Women of Wynnum Manly

Getting to know Jane was a process of uncovering a heap of layers of experiences and projects she is involved in. She has been leading some fun activities in the Bayside, including dance parties that finish by 8.30pm so people can be home in bed by 9pm (who doesn't want that!), a silent disco coming up at The Shed and some singalong sessions at the D & W bar. 

A newish resident to the area, I loved hearing of Jane's journey to the Bayside, her 
openness in sharing her story and her energy to live her best life. 

To find more about Jane and her events:  www.juicecreative.com and www.janeandtherain.com

The week I interviewed Gail for the podcast she had just sold her little fashion store on Bay Tce, Simply Bella.  She has been in the fashion industry for 50 years, and on top of that, the funeral industry! It was a great chat getting to know Gail and how she arrived to work in these very different work settings.  Chats like this one with Gail reminded me of why I continue to enjoy the podcast. It was a lovely conversation, and I hope you enjoy it too. 

Ruth Kent has a wonderfully calm disposition and is easy to be in the company of.  She and her family were drawn to the Bayside in 2020 and Ruth has a passion for health and wellbeing and for people to live their best lives.  I was intrigued about the journey it has taken for Ruth to land in our beautiful part of the world, starting in Stanthorpe to teaching English to students overseas. She was generous with her storytelling, and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know her. I hope that you do too.  

This is my 50th episode!  And what a conversation it was to celebrate the podcast milestone.  Gemma has her own business, Cooking Gems, after a couple of decades as a chef in other people's kitchens.  She left school at 16 and sort of fell into an industry that she continues to have a love/hate relationship with. What Gemma does love, is creating with food - cooking for other people and teaching others the love of her craft brings her joy. 

Gemma has an incredible energy to be around, and I was grateful for her time, but also for the home-made goodies i was gifted when she arrived for the podcast.  

Enjoy the openness and passion that a conversation with Gemma brings. 

Aunty Becky has been on my podcast interview wish list since 2022.  It was a delight and a privilege to be in her company and hear all about her family as the original "winnamites".  

As the Chairperson for winnam.org, the work Aunty Becky is doing for aged care housing in the area is visionary. She is behind the plan and advocacy of the government to build a residential aged care facility on the old hospital site in Wynnum. The site will be a culturally sensitive health and aged care precinct - the first of its kind.  

I loved hearing about the life of Aunty Becky, the challenges she overcame and her strength of character to keep doing what she can for her people. Enjoy getting to know her. 

Liz Crowe is a long time local Bayside woman who was a social worker for over 30 years before seeing the need during the worst of the Covid times to pay more attention to staff wellbeing. She has published numerous papers, speaks at international conferences and still works providing support to staff at the Royal Brisbane Women's Hospital.  Her podcast "5 Things Nursing" gets downloaded in over 100 countries, and her passion for what she does is very obvious.

I felt energised talking to Liz, with her values aligning closely with mine.  She does great work and shares good messaging about the value we need to continue to place on our nurses - they are the backbone of our hospital settings and the people we rely on when us or a loved one is unwell. 

Enjoy getting to know Liz. 

Jelena Logan's parents left the war in Bosnia and settled in Australia, before going on to have Jelena as a third child.  We are lucky they ended up in this beautiful part of Queensland.  

This conversation allowed me to get to know Jelena, who is a bundle of energy and very, very smart. I have never met anyone who is so keen and enthusiastic in talking about hearts. She spoke of the technology that has advanced, enabling the medical profession to more precisely identify heart health status.  She really makes it sounds so interesting.  

Talking to Jelena, I also found it interesting how cultural values transcend across continents.  Jelena came to the podcast recording with freshly baked brownies. A cultural expectation she grew up with, never show up to someone's house empty handed. I enjoyed being the beneficiary of this! 

I met Martene when was she leading the group training class I was doing at 4 Shore Fitness. She has a fun and warm energy and a lovely Scottish accent. 

Martene moved to the Bayside only a few years ago, and thanks the beautiful community for her transition.  I always enjoy the classes Martene leads at the gym, but I was extra pleased to know that her special interest is the benefits of training women in peri menopause and menopause stages of life. A special interest of mine also! 

I am glad that Martene made the choice to move to the Bayside, as she is a wonderful member of our beautiful community.  Enjoy getting to know Martene. 

You can find out more about Martene's personal training on Facebook and Instagram at M for fitness. 

Jess Galatola is a delight to spend time with, and has written and published her first children's book, launching in May 2024.  Some Families Change is a story Jess wrote to try and provide her boys a language following her separation from their dad.  It became a story about how sometimes families do change, for lots of difference reasons.  

I enjoyed hearing about how the concept of a book became reality and you can see from talking with Jess that she is super proud of what she has produced.  

People who are creative have a special way of telling stories, and Jess confirmed that in our conversation.  Like many of the women who have been interviewed for this podcast, she took on the encouragement she was given and made her goal into a reality. 

You can find Some Families Change at the Mad Hatters bookshop in Manly, the Little Gnome in Wynnum, and online.  Jess has also donated the book to the Wynnum Library so that it could be available to everyone. 

Enjoy the chat!

Ali Powell is someone that I wanted to interview last year, and we never got to it. I was so pleased to be able to finally meet and chat with her and find out how Dancing with Ali came about, and how dancing fills her cup. Ali also has a very romantic story attached to her arrival to the Bayside all the way from Canada.  Enjoy the chat!

You can find more about Dancing with Ali on Facebook and Instagram.