And now for a little me time
MONTHLY CHALLENGE
Walking
GIVEAWAYS by Lorna Gordon
Ready for another challenge ? This month it ’ s to get your comfortable shoes on and start pounding the pavement !
Walking is a fantastic exercise , it can be done anywhere by almost anyone , and we are lucky that our neighbourhoods have so many different places to go walking , either in a park , in nature or just round the local streets .
Walking is great for our mental and physical health . It can lower your blood sugar levels , boosts your energy and can help your mood , especially when you are enjoying being outdoors in nature . It can be a social exercise , helping you feel closer to your friends or family , and it has been shown to boost creativity !
We take walking to the bus or train or taking the kids to school as a given , but if you want to really make it a challenge you need to do a little bit more than a leisurely stroll . First you need to set yourself a goal , it could be an amount of time each day or week , 30 minutes a day for example , or you might set yourself a step count each day and make sure you reach it by adding extra movement in .
If you need some outside accountability to get moving , you
PODCASTS
Spies in the Outback
by Lorna Gordon
If you like your true crime with a side of conspiracy theory , this is a podcast just for you ! Spies in the Outback is a short podcast , only five episodes long , but it will keep you glued to your headphones for the full five episodes .
Alice Springs had a huge number of American descend on it during the late 1960s to build a mysterious facility called Pine Gap . It wasn ’ t long before white domes were erected and locked behind gates in this secure facility which was used by both Australia and the United States . could challenge friends or workmates to see who can do the most steps in a week to keep it interesting . You could do a sponsored walk for charity or take part in Conqueror Challenges or Pacer Virtual Challenges , where you can sign up to do a virtual walk , like The Great Ocean Road or the Bigfoot Trail and you are mailed a medal when you finish it . I have done both sponsored walks and a Conqueror Challenge and found them to give me a lot of motivation to get up and put on my shoes and get outdoors .
This month I ’ ll be aiming for 30 minutes walking a day , I ’ m sure I ’ ll feel great by the end of the month and my labrador will be happy about coming with me too ! Set yourself a goal , get your hat , sunnies and sunscreen on , grab a bottle of water and hit the pavement , you might be surprised at what you achieve .
Get out and enjoy the fresh air with this month ’ s challenge .
The secretive nature of this facility led to many rumours about what was happening behind closed doors , and the exact truth of what went on is still not fully known today . During it ’ s time it was sold as an economic lifeline to the local economy , but it didn ’ t take long for people to come to the conclusion that it was used for spying on the Soviets during the Cold War which led to peaceful protests taking place outside the base .
Once the Cold War ended , Pine Gap still remained , begging the question , what was it being used for now ? Listen to Spies in the Outback on your streaming services and find out .
ALICE IN WONDERLAND
Returning to Royal Botanic Garden , Sydney
This Easter school holiday , experience an adventure like no other as Lewis Carroll ’ s absurd and wickedly clever classic ALICE IN WONDERLAND is brought to life in Glenn Elston ’ s acclaimed production in the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney .
Meet your favourite assortment of curious characters ; the skittish , constantly late White Rabbit , the Dodo and other birds who love a sing-along , the Duchess and her crazy cook , the Cheshire Cat who will leave you with a grin and Humpty Dumpty on his way to meet Tweedledum and Tweedledee . You can ’ t miss the silliness as the Mad Hatter arrives with the March Hare and Dormouse to have a grand old time with Alice at the tea party .
Come along and join the fun in this enchanting world of song , dance and interactive games that will have the whole family dizzy and giddy with nonsense .
Singer , songwriter and musical theatre leading lady PAULINI will headline THE MUSIC OF JAMES BOND and THE 60s complete with an 8-piece band and vocal group THE MARTINIS featuring Robert Jeffrey , Kai Rule and Jimmy Rizk . In this brand-new show , Paulini will bring classic James Bond
Royal Botanic Garden Sydney ,
Performance at Pioneer Garden Saturday 12 – Sunday 27 April 2025 10am Tuesday to Saturday ; 1.30pm
Friday & Saturday ; 11am Sunday Midweek $ 25pp ( group of 4 $ 90 );
Fri-Sun $ 30pp ( group of 4 $ 110 ) BOOKINGS : https :// tickets . shakespeareaustralia . com . au / sales / performances / family-theatre / alice-inwonderland---sydney
We are giving away 3 x family passes to attend Alice in Wonderland .
To enter send us an email to info @ hdinews . com . au with Alice In Wonderland in the subject line and tell us who is constantly late to the tea party to go in the draw to win . Leave your name , suburb and phone number – all winners will be notified via email .
PAULINI SINGS THE MUSIC OF JAMES BOND and THE 60s with 8-piece live band and vocal group THE MARTINIS
We are giving away 9 x double passes to see Paulini live !
To enter send us an email to info @ hdinews . com . au and tell us why you love picking up our magazine to go in the draw to win . Leave your name suburb and phone number – all winners will be notified via email . soundtracks made famous by Shirley Bassey , Tom Jones , Adele , Carly Simon to life . Blending perfectly with these 007 anthems will be the catalogue the 60s hits of Dusty Springfield , Dionne Warwick and Cilla Black .
This golden era of classics kicks off on Friday 4 April at Penrith Panthers
BOOKINGS : https :// www . entertainment23 . com . au / paulini
14 ISSUE 178 // MARCH 2025 theindependentmagazine . com . au THE HAWKESBURY INDEPENDENT