She may not count herself as a local still living here anymore, but Higher School Certificate superstar Emma McLaughlin was born in Campbelltown Private Hospital (when it was located in Dumaresq Street) 18 years ago. The Nambour Christian College student received A+ in five of her subjects and As in the other two. Her grandparents, John and Jan McLaughlin, who have been living in Campbelltown for many years, are so proud of their granddaughter they asked the South West Voice to run a small piece on her. Well, Pop John McLaughlin actually hinted that he’d like a big feature on the daughter of his son Rodney, but that’s our mate John. By the way, former mates and political colleagues Wayne Swan and some bloke called Kevin Rudd many years ago attended the other school in the town, Nambour High School, so maybe there’s something in the water up on the Sunshine Coast.
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Like a lot of people I love rustic furniture and I was delighted to seat on a sofa with this old cheese cart being used as a coffee table in front of me. It used to belong to the Robertson cheese factory down in the Southern Highlands but is now at home with Daniel Doherty, of MerlinFX and ConnectFX fame. Big Dan is also my business partner in the South West Voice venture and you can blame him for all the excellent design features of the website. But back to the table, which is not only of ample size, but its wheels mean you can easily move it around the house as the need arises. And of course it’s a great conversation piece, certainly more than most modern furniture pieces. Nice one, Dan.
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State MP Bryan Doyle sent a press release welcoming the introduction of fines and the loss of demerit points for those who illegally use disabled car spaces. And my reaction was: do people still really do that in real life? I thought it was something that happened in TV comedies only. But apparently the answer is yes. So our fellow humans who carry the burden of some disability or other, go shopping or got to the doctor and find those very important spaces set aside for them are being used by some insensitive boofhead who couldn’t give two hoots about anyone else in life. My theory is that these people live in their own world and don’t even realise there are others around them they need to keep in mind. Indeed I have a name for them: The People Who Live in a Bubble. Well, thank you, Mr Doyle, it’s nice to know that if they get caught parking illegally in disabled parking spots not only face a $519 fine, but will also lose demerit points. I love it when someone does something about the bad guys in the world. So much so I feel like a high five, but, shucks, there’s nobody around at the moment.
