Welcome to 2010 friends

Welcome to 2010, and welcome to all the visitors who have made this beautiful part of the world their home for the holidays. Our home is untouched and unspoilt; that’s what we locals think. So treat it well and come again any time; you are welcome here. Make sure you get out and explore while you are here, because you will enjoy our natural wonders along with our quirky shopping strips and award winning eateries and attractions.

I am not going to tell you my New Year’s resolutions; it will be too repetitive. You’ll all be saying, “Here she goes again with the work less, more play, less TV, less food, less wine, more holidays, blah, blah …”, stuff she says each year. One year I did give up smoking; that was a great feeling – instant health benefits and more cash in my pocket.

Whatever yours is, make it attainable, because there’s nothing worse than feeling like you haven’t accomplished any of your wishes for the year.

Speaking of accomplishments, I was privileged to be invited to be the Chief Judge of the Manning Taste Competition, held as part of the ‘Manning International Day of People with Disabilities, Celebrating Abilities’ which took place at Saxbys Stadium on Friday 4th December. I had the opportunity to taste a range of wonderful cakes, slices, scones and biscuits. The difficult part was choosing the best one (they were all so good) and making sure that the other judges, one of them being Rob Oakeshott, didn’t eat too much cake.

The overall winner was a plate of the most wonderfully decorated cupcakes that I have ever seen, and they were light and fluffy too. I also enjoyed some great speeches, line dancing, music, and I was able to pat some beautiful guide dog puppies.

Congratulations to the organisers of such a wonderful event, celebrating abilities and showcasing the talents of some really wonderful people.

The very special ladies from Fountain Gate, Prue and Trude visited Wingham for a short while on Thursday 3rd December to celebrate a shopping evening at Bent on Life, Ashlea Road, A Bella Vita and Books. They wore their very stylish chambray shirts and pearls, chatting with customers and gift wrapping Christmas purchases while Wingsong entertained the customers with some beautiful  a capella sounds.

The Manning Valley Combined Chamber of Commerce shared a Christmas party with the Taree Chamber of Commerce at the Royal Hotel Riverview Terrace on Friday 27th December. A great barbecue was served, along with music by local group The Stowaway Pirates. There were prizes, raffles and lots of dancing. We had a great night. Many thanks to the organisers and to all of the people who dressed up, especially those TAFE employees who won the best dressed group for the evening.

Back in Wingham, the Annual Wingham Chamber of Commerce Christmas Carnival attracted a crowd of around 1,000 people on Thursday 11th December, with Bent Street full of chocolate wheels, raffles and food stalls all raising funds for local charities.

The rides were there along with the ponies and special guest this year was Prime Possum. Santa was there too, giving out lollies and chatting to the kids and the kids at heart.

My sister Natalie celebrated her 40th birthday on Saturday 12th December, with a private party at Bent on Food. Around 30 friends and family came along for canapés and music by ‘The Workshop’.

Our feet were numb the next day from all the dancing as Kev and the boys pumped out tunes from the ‘70s and ‘80s along with some of their own music. Happy birthday Nat!

For those of you having a break this month, enjoy your time off and see you next month.

Please email me with any events you have attended or organised and send me some pics so that I can include them in the social pages. I can only write about what I am aware of, so be sure to share some information with me.

Cheers Donna

donna.carrier@bigpond.com