23 Jul 2025

 On FOCAL POINT:

• Stephie Birkhead is about to public a book, "Behind the Shutters"  The book shares an honest account of growing up blind in a world that didn't always understand what that meant -  documenting not just the struggles, but the strength; the moments of humour; and the hope that carried Stephie through. 
• Kari Seeley, CEO for No Strings Attached, invited all to their season of "The Construct" - there is an audio described and Auslan interpreted show on Sunday 3rd August, at 2 pm.  The season from 31st July is at Slingsby's Hall of Possibility, rear of 96 Glen Osmond Rd, Parkside.
• Leslie Heagney, Fundraising and Business Development Manager at Braille House, invited all to enter the 2025 Braille House Dickinson Memorial Literary Competition.
• Gerald Quigley, pharmacist; herbalist; radio and television presenter, has helpful information for people with mild cognitive impairment - some lifestyle choices and evidence showing that Souvenaid can help, 

Resources: 

Stephie's Journey on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61576988955831 

"Behind the Shutters" on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com.au/Behind-Shutters-Childhood-Disability-Resilience-ebook/dp/B0FF5XPCPN/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1JJYUCDL4Q65G&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.wloek1UC6vaIoj9iYXTkSA.b6CdccC0nVlPks2RaxPjA_kzXAj-iQppaTTIqbDbzeY&dib_tag=se&keywords=behind+the+shutters+stephie&qid=1753341219&sprefix=behind+the+shutters+stephie%2Caps%2C260&sr=8-1 

No Strings Attached Theatre: https://www.nostringsattached.org.au/ 

To book tickets for "The Construct": https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1332896 

2025 Braille House Dickinson Memorial Literary Competition: https://www.braillehouse.org.au/education/dickinson-memorial-literary-competition-2025?srsltid=AfmBOor4OjS2ksPswO-UvV7BUMAYSMhhkrPLnZRHUx4TyHsi3I7X_09M 

Information on souvenaid: https://nutricia.com.au/souvenaid/ 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

S1 (00:23):
Good evening and welcome to Focal Point here on Vision
Australia Radio 1190 7 a.m. Adelaide, online at Radio radio
Radio Adelaide in Darwin through the Community Radio plus outlook
from Vision Australia, Radio Adelaide also through the Ringing Radio Network.
Peter Greco on behalf of Phillip Van Peer, saying thank

(00:43):
you so much for making time to tune in this program,
coming to you from Ghana and come to you very shortly.
We'll speak to Stephanie Birkhead, who is, uh, chatting to
us from Missouri. Steffi grew up in New Zealand about
to launch a book, Behind the Shutters. Really personal story
about Steffi's life. Will share some of that with you. Well,

(01:05):
then catch up with Carrie Sealy from No Strings Attached Theatre.
Their show is coming up very soon. The construct. Your
invitation to attend is coming via the radio in the
next 10 or 15 minutes, both with Steffy and Carrie.
If there are any issues that arise with you that
concern you, please remember you can always contact lifeline 24

(01:28):
seven on 13 1114 13114. If you'd like to contact
lifeline or if you need to contact lifeline or someone
you know would like to contact lifeline 13 1114. Well,
we had arranged in fact, we had had a chat to, um,
Kate Stevens, who is the only person in Australia that's

(01:49):
got a B book. Unfortunately, as zoom can be sometimes nice,
very occasionally it can be naughty. On this occasion with Kate,
it chose to be naughty. So we can't bring you
that interview with Kate. But we want to speak to
Kate about the B book, so we will catch up
with Kate in coming weeks, so stay tuned for that. On.
On Sunday I caught up with Leslie Heaney, who's the

(02:12):
manager for business and marketing at Brower House. They've got
their Dickinson Memorial Literary Competition that's happening at the moment.
Lots of different categories for different age groups, etc.. I
think you'll enjoy this interview. And, you know, the good
thing about it is you've got plenty of time to enter.
And if you enter and do well, you could win $350.

(02:34):
And then we'll speak to Gerald Quigley, pharmacist, broadcaster, also herbalist,
talking about a very important topic. Mild cognitive decline is
the topic of discussion. Uh, what can we do if
we've got it? What can we do if someone we
know or love got it. Is there something we can
do about it? Maybe to slow down the progression? And

(02:55):
before we get it, perhaps, is there anything we can
do to prevent it? If you're listening through 1190 7 a.m.
in Adelaide at 8:00 for your listening pleasure. Listen, Sam
will be here with Studio one. I hear they are
right now to tell us what's on studio.

S2 (03:11):
Blind Citizens Australia was formed 50 years ago.

S3 (03:15):
We catch up with David Blythe and Bill jolly, who
talk about the early years of the organisation and its achievements.

S2 (03:21):
Join us at 8:00 for Studio one.

S1 (03:25):
Well, I'm absolutely delighted to go all the way to
Missouri in the US and welcome to the program, Steffi.
So great to meet you. Thanks so much for your time.

S4 (03:34):
Oh you're welcome. And thank you so much for allowing
me to come on, um, to interview me. That's fantastic.
Thank you so much.

S1 (03:42):
Now you've written a book, and it's in the process of, uh,
getting out there. You're taking pre-orders. Uh, what made you
decide to write a book?

S4 (03:50):
Being brought up in an institution? Um, I was in
there for 16 years, so pretty much my whole childhood. Initially,
I didn't go home to parents for probably the first
five years, maybe, and then I was in a preschool, and, um,

(04:12):
my parents didn't really have much to do with me then.
Then when I went to boarding school at home, my
college in New Zealand, I went through the system. It
really wasn't to really help us grow. It was more
about being there, keeping us moving. If you can understand that. So.

(04:36):
So I went through the system and an intermediate school,
which was form one and two. Mainstreaming hadn't begun quite it.
It wasn't in full bloom then. And I went to
an intermediate school and I was basically left there. There
was no support, nothing. And, um, I found out later

(04:58):
that it was a trial and that, um, children would
be put in there to bad weather. There was support
or not. We just didn't get it. Well, I didn't.
And the teacher didn't want me there. She considered it
a babysitting job. So, to cut a long story short,
I was there in the classroom for a year, and
I used to just read books from my library, which

(05:21):
that was good, but there wasn't learning properly.

S1 (05:25):
So you learned Brown, or you been taught Brown?

S4 (05:27):
Yes. Brown was what I learned first. Thankfully. And I
learned to type as well. When I was quite young,
I learned to type before I even learned how to
use a cane. So, um, typing has been has been,
I should say, keep my accent stiff. Um, typing has
been my, you know, form of communication, and I love it.

S5 (05:52):
Yeah, I know you're talking about going to high school.

S4 (05:54):
Went to high school, and, um, I did, um, recover
a little bit and learn some things, but there were
some things that I hadn't learned, and I honestly believe
that I was handicapped in that way because I didn't
learn some very important things through the intermediate years. I
think they're pretty crucial years of learning. But, uh, so

(06:18):
I went there, and of course, because I'd been boarding
all that time, my false hope was, oh, I'll love
it when I go home. But that didn't pan out either,
because I was dealing with two sets of rules for
life at school. I was, you know, told little things

(06:38):
like put your dressing gown and slippers at the end
of the bed in case there's a fire. If I
did that at home, I would be told, if you
don't put that up, I'll give you a belting. So
there was two different schools of thought, which as a
child is very hard to, um, deal with.

S5 (06:57):
Of course.

S4 (06:58):
Yeah. So that's kind of what happened there.

S1 (07:00):
Now, I know you sent me some information before obviously
doing this interview. Stefan, you were saying that, uh, you know,
this was a little while ago in New Zealand, and
it kind of wasn't really, uh, sort of, uh, a
way for the system, if you like, to kind of
treat people who were blind or have low vision, particularly
people who were born blind.

S4 (07:19):
Yes. I think depending on the circumstances of why you
were put in care was how you got treated. I
knew so many who were just put in there, and
the parents really didn't have anything to do with them.
A lot of them were just, you could call it
a crash pretty much, rather than, uh, you know, a

(07:41):
lot of there were parents that would come in and
they would ensure that their children were getting an education,
that they were, you know, going through the system properly.
But it didn't happen for all of us, whether that
was some of that was racial, you know, status of society,
you know, whether you were poor, families were poor, You

(08:02):
know this. I don't like to go down that road,
but sadly, those kinds of things happen.

S1 (08:08):
Will probably still happen now, if the truth be known.

S4 (08:10):
Yes, yes, but but the other reason that it really
disturbs me is all our records were destroyed. Mine from 1962.
And I understand, you know, uh, as things progress and
time moves on, people disappear. But if you're still alive,

(08:32):
they should not destroy records that pertain to, uh, you know,
somebody's life. Like, uh, we we think so. They told
me when I communicated with them a few years back.
That's when I found out. I asked them for my
records regarding some medical issue, and they said, oh, you

(08:56):
haven't been. You've only been a registered member since 2001.
I said, excuse me. I was pretty much born there. Well,
not quite, but I was there from a baby. And
the weird thing was, is my number for membership is
still my old number. So they knew exactly what they'd done.

S1 (09:18):
Okay. That's incredible.

S4 (09:20):
Yeah.

S1 (09:21):
They're writing the book. I guess that probably triggered things,
but maybe also helped in a cathartic way.

S4 (09:27):
It certainly did, because from the outset, when it first started,
I was angry. Now I've had time to see that
my mother was disturbed. She was having a nervous breakdown,
and she had two boys. And when I was six
weeks old, she found out she was pregnant again. So

(09:48):
I've had time to put those things into perspective. It
doesn't make it right, but it allows me to, you know,
deal with it. and, you know, see things from her
point of view kind of. But the comment that that
came to me from the home that I first went

(10:09):
to because, um, was that she said, oh, she if
I can't look after her, she may as well be yours.
And so that's kind of a hard thing to deal with.
And over the years, it kind of played out kind
of like that for me. So it was fulfilled prophecy,
you know, in a way. Yeah. But but I'm I'm happy.

(10:31):
I'm happily married. And he's blind as well. I've had
other relationships that didn't turn out, but I had fun
loving it. Had some, you know.

S1 (10:41):
I guess. Well, a lot of us have been there,
done that. So that's kind of part of life, isn't it?
Because you've done a bit of, um, moving around, if
I could put it that way. You spent some time
in Australia. You're in the US at the moment. How
did all that happen?

S4 (10:56):
Well, um. my previous husband, who is deceased now, but
he worked for a stationery company and he decided he
wanted a change. So we moved to Australia and I
worked for Mail Call in Sydney and had to travel
from southwest to north for that job, which it was alright,

(11:19):
but it was accessible. So, you know, it was a
job I could do. And so I had my guide
dog and and that was just great. I loved it.
So yeah, I was there and then we split and um,
so I moved back to New Zealand and, and was
working for a supported independent living service back there until, um,

(11:41):
Chris and I got married in oh four. So it's
been an interesting life.

S1 (11:47):
What took what took you to the US? Why? Missouri?

S4 (11:50):
Well, um, Chris and I met on the internet, probably
about 96, Six. And, uh, we talked on the internet
for a couple of years, and, uh, we ended up
in a, uh, working together in a company online. Then, uh,
we got close, and when I moved back to New Zealand,

(12:13):
I thought it was over because I went over to
came over here to meet him, and it was good,
but I don't know, we just had issues, but then we.
So we split for probably about six months, I guess
time away, well spent. And um, then I got working and,
and then things developed over two years and then it

(12:35):
took about a year to get a visa. So it
was plenty of time and life's been pretty good. There's
been a few ups and downs like there always is,
but for mostly it was mine because I missed friends
back home and, you know, in New Zealand. But you know,
21 years later I think I'm settled and this book

(12:57):
just helps me put some things to rest because there
was no one to talk to about it until the
inquiry was done in New Zealand overall by the government.

S1 (13:07):
You've chosen an interesting title for the book, Steffi.

S4 (13:10):
Yes. Well, I don't mind telling you. My eyes are
fully closed. Um, they didn't form. And so because of that, um,
I've always believed that people have a hard time looking
at me, thinking that behind those eyes, I can really communicate.

(13:30):
We're all blind on the phone, and I like that
because it makes me feel that nobody who doesn't know
has preconceived ideas of of me. And so it's the shutters.
I'm hoping that people will kind of ignore the closed
eyes and look beyond that at a person instead.

S1 (13:52):
Said, okay, now get some of the stuff that was
going on in your life as well. Steffi was kind
of maybe you felt like you were a bit hidden
away from society as well as they kind of almost
a double meaning to the, to the title.

S4 (14:04):
Well, back then when you were put in care, the
attitude was from the cradle to the grave, I guess,
and we were seen as, uh, marginalized and people that
wouldn't really amount to much. Some of us, you know,
because we were blind or deaf blind, which I've got

(14:25):
a bit of a hearing loss now, but we were
kind of some of us were seen as, you know,
not really capable of, um, much not no real expectations.
We were just looked after. And then when finishing school,
they sent you back home again. So I don't I
get that.

S1 (14:44):
We're talking about the 60s, 70s, 80s. So in a
sense it's not that long ago.

S4 (14:49):
No, no. But the losing records or the records being
destroyed is a is a very sore point with with
quite a lot of us.

S1 (14:59):
I can imagine that would be the case. Now we're
going to get you back to talk about the book
a bit more in detail and who it's for, and
who's going to get something out of it when it
is released in October. In the meantime, people can preorder,
can't they?

S4 (15:13):
Yes they can. Um, if they want the e-book, if
they want a paperback, or if they want the audio
that's been worked on the audio.

S1 (15:24):
Writing that, aren't you?

S4 (15:25):
Yes. I'll be narrating that myself. I was trying to
palm it off to somebody else.

S1 (15:30):
But.

S4 (15:30):
People are telling me, oh, no, we want your voice
on it. And that's mainly for Americans. I'm sure Australians
don't need to hear a Kiwi accent all the time.

S1 (15:41):
Well, we're virtually David.

S4 (15:42):
Nearly.

S1 (15:42):
Aren't we? We're really.

S4 (15:43):
Labour.

S1 (15:44):
We are. So we are.

S4 (15:47):
Yeah. No, I love Australians.

S1 (15:49):
Well, how can we pre-order if we, uh, would like
to find out more about, uh, behind the Shutters.

S4 (15:54):
You can go to Amazon and put a search in
for Behind the Shutters by Steffi, and that will bring
up information on it. I do have a Facebook page
as well. It's, um, my journey and I'm not. I mean,
I do my best with Facebook, so I can always

(16:17):
send you the link for the show notes for that too,
if people want to join that to keep up with Steph.

S1 (16:26):
Steph, we're out of time this time, but we'll get
you back when the book is about to, uh, be
freely available or available for everyone. We'll get you back
and talk a bit more about the writing process and
also who the book will be aimed at and who
will benefit from reading it. Thank you so much for
speaking to us today. It's obviously, you know, you talked
about some very personal issues. We we appreciate you spending

(16:47):
some time with us.

S4 (16:48):
Thank you so much. Really appreciate it.

S1 (16:50):
That's a Steffi Burkhardt who's a writer, an author or
about to be published, about to be available. So we'll
put those details up at our show notes. And as always,
if you've missed any of them, you can always give
us a call here at the radio station. 1300 847 466. So

(17:15):
energizing and good fun. Chatting to the CEO for No
Strings Attached. Then next season is coming up very soon,
and I'm looking forward to hearing why we should come along. Okay, Kara.
Good to catch up.

S6 (17:27):
Peter, how are you?

S1 (17:28):
I'm especially. Well, this is really good because I know
a little bit about the show, and it's one of
the great things that art can do is it can
kind of bring all sorts of topics to the forefront
of people's minds.

S6 (17:39):
Oh, absolutely. I think art has a wonderful way of
getting under people's skin and past their reserves and their boundaries.
They're kind of, you know, against their defenses. It kind
of creeps in under your skin and makes you brings
a mirror up and makes you think about yourself. It
brings empathy and new understandings of maybe tricky and difficult situations,
and you can think about them differently.

S1 (18:00):
And this is what you're tackling in the construct or
the construct.

S6 (18:03):
Yeah, absolutely. The construct isn't autobiographical, it's not confessional. And
we want to make that very clear. The piece that's
being presented is not the specific experiences of an individual
who's on stage or by the writer. Although having said that,
psychosis and mental illness is something that both the writer

(18:23):
and the performer have experienced, but really it's a new
work that echoes. Do you remember ever seeing the film
or reading the book A Beautiful Mind?

S1 (18:32):
Oh indeed. I do the film for sure.

S6 (18:33):
Yeah, yeah. So in that and also in this new play,
The Construct, the audience comes to understand that the character's
world is not reality, but rather the construct of a
mind wrestling with mental illness.

S1 (18:46):
Carrie, tell us about the writer.

S6 (18:48):
Yeah. J.W. Smith is a local South Australian playwright, and
it's a pseudonym that's not actually his name. And that
also in itself highlights the hiddenness of mental health. So J.W.
Smith is an incredible writer, and No Strings has worked
with him on other plays. You know, maybe ten years ago,

(19:09):
and we're excited to be working with him again for
this brand new play. J.W. Smith lives with disability. He's
both a deaf artist and also lives with significant mental
health challenges, and he himself has written about his experiences
in every mental health institution in South Australia over many
years and the challenges of of that Hiddenness and and

(19:33):
how much do you divulge and what are going to
be the reactions of people around you?

S1 (19:39):
And just reading some of the information about the show,
that's kind of a lot of the focus of it,
isn't it? It's kind of, um, you know, sometimes all
is not what it appears or you're not living up
to what people want you to do as well.

S6 (19:51):
Yeah, absolutely. And often headlines around mental health and psychosis
and particularly, um, psychotic episodes is often focused on, uh,
fear and on violence because that is often what hits
the headlines. But that's not everybody's experience with mental illness
or psychosis. And I think it it wrestles with that challenge. And, look,

(20:13):
it does it beautifully. And and there's a little blurb
that the playwright has written, a mysterious room. Is it
a sanctuary, an asylum, a prison? She must discover the
secrets of the construct. Because although the clock isn't ticking,
time is running out.

S1 (20:29):
Hmm.

S6 (20:30):
Dun dun dun.

S1 (20:31):
Yeah, it's very powerful, though. Is it very evocative?

S6 (20:34):
Yes, indeed. It's quite an extraordinary piece. Uh, as I said,
written by J.W. Smith and performed, uh, it's a one hander.
So just one performer on stage for the entire show.
Although there is another character within the play. I won't
give away too much, but Fig Kershaw is incandescent in
this show. Absolutely amazing. And the beautiful lighting design by

(20:56):
Nick Mollison, who is well known and well respected in
the industry. And Peter, we've been really blessed to have
input on the set design and construction from Stuart Bogue
and Casey Van Sebille and the students at Adelaide College
of the Arts in Light Square. We're just blown away
by their incredible work, and so blessed to have them

(21:17):
working alongside us to bring this to light.

S1 (21:20):
Well, Carey, I reckon they've probably been blessed by getting
to work with an organization like No Strings Attached. I mean,
I'm sure they would be getting plenty from working with
an organization like yours.

S6 (21:29):
Look, I think that symbiotic relationship where these partners come together,
and in the coming together, it's greater than the sum
of the parts. And I think that's a beautiful thing
that really does happen a lot in the arts and
particularly in small arts organizations. We couldn't possibly put this
on without the support of AC Arts and the beautiful
support from create SA, who's given us a Richard Llewellyn

(21:51):
Deaf and Disability Artist Project grant and Kennards hire. I
know there's lots of ads in there, but just to
show you that there's people who have really helped us.

S1 (22:00):
Do the Richard Llewellyn that trust, that is just such
a fabulous thing. It's the kind of gift that keeps
on giving with a number of people over the years
that have been recipients. And I mean, it goes to
really deserving individuals or organisations as yours. Obviously a case
in point, but I mean, you know, the wonderful work
that that grant or those grants do just just kind

(22:21):
of lives on.

S6 (22:22):
Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, I think one of the
reasons that we've been successful in this instance is not
only is the writing and the performance informed by by
personal experience, but we also have written into the grant
the funding to provide Auslan interpreters Also audio description.

S1 (22:40):
All right. Well, we'll come to that in a second.
But you've also it opens on July the 31st. We'll
let people know. We'll give people the dates and put
information up on our show notes as well as audio
described shows in Iceland. What about the venue? That's a
little bit different. I don't think I've been where this
one is on is on.

S6 (22:56):
Oh, we're really excited to again, another yet another partner
to bring this to life. Slingsby in their hall of possibility.
It's in the rear of 96 Glen Osmond Road at Parkside.
And it's just a very small, intimate setting which is
absolutely perfect for this particular show and we are delighted
to have their support in providing the venue. And, uh, yeah, look,

(23:20):
we just love Slingsby, a South Australian institution that sadly
is wrapping up at the end of next year. But
we're delighted to work with them on this show to
bring you the construct.

S1 (23:29):
So the venue, that venue choose you. How did that happen?

S6 (23:33):
It's an ongoing conversation between our artistic director, Paolo Castro
also teaches at a theater company called Taboo The Art
of Being Human, and they hold their workshops in at Slingsby. So,
you know, it's everyone knows everyone in the arts. Peter.

S1 (23:49):
Yeah. Well, and you gotta use those connections to get
the best deal for yourself, don't you?

S6 (23:54):
Look, there's a lot of goodwill within the arts sector
here in South Australia, and particularly in supporting small organisations
such as taboo and also No Strings and also Slingsby.
You know, all of us create amazing new work. And
you would really when you see a production, you'd kind
of think it's at the level of state Theatre, but

(24:16):
we don't have that level of financial support from the government,
but we have the goodwill, support and in-kind support from
so many other partners across across Adelaide, for which we're
very grateful.

S1 (24:26):
I certainly would agree with that. Having been to a
number of productions over the years that sits at the
heart of quality. As I said, it opens July 31st
and you've got to audio description and also offline interpreted.

S6 (24:38):
Yes. So on the final show uh to give our
interpreters and describers lots of time to practice on the
final show, 2 p.m. on Sunday the 3rd of August,
we have both audio description and Auslan interpreting.

S1 (24:51):
Fantastic. What about, uh, the kind of season overall then? Uh,
you know, one person, uh, show, if you like, uh,
with the, uh, with the, with the, with the person
you're not going to tell us about is for taking part.
That's a pretty big kind of workload, isn't it?

S6 (25:04):
It is actually. Yes. And it's such an intense piece
that it's it's quite a load on their shoulders because
they're carrying the entire script. Although we do have amazing
lighting and projections from Nick Mollison. As I said earlier,
Fig Kershaw has been with no strings for a couple
of years and is a really interesting, very early career performer. And, uh,

(25:28):
we're excited to see what fig brings to this play.
We've got shows, as we said, opening Thursday night, the
31st of July and then two shows on Friday. So
a matinee at midday and then an evening at 730. Same, um,
Saturday matinee at two and Saturday evening at 730. And
then the Sunday matinee show at 2 p.m. is our

(25:48):
last show. And that's, uh, with the extra audience supports provided.

S1 (25:52):
Gee, that's that's a first. A big, big workload over what?
No more three and a half days in a sense,
isn't it? That's a lot of work. So how did
this sort of happen? How did this get together? You
talked about, uh, you and J.W. kind of, you know,
having a an ongoing relationship, so. Yes. How does that
kind of, uh, production sort of end up? Do you
kind of check the, uh, the script and say, yes,
we like it. Did they come to you and say,

(26:13):
what do you think of this? How does that all happen?

S6 (26:15):
Yeah. The way it happened is, is that ongoing conversation
between J.W. Smith and Paulo Castro, our artistic director, and
often our works, as you know, Peter, are created from
the lived experience of the performers themselves that are involved.
And that's certainly the case for our end of year
showcase called amplify. But, from time to time we are
presented with an extraordinary script and this is one of

(26:37):
those occasions. DJ had been working on this for a while,
spoke to us probably 18 months ago, and we were
really just working through and finding the right time to
present it. And of course, as with everything in the arts, uh,
things take a while to get the funding that's required.
And so we've been sitting on this for about 18
months and really finding the right partner for the venue,

(26:59):
the right performer, the right director, all of those things
coming together at the right time with funding as well.

S1 (27:05):
As I said, I've read the blurb, if you like.
That sound about it sounds absolutely fascinating, I said evocative,
it's kind of evocative and provocative, which is a good thing.
What about in terms of who should be coming along?
Like what? What how would you kind of profile the
the person, the audience that's either going to get the
most out of it or maybe that perhaps doesn't know
about this sort of stuff that could get something from it.

S6 (27:25):
Yeah, absolutely. We're being fairly careful in saying that. We
don't think that the content would be suitable for people
under 16 because it is talking about mental health and
psychosis and schizophrenia, and we are also letting our performers
our kind of rent a crowd of all of our
people who attend our workshops and their family and friends,

(27:46):
that it may be triggering or distressing for people who
are psychologically vulnerable. So having said that, there's actually no
rating as such, so anybody is allowed to come, but
we wouldn't recommend it for children, but it would be
absolutely ideal for people who maybe have never encountered people
with mental illness and want to understand it a bit

(28:06):
better from the inside out. Maybe those family and friends
who have been giving support and care for people that
struggle with their mental health, um, maybe people who have
struggled with their mental health, who are in a really
great place at the moment, that want to see something
on stage that reflects their own lived experience or something

(28:26):
that that is parallel but not the same.

S1 (28:28):
Yeah. Because sometimes you can feel like, you know, you're
the only person in the world that is going through this.
Or as you say, sometimes you can think, well, isn't
that good that other people are talking about it now?
Either I can talk a bit more freely about it,
or at least, you know, I know I'm not the
only person, and that can be a very liberating thing
as well.

S6 (28:46):
Yeah, absolutely. And we're really delighted with the level of
support that we've received from local MPs who are coming
along attending opening night. So brilliant. Yes. Yeah. We're delighted
that Nat Cook, Minister for Human Services, will be attending,
as will Emily Burke, Minister for autism. And then I
can't go through them all, but we do have several

(29:07):
who who have accepted either to come on opening night
or at another time. And of course, we have our
no strings ambassador, someone you'll know. Well, Rachael Leahcar, she'll
be attending ignite. And then another of our No Strings ambassadors,
Katrina Webb OAM. She'll be attending on Friday at midday.
So there's a smattering of VIPs throughout the season and

(29:32):
tickets seats are very limited. We have a maximum of
55 seats per show, so it's a very intimate experience.
And once those 55 seats are taken, that's it, we'll
sell out. So my hope is that we will, in
fact sell out every one of our six performances.

S1 (29:50):
Well, it's certainly a topic that needs a bit of
a light shed on, if I can put it that way,
people can be made more aware of it. And I
think that says a lot about the people that are attending.
I mean, we know Nat Cook and Emily Bourke quite well.
We've chatted to on the program a little bit, so
it says a lot about them, the fact that they're
going to come along because I'm sure they will learn
something from it because we don't know everything all the time,

(30:11):
and I'm sure they will be better off when they
walk out of the theatre compared to walking in.

S6 (30:15):
That's certainly the hope, and we really appreciate them making
time in their very busy schedules for that. But I agree,
I think it's important we understand the importance of having
lived experience to inform services and inform the scaffolding around
it for for whatever your challenge is. And we're delighted
that those ministers are making time to hear this. Um,

(30:36):
as I said before, it's not autobiographical. So it's not
particularly the actor Finn Kershaw's own story. And neither is
it particularly J.W. Smith's story, but it is informed by
their personal experiences with mental illness.

S1 (30:51):
Nothing about us. Without us, how can people book? Where
do we go to, uh, to book our tickets? They're
going fast. Only 55 at each show. So you're going
to be in elite company, which is good to go along.
And that sounds like the perfect setting for a show
like this, I reckon I agree.

S6 (31:06):
While you're sitting there in the audience processing heavy things,
you don't want a crowd around you. Um, so I
think the smaller setting is going to be ideal for this,
and it also is conducive to those quiet conversations after
the show. Yeah. We'll have a bar open before and
after the show for anyone who wants to come early
or linger a little longer afterwards. But I've also had

(31:27):
friends who come to a very intense show and they've
just said, look, if I can't talk about this immediately afterwards,
I'll catch up with you in a few days for coffee.
And they've actually looked at me and kind of just
walked out without saying a word because, you know, sometimes,
as we said right at the start, Peter, art can
get under your skin in a way that facts and
figures in a report doesn't. And sometimes it can really

(31:49):
move you in ways that you're not expecting. So we're
very happy to support people, whatever their response is to
the show.

S1 (31:57):
That's a great answer, Carrie. Good luck. We'll put details
up with our show notes. Do you want to describe
the show? And I'll say on a Sunday, the 3rd
of August.

S6 (32:04):
Yes, that's right, at 2 p.m. and Slingsby Theatre. Yes.
And people can find tickets by searching. Try booking the
construct and you'll have details as well.

S1 (32:15):
Carrie, I'm amazed at how much energy you have. Keep
having it. Always great to catch up.

S6 (32:19):
Thank you. You're a gem. Appreciate the time. Peter.

S1 (32:21):
Kerry. Theo for no strings attached and that will certainly
be worth attending. You're listening to.

S7 (32:28):
Focal Point on beaten Australia Radio 1190 7 a.m. via radio,
Digital and online at Radio.com.

S1 (32:39):
Well, some great news for the brewhouse in Queensland. They've
just launched their Dickinson Memorial Literary Competition for this year.
Let's chat about it with the manager for business development
and fundraising, Lesley Heaney. Lesley, lovely to meet you. First
time we spoke and thank you for your time.

S8 (32:54):
Hello. It's nice to meet you as well, Peter.

S1 (32:57):
Yeah, this is very much a time honoured event and
that's a bit of a cliche, but I love the
fourth iteration.

S8 (33:03):
Absolutely. I think just a bit older than me.

S1 (33:07):
Well, I'm nearly as old as it. Or not quite.
But anyway.

S8 (33:10):
It's a real honour for us to host this beautiful event.
Rail House has been the owner of this beautiful, beautiful
event since 2014. And, you know, we're really, really proud
to have it in its 104th year.

S1 (33:21):
Who can enter? What are you looking for? All that
sort of stuff?

S8 (33:24):
Yeah, absolutely. So who can enter? We're all about inclusivity
here at Braille House, so actually everyone can enter. But
there's six categories. The first five are open only for
people in Australia who are blind or have low vision.
And there's different categories for adults senior students, junior students
and even a People's choice category, which is open to everyone,

(33:47):
including sighted readers as well.

S1 (33:49):
Okay. And then there's different categories within those categories as well.

S8 (33:53):
Absolutely. So it's a creative writing piece, you know. So
we want to keep it broad to encourage that beautiful
creative writing, which I think we all should practice more often.
So you can do a story, a poem, a song lyric,
a Limerick. You don't hear many of those these days,
but we've been practising writing, some in our team here
and even a blog. So, you know, we're not too
critical on the exact creative writing format. We just want

(34:16):
to really encourage, you know, that creative writing, we think
it's good for the brain. If you are a Braille writer,
it's a really great way to practice and be encouraged.
But you know, all in all, particularly in the world
of AI, which is not allowed, it's great to step
back and actually take some time to use your mind
to write creatively.

S1 (34:33):
Well, Mark, congratulate you on not allowing AI. I think
that's so very that's very, very progressive.

S8 (34:38):
It is, isn't it? You know, although AI has its place,
this is about humans writing stories.

S1 (34:43):
So so you can choose your topic and you can
choose your kind of format if you like. What about
from there? What happens from there? I burned my entry. Well,
we'll let people know how they can enter in the
first place, but what about from there?

S8 (34:56):
So there is a theme. We choose a theme every
year and before. Note the very first year, the theme
104 years ago was self-reliance. So we always take that
into account. It's voted on all of that. So this
year the theme is discovery, which, you know, we think
is a really cool theme. It's still really broad. Uh,
you know, it involves, you know, things of discovery, whether

(35:17):
it's internal, educational, Imaginative geographical. Um, you know, it's amazing
what you can apply that to. That's your starting point.
But after that. So we'll close entries on Friday, the
19th of September at 4 p.m. and then after that,
judging and public voting for the People's Choice. So we'd
love people to get involved in that run until mid October,

(35:39):
when we'll announce our winners on the 24th of October.

S1 (35:42):
Fantastic. So that's great. So you've got your kind of
official judges, but also a public opinion category as well.

S8 (35:48):
Yeah, you are absolutely right. So I can't wait to
read some of those and see what other people have
come up with. It's one of the very special parts
of our role, and we hope there's lots of them,
and we hope it takes us a long time for sure.

S1 (36:00):
And across the, uh, the age range as well as
there is a category for very young writers, but also, um,
you know, some not so young.

S8 (36:07):
Maybe not 104 years old. That would be blessed if
we had one from someone who was submitting from the
very first year again.

S1 (36:12):
So, uh, 1921, it would have been 104 years ago.
I've done the math still for like, I mean, in
a sense, the more things change, the more they stay
the same.

S8 (36:21):
You're absolutely right. And it is a you know, it's
a beautiful thing.

S1 (36:24):
Yeah. It's terrific. Now, um, I guess without putting the
cart before the horse. Leslie, there's, uh, there's some nice prizes.
If people said.

S4 (36:33):
Yes.

S8 (36:33):
Yes. Absolutely. Right. So each category. So of all six categories,
the first place winner will take away $350 and the
second place is 150 as well. So not only that,
you also get a bit of notoriety where you are
published in its special anthology as well. So people get
to see your work and read it and make sure

(36:54):
that your voice is heard.

S1 (36:56):
That's tremendous, isn't it? So, uh, things are open now.
People can enter now.

S8 (37:01):
Yeah, absolutely. So you can enter. We keep it nice
and easy so you can submit your entry in a
way that suits you. So we do have an online
platform for submitting entries on our website which is brailowsky.
But we also do accept entries via email. You could
post them in as well if that's suitable to you,

(37:22):
particularly if you're, you know, doing this on a traditional bra.
But you can also submit your entries in word so
they don't have to be in Braille. As I said,
you can do them in Braille or even a Duxbury
reader file. We accept all of those.

S1 (37:35):
Oh, that's very 2025. Leslie, you've got all all bases covered.
How are things going at Brown House? I mean, I
know you do some wonderful work, and I personally know
of a number of people who do, uh, get services
from you guys. So how are things going there?

S8 (37:49):
Yeah, things here at Brown House are brilliant. We probably are.
Most notable thing that people access is our library. So,
you know, we're always keen to grow our, um, our
membership base, working really hard to add books that aren't
available in other locations as well. You know, we know
that there's other libraries, but we want to make sure
we complement each other. And, uh, yeah, library loans are

(38:11):
going up, which is just something that warms our hearts
so much evolving with digital files and all that. Education programs,
you know, people learning Braille. Um, you know, in a
super flexible way. Um, all of that's growing too.

S1 (38:24):
In terms of accessibility, there's so much more now as
far as accessibility goes. You talked about, you know, conventional
Braille if you like, but the digital braille, that Braille
if you like. And of course, that's much more compact
than uh, than, uh, you know, a post office full
of books or delivered to your home.

S8 (38:40):
That's right. Like, I think it's the Harry Potter order
of the Phoenix is 37 volumes long. So I'm not
a very tall person, Peter. And it probably is nearly
as tall as me. Um, but, uh, you know, we, um. Yeah,
we love having a good variety. And, uh, you know,
people still do borrow those physical books, but Braille, as
you say, is really probably the really convenient, um, you know,

(39:01):
in the same way as, you know, people have different
options now to consume literature, which is, um, you know,
only a positive thing.

S1 (39:08):
We're having a quick chat before coming to air. And
I said, I'm certainly a great advocate for its organizations.
It's people like you that kind of keep it alive.
I mean, occasionally someone pops her head up and thinks, oh,
what do you need Braille for? Well, you know, I
just I just shout them out because I'm not very polite, but,
you know, it's it's it's those that really love it
that use it. I mean, they're the ones that can

(39:28):
really talk about it with some authority or with some
lived experience.

S8 (39:32):
Yeah, you're absolutely right. And I think someone said to
me the other day, Braille is their pen and paper,
you know, and even we know I go to a
lot of business meetings and, you know, most people look,
the younger generation might, might prove me wrong. But, you know,
everyone I know who's a similar age to me, you know, 104, um,
you know, they they always bring a pen and paper
still to a meeting and, um, you know, that really

(39:54):
hits home to me. Um, you know, they make notes.
It's part of their thinking process and, uh, you know,
and all of that. It's it's a really powerful tool
for those who, um, you know, those who access it. Um,
and for us, we just see it as a gateway to,
to literacy, which, you know, opens up a huge world
of opportunity and, um, you know, and, and delight as well,

(40:15):
you know, um, we focus on leisure reading as well
as education. So, you know, it goes across both those categories.

S1 (40:21):
Well, long may it be so. In fact, may it
be so forever now. Leslie, if people do want to
find out more, if they want to submit their entry,
or maybe someone's listening in and thinks, I know someone
that would be perfect to, uh, put an entry for that. Uh, what?
Where do we go? How can we find out more?

S8 (40:35):
Absolutely. So we've got our website, which is. Um, you
can find a page dedicated to the Dickinson Literary Memorial Competition. Um,
you can give us a call on 07 3848 5257.

S1 (40:54):
Alright. We'll put those details up with our show notes.
So people have missed it. They can consult those notes
to get them. Leslie, good luck and it'll be good
to keep in touch with you. Maybe when the winners
are announced, maybe pick out a winner that we can
speak to and get a bit of an idea of
what made it win, so we can maybe have a
bit of an advantage for next year for the 105th year.

S8 (41:11):
Absolutely. 105. That's right. So I can't wait to discover
the winner.

S1 (41:15):
For all the best. Thanks for speaking to us.

S9 (41:17):
Thanks, Peter.

S1 (41:18):
Leslie, have you there a bit of a character? And
certainly if you're a character or if you could write
like a character, then how about have a go for that? No,
don't take yourself for that challenge. What's the what's really fabulous?
Catching up with Charles Quigley, pharmacist, herbalist, radio television author. Gerard,

(41:40):
good to catch up. I'm going to stop there. Otherwise
we won't have time for the interview.

S10 (41:44):
You're very kind, Peter. I don't know what you're making
that stuff up, but I'm humbled. I'm. I'm humbled at the, uh,
at the media opportunities I get in helping people take
a little more control over their own health. And, uh,
those of us like you who work in this space
are very privileged, aren't we?

S1 (42:02):
Joe, that's a great point and a great lead in,
because it's all about good information. And in a sense,
it's preventative medicine that we often talk about, isn't it?

S10 (42:10):
Well, the system, for whatever reason, doesn't really look after
us all that well, and we call it a health scheme,
but it really is an illness scheme. Mhm. And I
hanker for the day and it probably won't happen in
my time where those who really look after themselves to
the best of their ability and stay out of that
system are somehow rewarded. Maybe they get a little bit

(42:33):
of extra tax deduction, or maybe they have private health
insurance that doesn't cost whatever, I don't know. But but
it just seems to me that we should be encouraging people,
not rewarding people, but encouraging people to take more control.
And that's really part of our topic today about an issue, Peter,

(42:54):
that we probably notice and we probably think, oh, well,
it's just mum or dad or Uncle Bill or someone
that's that's starting to go a little bit loopy. And,
you know, he's losing his keys and he's losing his phone. Own,
and we used to laugh about that when we were
kids when we noticed it. But it's we now know
a lot more about this issue, which everything's got to

(43:16):
have a medical name. We're now don't call it forgetfulness.
We call it the start of mild cognitive impairment, which
basically makes everything a lot more scientific. But it gives
us a chance to assess where we are in the
memory journey and where we might have been or where
we were. Perhaps 12 months or two years or three

(43:38):
years ago. Are we are we doing things now much
more commonly than when we were doing them three years ago?
Are we always now forgetting where our keys are? Are
we always forgetting the threat of a conversation? Whereas not
many years ago we're able to do that. So we're
talking here, Peter, about 20% estimated between 10 and 20.

(43:59):
I think that's conservative. 20% of people aged 60 years
and over are estimated to have mild cognitive impairment. And
that's a very serious issue if we can intervene early.

S1 (44:12):
And a serious issue because we are an aging population, well.

S10 (44:15):
We we're all thank goodness you and I would agree here.
Thank goodness we're able to live as long as we
are as we possibly can. And, and that's, that's our aim.
And we all lose friends eventually. But but we want
to live as well as we possibly can. So the
important thing is here that mild cognitive impairment can sometimes

(44:38):
be misinterpreted as normal aging. And it's not it's not inevitable.
So memory loss and memory challenges aren't an inevitability of aging,
but it can signal the early stage of we now
know dementia or Alzheimer's disease. And if we can intervene earlier,

(44:58):
particularly not a drug, because we don't have a drug
which can intervene. So we're looking here at the advent
of medical nutrition, which is a much softer, gentler, and
the science clearly shows a much more effective way of
managing mild cognitive impairment and reducing the impact by slowing

(45:18):
the progression.

S1 (45:19):
So I guess it's a three legged stool if you like. Jared.
You got the exercise that kind of always been around
and has always been recognized as being important, and also
the sort of brain exercises. But then there is the
nutritional angle which scientifically can make a difference.

S10 (45:34):
Well it is. And in amongst that is the social contact. Peter.
The being socially connected has been shown to be wonderfully
supportive for your brain and your heart and your emotions
and everything else. But the medical nutrition research is based
on what we know, the parts of our brain controlling
memory and recall, the parts of the brain that need

(45:57):
particular nutrients. And over time, they've often been identified singly,
but now they've been formulated together. Given 20 plus years
of clinical research, various scientific papers published, and it's now
shown that this particular liquid, which is available in powder
form as well. But the liquid is probably easier when

(46:20):
taken each day. Once a day, the cost of a
coffee slows the decline in memory and cognitive function by
an average of 60%, which is quite remarkable.

S1 (46:31):
That is, isn't it? That's a big number in medical terms.
That's a huge number because he talked about at the
beginning of, you know, maybe you're forgetting your keys more
often or, you know, losing threads of conversation. Yes. There's
not a lot of ways of measuring it, you know,
with a blood test or with a brain scan. Is there.

S10 (46:48):
No, there's not there's not Peter, because the research just
hasn't been able to find that yet. So it's more
an observational thing, which in many ways is probably better
because you go along and have a blood test and
you get called back, and the doctor lowers his glasses
to the bottom of his nose and says, you have
mild cognitive impairment. And you think, oh goodness me. Where's

(47:11):
all this going? If it's noticed by friends or family,
then certainly the discussions with the doctor are very important.
And we're saying the earlier in brain health, the earlier
things are noticed the better. So there's no strong phrases. Mum, dad,
I think you're losing it. We're going off to see
the doctor. It should be mum. Dad, we need to

(47:33):
check that everything is in order. And if this is
just starting to develop and worry you and worry us,
then we need to talk to our doctor about medical nutrition.
What's available because there's no drugs available. Peter. And how
we intervene and whether he or she is happy for
us to do it. And mind you, there is no

(47:55):
downside to this. There are no interactions. There's no issues
at all. So it really is a matter of almost
getting your doctor's permission to go ahead. It's freely available,
but it's always best to check just to see if
there is any underlying health issue that perhaps isn't noticeable,
that the doctor may be able to pick up.

S1 (48:16):
During questions like this or a situation like this, I
often ask the question. It's not a slight about GPS
because they do a tremendous job under a lot of pressure.
What about their awareness of this sort of thing? You know,
I guess it's hard to be across every single issue.
And that's one of the great things that you and
shows you do, and shows like this do is kind
of bring it to the general public. But what about
their awareness of, uh, of things like this?

S10 (48:39):
Look, I think we've got a long way to go
in the training that that perhaps we do. We've got
other we've got practitioners, Peter, like dietitians and nutritionists who
probably work on the fringes a little. And wouldn't it
be good that every GP consultation was associated with a
complimentary visit to a dietitian so that any food based

(49:02):
or food selections you're making actually helped you get on
top of your particular condition, whether it's weight management or
blood sugar or whatever. It helps you get on top
of those rather than just, here, take this pill and
we'll reassess you in six months time. And with a
bit of luck, there'll be an improvement. But it's not. Well,
we'll try another pill. So this is probably coming from

(49:24):
a slightly different direction. I know that GPS are incredibly
important in our system. Do get information, as do geriatricians
and neurologists, about medical nutrition like this. But as you say,
they can't be all over everything. And we've probably grown
up with the belief that if there's a problem, we

(49:46):
can just get a pill. That's that's not the case.
Does that rationale doesn't solve every problem.

S1 (49:53):
And maybe these days we're better at that. I mean,
we go to the doctor and say, well, you know,
is there an alternative or what can I do to
help myself? Because over the years I've done interviews with
people with all sorts of different conditions, and one of
the things they talk about is it's really good if
I can have some ownership of my condition, if I
can do something about it, rather than, you know, relying

(50:13):
on my next appointment or my next scan or whatever.

S10 (50:16):
Well, that really is the key to self-care. If you
become invested in your own health. And I attended a
talk recently by a bloke who was giving us some
highlights of his career, and he was inspired when he
was a young bloke to just really do particular things
at which he became very, very successful. And I took

(50:36):
away from that that word inspire. How do we inspire
people to take more control over their own health and
not accept the inevitability that things will break down and
things will fall apart and oh, well, we'll just go along,
see the doctor and get a pill and repair it.
Why not reduce the risk of the breakdown. In the
first instance.

S1 (50:57):
There are more males than females. I know it's not
good to sort of sexualize or genderize things, but any
evidence in that area, I guess. Yeah.

S10 (51:06):
No, no, there's probably not enough at this stage, Peter.
And this is part of the challenge that that I
know in my own world. I know incredibly intelligent blokes
who now have hardly who now have Alzheimer's. And yet
you would say that those sorts of people who exercise
their brains right up to retirement and onwards, how can

(51:29):
that happen? And I find that really quite puzzling. So
it's a matter. That's why we go back to our
original discussions. Awareness and observational stuff. Is the basis here
of intervening early. And if you or someone you care
about has been diagnosed, or you notice issues around mild

(51:51):
cognitive impairment, it's time to go and talk to your
doctor or your healthcare professional about souvenired, because the earlier
we intervene, potentially the better the outcome and you can
actually get a lot of information as well. Peter, on
a website, which is all the souvenired.

S1 (52:11):
Do we need to know what's in it? Because often
I sort of say, look, if this is working, I
don't need to know the ins and outs of it.
If it's working, I'm happy to, uh, to go with it.
Do you need to know what?

S10 (52:22):
Yeah. Look, I can tell you what's in it, because
I think that's important. And this has always been my
theory with pharmacists as medication managers, I've always believed that
if we're taking our role seriously, we should know everything
that a drug can do, everything that a supplement can do,
and anything that a food might help or hinder those

(52:43):
two things. So we've known for years that fish oil
is very important for brain health. It's an anti-inflammatory. And
we know it's important that EPA and DHA combination. So
that's fundamental. We know that particular B vitamins are very important.
We know also that getting involved in stopping the aging

(53:04):
process of brain tissue is important. So antioxidants which are
phrase thrown around. But it really just means you're you're
stopping the breakdown. And then there are some essential amino acids.
And they are choline and uridine are they occur in food.
But we just can't get enough of them. And that
those two things help form phospholipids. And phosphatidylcholine is the

(53:30):
official big name, but that helps brain cell membranes and
more particularly brain cell function. So we're looking here at
supporting the growth of brain connections so that messages our
brain get can be interpreted correctly and then recalled or
remembered to really do what we set out to do.

(53:52):
It's no more complicated than that. But at last, we've
got some way of making a difference.

S1 (53:57):
Is it going to be improving our situation or just
stopping it getting worse?

S10 (54:01):
No, sadly. Damage that's been done, Peter. We can't repair that.
That may never happen, but we're looking at that 60%
reduced risk of actually slowing the decline in memory and
cognitive function. So we're at a certain stage that is progressing.
We can reduce the risk of it progressing by 60%,

(54:23):
which really the clinicians and the scientists say is a
quite remarkable outcome.

S1 (54:28):
So at least and as he touched on the exercise,
the kind of looking after yourself away from food, if
you like, or alongside food, but but also that social
interaction and things like crosswords. I mean, people used to
joke about them once that maybe they can help your brain.
But but again, now it's proven.

S10 (54:44):
Well, look at the growth, Peter. In in clubs like
bridge clubs and these things. mAh jong. Now these mah
jong is probably a bit of a luck involvement, but
you've got to concentrate. It gets you involved with people,
it gets you interacting with people and it's going to
help your brain. Remembering anything that helps your brain also
helps your heart and cardiovascular system and vice versa.

S1 (55:08):
And of course, if you listen to the radio, particularly
if you listen to talkback or stimulating conversation, I know
a number of, uh, radio quizzes run again. That's the
sort of thing that makes you think. I mean, listen
to music is pretty cool, but, you know, a bit of, uh,
sort of verbal stimulation can also be advantageous.

S10 (55:25):
It's so, so true. And, and the other thing as
well is actually singing or learning a musical instrument or learning.

S1 (55:30):
Yeah. Okay.

S10 (55:31):
Learning a language. Yeah. Challenging your brain because our brain
actually can regrow. There are parts of our brain that
actually shut down, but we can restimulate them memories a
little more complicated, but as far as function is concerned,
you can learn a language at any age. And you
can learn to sing and enjoy music at a different
level at any age.

S1 (55:50):
Well, it's a good note to end on Jared. Now
just give us the website again. And what we'll do
is we'll put that up with our show notes. So
if people have missed it they can go there. And
also I guess your friendly local pharmacist, particularly if you've
got a good relationship with them, they would know a
lot about it.

S10 (56:04):
Absolutely. So it's w-w-w dot s o u v e
n a.com.au Joe.

S1 (56:14):
Keep up the fabulous work. We'll catch up again soon.

S10 (56:16):
Anytime, Peter. And all.

S1 (56:17):
The best, Joe Quigley. They're certainly a wonderful communicator, which
is so, so important getting the message across. And we'll
put those details up in our show notes. And as always,
if you missed them, give us a call here at
the radio station. 1300 847 466. Our audio describe show of the week.

(56:39):
It's coming up. Midnight Friday night going into Sunday morning.
SBS Movie Channel. The time slot says it all. Turn
me on. This is rated Ma. Now, this is set
in a time when the inconvenience of human emotion can
be eradicated by taking one simple vitamin pill. A young

(57:01):
couple decide not to take it for one day and
discover love, joy, sex, and the baggage that it carries.
I wonder how it climaxes. That is coming up at
midnight Friday night going into Sunday morning. SBS Movie Channel.
Turn Me on. Rated Ma with audio description. Did you

(57:25):
say with audio description? I did say with audio description. Okay,
let's get back on track. A couple of birthdays before
we go. Let's make it three birthdays. David Bradburn having
a birthday. Vice president of Humanware. Working very well on
making the monarch the best it can be. So happy
birthday to you, David Bradburn. Caroline Ellison having a birthday.

(57:48):
Caroline was involved with Tutti the Tutti Choir way, way,
way back when it started in the late 90s. A
very big happy birthday to you. And speaking about music
and choir, happy birthday to Lucy Mortimer, that wonderful, wonderful
music teacher here in Adelaide. Lucy, a very big happy
birthday to you. I hope life is going especially well.

(58:08):
You certainly deserve it too. That's it for the programme.
Big thanks to Sam Rickard and Pam Green for helping
us put the programme together. Thanks to the team on
behalf of Philip Napier. This is Peter Greco saying be
kind to yourselves, be thoughtful and look out for others.
All being well. Focal point back at the same time
next week on Vision Australia Radio and the Reading Radio Network.

(58:32):
This is focal.

S11 (58:33):
Point.