Most vodka drinkers would know their favourite tipple is made using potatoes, but many may not be aware that there are other methods, including the use of whey.

One Queensland company has begun distilling vodka using the whey leftover from making its camel milk products.

Jeff Flood from Summer Land Camels at Harrisville tells Mark his vodka has a milk and honey flavour, it is in limited supply and doesn’t come cheap.

New polling just over a week out from the election shows that Queensland voters by and large are yet to devote much attention to polling day.

The Roy Morgan poll done for the Australian Futures Project found 64.5 per cent of the state’s voters are paying not much or no attention to the campaign.

Futures Project executive director Ralph Ashton tells Mark that of those that are paying attention around a third are yet to make up their mind.

Researchers at the University of the Sunshine Coast have found that a shot of beetroot juice can have measurable benefits for arterial health.

The study showed the juice boosts blood flow, reduces arterial stiffness and boosts nitrate absorption nine-fold.

The research focused on men over 60 but study author Meegan Walker tells the results have implications for the wider population.

A new report has found that cyclists over the age of 45 are the most likely to end up in hospital or be killed on the nation’s roads.

 Figures compiled by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare show 90 per cent of the victims are men and that over the last 17 years hospitalisations have ballooned by more than 500 per cent.

 Anne Savage from Bicycle Queensland tells Mark the research is a call to arms and it is time the Palaszczuk Government set up a Road Safety Commission.

As many as 10,000 people are expected to flock to King George Square on Saturday for the 6th annual Hare Krishna Festival of Chariots.

 Devotees will pull a huge four tonne chariot through the city carrying a statue of the faith’s god Krishna accompanied by chanting and dancing.

 Festival committee member Chintan Ghandi tells Mark the festival is growing in size every year and it’s not just the offer of a free lunch that draws the crowds.

The annual Giant Pumpkin Competition for the Ekka has been running since 1876 and attracts some truly gargantuan vegetables.

Tony Frohloff from Minden, halfway between Gatton and Ipswich, has taken out the top prize with a pumpkin that tipped the scales at 254.5 kilograms.

Tony also took second place while his father Geoff grew the third place winner.

Tony tells Mark he was a little disappointed though because he had been on track to break his father’s all time giant pumpkin record.

It seems that despite safer cars and stricter enforcement the carnage on our roads continued unabated with more than 1,200 people killed and another 35,000 seriously injured on Australian roads each year.

It’s currently National Road Safety Week with governments at all levels across the country highlighting the issue.

Russell White from Driver Safety Australia tells Mark that what is especially shocking in the numbers is that road crashes are the number one killer of children under 15.

Anger is growing at the Palaszczuk Government’s plans to the 30 year old Taxi Subsidy Scheme for the state’s disabled.

The scheme will finish at the end of June because of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, even though Queensland is the only state to end its taxi subsidies.

State Opposition leader Deb Frecklington has labelled the decision “cold hearted” and tells Mark it could mean many disabled won’t be able to afford to go to work.

The proposal to stage the 2032 Olympics in southeast Queensland has received a boost with IOC President Thomas Bach meeting with representatives from the SEQ Council Of Mayor.

Mr Bach says that if improvements were made to the transport network then southeast Queensland would be “a pretty strong candidate.”

Sunshine Coast mayor Mark Jamieson attended the meeting and tells Mark the really encouraging thing was an indication from the IOC boss that he would help to make sure the games didn’t run at a loss.

If you are looking for something to do this long weekend in and around Brisbane then Olympia has a few suggestions to keep you entertained.