup. In fact, they were the ones who were the most helpful because they stayed on, because they had an ability at that stage to do it with the consequence that the community down there now sees them as their sons and daughters. So I think that's the situation. We don't, we shouldn't see it that we're seeing people who are a problem. We should see them as an opportunity to actually be new Australians, to actually be a part of what we have here, which is a great country and equally well to contribute in the community, which I think is if it's seen, it's done. 

1:18:40 S2

It's a fabulous message. And Joe talked about, you know, we as Aussies love to pull people's legs. I guess if as a refugee, if you have your leg pull, you kind of feel, Well, I'm part of this part of this country now.

1:18:52 S152

Exactly right. Yeah. And I love that because my wife had a, I tell you a story. We were overseas and,  basically we she heard that there was a family there from Darwin. So she went and knocked on the door and, uh, the lady opened the door and the lady said, uh, yeah. She said, oh, are you from Darwin? He used to live in Darwin. Maybe we know each other, you know. And the lady said, Well, you picked an awful time to come, but come on in anyway. Yeah. And she said, my heart, my wife's heart sang because here was somebody who welcomed me and was honest, but nonetheless was reaching out in love. And I think that's the... key to mateship in Australia is you stick with your mates, you give them a go. And I think in the end that's the thing that makes this program so wonderful to be a part of because you're putting it into practice, right.

1:19:39 S3

Are you looking for more Joes and his friends?

1:19:42 S12

Look, this is the plan. We actually have a mandate to say to 1500 refugees in the next... year or two. We've done really well so far, about 500. As I mentioned early, I run the company and of course we're on the lookout for more people to join. We know Australia is a good country and I know Australians are very welcoming, are very supportive, and W.A. Bruce has shown us that it's possible people like Joe have done it, completed the 12 months and I know there's more other people out there. So if anybody is interested, anybody is really keen to join, please reach out to us. 

Our website is Refugee sponsorshipdot org dot AU. There are plenty of information on our website and if you can't find anything there, send us a quick email at community at Refugee sponsorship.org and we'll be more than happy to work with you in getting you started.

1:20:39 S3

Joe and Blaise, thank you so much for your time. Keep up the great work. It's a really powerful story, and thank you for just giving us a bit of a snippet of what the week was like. It sounds like very much a very successful.

1:20:50 S12

Thank you so much Peter.

1:20:52 S2

It's [?Joe C] there. And also Blaise Itabello there from the Refugee Sponsorship Australia. What a wonderful story. Uplifting. And certainly there should be more of it. Joe C was very much involved with welcoming Perth week suggested a song by Pat Drummond called Who Is the Refugee? You can find out more information about Pat and indeed find the song at WWW dot Pat Drummond dot net.

1:21:17 S14

Matthew 128. The angel came to Joseph late one night and said, you must be gone. Gather up your wife and infant son, for you must leave this place. Herod seeks you. Death awaits through Israel's dark and bloodstained gates to Egypt. You must flee. Jesus was a child when he became a refugee. A mercy of the stranger.

1:21:51 S2

A couple of quotes before we go. One from Estelita who has sent one through Love, Saying That Name and love getting your quotes. It's the latest quote is... We're all a little bit crazy in different ways. Some people know better how to hide it than others. So thanks and Nene for sending your quote through. And, I quote also from Mark, who sends one through very appropriate on a day like today. The quote is... Victory tastes so much sweeter after experiencing the bitterness of defeat. Thanks very much, Mark. I think today's Premiership winner can certainly identify with that. 

A couple of birthdays before we go. The very lovely Tegan Henderson having a birthday. We've spoken to Tegan a few times over the years. Doing that sets the sky raising money for Or San Filippo, the very, very sad and quite distressing childhood dementia condition. So happy birthday to you and keep up your great work, particularly in that Ballarat region and Joe Smith having a birthday. Another former staff member at here at 5PP. Satellite Vision Australia Radio. Joe having a birthday, Kira Meets had a birthday a couple of weeks ago. Joe this week I think another former Vic Australia staff member has a birthday next week. Stay tuned to hear more about that. 

That is just about it for the program. Vicki Cousins is on, Vicki Cousins here. She's wearing the Premiership colours. She knew who was going to win today. Good on you Vicki. Coming up very very shortly with Australian Geographic. Sir Richard thanks so much for your help. And green thanks so much for yours. Reminding you that Leisure Link is available on your favorite podcast platform. Tell your friends there's always room for one more listener just like Oliver Twist. Be kind to yourselves. Be thoughtful of others. All being well, let's look back at the same time next week. This is Vision Australia Radio.