08 Nov 2025

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
S1 (00:24):
It's just gone. 5:00 as I welcome you to this
link here on Business Radio. Radio 1190 7 a.m. in Adelaide,
online at Via radio, Radio Digital and Adelaide and Darwin
through the Community Radio Plus app. Look for Vision Australia,
Radio Adelaide as well as your favourite podcast or streaming
service if you're listening through 103.9 in Esperance in Western

(00:48):
Australia through Hope FM. Hello to you if you're listening
to the Reading Radio Network. A big hello to you
and hello and thank you to Disability Media Australia for
their fantastic support. You can find out much more about
them at media E media. You can get the link
there as well. Coming up as this program comes to

(01:10):
you from Ghana, land will catch up with Georgia Monroe Cooke,
one of our mighty gliders. They're off to Thailand to
play wheelchair basketball. We hear from Darren Geard. He's from
a Tasmanian football team. They've just taken part in the
National Inclusion Carnival. How did they go? How did the
South Australian team go with AFL wheelchair football? Trevor Jarrett

(01:33):
will talk to us about that. Chelsea marchetti will join
us from the Flipr Academy. Our resident physiotherapist was Chelsea
Lawrence in setting up the academy a couple or so
years ago. As far as working with kids with disabilities.
We'll also speak to Stephanie Saunders. If you're a bit
low in iron or vitamin D, you might be a
bit tired and irritable. Stephanie might have some answers for you.

(01:56):
We'll also catch up with Priscilla Dupree from Resthaven. Talk
about equity and inclusion and also diversity at Resthaven. Such
important topics. Priscilla will tell us about that. And we
will also catch up with Ruth, Fallon will speak to
TJ Baker and also Dylan Harre from the Adelaide Rep Theatre.

(02:18):
Adrift in New York is what their show is. Your
personal invitation to attend is coming up via the radio
very soon. It's always great catching up with our mighty goddess,
the Australian women's wheelchair basketball team. They're off overseas. Let's
chat to our captain, George Munro. George, great to catch up.

(02:41):
Thanks for your time.

S2 (02:41):
Thanks for having me.

S1 (02:42):
How are things going?

S2 (02:43):
Yeah. Good. We're about to head off to Thailand tomorrow
for the ACC championships, so that's very exciting.

S1 (02:49):
How big is this event? In the overall scheme of things.

S2 (02:51):
It's pretty important. So this is for the qualifications for
the World Championships. So we need to come in the
top two to qualify directly for worlds. And if we
come third or fourth then we have to go to
a repecharge tournament to try and qualify.

S1 (03:04):
How many teams will be there?

S2 (03:05):
Well, there's two divisions, so there's basically going to be
four teams that are competing for those spots.

S1 (03:10):
Okay, so it's pretty, uh, I don't like the term,
but pretty cutthroat.

S2 (03:13):
Yeah, I think so. I think China are probably the
best team, so they're probably gonna come first, I would say.
And then I'd say it's between us and Japan to
try and get that second spot.

S1 (03:21):
I know speaking to writers over the last few years
in particular, of course, Japan have really stepped up in
the last few years. I guess the fact that they
host the games in 2021, 2020, whichever way you want
to look at it, a lot of money was poured
into their programs preparing for that, and I guess that's
kind of float on since then.

S2 (03:37):
Yeah, I think so. They've always been quite good as
long as I've been, but I think there's just been
a lot of new players coming through that are really
good and they're very fast. They have really great chess skills,
great shooters. So they're always a challenge.

S1 (03:48):
What about Thailand? Is that a good venue? Have you
been there before?

S2 (03:51):
Yeah, we've had the last few championships in Thailand. Sometimes
it's good, sometimes it's bad. But I think it's really
great that they're investing that kind of money into hosting
these tournaments.

S1 (04:02):
Yeah, well, I guess Thailand you don't think of maybe
as a leader in the area of Paralympic sport, but
as you say, good that these sort of events are
obviously good for people with disabilities in their country as
far as potential and future events and future representation goes.

S2 (04:14):
Yeah, for sure. I think the women's team has improved
so much in the past, maybe 2 or 3 years,
to the point that they're like quite a challenging team
to play against now.

S1 (04:22):
Hey George, I had to smile a bit when you
said sometimes good, sometimes bad. How much does what do
you think of a country or a venue depend on
how well or well you do or don't do?

S2 (04:31):
Um, that's a great question. It definitely makes you feel
better about the country if you do.

S1 (04:35):
Well, what about the team? We've had a very consistent
team for a number of years, as you'd expect, a
couple of players coming in and out of the side
as things roll on.

S2 (04:42):
I think we had a few pretty important retirements last year,
maybe the year before, but now we've kind of seen
these new, younger players coming through and just really playing
incredibly well. So I'm really excited to see how they go.

S1 (04:53):
What about your role as Captain George? How do you
look upon that?

S2 (04:56):
It's kind of a bit strange now. I'm one of
the older players on the team, so that leadership position
is a bit strange, but I just try and lead
by example and show these young players like how best
to approach international basketball.

S1 (05:07):
Well, I guess it's kind of life in a way.
Like you go to bed one night, wake up the
next day, and all of a sudden it seems like
you're a lot older. With an athlete. It kind of
happens even quicker because your lifespan, if I can put
it that way, is a bit shorter than the general
life as well.

S2 (05:19):
Yeah, I talk about myself being old, but you know,
people outside of athletics don't really get that.

S1 (05:25):
Yeah, just starting out. What about the role of captain?
How did that come about? Does it get voted on?
Does the coach or the selection panel appoint that? How
does that happen.

S2 (05:33):
So we have like a leadership committee. So that was
voted on by the players. And then I think from
that committee the coach chose me as the captain.

S1 (05:40):
Okay. Can you remember when you were told how you felt.
Did you think you were in the running? I mean,
was it something you aspired to, I guess when you
started not that many years ago. You just were happy
to get a game, as I like to say. But
then at some stage you think, well, I like the
thought of a leadership role.

S2 (05:53):
I was chosen captain for the Tokyo Paralympics, so I've
kind of been in that leadership role for a while now,
but it's just always really gratifying when your teammates think
that you should be in that role.

S1 (06:03):
And kind of lead by example as well. The way
you play is important, not just the talk.

S2 (06:07):
Yeah, I think so, definitely. And just always giving 100%,
putting that effort in.

S1 (06:11):
And in terms of looking up to other leaders in
other sports or indeed other areas of life. Have you
done much of that? You kind of model yourself on
other roles, or anyone in particular in the sporting field,
that you think they're pretty cool? I'd like to be
like them, or that's something I can kind of put
into my leadership role.

S2 (06:27):
Yeah, I'm a really big WNBA fan. So women's basketball
in the US, I did my PhD research on a
lot of those athletes, and I think got me a
lot about how to be a leader, how to be
a professional, all that sort of thing.

S1 (06:39):
Was that hard work or was that fun? Georgia doing
a PhD on that.

S2 (06:43):
Mixture of both. Definitely hard work, but it's always good
when you get to watch a basketball game and say
you're your study.

S1 (06:49):
What attracted you to that particular field of study then?
Just because you love the game?

S2 (06:53):
Yeah, I love the game. And I just kind of
wanted to understand why players weren't necessarily getting the respect
that I thought that they deserved and the money and
things like that. I guess I just decided that that
was what I wanted to pursue.

S1 (07:04):
Is this the women in particular you're saying? Yeah, yeah.
Having now done that, why is that? Do you think
I was just implied bias that happens over a period
of time and it takes a long time to change it.

S2 (07:14):
Yeah, I think that's part of it. I definitely think
it's also just a lack of investment by the league itself,
by the media, not necessarily showing them in prime time,
things like that. As more and more women get to
play the sport, there's more and more money invested. It's
obviously just going to get a bit better.

S1 (07:28):
What about Australia? Maybe it's my imagination. Maybe because I'm
lucky to be able to do a program like this.
We have a lot of female athletes. I know we
have a lot of athletes on full stop, but as
far as Australia goes, our athletes in the success stakes,
if you like, a lot of them are women. I mean,
probably more than men. I guess also in say, mainstream
swimming as well, it's the same sort of thing and
sort of conventional swimming. And women are doing particularly well.

(07:50):
Is Australia any better or worse than the WNBA, for example?

S2 (07:54):
I would say Australia, the mainstream media doesn't necessarily show women.
If you look at the statistics of coverage and things,
it's something like 10% of coverage is of women. But
that's what's kind of, I guess, great about the growing
internet and the kind of independent media are able to
show different women, show people with disabilities outside of that
kind of mainstream media coverage.

S1 (08:13):
And it's kind of interesting. I know, just in general
kind of life, I can put it that way. The
disability sector and sort of equality as far as women
or cultural differences, if you like, they're kind of a
bit hand in hand in terms of needing that recognition,
needing advocates in that area to be kind of working
on the, on the mainstream.

S2 (08:29):
Definitely. I think all those things are very intertwined. The
disability sport is kind of, you know, where women's sport
was years ago.

S1 (08:35):
Yeah. And I guess things like the Paralympics, the great coverage.
I know that seven advertising a little bit about next
year and the Winter Paralympics being on. So there's kind
of things that take literally almost generations to come to fruition.

S2 (08:47):
Yeah, for sure. But I think it's getting in front
of people is the first hurdle. Because when people watch Parasport,
they just love it.

S1 (08:54):
I think that's true. I can go back to Sydney
and the Great Wave. Australia got swept up in it,
and I think part of that was because Australia did
really well. But you know, people love winners, don't they?
And if they can be associated with money, if you've
got a disability or what sport you're playing. I mean,
it's interesting how when an Australian does well, we all
become experts in that sport, even though we know nothing
about it. Really?

S2 (09:13):
Yeah, definitely.

S1 (09:14):
Hey, George, I know you've got plenty on, so thanks
for spending a bit of time. It's been great to
talk a bit about things off the court as well.
We wish the team well. As you say, maybe China
are going to be hard to beat, but there's another
position there. Let's hope that Australia fill it when we
get through. Where are the championships next year then?

S2 (09:28):
They're in Ottawa, Canada.

S1 (09:29):
Okay. Well certainly Canada have been a pretty strong team
as well. What do you think of Canada, George? Have
you been there before?

S2 (09:34):
I've only been when I was a little kid, so
I'm excited to go back.

S1 (09:38):
Okay, so your experiences of winning or losing don't matter
at this stage as far as Canada goes?

S2 (09:43):
That's right.

S1 (09:43):
Georgie, do you and the girls, we wish you well.
Thanks for speaking to us and I know you've got
plenty on, so thanks for making a bit of time
for us.

S2 (09:48):
Thank you.

S1 (09:49):
That's George Munro Cook, the captain of the mighty gliders.
As they get off for Thailand and hopefully qualifying for
next year's World Championships. For a very successful sounding time
for Tasmania. As far as the AFL inclusion Carnival went,
the championships last week in Melbourne speak to the coach
of the Tasmanian team, Darren. Darren, welcome and congratulations are

(10:12):
in order.

S3 (10:12):
Beautiful. Thanks very much for having me.

S1 (10:14):
It must have been a great time. Obviously when you win,
it's always a little bit better than might otherwise be
the case.

S4 (10:19):
It is. But look, I suppose one thing that we
really focus on with our group is that footy's fun
footy's a game. Regardless, there's times where you may come
up against a side that's better than you. And obviously
through the course of the week and the course of
the championships, we played some really good footy and obviously
got through to the grand final and came away with
a victory.

S1 (10:34):
I believe there's some pretty close games throughout the tournament.

S4 (10:37):
I would say through this tournament, I feel generally that
the standard of football improved across all the teams that
actually participated. Obviously Victoria coming together to form one team,
we expected them to improve, but I feel as though
Queensland took the jump from Division two to Division One.
Western Australia were probably unlucky, had a couple of injuries
that really hurt them early in the carnival, so that
sort of probably hampered their opportunity to stay in div

(10:59):
one for this year. So as I say, I think
the whole standard of football really improved.

S1 (11:03):
Yeah, well you beat South Australia in the grand final.

S4 (11:06):
We did. We've certainly established a very healthy rivalry with
South Australia. So we obviously played the carnival in South
Australia would have been four years ago now and South
Australia took out the title there. So they really establish
themselves as the benchmark. And then since then we've gone
on to play South Australia in three grand finals and
I suppose through good fortune we've managed to win all three.
So they are healthy contests. We've got a lot of respect.

(11:27):
I know our playing group have got a lot of
good friends that play for South Australia, so unfortunately in
a game of football there's a team that wins and
and usually a team that loses. And we've been fortunate
enough to come out as a winner on the three occasions.

S1 (11:38):
Was that the championships were held in the Barossa Valley.

S4 (11:40):
That was one, yes, up at Angaston.

S1 (11:42):
That was really hot.

S4 (11:43):
It was really hot. That probably set the base for
our group, I would think since I took over, which
was back in, I think, 2019, the Barossa one was
the first time we'd ever qualified for Division one. We
finished fourth, which was a good result for us. I
think it was a really successful opportunity for our group
to taste that Division one football. And obviously from there,
we've sort of really been able to build our group
and maintain our position in Division one and be reasonably

(12:05):
successful in those finals that we've played.

S1 (12:07):
Now, what about the sport in Tassie? I mean, obviously
AFL is pretty popular across the country, particularly down in
Tassie over the years, has some amazing players. What about
for athletes with disabilities? How's the structure there. And yeah
tell us a bit about that. How come you're so good?

S4 (12:21):
Darren I reflect on my first year that I coached
and that was in 2019, I think it was, and
it was in Blacktown in Sydney, and we only had
14 athletes. So and the squads are 16. So we
had to borrow some players from New South Wales just
to basically field a team. And from there we sort
of came back and really focused around setting up regional
training hubs around the state. We're in a situation now
where we've got about 40 plus athletes participating in our program.

(12:44):
Unlike South Australia, which I know has a really strong,
vibrant league that that athletes can play in. We don't
have that in Tassie, so we rely on a lot
of training, regional trainings. Out of our squad of 16
that went away to the carnival this year. Eight play football,
so they basically play in clubland in Tasmania at varying
levels and eight don't participate. So eight are from other sports.

(13:04):
A little bit of a basketball connection there. Some play cricket,
so there are some that play other sports. So the
opportunity for those guys is to participate in football where
they normally don't. We've been really fortunate. We've unearthed some
footballers there. I sort of try to strongly encourage those
athletes when they come back, because we don't have a
competition that caters for the athletes with a disability. I
encourage them to engage with clubs. So and I'm not

(13:24):
concerned if they don't play, if they're training, they're developing
that skill base that will help them for future carnivals.

S1 (13:29):
You talked about if they were very familiar with that situation.
The clubs have been incredibly supportive and inclusive. So what
about your clubs, even if they're not playing, but they
allowed them to train. They kind of feel like they're
part of the mainstream club, for sure.

S4 (13:41):
I can speak from the North Estate where I'm based,
the athletes in the north of the state. I'm affiliated
with a club over here, Launceston Football Club Launceston Football
Club have a master's program. So our athletes, we go
along and train with the Masters, so it's great we're
not training with small numbers. We're going on to the Masters,
and all of a sudden we've got 20 plus out
on the track. We can do some more full ground
store stuff, which is totally different. If I was training

(14:01):
4 or 5 athletes by ourselves, we're probably really restricted
around what you can do. So we've really got some
successful programs around engaging that. And look, we get some
athletes from the North West travel up to us as well.
We've had that over the duration of the programme over
the last few years as well, where athletes from the
North West have travelled through to train with us as well.

S1 (14:16):
You talked about the region, so I'm assuming that's kind
of the Hobart region, the north and then the north west.

S4 (14:22):
This year, our representation across the board. So we had
six athletes from the south, we had six from the
north west, and we had four from the north. Good
representation from the state and really good age profile. I
think average age was about 23. So a good young list.
Over the last three years we've had ten athletes that
have played in all three of those grand finals. We've
had six that have played in two and we've had
six that have played in one. So we've sort of

(14:43):
been able to really have some consistency around our footy program.
So when we go away to the carnivals, the athletes
know each other. They've played with each other for a
couple of years. Most importantly, I sort of say with
our guys that they really show respect to me as
the coach. They certainly show respect to all of our
support staff. It's a really good, really good culture that
we've created.

S1 (15:01):
And it goes both ways. The respect, doesn't it?

S4 (15:03):
Oh, it certainly does. After the game had finished, I
spoke to a lot of our players and sort of
indicated that, you know, how much respect I had for them,
how much pride I had in what they were able
to do, the fact that they listen, the fact that
they're prepared to take on feedback if I need to. Um,
even over the course of this carnival, I saw improvements
in athletes from game one to the grand final.

S1 (15:22):
Now it looks like you're involved with football on a
day to day basis, if you like. As far as
your employment goes, what got you involved with the coaching
of this team?

S4 (15:29):
Strangely enough, I think there was a carnival in 2018,
in Launceston and a good friend of mine who worked
at AFL Taz at the time contacted me and he said, look,
we've got a carnival in Launceston. At the time I
was managing a commercial laundry and he said, is there
any chance you could launder the jumpers for us? I
sort of got there and said, look, I'm happy to
do it. I'll do it as a sponsorship. So more
than happy to support the carnival. And then, um, that
person got there and said, well, if you're going to

(15:50):
be doing that, would you be interested in coming on
board as an assistant coach? And I said, oh yeah,
I'd love to. Maybe to do that. I'll take a
week off work and come down and help out. And
from there, as I say, that was the first year.
So I came along as an assistant coach, and then
the following year I took up the coaching role. So
as I say, other than Covid, I've coached for five
carnivals now. Covid interrupted us for two years, which was
disappointing because we felt as though we were building a

(16:10):
little bit there, but Covid sort of provided a little
bit of a hiccup, but we certainly rebounded out of
the Covid break and really set up a strong footy program.

S1 (16:17):
I guess you talked about the respect both ways, which
is really important, the clubs being inclusive, which is really important.
What about just in general terms, getting a bit of
an idea of coaching athletes with disabilities? They're athletes first
and foremost, but they do have a disability. Have you
kind of specialized in that area or.

S4 (16:31):
I've certainly coached for a long time in football. I
think coaching now is relationship building, relationship management and understanding
your athletes. And I think regardless of where you coach
and what level that you coach, I think it's an
important skill that you need to develop. I'm pretty big
with developing the relationships with the athletes at times. Do
we have some disagreements? disagreement. Yes, but as I say,
I think it's showing the maturity that we can actually,

(16:51):
you know, work through any issues that we're experiencing. I
think this carnival was probably our most successful as far
as athlete engagement, athlete enjoyment. Our accommodation where we stayed
was fantastic. We had great rehab facilities, so the athletes
really bought into what they needed to do for the week.
It's a critical part of going away and just managing
those relationships.

S1 (17:10):
It's a great point. You talk about rehabilitation etc. because,
I mean, that's part of it. The athletes feel like
we're elite athletes. We're being treated well. You know, there's
got to be a good thing as far as their
output goes as well.

S4 (17:20):
Oh it is. We were lucky we had a pool
where we stayed. We had one of our travelling support
staff actually does some athlete rehabilitation as part of his role.
So he actually took recovery sessions for us in the pool.
And we had the gym upstairs with massage chairs, and
I think the athletes were really spoilt for the capacity
to play the game. But once we got back to
the facility, it was what do we need to do

(17:41):
to make sure that we manage the physical side of
things so that we know that we've got more games tomorrow.
How do we prepare ourselves to be the best for
that next game.

S1 (17:48):
There are a couple of cheeky ones before you go
and appreciate your time. Mr. Tassie team have a nickname.
You probably know where I'm going with this.

S4 (17:54):
They certainly are the devil. We certainly are the devils.
And look, we've had some fantastic support. It was really
good before we went into the grand final. We got
so many messages from home, from people involved with the
Tassie Devils footy club, from people involved with AFL clubs
on the mainland. It was really good and we played
those for a lot of the athletes. The support that
we got from home was was second to none.

S1 (18:14):
That's fantastic, isn't it? And as I know you work
in the area of football, what about an AFL team?
Just my reading of it. And remember I'm in South Australia,
the team you've beaten the grand final, by the way.
It looks like most people want a team. But the
stadiums the contentious issue. Would that be a fair reading?

S4 (18:30):
I would say so. I think there are still as
awaited numbers for people also supporting the stadium. It'd be
great if it was 100% being support, but as I say,
people have their right to their opinions. But I'm well
and truly in the camp that I think Tasmania deserves
a team. I think a stadium would be really good
for the state and for football generally.

S1 (18:46):
Yeah. I mean, I guess it's kind of an investment,
isn't it? And, you know, these guys that played with
you last week, I mean, wouldn't it be great if
they had a chance to play an exhibition match or
play a match at that stadium in, you know, 2030
or 2032 or something?

S3 (18:58):
Correct?

S4 (18:58):
And look, I can reflect going to the Adelaide Oval
or I'm probably showing my age a little bit, but
going to the Adelaide Oval to watch cricket back in
around about the late 80s, I think it was. And
I went over to the Adelaide Oval a couple of
years ago to watch an AFL game. I could not
believe the transformation of that whole precinct in Adelaide, and
for Tasmanians that may or may not have had the
opportunity to go to South Australia to look at the

(19:20):
facilities over there, I think we're crying out for it
in Tasmania.

S1 (19:22):
While I was here, obviously during that time, and there
was so much angst about the amount of money that
was being put into it. But today, ten years later,
no one mentions it because it kind of irrelevant being
so successful.

S4 (19:32):
Yeah, one thing I probably haven't touched on is one
of my highlights out of the carnival is the relationships
that you build. I've been involved in the carnival now
for a number of years, and so the relationships with players,
coaches and administrators from the other states. In particular, I
formed many wonderful friendships and I'd like to just reflect
on there's a couple in South Australia, so you're obviously
over there. So Stevie Hall has been a long time

(19:53):
player for South Australia. And Stevie, we caught up after
the grand final and he announced his retirement to Stevie.
He's been a great contributor to our game and so
I certainly wished him all the best. And to, um,
to the South Australian captain who is just an elite
footballer and Zach George Dent. So once again, really good
relationship that I've built with Zach over the years. And

(20:13):
I cheekily sometimes say that I wish he could play
in our jumper. I gave him a jumper after the
carnival this year. It has your jumper and said, look,
if you put it on you never think it's okay. Yeah,
but I think that's an important part of our whole carnival.
I know that there was a post that was put
up on social media recently of after the grand final,
with the two teams actually forming a circle in the
middle of the ground, and the compliments that were paid
to both teams to each other, you know, it's you

(20:34):
go out, you have a game of football, football's the game.
It's a game that we want to enjoy. Unfortunately, there's
sometimes there's winners and losers, but I think more importantly
it's the really positive relationships you are able to build
out of those games.

S1 (20:45):
Echo your sentiments about Zach. Wonderful basketball as well. So
that's great to hear that. And yes, Stevie Hall, we
spoke to Stevie as well. So good to catch up
with a couple of players that we've heard of as well. Hey, congratulations.
Well done. You sound like a really good guy and well,
I know I didn't plan the game and I didn't
personally lose, but it sounds like it went to a
good winner. And you've been very humble and gracious. So
well done on that. Enjoyed the moment and thanks for

(21:07):
speaking to us.

S3 (21:08):
Beautiful. Thank you very much.

S1 (21:09):
It's the Darren gear there. Darren is the coach of
the Tasmanian team who won the AFL Inclusion Championships in
Victoria last week, brought under Darren and the Tasmanian team.

S5 (21:20):
Hi, I'm Inga McKenna, a member of the Australian Women's
blind cricket team. And you're listening to Leisure link with
Peter Greco on the Vision Australia radio network.

S1 (21:31):
Let's find out how our South Australian team went in
the AFL Wheelchair Nationals in Victoria last week and catch
up with, I think, the best and fairest from this
year anyway in the local competition, Trevor. Trevor. Great to
catch up again. Thanks for your time.

S6 (21:44):
Good to talk to you, Peter.

S1 (21:45):
How did it all go? Well, obviously, uh, national championships, uh,
all the teams there are pretty hot competition.

S3 (21:51):
It was very hot.

S6 (21:52):
Competition, uh, with the wheelchair boys and the inclusive. Yeah, well,
the wheelchair boy, we won our first seven minor round games,
including beating the vics by. I think it was about
40 points. Oh, we played WA in the semifinal on
Wednesday morning. Beat them. So that was eight games straight.
But unfortunately it just fell at the last hurdle against
the vics again in the grand final. But all in

(22:14):
all it was a pretty good effort.

S1 (22:16):
Were they, uh, foxy in the one round match? Trev?

S6 (22:19):
Uh, no, I don't think they were. I think they
were stunned at how well we moved the ball and
how quick we were. We were moving our chairs. They
made some changes in the grand final and, uh, switched
their players around a little bit. And, uh, and it
was only ever a couple of goals either way right
throughout the match. So it could have gone anyway, we
had a couple of bad bounces of the ball, You
know the footballs, right, Peter?

S1 (22:41):
Yeah.

S6 (22:42):
The funny old ball. Sometimes it'll go with you and
sometimes it will go against you.

S1 (22:45):
So it doesn't matter what sport you're playing in or
what sort of football it is, the ball can bounce
a bit oddly. And as you say, if you're on
the wrong side or right side, it can make a
huge difference.

S6 (22:56):
Yeah, and it did in the last, probably the last
two minutes, I'd say we had a couple of bounces
of the ball didn't quite go our way. But that
sport isn't it Peter. We had a couple guys that
were there first time there. They all did very well.
They all represented the state very, very well.

S1 (23:12):
What about as far as some of the players went? Any.
Who'd you like to sort of single out as far
as mentioning names went, or people who might have been
recognized for the week's competition?

S6 (23:21):
We did have some standouts this year. We had Stuart
Webster from Central District Football Club, who played his whole
time up forward, and I think Dewey in the nine games,
I think he got 50 odd goals or more somewhere
around there. So he had an excellent Tournament. This is
his second time he's represented the state and you can
see the improvement in him. Uh, he obviously was our

(23:44):
best player, was awarded the MVP for South Australia. And
he also made the all Australian team. Young Cooper was
another one. Cooper who is about to turn 18 next month.
In fact, Cooper's gone over to Japan to represent the,
I think, the under 23 Australian side in wheelchair basketball. Yeah.
So he's fairly talented as you can imagine. He won
the RFL Award and also made all Australians. So on

(24:07):
the whole I think we did the fake crowd really.
And look, it's hard to single out players like that
because I think everybody played their part at some stage
or another for the whole, the whole nine games. And
there is another guy, uh, young Sean Whitbread from Centrals,
his first time away, and he did a great job.
So yeah, for his first come away it was excellent

(24:28):
work by young Sean.

S1 (24:29):
So it sounds like the Central Bulldogs were well represented Trevor.

S6 (24:34):
They were and they the both those boys should be
proud of themselves for what they produced over those eight games.
In fact, the whole team can hold their head high.
We'll just a bit unlucky on grand final day, but
unfortunately that's the way the ball bounces. Peter.

S1 (24:47):
It's one of the great things about Aussie Rules, isn't it,
that you have a grand final. If it was English
Premier League soccer, we probably would have been crowned after
round seven. But that's the way it goes. As you say.

S6 (24:57):
That would have been handy, wouldn't it? What about what
he had for the boys? They only lost one minor
round game. End up playing Tassie again in the grand final. Unfortunately.
Went down to Tassie again this year. But again they
can hold their heads high. They did a wonderful job.

S1 (25:13):
So Kevin, what's the week's competition like? As you say,
you got the athletes, the inclusive league and then you've
got the AFL wheelchair league. What's it kind of all like? Uh,
all of you kind of playing together. Obviously you don't
play at the same time or at the same venue,
but you know, kind of football's the winner.

S4 (25:28):
Absolutely.

S6 (25:29):
And this is the second year that we've travelled with
the Inclusive Boy. Uh, my first year we didn't travel
with him, which was 2022. Last year we traveled with
him for the first time and it was it was
a wonderful experience. They're a great group of lads. They
would get to our games whenever possible, support us like
they did this year and vice versa. We would go
down to the Oval, which is pretty close to where

(25:51):
we play, like you can will, you can. We'll walk
here in a couple of minutes. So, uh, the camaraderie
between the two, the two teams is, is something to behold.
It really makes it worthwhile.

S1 (26:01):
What about the other states? So most states represented and
I guess, you know, at different levels of, um, sort
of achievement as far as their progress goes.

S6 (26:09):
Yeah. Look, we have come a long way, Cathy, are
always strong. Northern territory would be, uh, they struggled a bit,
but even they did improve from last season as well.
So you can see the competition rising again. And that's
quite evident with the vics. Okay. They took it out
for the fourth year but it was only 11 points.
So those gaps are are closing. So. Yep.

S1 (26:33):
And and and support from the AFL in general. I
mean we've heard about the SANFL and how well they
support the competition here in South Australia. Seems like on
a national basis the AFL support is pretty strong as well.

S6 (26:45):
It is with their support and obviously the support of
the sponsors such as Toyota. It gets a bit of
press obviously where where we were in Melbourne. So it
was well representative and the AFL did it again, did
a very good job. Well, um.

S1 (26:59):
And I guess particularly in this day and age, Trevor,
with social media being so big, it's kind of cool
when the social media gets a good airing as far
as the athletes with disabilities go across the board. It's
a great way to get the message across to the
broader public. And and maybe people who, you know, follow
the AFL but don't necessarily know about the other layers

(27:19):
of competition that's around for people to try and play.

S6 (27:22):
And that that would be true. Peter. We come across from, uh,
Victorian people that asked us what we were doing there
because we obviously all had our state gear on. Yeah.
And when we said we're here representing South Australia in
the wheelchair football division. If AFL championships that sort of
look to you a bit dumbfounded. Never heard of it.
So there's a lot of people that still haven't heard
of it, but it's becoming more and more obvious to

(27:44):
the general public. I think so, and it gets bigger
and bigger every year.

S1 (27:48):
Well, it's a sport that's come come from kind of
zero to this point reasonably quickly, hasn't it? It wasn't
that long ago that it didn't exist. And yeah, they
were still sort of nutting out the rules and different
states of playing in a different way. But it's kind
of come together really well in a short period of time.

S6 (28:03):
Well, 2016, it was invented here in Adelaide by, by
RAF personnel.

S1 (28:08):
Yeah.

S6 (28:09):
And that's where it grew from. Obviously we won the
first four state championship and we had Covid that wiped
it out for a few years. We didn't come back
till 2022. And the vics have pretty much been on the,
you know on the board at four in a row now.
But like I said, the gap is closing and all
states are becoming stronger and becoming more aware of, you know,

(28:29):
of what's happening and how to how to get their
players up to speed.

S1 (28:32):
And you learned about the you talked about the the services,
the return services, that that's where a lot of this
stuff comes from. And also, I guess like a, a
bit of a spin off from the Invictus Games.

S6 (28:43):
Well it is. Yeah, exactly. Exactly right. It's another division of,
you know, of a wheelchair sport that's available to all
to almost anybody really. So you, you can play it
as an able bodied person. In fact, there are a
number of able bodied players in most teams. We had
one Chris Simpson from Norwood. He's an able bodied five pointer.
So yeah, you can play it and age wise you

(29:06):
can you can compete quite well if you if you
can move your chair.

S1 (29:10):
Yeah. And I guess keep yourself reasonably fit as well.

S6 (29:13):
Yeah I suppose that's the key to it. Um, I mean,
I'm just doing 65 so I can I don't move
as quick as the others, obviously, but it's not always
a matter about moving quick. It's a matter about where
to place your chair and when to do it.

S1 (29:25):
Yeah, that's kind of football, isn't it? It's the speed
of the brain is one of the speed of the
the legs or arms or whatever the wheels.

S6 (29:33):
Correct? Yeah. You can be the fastest player there, but
if you can't put yourself in the right position at
the right time.

S1 (29:38):
Yeah, it makes a bit difficult. Hey, Trev, just before
you go, we had someone ask us last time we spoke.
Are you related to Bruce Jarrett that played for Stuart?

S6 (29:47):
I believe we are related somewhere along the line, but
I don't know where.

S1 (29:51):
Okay.

S6 (29:52):
I believe he could be a second cousin or. I
don't really know, but I've. I've heard through the grapevine
that we are related somewhere along the line. Um, most
Jarrett that are spelt the same are related somewhere along
the line.

S1 (30:05):
So being a port support, he was the bane of
port supporters lives for a number of years in those
halcyon days of Stuart. So, uh. Yeah, that's the kind
of thing. All right. Hey, Trev, great to catch up.
Thanks for sharing that. So, uh, Victoria taking it out,
South Australia run us up a very successful carnival. We
appreciate you spending some time with us.

S6 (30:26):
You're always welcome, Peter. Like I said, if we can
get this out to as many people as we can
and try to encourage anybody, male or female, any age
group doesn't really matter. If you want to come and
have a go. Get in touch with the NFL and
they would be glad to try and get you in
a chair and get you playing.

S1 (30:45):
Yeah, we'll put those details up on our show notes.
It's just NFL.com. Uh, and uh, people like Nathan Pepper
will be great to support Trev. Good luck. Thanks for
speaking to us this week again.

S6 (30:54):
I'm sure Nathan Pepper is the man.

S1 (30:57):
Peter okay. The one of the South Australian players they're
coming back with uh, with a runners up medal after
the national inclusion carnival through AFL wheelchair in Victoria last week.
You're in elite company listening to Leslie here on Vision
Australia Radio, via Radio Digital, via Radio.com and through the

(31:20):
TuneIn radio app. Let's go right into the nerve center
of the academy and catch up with our resident physiotherapist,
Jose Marchetti. Chelsea, always great to catch up. Thanks for

(31:40):
your time.

S5 (31:41):
Thanks, Peter. Another months gone by. It's great to have
a chat again.

S1 (31:45):
It's terrific. Yeah, well look I might have missed our
early catch so wide. How did you set up the academy?
Because what we're going to talk about today is, I guess,
how things have changed or adjusted adapted in that time.

S2 (31:55):
It's really good to have a bit of a reflection because.

S7 (31:57):
I started Philippa Academy in June 2023. So I started
the Academy because I was working in the paediatric space
as a physio, and I was doing a lot of hydrotherapy,
and what I found was there wasn't really somewhere for
children to go. Once they'd done a block of 1
to 1 hydrotherapy with a physio and a lot of

(32:19):
the options that were available were either just standard swim
school opportunities that were available in the community, or they
had some other kind of options that were there and
which we did try. But I often found longer term
it was really difficult for kids to stay in those
services and they'd end up coming back. So the academy
was based around having two kids in a group with

(32:41):
a physio and pulling a bit more focus towards swimming,
as well as their general physical development. So it was
encompassing functional elements of the water, like swimming, and then
also still building on their physio goals. And that seemed
to be a really big gap in the industry that
needed to be filled. And since then we've kind of
expanded our services and we've gone 1 to 1 and

(33:02):
we've gone 1 to 2, and we've got a few
different things in the mix over the last few years
as we've been building, and now we have over nine
pools that we use across Adelaide and 250 kids in
our program. So yeah, big growth and really great to see.

S1 (33:18):
Because you were really focusing on kids with disabilities. That
was kind of your focus, wasn't it?

S7 (33:22):
It was. And we have found, though, Peter, that we've
had a few children on the program that don't necessarily
have disability but may not necessarily enjoy or fit a
swim school model. So that's been a really interesting thing
that we found through the program. It's not majority of
what we see, but there are a few kids that
do that in our program that have really grown and
done well with that. So that's just something to also

(33:43):
add in into our services and what we're doing.

S1 (33:45):
I guess we're talking about disability sort of overarching thing.
So it might be physical, it might be intellectual, might
be youngsters living with autism.

S7 (33:54):
Yeah, absolutely. All those things Peter. So we generally will
see a lot of children on the autism spectrum. We
will see a lot of children with cerebral palsy, a
lot of children that might have like a rare genetic
condition and therefore may experience low muscle tone or gross
motor delays. So they're kind of majority of what we see.
We do have some kids that physical impairments can be
quite limiting. And therefore the waters are really great space

(34:17):
for them to be able to move and stretch in
the pool. So children that might spend a majority of
their time in a wheelchair. They do see a broad
spectrum of kids with various disabilities and needs in our program,
which has been really good to see and been really
good to be able to give every child something that
they enjoy.

S1 (34:34):
So you've kind of touched on how it's changed or
expanded or developed over the time. So what are some
of the things that you've learned? I guess, from a
professional point of view, how you might approach things two
and a half, three years later compared to when you
set out? You've probably got these ideas in mind and think,
we'll do it this way. And then, of course, being
the person you are, you've got to be agile and
flexible to kind of move with what you're learning as well.

S7 (34:54):
Absolutely. Yeah. One of the things that we learned early
on was we were only doing groups when we started,
so we'd have two kids in a class, and the
way we kind of would set it up would be
a parent would ring and they'd give us a bit
of a spill about their child and what their child needed,
and then we'd kind of just put them in the
time and spot that would suit the parent. And the
issue with that was they might be paired with a

(35:16):
child that's completely different. And that made it really difficult
for the therapist to be able to help both children.
It also meant that some children that we got may
not have been able to be in a group. So
one of the things that we kind of initiated last
year was initial assessments. So now every child that comes
on our program has to have an initial assessment, but
that's done by myself and one of my senior physios.

(35:37):
And from there we actually triage the kids into what
the best service would be for them. And that's been
really good because we already know what kids are in
what spots, and then we know we can say, oh,
I've seen this kid. They'll go really well with that
child and they'll work really well together. And that's allowed
us to be able to give the kids the best
chance at the program and what they can do in
the program, versus just trying to assume and work out

(36:00):
where kids might go based on age, which we know
doesn't work, especially with these children, because they all have
different needs and different abilities. And it also creates a
really good environment for them socially, because they will be
able to be with a child that might be on
a similar intellectual age or physical age, and therefore they
can build their social skills together. They get to see
other kids that might have similar troubles with things to them,

(36:23):
versus being in a class with four other kids that
they're struggling to communicate with. So that's been a really
big change that we made, and that's been really positive
for all of our students in the program.

S1 (36:33):
Because I guess people have got limited time. I mean,
a session goes for X amount of minutes. You want
to make the most of that time rather than, you know,
people are uncomfortable or not getting the most out of it,
then no one wins in a situation like that.

S7 (36:44):
Yeah, and it just means we can't give the kids
the best out of this. And it lets us be
up front with the parents as well, because we kind
of have an idea of where they want to go,
what times and days suit them. So we can kind
of say, we might have this and we might have that,
but it's pending the assessment. And then it really gives
the parents an understanding of how much we really care
about the kids from a clinical point of view, and

(37:05):
making sure that we can really make that half an
hour or 45 minute session, the most productive session for
them and the best use of their time.

S1 (37:12):
Because what you do with the parents, well, what you
do with them. Can they kind of hang around? Did
they go home or did they go? Do have a
coffee or is it again individualized?

S7 (37:21):
We do ask all parents or carers that bring the
children to sessions to be poolside. And that's because we
might have an instance where the child might need to
go to the toilet, in an instance where something might
happen to the child in the water, and we really
need the parents on deck to kind of make sure
that we can communicate with them. Is this normal or
is this not? Can you help them get out and
go to the loo? Those sorts of things some parents

(37:41):
might just say early on, they'll drop the kid off
to the pool and might go to the cafe in
the pool and get a coffee and come and sit down,
and that's fine. But, you know, we do ask that
they stay because it is really important for us and
the child's safety as well.

S1 (37:53):
And I guess parents can speak for themselves, of course,
but the change that they see in their child over
a period of time must be quite overwhelming. And maybe
a few tears as to how kids can develop.

S7 (38:02):
We have had a few tears over the last few years, Peter.
Happy tears for sure. I do actually have a bit
of a story. We had Claire Clutterham, who is the
federal member.

S1 (38:13):
Oh yeah.

S7 (38:14):
Yeah. She actually came and watched a session with one
of our students, Lucas at the Arc. Lucas has autism
and he's non-verbal and I see Lucas every fortnight and
it was really funny. He must have known that someone
special was coming to watch because he was kicking for
the very first time in the pool, and his mum

(38:34):
was just sitting there in absolute tears because she just
never thought that he'd be able to get the planning
and the physical ability to kick on his own. So
that was just really beautiful to be a part of
and to see. And we do get that a lot,
especially when kids doggy paddle for the first time. They
understand reaching for the wall, like some of the parents

(38:55):
that we see, just never thought that could be possible.
So being able to see that over the last couple
of years has been really rewarding and has really made
all that hard work creating the business really worthwhile.

S1 (39:06):
Also, you can write a letter or send an email
to Claire or any member of Parliament and say the
sort of stuff, but when they see it with their
own eyes and see the response from the parent. You
can't put that into words.

S7 (39:17):
Absolutely. And it was definitely so worthwhile for her to
come down and see it, because she just was so
moved by it. She ended up talking about it in
Parliament a couple of weeks later. I saw her the
other weekend and she was just so involved and so
wanting to do as much as she can for us
in the community. So that's just been a really good

(39:37):
connection to have and a really positive thing for our service.
So yeah, we're really grateful to her for her support.

S1 (39:43):
And other things along those lines is I mean, there's
so much money that goes into the NDIS and discussion
for another time, whether it's good, bad or indifferent as
to how it's spent. But there's a lot of money
that is allocated to the NDIS and when they see
results like this, they say, well, that program over there
or that child over there is really benefiting from it.
So it's a whole different complexion to the NDIS discussion.

S7 (40:04):
Yeah. And I think that's been something that I've been learning,
doing the service. And with all these discussions around the
NDIS and what the NDIS is beneficial for and the
funding that goes in and those sorts of things, like
we've had to kind of adapt as a business and
make sure that we're obviously being compliant with all their
guidelines and then also adhering to their funding structures and
things like that. And one of the things that I've

(40:25):
been learning is trying to explain to them and to
the Ndia why what we're doing is really important. Because
like you said, Peter, it's one of those things you
have to see. And it is quite difficult for the
planners and whoever's in charge of children's funding to see
what the impact is because they're not watching it. So
having to really understand and learn the report writing side

(40:45):
of doing that, to try and make sure the right
language is being used to express the importance of why
doing this is important for the child in other areas
of their life, and differentiating that from swimming lessons and
then teaching that to my staff as well, and a
different form of physio and trying to kind of say, look,
I know that we learn in physio, you've got to
do x, y, z. But when we're doing this we

(41:05):
actually need to think about this activity can make this
child do this in the land environment. So that's been
a really big learning for me. And all my staff is.
That's really great that you want your child to swim
and that's awesome. But in this one exercise that we
can get them to do of swimming, how does that
actually benefit them functionally in all aspects of their life?
Because that's what the NDIS is here for. It's to

(41:27):
help them be independent. So that's a really big push
that we've made, and I think that's why we've had
such good success with all our students, because we're trying
to give them a holistic approach to their hydro, and
that's worked really well for us so far. It makes
it really easy for us to be able to explain
that to government bodies like Claire and the Ndia. Then
they're happy to fund it because they know that that's

(41:48):
going to help that child in the long term. It's
going to help them at school be able to focus
and follow instructions or stat blocks, because that activity that
they're trying to do in class, we were able to
do with them in the pool because they were more regulated,
and therefore they can now do that activity at school,
or they can sit at school for a whole day
instead of for sleep at lunch. So there are a
lot of things that do impacts them on a broader scale.

(42:10):
So that's been really important for us and a really
big message that we like to convey early on to
all our parents.

S1 (42:16):
Well, you've conveyed it very well to our listener this afternoon.
Thank you so much for that, Chelsea. Now, if people
want to find out more, maybe they've got a child
that they think this might be something that my child
can benefit from as well. How can they get in touch?

S7 (42:27):
They can hop on our website w-w-w-what academy.com. Or you
can email us at academy.com.

S1 (42:36):
Alright, all those details up there Shownotes Chelsea. We'll catch
up next month. All being well, hopefully you'll be with
us in December.

S7 (42:42):
Yes, I'll be with you in December. Peter. Absolutely. We'll
definitely catch up before the end of the year.

S1 (42:47):
We hope your reindeer ears on I will.

S7 (42:49):
Am I right? No.

S1 (42:51):
Thanks.

S7 (42:52):
Thanks, Peter.

S1 (42:53):
Chelsea Carey there from the Academy. And I'm sure you
would have learnt a lot from that. And good to
know that that program like that is being recognised by
federal politicians and the Ndia. Stephanie Saunders is the mother
of six, a nurse, an interest in health and well-being,

(43:16):
and steps on the line. Steph, great to meet you.
Thanks for your time.

S8 (43:19):
Thank you for having me.

S1 (43:20):
How are you feeling?

S8 (43:21):
I'm good, I'm good. I actually feel great. The sun's
out and. Yeah, I had a great day today.

S1 (43:26):
Terrific. Well, tell us a bit about your story. In
a sense, uh, you are talking to us because you
feel there might be people that might be low in
a a couple of nutrients that might not know about it.

S8 (43:37):
Yes. Um, I myself suffered from low vitamin D and
low iron. Um, but I went for months and months
and months feeling lethargic, irritable, moody. And I just put
it down to being a busy mum, like I was
working all the time. Obviously you've got kids, so you're
running around after them after school and ignored the symptoms.

(44:00):
It's pretty easy to do as well to put everyone
else first and not really listen to your body. But yeah,
I discovered.

S2 (44:08):
That I.

S8 (44:08):
Had these deficiencies with a touch bio, um, test.

S1 (44:13):
There's a sort of thing that, you know, the symptoms
you described are fairly sort of generic. I guess it
could be a lot of things. What do you say?
I'm busy. I don't get enough sleep. I don't eat well.
All that sort of things kind of add to it.
But you tested yourself and found out that this was
the case, that you were deficient.

S7 (44:29):
Yes, that's exactly right.

S8 (44:30):
I think it was like more the brain fog that
wasn't lifting as well. So like I did, ignore the symptoms.
Just thought that it was, you know, being tired and
not sleeping properly. But, um, yeah, definitely helped to check.

S1 (44:44):
Yeah. The, the two, uh, nutrients that we're talking about
in particular are vitamin D and iron, correct?

S7 (44:50):
Yes.

S1 (44:51):
Now, I guess, you know, sort of towards the end
of the year. But it's been a pretty cold, wet
winter in parts of Australia, so maybe we haven't got
out much in the sun. So that could be one
reason why vitamin D might be low.

S8 (45:02):
Yes, 100%. Uh, vitamin D like we're.

S7 (45:05):
Taught to slip, slop.

S5 (45:07):
Slap.

S7 (45:07):
Which is.

S8 (45:08):
Very important. The sun's very harsh in Australia, and skin
cancer is a huge problem. But because we're just so
sun smart, we're lacking that important vitamin D that we
get from the sun. And lots of people that work
indoors as well are at risk of low vitamin D.

S1 (45:25):
Of course, if we get out a little bit in
the summer and and maybe build up a bit, but
then we got next winter to get through as well.
What about iron? What's the sort of causes maybe for
low iron?

S8 (45:35):
Low iron is very common in women and teenage girls
simply because we menstruate every month. It can also be
due to poor diet because obviously there are really iron
rich foods. So there's I guess if you're feeling the
same sort of symptoms as per the the vitamin D,

(45:57):
but if you're feeling like lethargic, you've got no energy
and you've got like I was getting sick frequently and
I felt like my immune system was suppressed. And that
is also another symptom of iron deficiency.

S1 (46:12):
I think like picking up colds and flus or maybe
not getting out as well as you might like.

S8 (46:16):
Yeah, exactly.

S1 (46:18):
And I guess you've got six kids in the house. So, Steph,
you know, that always brings home something in more ways
than one.

S8 (46:25):
That's it. I like after supplementing. You just feel great though.
But it was it's just like knowing what the deficiency
is like, being able to be in control and pick
up a test and discover these deficiencies.

S1 (46:40):
And I know you're a nurse by profession, if you like.
What about the the GP, the the conventional doctor? Would
they be aware of this? I guess they can test
for it as well. But you know, a lot of
people are very reluctant to go to the doctor for
all sorts of reasons.

S2 (46:54):
That's right.

S8 (46:54):
The GP is very, very important. You still, even if
you do get the test off the shelf and then
you test and you find that you are deficient. The
next port of call would be the GP for further
testing and and for a treatment plan. Or you can
also call there's like a touch bio helpline and they
can point you in the right direction as well. But
yeah GPS are very important. But like as you know

(47:17):
they're hard to get into. And myself as you know
I work long hours and I have made appointments with
GPS and then had to stay back at work. So
like it's hard to get in.

S1 (47:30):
Yeah. And of course, yeah. Despite the political argument, sometimes
if they don't bulk Bill, it can be another expense
or as you say, you might say, well my my
child's got to go first and I might go next
week when we've got a bit more time or a
bit more money. And that's not a good way around it.

S8 (47:46):
Yeah, exactly, exactly.

S1 (47:48):
They can have a conventional blood test, I guess, to
test for iron and iron, but just about the the
test that you're talking about, these are kind of do
it at home tests.

S8 (47:56):
Yes. So uh, very similar to a rat test. But this.

S7 (48:02):
Is.

S8 (48:02):
A quick finger prick on your finger. Uh, easy to
draw a little bit of blood and stick it in
the cassette. And ten minutes later you have the results.

S1 (48:10):
And is it one drop for both the iron and
vitamin D, or one for each one for each nutrient?

S8 (48:16):
So there are two separate tests.

S1 (48:19):
Okay. And what about its accuracy? I mean, I guess
you're speaking on their behalf. They probably say it's pretty accurate,
but what about in terms of, I guess, the testing
to show that the test is accurate?

S8 (48:30):
I it is around 95% accurate. So. Yeah. But look,
I can't really comment on the manufacturer's details, but um,
all I can say is about 95% accurate.

S1 (48:42):
And what about in terms of the test itself that
you're talking about from, um, the organization you're talking about
will give you details before we wrap up. Um, does
it give you a reading or is it like the
the Covid test that it just comes up a different
color depending on whether you're okay or not.

S8 (48:59):
So it does give you a reading with the iron.
It gives you, uh, where you could be mild, moderate
or insufficient. And then vitamin D, I think it was
just a oh, don't quote me on it, but I
think it was deficient or not deficient. Fairly easy to read.
And they had instructions. And you can compare.

S1 (49:20):
I guess if you're not kind of happy or convinced
about the result, that's when certainly, uh, a trip to
the doctor could be a good thing.

S9 (49:28):
Of course.

S8 (49:29):
Yes, definitely.

S1 (49:30):
They said about supplementing. So tell us a bit more
about that. What have you done in that area?

S9 (49:34):
So with the vitamin.

S8 (49:35):
D I supplement with vitamin D and same with the iron. Um,
I wasn't deficient enough to need an iron infusion, but
also just making sure that my diet was rich in
vitamin D foods and also high iron as well. So
I eat lots of legumes and beans now. Uh, spinach.

(49:58):
I try and eat red meat twice a week. Um,
just things like that.

S1 (50:01):
So that's mainly for iron, those foods. What about in
the case of vitamin D? What are some of the
foods that are higher in vitamin D.

S9 (50:07):
Like.

S8 (50:08):
Salmon and tuna. Egg yolk. Yeah. Beef liver.

S1 (50:11):
As you said, if people are really low and I
guess they would be probably seeing a doctor if they
were that unwell, that you can't have both injections and
or injections for both vitamin D and iron.

S9 (50:22):
Correct. Yes.

S1 (50:23):
Yeah. And of course I've noticed on TV some of
the ads regarding iron and they can kind of, uh, be, uh,
resulting in constipation. I guess there's a bit of what,
trial and error with that, or there are certain iron
supplements that are better to take than others as far
as those impact goes.

S9 (50:39):
Yeah, yeah, it's.

S8 (50:41):
Dependent on the person. And also I guess with medical advice,
if you do have any issues with that, it's probably
best to talk to your GP.

S1 (50:48):
Alright. And then how long is it going to take
to get over it. Uh, well how how long, how
long do you have to be supplementing and maybe taking
a job before you kind of start to notice a
bit of difference.

S8 (50:59):
I started noticing a difference after about a month. Um,
I know if you have an iron infusion, it's pretty
much instant where you start to feel good. Um, yeah.
So it's just it's depending on the types of supplementation.
And if you're just choosing to supplement, like to, uh,
change your diet, then that can take a little bit
longer as well.

S1 (51:20):
And when you talk about feeling good or feeling better
was a lot of that that the sort of brain
fog that was lifting.

S8 (51:26):
Yes, definitely. I just had more clarity and I was
a lot happier as well.

S1 (51:32):
Yeah. And I guess that's probably important as well, isn't it?
Not probably. But it is important as well, because it's
that physical well-being, but also the emotional well-being that is
really critical too.

S9 (51:42):
That's right.

S8 (51:43):
If you don't feel well, like you're down in the dumps.

S1 (51:46):
What about fell asleep? Guys, you're a big, uh, person for, uh,
wanting a sleep to be included very much as far
as part of the regime goes.

S2 (51:55):
Yes, that's.

S8 (51:55):
Right. You do have to. Um, like I found I
was very irritable and not sleeping well because I was irritable.
But my sleep has improved a lot.

S1 (52:05):
Alright, well, it sounds like it's something that we should
all consider now. You said there's, uh, a website and
also a phone number if we wanted to find out more.
This is particularly about the the test that we can
do at home, isn't it?

S8 (52:16):
Yes. That's right. So the touch bio ferritin and vitamin
D test are available online and you can get them
from touch australia.com.au.

S1 (52:24):
Alright. Is there any need to uh can you get
it from a chemist or not?

S8 (52:28):
Yes you can. So you can get them from the supermarket.
Even you can uh, Coles and Woolworths I know, stock
them um, pharmacies or online.

S1 (52:37):
Well, you certainly sound, uh, bright and bubbly as far
as the areas are concerned. That's got to be a
good sign. Now, if people do want to find out more,
give us the website again and we'll put those details
up with our show notes. So the website is Australia.com.au. Terrific. Beth.
Good luck. Thanks for speaking to us. And obviously, you know,
it's very good of you to share a story like

(52:59):
that because sometimes, um, you know, sharing those stories have
not been. Well, uh, you know, it's been very personal.
So we appreciate you've made some time for us.

S8 (53:06):
Thank you so much, I appreciate it.

S1 (53:09):
The Stephanie Saunders, who's a nurse and also mother of
six and very much keen for health and wellness, and
maybe check out if you're a little bit low in
vitamin D on check it out. And from there obviously
your supplementation if that doesn't do the trick, obviously see
your GP.

S10 (53:30):
Come on in.

S11 (53:32):
We open our doors to people we trust and care about,
and for over 90 years, South Australians have been opening
their doors to Resthaven. In turn, we've been opening doors
to an easier, better life at home from personal care
to help with the shopping and social outings, you'll welcome
the care that Resthaven brings.

S1 (53:52):
Time to hear from our wonderful friends. Loyal friends from Resthaven.
We've been speaking to them for over 28 or 29
years under the spotlight this afternoon. This evening is Priscilla Dupree. Priscilla,
thank you for your time.

S12 (54:05):
Yeah, thank you for asking me. I'm looking forward to this.

S3 (54:09):
Okay.

S1 (54:10):
Alright. I'm sorry, just a little bit about your role
now you're involved with, um, diversity and inclusion. You're you're
the lead in this area at Resthaven.

S12 (54:18):
Yeah. So my role is a diversity and inclusion lead.
And basically the core from my role is that I'm
an access point for information, resources, advice, guidance, training, everything
to do with diversity here. And my role is across
well all the services. So community services, residential services, retirement

(54:43):
living and also I'm assisting the head office teams for
anything to do with diversity, all to promote inclusiveness in
our services, but also that for a workplace as well
for our staff.

S1 (54:58):
How much is that role changed over the years? I'm
thinking it's probably more important that people need to be
more aware of it now than ever before. Do you think?

S12 (55:07):
Yes. I'm working now for so well 19 years in HK,
a year in Australia and well, I've seen quite some
changes in that time. For example, if you look at
the clients and residents that we have, of course the
numbers have grown for, say Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

(55:27):
people and also from people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
So when I started with Resthaven, that's also a bit
of time ago, of 13 years now, Resthaven was one
of the first mainstream providers here in South Australia to
have a really dedicated role to focus on people from

(55:50):
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background and cold background. Cold
that stands for culturally and linguistically diverse communities and that role. Well. Yeah,
it's still there. I have the lead role now because
we think it's so important that everyone can access our services.

(56:10):
And if we talk about diversity, it's not just, let's
say people from Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander background or people
who are coming from overseas, it is the entire spectrum.
So all the different backgrounds people have, the situations they
are experienced or the situations they are in or their
lived experiences. It is very important for everyone to know

(56:34):
that everyone is unique, and it's really important for them
that they can access our services. So some people might
need some extra help in accessing our services. For example,
if people have some language barriers, we engage professional interpreters
for that or bilingual staff or we help people with, uh,

(56:57):
say sign language interpreters as well. Uh, we also have
the accessibility tool on our website, for example. And if
they are becoming a client or residence of us or
a staff member, that it's important for everyone to feel
welcome and that they can be their true self. And

(57:17):
so that's really the important message.

S1 (57:21):
And that's really important because obviously it's a big change
in a person's life if they go to particularly residential
aged care. So there's probably a lot of anxiety or
certainly a lot of anxiety about the fact that people
don't know what's ahead of you. You know, we're all
a bit uncertain about the future. So that would play
a very important role to make people feel comfortable.

S5 (57:43):
Yes.

S12 (57:43):
That's true.

S1 (57:44):
Just is about your staff as well. Of course we
do here virtually every day on the news how the
people coming in from overseas to work in aged care,
which is a great thing. But I guess, you know,
both the clients, your residents, the clients and also the
staff have to be kind of made aware of the
diverse backgrounds that everyone is sort of coming from and,

(58:06):
and coming together into.

S12 (58:08):
Yes, true. And in all, all the aged care providers
here in Australia, we have a large cohort of staff
coming from overseas. I'm one of them. And yeah, it's
really important because, for example, we see diversity as a
fact about who we are, all the different ways we

(58:30):
are coming together and inclusion. We see that as an
act on how we work together, that to make sure
that everyone feels respected and heard and safe. And if
we think about the staff And, um, yeah. And most
of them from cold background or culturally and linguistically diverse background. Yeah,

(58:51):
we we do. For example, and we just finished a project.
There was a two year project was called The Little Things,
and that was all about cross communication for our staff.
We did that in residential, uh, our residential sites just to, yeah,
train our staff to be. Yeah, more engaging with the

(59:14):
residents in having conversations with them because you have to understand,
if you're coming from overseas and you speak English, but
if you just arrived, it can be really hard to have,
especially those, well, say, a small talk. And it could
be that they're quite good in expressing the things that

(59:37):
they do, or if they help the the residents with
their personal care or with serving their food. But having
that chat, just that social chat, that can be a
bit hard because yeah, not everyone feels very confident in
speaking English. So that was part of our training as well.

(59:59):
And we could see some changes that staff felt a
bit more confident in having those little conversations and, and
especially those little things are very important for our residents now.

S1 (01:00:12):
Just even little things like body language. Priscilla, people maybe,
perhaps don't speak English as well as they'd like, but
I guess you could always read people's body language and
get a bit of an idea of what they're trying
to say, or if they're feeling uncomfortable, or indeed if
they're happy.

S12 (01:00:26):
Yes, true.

S1 (01:00:27):
The role of body language. I know you do have, um,
sites in some country areas as well, particularly say down in, uh,
Mount Gambier and Port Elliot. And I guess those residents there,
they're sort of needs or their backgrounds are also just
a little bit different from maybe those people in the
city or in the metropolitan area.

S12 (01:00:44):
Yes, true, because especially access to other services, and that
is really hard for people to get to. So we
will have to assist people more in those areas with
transport for example. And also if you need interpreters, their
interpreters here from Adelaide, they're not travelling all the way

(01:01:05):
to say Mount Gambier. So you have to find different
ways or have phone interpreters and sometimes, yeah, it's better
to have that interpreter is on site that you. Yeah.
So those are some extra barriers you have in regional areas.

S1 (01:01:25):
Must be a very satisfying job Priscilla though, because when
things are going well and people are happy and people
are feeling included, there must be very rewarding from your
personal point of view.

S12 (01:01:37):
Yes it is. Yes. Yeah. Especially I know what it
is to come from another country. And yeah. That you
feel welcome here. Mhm.

S1 (01:01:48):
I know for example, one of the things that you
do is uh, I mean just a little while ago
we had Diwali, a big festival in, in uh, Indian uh, culture.
And that was celebrated at your various sites.

S12 (01:02:00):
Yes. That is, uh, at all the sites. And every
year we have a resthaven, uh, calendar for significant days
and events. And it's mentioning all different important days for
different religious backgrounds and common celebrations as well. And every

(01:02:21):
site is encouraged to look at that calendar and see
what would fit their, uh, site and celebrate of acknowledge
those days.

S1 (01:02:31):
Was part of sort of the broader education, isn't it,
where every day we're learning something.

S12 (01:02:39):
Of course, we sponsor a lot of things as well.
For example, earlier this year, every year there are the
longest screens with First Nations films, and we were sponsor
for that as well. And also for the last well,
actually last weekend we were a co-sponsor for the Better
Together conference for the rainbow community. Yeah.

S1 (01:03:03):
Well, that that's kind of a diversity and inclusion in action,
isn't it? You you're you're putting your money. You're putting
your money where your where your. I label it as well.

S12 (01:03:13):
So that is also part of my role at building
and maintaining those partnerships with diverse communities and organizations.

S1 (01:03:21):
That we've learned over the years that you have residential services,
of course, community services as well. So that sort of
branches out into the community services that you provide as well,
that the diversity and inclusion.

S12 (01:03:31):
Yes, yes. That's all there. Yeah.

S1 (01:03:34):
Where are you from? Uh, Priscilla, may I ask, where
do you come from before coming to Australia?

S13 (01:03:38):
From the Netherlands.

S12 (01:03:40):
I am Dutch.

S1 (01:03:41):
Okay, well, I've got a very good football team, haven't they,
over the years. And hockey team that they're pretty good
at sport.

S12 (01:03:47):
Yeah.

S3 (01:03:49):
Uh.

S1 (01:03:49):
Alright. Well it's been good to talk to you. Thank
you for sharing. Just a little bit of a snapshot
of the sort of work that goes on. It's obviously really,
really important. And I guess particularly for people listening in
from diverse backgrounds, it's good to know about this. Like,
you know, as I said earlier, it's such a maze
to get through the aged care system. It's good to
know that, you know, organisations like Resthaven have got a program.

(01:04:11):
We've got an awareness out there that if they need
your services, then that they can be comfortable in the
fact that they're going to be catered for in that area.

S12 (01:04:18):
Yeah, true.

S1 (01:04:20):
Now, if people want to find out more, they can
get some information from your website.

S13 (01:04:24):
Yes, sure.

S12 (01:04:25):
Yep, yep. We have that in different languages. You can
choose the the Google Translate button, the language you want
to hear or see and also the accessibility tool.

S1 (01:04:36):
That the team has worked very hard on accessibility over
the years. I know they've they've spoken to me a
little bit about it, which has been great. So it's
you're walking the talk, as I like to say. Priscilla,
lovely to speak to you. Hopefully we can speak to
you again and thank you again for spending some time
with us today.

S13 (01:04:54):
Sure. Thank you.

S12 (01:04:55):
For having.

S13 (01:04:56):
Me.

S1 (01:04:57):
Priscilla Dupree there, who is the lead for diversity and
inclusion at Resthaven? Resthaven is the website. Uh, check out that.
And as always, the information up with our show notes.

S14 (01:05:10):
Hi, I'm Michael Roeger, Paralympic medallist, marathon athlete and multiple
world record holder. And you're listening to Measurlink with Peter
Greco on the Vision Australia radio network for the Adelaide Rep.

S1 (01:05:22):
They've always got something good happening and certainly sounds like
their next show is Let's Chat About It with the director,
Rose Fallon. Rose, great to meet you. Thanks for your time.

S15 (01:05:31):
Thank you for asking us to come along.

S1 (01:05:34):
The villain in the team. Uh, Dylan. Hi, Dylan. How
are you?

S16 (01:05:37):
I'm doing very well. Pleasure to be here.

S1 (01:05:39):
And, uh, the heroine, uh, TJ Baker. TJ, welcome. And
it must be nice to be loved by everyone.

S17 (01:05:46):
Uh, well, you know, doesn't inflate my ego too much,
I hope.

S1 (01:05:50):
Alright, first, a bit about the show, uh, adrift from
New York. Tell us a bit about it.

S15 (01:05:55):
It's a melodrama with all the ghosts. With the melodrama,
as in, the audience gets to boo the villain, cheer
the hero, sigh for the heroine and all of that
sort of stuff sing along. But it's about a city
slicker who comes down to the farm and is trying
to take advantage of the naive farm folk down on

(01:06:20):
the farm.

S1 (01:06:21):
Okay, now I read that you've kind of put your
slant on it. How does how do you go about
doing that?

S15 (01:06:27):
Well, I've chosen the music, so we've got a lot of, um,
1890s 1900s ish songs in their songs that most people
will know or have heard sometime in their life and
can sing along with. And they're very, very welcome to
sing along.

S1 (01:06:44):
Okay. You want to give us a couple of titles
that we might know?

S15 (01:06:46):
Oh, um. Bye bye, Blackbird. Let's all go to the
music hall. Uh, hello? Hello. Who's your lady friend? All
of those different kinds of, um, sort of burlesque types. Music.

S1 (01:07:01):
Now, Dylan, you're the villain. Uh, is that your natural state,
or have you had to sort of work on this?

S15 (01:07:05):
Yeah, it is boo boo.

S16 (01:07:07):
Yeah. I was picked up walking down the street attempting
to tie someone to the tram tracks.

S15 (01:07:12):
It is.

S16 (01:07:14):
No, it is. It is a rare pleasure for a
performer to come on stage and welcome the boos. Uh,
they're not booing because they dislike me. They're booing because
they love to hate me. It is very fun to
indulge that part of myself.

S1 (01:07:26):
I was going to say it's kind of cool, isn't it?
Because you're probably the better the reaction you get, the
the better it is for your role as your part
that you're playing.

S16 (01:07:35):
Oh, 100%. In a melodrama. We feed off that audience
energy like nobody's business.

S1 (01:07:39):
First, about your route to get here. I'm assuming you
had to go through auditions.

S16 (01:07:43):
Oh, yeah. We had an audition process for this. Uh,
I saw the role of the villain listed. This is
actually a new experience for me. I don't usually do
scripted theater, but I saw this role advertised, and I
thought it would be a fun thing to try and
play the bad guy. My background is in improvised theater,
so learning lines has been a fun and exciting experience

(01:08:05):
for me.

S1 (01:08:07):
Is there a secret to learning memorizing?

S16 (01:08:10):
The secret is to practice them over and over and over.
As it turns out.

S1 (01:08:14):
And you think you've got it pretty right? We open
on Thursday, so not far to go now.

S16 (01:08:18):
We will see how we are on Thursday night.

S1 (01:08:21):
Okay. Making no promises. Okay.

S18 (01:08:23):
What about. Very well.

S1 (01:08:25):
Alright. You're the director. You've got to say that. Otherwise
it reflects on you. Rose.

S15 (01:08:30):
True, true.

S1 (01:08:31):
Can you say. What about you? Tell us about your
role and then, um, say, uh, I guess the exact
opposite to, uh, to Dylan. So, um, what what sort
of crowd response are you looking for?

S17 (01:08:41):
Well, I think part of being the heroine in a
melodrama is preparing for the audience to judge every single
decision you make, because every decision you make is a
bad decision. My character, uh, is very naive, so sort
of makes every wrong decision all through the play until

(01:09:01):
the very, very end. So I'm sure the audience will
be sighing and telling me everything I do is a
bad idea, which is fun.

S1 (01:09:11):
Yeah. Don't give too much away. You nearly went too
far there. You nearly gave us the, uh, the, uh,
the sort of, uh, plot at the end, but, uh,
you just stopped in time. What about your role? And
what about as far as memorizing your lines a little
bit about your background?

S17 (01:09:24):
Well, I have been in the United States studying theater
for the past four years. So I have a lot
of experience memorizing lines, and I find plays like this
quite difficult to memorize at times, uh, because you sort
of have to rely on the other people to get
their lines so that you can get your lines.

S1 (01:09:46):
Yes, that's a good point, isn't it? Dylan, I guess,
you know, you can't know your lines, but you also
got to know when to when to say them.

S16 (01:09:53):
It's true. Like the the cues in this play, they're
pretty tight. And if you if you miss it, you know,
we have quite a patter going at quite a few points.
So there is a little bit of skill to it
I think.

S1 (01:10:03):
How do you do it. Is it kind of eye
contact as well as uh, you know, just sort of
sensing the body language. How do you kind of get
the timing right?

S15 (01:10:11):
Well, I think I, I've always said to the other
people in the play that they have to listen to
each other. You know, it's not no good knowing your
line and which line of yours is coming up next.
If you're not listening to what's being said and know
when to say your next line. Yeah. So it really
is important that the actors listen to each other, particularly

(01:10:32):
if something goes wrong on stage. It's live theatre and
who knows what could happen on the night. So you
have to really be listening to what's going on and
be ready to, um, you know, to adapt if you
need to.

S16 (01:10:45):
Something I've really enjoyed in the rehearsal process is getting
to know and understand the rhythms of my fellow actors,
so that I can tell when you know they're confident
and they're listening to what I'm saying, or when maybe
they're a little off and they need to pay a
bit more attention, be a bit more proactive. It's a
real energy keeping a ball in the air.

S1 (01:11:03):
Right, for that, wishing to kind of make light of it.
But I guess, you know, not everyone would know exactly
what's supposed to be said or how it's supposed to
be done. So, uh, if mistakes are made, probably a
very few, uh, percentage of the audience would actually. No.

S15 (01:11:17):
Absolutely not. Yeah. But that is another thing that I
have to remind the actors is that the audience don't
know their lines. lights. So as long as there's not
huge gaps where they absolutely freeze, they keep going. Then
you all will be well. But you know, it is
live theatre and stuff happens. You know, I've, I've known

(01:11:37):
live theatre shows and it will not happen in this show. Touchwood.
But I've known and love and and shows where scenery
has started falling. Um, you know, people have missed their
cues and, um, are not on stage when they should
be on stage. None of that will be happening in
the show because they will die afterwards if they do it.

S3 (01:11:58):
Yeah, well.

S16 (01:11:59):
I'm not afraid of the audience. Were afraid of Rose.

S1 (01:12:02):
I'm sorry about that. I was going to say. Dylan,
you'll be fine anyway. Because if you do improvise theatre,
you can improvise anyway.

S16 (01:12:07):
Well, that's it. I, you know, I'm confident without a script,
but Rose has been extremely clear that my words need
to be all those that were written down.

S1 (01:12:17):
The.

S16 (01:12:17):
Script.

S1 (01:12:18):
Tell us a bit about your opportunities in the US.
How did that come about?

S17 (01:12:20):
Well, I tried out for a field hockey scholarship, so
I'm not just doing theatre. I went on field hockey,
but the college I went to had a good theatre program.
So I, you know, stuck around for my four years
in my degree and then actually stuck around for an
extra year with an internship with the theatre to just

(01:12:41):
keep doing theatre.

S15 (01:12:42):
And we're very lucky because she actually has a very
good southern accent, because she's been. Where were you in, in.

S17 (01:12:49):
I was in Virginia. So in the southern part of America.

S15 (01:12:52):
So, yeah.

S17 (01:12:53):
Surrounded by the accent. Okay.

S1 (01:12:54):
Well, you said you haven't really got one at the moment, TJ,
which is very refreshing because often people sort of fly
into the US and then fly back out and they
come back with an accent. Aren't they Australians?

S17 (01:13:04):
Yeah. Well, I don't think I have an accent, but
my mother has confirmed that my accent has changed.

S1 (01:13:11):
Hey, without getting too controversial to say what you like, well,
what's it been like? Uh, when did you get back
to Australia? I'm just thinking the last year or so.
It's kind of been interesting if, uh, if that's one
word we could use. Have you been there recently or
have you been back a while?

S17 (01:13:26):
I got back in May. So I've been there very recently. It's.
You know, I had surrounded myself with a bunch of
really good and and kind people. So my experience in
the States was lovely.

S1 (01:13:39):
What about the general feeling as though that getting too
much off track and getting you into trouble? What about
the kind of, uh, general feeling from people? I mean,
here in Australia, there's, you know, I guess we're getting
sort of one side of it. Uh, any thoughts there? Uh,
people kind of a little bit on edge about how
things are going always.

S17 (01:13:57):
Yeah. I think there's a lot of trepidation at one.
Could be next. And what, um. What's happening? And I
just think, you know, like I said, surrounding myself with
good people. And I think that is, you know, sort
of the relief to that trepidation is being surrounded by
wonderful people. And, you know, I was doing theatre there

(01:14:18):
and that, you know, bringing joy to the people around
you by doing theatre with them and bringing joy to
an audience, by doing theatre is sort of relief to
all the fears and stuff that people may have.

S1 (01:14:30):
So you went for hockey. That's why you got the scholarship,
and then you kind of fell into theatre, or that
was kind of an add on. How did that all
play out?

S17 (01:14:37):
Well, hockey was always the, uh, sort of means to
an end. I've always wanted to do theatre, and I
wanted to go to the States to sort of get
a new experience, meet, meet people. Because theatre is all
about who you know. Um.

S3 (01:14:51):
So yeah.

S1 (01:14:51):
That's true.

S17 (01:14:52):
Um, yeah. Hockey has always been just for fun. So, uh,
it was really a means to an end to just
get to the states, meet cool people, and do theatre there.

S1 (01:15:01):
And what about your hockey, then? Was that kind of
on the back burner now?

S17 (01:15:05):
Definitely on the back burner. I didn't play this season,
but who knows. I have I have a bunch of
friends in hockey in Adelaide, so I might find myself
next year back on the field.

S1 (01:15:15):
So do you kind of aspire to play for the
Hockeyroos one day or that's not really on your dance card?

S17 (01:15:20):
No, I don't think I have what it takes to
to get that far.

S1 (01:15:25):
There was a bit about the setting of the show
and also the costumes, because I'm sure a lot of
people get along for that.

S15 (01:15:30):
Yes. Look, the costumes are fabulous. Um, we've been very
lucky in having Sandy Whitelaw as our costume lady, and
she has in her own collection the most fabulous dresses
for the 1890s that you would ever see. And they're
all absolutely, um, you know, uh, correct. For the period.

(01:15:51):
And they look stunning. So we were very lucky with that.
So it'd be very colorful and, uh, very, uh, dapper
for the men. And the the set is going to
be a bit different to your usual melodrama. I won't
say much better, but everyone should come and see it.

S1 (01:16:07):
Uh, we'll give details as to how people can book. Dylan,
when you put on the, uh, the garb of the
of the time, does it kind of help you get
into character?

S16 (01:16:14):
I tell you, as soon as I put on that cape.
And yes, there is a cape. I can feel my
inner villain rising out. It's a wonder I've got half
a mind to buy a cape or steal this one,
so I can just wear it walking down the street.
It does such things to your confidence.

S3 (01:16:30):
Oh, I'm sure it would.

S1 (01:16:32):
And what about for you, TJ?

S17 (01:16:33):
I have, uh, some absolutely beautiful dresses I wear in
this play, and we've just started sort of rehearsing in
our skirts every rehearsal. And it really does make a
difference to just, like, getting into the character and, you know,
it changes the way you walk and the way you stand.

S15 (01:16:50):
And especially when you've got a corset on.

S17 (01:16:53):
Yes, definitely that.

S15 (01:16:54):
It does change the way that you stand when you
are forced to wear a corset.

S1 (01:16:59):
Yeah, I'll take your word for that, right? I can't
say I've tried it myself, but, uh, I'm sure it would. Hey, Dylan.
So you saw an opportunity here and went from the
improvised theater to to this opportunity? You thought this would
be a good way to kind of personal growth?

S18 (01:17:13):
Uh, I think.

S16 (01:17:13):
That's a fair way to describe it. I've wanted to
extend myself, challenge myself by doing new things, but I
thought this would be a good step in the right direction.
I'm involved with On the Fly Impro here in Adelaide.
Adelaide's a school of theatrical improvisation. I've recently become artistic
director over there, so I'm heavily immersed in that world.
But in order to improvise well, you need to keep

(01:17:36):
feeding that with different experiences and engaging with different kinds
of art. And I see this as all part of
that big theatrical picture.

S1 (01:17:46):
Obviously, as far as the Adelaide Rep Theatre goes, it's
an amateur theatre, a very, very professional but amateur. What
about in the improvised theatre world? Can you make a living?
How does that kind of work work?

S16 (01:17:56):
Well, there are people who do make a living. Uh,
I don't know if there's anyone in Australia who does
full time. There's maybe Jim Fishwick, who's currently artistic director
at Improv Theatre Sydney, who makes a red hot go
of it. People succeed in improv by teaching. There's a
little bit of work in that, but really we teach

(01:18:17):
improvisation not just for performance, but for personal growth and development.
We have adults come in, never performed in their lives,
just looking to build a little confidence. And it's really
amazing what a little bit of practice of improv can
do for them.

S1 (01:18:30):
Caterpillar you TJ.

S17 (01:18:32):
I love improv. I took a couple of improv classes at, um,
college and it was the most fun. There's something really
exciting about sort of only having the other people with
you on stage to work out what's going on. So
no set, no props for some improv uses, props and set. But, um,

(01:18:54):
it's a really great way to sort of get to
know people because you get to really see how someone's
mind work when they're thinking on the fly to try
and tell a story.

S1 (01:19:04):
But how do you kind of get to the end
of it? Uh, Dylan first, then I can ask, well,
how do you kind of get to the end of it?
It's all Improvised. Do you kind of know what the
what the end sort of is going to be?

S16 (01:19:14):
Uh, it's maybe an unsatisfying answer. You never know what
the end is going to be, but you listen. You
trust in your fellow players with a little bit of practice.
You understand, you know, storytelling, what the structure of a
story might be. And you just, uh, take risks and
trust yourself that you'll get there.

S1 (01:19:32):
Do you look at the clock or. I'm just kind
of thinking, well, you know, with the show that you're doing, uh,
next week, uh, at the Adelaide rep, you kind of
know how all that's going to end, even if the
audience might not know exactly how it's going to end.
What about with improvised theatre, though? How do you kind
of say, well, let's call it let's call it quits now.

S16 (01:19:50):
Practice is, uh, the the boring answer. You can get
a pretty good idea of knowing how long a 50
minute show is. You develop feelings for that? Uh, but
sometimes you're done half an hour in and there's no
hope of extending it further. So the people might not
get as much as they paid for. That's the beauty
of it. You don't know what's fair enough.

S17 (01:20:07):
And sometimes someone tells a really good joke and you
can't follow it. And that's just where it ends.

S1 (01:20:14):
Uh, terrific. So do we get much improvisation and things
like the Adelaide Festival or the or the fringe in particular?

S18 (01:20:20):
Oh, we've had a few.

S16 (01:20:21):
Pop up at the Adelaide Festival in recent years, actually,
but Adelaide Fringe is really where it, uh, we get,
you know, improv groups from around the country and even
overseas come in and bring their shows. Uh, I'm involved
with a show that we run every year at fringe
called maestro, which is a big, uh, improv competition that
15 players come in. One at the end of the

(01:20:43):
show is a winner. Very fun. Uh, improv. Adelaide runs
a few shows, uh, consistently. Uh, if you look on
Adelaide Fringe and look under comedy categories, there's a whole
category of improv and some really wonderful stuff there. But
there are also shows all throughout the year. My company
on the fly is putting on a theatresports production in December.

(01:21:03):
The changing Jennifers do a monthly show. Other groups are
doing shows. It's like this theatre is all around us.
If you just looking for it and want to be
aware of it.

S1 (01:21:12):
Well that's great. We'll have to talk about it more
in future shows on the fly. Yeah, that's a pretty
cool name.

S18 (01:21:17):
Yeah it is, you know, really quite an established organization.

S16 (01:21:21):
Been around a good 15 plus years.

S1 (01:21:24):
Well done. Right. Give us the commercial then. So you
open on Thursday. When are you opened and when are
you playing? And also, uh, you got some matinee performances
as well.

S15 (01:21:34):
Yes. So it's adrift in New York. It's at the
Arts Theatre in Angus Street in the city. We open
on the 13th and we run through to the 16th,
and then we do the 19th to the 22nd. So
we've got two weeks. Um, it will be fun. You
will have fun. You will get to sing along, you'll
get to boo, you'll get to cheer. And we all

(01:21:57):
have fun on stage. And we certainly hope that you
are going to join in and and have fun with us.

S1 (01:22:03):
You guys are a bit of a competition as to
who gets the best response at the end of the
shows at the end of the season.

S15 (01:22:07):
Yes, well, there is a singing competition for the audience
halfway through. Yes, yes, a singing competition for the audience.
And so we will be giving away chocolates for that.
But don't worry, no one has to sing on their own.

S1 (01:22:22):
Okay, Adelaide. Com is the website. We'll put those details
up for their show notes. Rose, Dylan and TJ, thank
you so much to speak to us. Break a leg.
And it's been good fun. I'm sure it'll be a
very successful season.

S15 (01:22:34):
We hope so. Thank you. Thanks for having.

S3 (01:22:36):
Us. Thank you very much.

S1 (01:22:37):
The Adelaide crew, for their show coming up. So all
those details up on our show notes Adelaide. Com if
you want to find out more. If you can't access
the internet give us a call here at the radio
station and we'll pass on the details. Huge thanks there
to Rose Vallen, who's the director for Adrift in New

(01:22:58):
York from Adelaide Rep. And also big thanks to TJ
Baker and Dylan Harre for coming along and chatting to
us about the program. Now, if you'd like to book,
you can by phone, by going to or by calling
821257821257 at the Arts Theatre. That's their phone number. 8212527 Adelaide.

(01:23:21):
Com is the website address. And we spoke earlier to
Stephanie Saunders about, uh, touched by her and maybe getting
those tests to see if you're low on iron and
or vitamin D. You can find out more by calling
1300 106 282 1300 106 282. Is the phone number for Touch Australia? Touch

(01:23:45):
bio is the product that Stephanie was talking about. A
couple of quotes before we go. Our old mate Henry from, uh, prospect,
the English teacher who comes from England, says From Winston Churchill,
you can always count on Americans to get it right
in the end after trying every other way. So thanks, Henry,

(01:24:07):
for sending that through. And Mick Ascendeth quite through with, uh,
Melbourne Cup week and all that sort of stuff going
on because done a bit of work with some of
the agencies trying to make their apps more accessible, particularly
for people who are blind or low vision. Mick says
when the skies are grey back the greys, and that's
referring to the fact that if it's a bit cloudy

(01:24:27):
and grey overhead, back the horse that is grey in
the race, a bit of a punters saying so. Mick,
thank you very much for sending that through and hope
things are going really well for you both. Before we go.
Happy birthday to Doctor Chrissy. Rene Antonopulos spoke to Chrissy
years ago and starting out in, uh, psychology and now

(01:24:47):
has got a doctorate. So happy birthday to you, Chrissy.
Great to persistence and patience and determination and success. So
happy birthday to you Ben. Also having a birthday, one
of our fine swimmers from the Australian Paralympic team won
many gold medals at the Paralympic Games. Happy birthday to
Ben Austin and Amanda Fraser also having a birthday. Another

(01:25:08):
one of our excellent Paralympians. That is it for the program.
Sam Rickard, thanks so much for your help. Pam Green,
thanks so much for yours. If you're listening through 1197,
I'm in Adelaide. Stay very much tuned because Vicki Cousins
is coming up very soon with Australian Geographic. Be kind yourselves,
be thoughtful and look out for others all being well.

(01:25:31):
Leslie back at the same time next week, Tuesday, the
11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month
is Remembrance Day. Let's all pause, respect and reflect at
the going down of the sun and in the morning
we will remember them, lest we forget. On Australian radio

(01:25:56):
and the Reading Radio Network this is leisure link.

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