Benjamin Oakley is a Towradgi local who has Stiff Person Syndrome, a condition which causes intense muscle spasms and affects 1 in a million people. The Starlight Foundation have granted this racing fanatic a trip of a lifetime, Sarah Navin reports. Follow Ben’s journey via his Facebook page ‘Roll On Ben Oakley’.
Author: Sarah Navin
Well kids, we didn’t think we’d see the day the mall opened, after dodging orange cones and being shuffled through fencing for years, but yesterday the new Wollongong Central flung open its doors for the first day of trading. Good riddance to the construction chaos! A giant slippery dip, teacup rides, a few snakes and crocodiles and a celebratory cake were thrown in the mix, to welcome thousands of eager shoppers ready to splurge on the new additions to the mall (hello Targét!) My Kitchen Go Rules contestants were presenting cooking demonstrations outside Coles, while a Tai Chi session and…
To join in the conversation if you are at the conference, share your experience by tweeting @ASLAleadership #S4S14 #S4SChallenge DAY TWO KEYNOTE SPEAKER – MORNING SESSION: Cas and Jonesy rose to fame after becoming the first people to kayak from Australia to New Zealand in 2007. This is part two of their epic adventure, walking from the edge of Antarctica to the South Pole without assistance in 2012. Cas joins us to explain what it is like to spend 89 days in the harshest environment on earth. 10.25am “We ate, slept and pulled the ridiculously heavy sleds for eight hours…
For some of us, teeny-tiny toes, sloppy chins, cute little knuckle dimples and endless peekaboos are all something we want, hopeful at the prospect of creating new life. But for others having a baby is not on the cards and, fertility struggles aside, that maternal instinct has just never been there. According to women who don’t want children, expressing it is met with a chorus of comments such as ‘you’ll change your mind’, or ‘you’ll feel differently when you meet the right person’, as well as being called selfish and having their womanhood challenged. Jennifer Aniston was once again under…
Today is R U OK Day, a chance to check-in with mates to make sure life isn’t getting them down. The big yellow bus has spent five weeks travelling 12,000 kilometres across the country to send this simple, powerful message. Also known as World Suicide Prevention Day, it raises awareness of issues such as depression and loneliness, highlighting the importance of a cup of coffee or walk-and-talk with someone in need. Lifeline states that deaths by suicide have reached a ten year high, with over 2,500 reported a year in Australia. The ‘R U OK Day’ message is to listen…
Money doesn’t grow on trees, but it does come in the form of Red Bull cans. And apparently it can get you a 5-Star stay in a penthouse smack bang in the middle of Melbourne, flights for three people from Melbourne to Sydney and an indoor skydiving experience. ‘The Three Monkeys’ travelled from Sydney to Cairns in five days, alongside 19 other teams nationally as part of the ‘Red Bull Can You Make It’ competition. Cash, card and mobile phones were banned, leaving only the power of persuasion and charisma to get them clocking up the kilometres (and well… frankly…
At around 10am this morning a bus lost control and reared into a pole at the front of the University of Wollongong, reportedly smashing a brick wall lining the pathway. The driver failed to secure the break, causing the Premier Illawarra bus to mount the footpath on Northfields Avenue. Fortunately no one was injured, as the bus wasn’t carrying passengers at the time and the driver was not in the vehicle. Ambulance and fire rescue were on the scene as a precaution. Fairalls towed the bus away after 11.30am with smashed front glass and the pole has since been removed.…
Do you work in a bar, cafe, restaurant? Have you thought about the potiential real cost of tips? Bachelor of Laws First Class Honours graduate Amelia Gow is helping answer questions that go well beyond ‘to tip or not to tip?’. Multimedia reporter Sarah Navin