Organisations

In our rather cynical age, people frequently ask: “Is there really anything left to explore or discover … hasn’t it all been done before?” Spend some time with Blackheath ecologist Wyn Jones and you’ll soon have your answer … you’ll begin to feel the welling up of curiosity, excitement and anticipation that must have driven explorers, from the beginning of time, to head out into the unknown. …

  Sports psychologists and coaches frequently tell players that, when you’re challenged, you have the choice to respond to your situation by believing that your glass is half full, or that it’s half empty. For the enthusiastic new management team at the Blackheath Golf & Community Club, the glass is most definitely half full. According to Board member Rodney Tubbs, “It’s no secret that golf, as …

At 87 and virtually blind, Yvonne McCready does not regard herself as socially isolated or in need of “someone to chat to.” Why would she? Monday to Friday she walks more than 1.3 km from her Blackheath cottage into “town” where she either stops for the community lunch or catches a train to Katoomba for a hot meal. “I meet another interesting person every day,” …

It’s a bustling Thursday morning at the Blackheath Community Op-shop (BCOS). Volunteers are happily accepting donations of furniture, clothes and boxes of books, and satisfied customers are loading up the same. Passing by the racks of clothes to a large sorting table in the rear, I find David O’Brien, a serene agent in a storm of activity. We repair to a quiet courtyard behind “the …

OK I admit it, I’ve got shed envy! I’ve now been to the Blackheath Area Men’s Shed four times and each time I’ve found it more difficult to leave than the last. I’m not sure what I envy the most … the beautiful, neatly organised walls of tools and various workshops with projects underway …  like the second time I came and …