out and about in beenleigh

hi all...
had a great day on sunday at the beenleigh markets...
by the time i got there about 9am there was hardly
a park to be had...on the way in i stopped to have a chat
with cec clark (who has been collecting signatures to stop
the ring road going right through the middle)....
12,000 people have now signed...amazing....

for the past few weeks my elbow has been very
painful...doc says it's 'tennis elbow'...but i haven't played
much since i was a kid...although i did try out the new
nintendo wii which has bowling, tennis, golf, boxing etc.

this is not a couch potato game...you have to use
the control, attached to your wrist, and go through
the physical motions of playing the game...two people
can play against each other or you can play on your
own against the animated computerised challenger....
it is so much fun...love the bowling...it has all the
sounds happening just like in a bowling alley...

anyway...back to the markets...my sore elbow led
me to the man selling a herbal potion that helped
his wife recover from very painful rheumatoid
arthritis in her hands...he massaged some of this
magic stuff into my elbow and as we spoke
i could feel the pain ease...i am not kidding...

he claims the tincture is absorbed and draws
out the acids trapped in the spot that is painful...
well i have been applying it regularly ever since
and let me say ... it works for me...

so on i trecked, with the pain in my elbow
diminishing... to find that treasure...buy my fruit
and veg....snag a bargain ....

have you seen the 'birdman'?...he has hand-raised
parrots....sitting out untethered.... without their
wings having been clipped.... picking away at their
fruit and seed...absolutely beautiful and amazing
birds...as free as they could be but choosing to stay
with their benefactor....that alone is worth a look !!!

ever had home-made ginger beer?...i love it...so i
always find the lady that sells it for $2 a large
bottle...delightfully refreshing when i get home
weary from my shopping...

trecking on ... i have a good look at all the stalls
full of nick nacks and junk...snag a pair of diana
ferrari sandals (brand new...and beautiful)
for the amazing price of $3....bargain!!

onions frying on the grill get my taste buds
salivating....so of course i have to stop at the
food stand for a sausage and onion roll...these
sausages are the best ...from beenleigh
butchery...they specialise in ham and pork
and smoke all their ham on the premises..

did you know that brett ....has recently bought
the butchery after serving his apprenticeship
and working there for twenty years (since he
was fifteen)....brett is a legend...apparently
he has only had two sick days in his life....

on ward in pursuit of bargains....i stumble
upon a man selling really good second-hand
cd's....i find a couple that i like....elvis (30 #1
hits) and kasey chambers double cd (the
captain)...cynically i open them up only to find
they are in immaculate condition...no scratches!!
i get busted by the guy and he tells me he cleans
all his cds....so i snap them up at 2 for $10...
i'm happy...

my favourite stall is the 'little alpaca shed'...
before you buy any winter woollies go and have
a look at some of the stunning garments made
from alpaca...did you know that this is
the warmest fibre of all??...try it and you will
agree...and all so cheap here at marilyn's shed...

so on i go....only to find a great framed gauguin
print, $10....some home-made jam drops, $2...
a rather unusual brommiliad in flower, $6....
a wooden shutter-style blind...just the size for my
office, $10....millet sprays for my love-birds, $1..
a jar of local grey gum honey, $6...

i am now getting weary and realise it is time to get
the fruit and veg and head on home...such choice
and all so fresh and cheap...a bag of apples, $1...
3 cobs of corn, $1....kg of beautiful tasty tomatoes,
$2...a whole butternut pumkin, $2...

so, have i got you interested?...do yourself a favour..
go check out our beenleigh markets...it's a great
place to spend a sunday morning !!

are you bored? ...have nothing to do this weekend?

Hi folks...

Has everyone in Beenleigh Community checked out the fitness machines which have been installed in Logan River Parklands and Doug Larson park (the duck park)??? .... so now you don't have to pay money to go to the gym to get fit....there is quite a range of machines and they are lot's of fun....go on....check them out..

Live Well !!!

Good morning everyone on this lovely Friday the 13th....

Today is the first meeting of a new program entitled - Live Well -
to be held each Friday, for the next seven weeks, between 10am - 2pm,
at Beenleigh Neighbourhood Centre, Mansfield Walk (off Kent St)
in Beenleigh, phone (07) 3287 2840.

This program is inclusive of people from many different ethnic backgrounds....
it is all about living well as the name suggests....and how better to begin to live
well than to eat well. Each week will feature a cooking demonstration by
various members, who will cook one of their favourite national dishes.

And then comes the best part ....for all you 'foodies' like me....
after the demonstration we will all sit down for lunch...... to share the meal.....
and to learn something of the culture and traditions from that particular country.
Today's program, Friday 13th April, will feature some wonderful traditional
recipes from Sri Lanka....mmmm !!!!

But this program is not just about eating.....we hope that this group will grow
and develop....sharing their stories and contributing ideas for other programs
of interest to people in the Beenleigh Community. All the recipes featured
in the program will be collected together into a cookery book....which will be
sold to raise money for future programs.

So if you are a little bored with your life right now?....think you might make
a few changes?....need to meet some new friends?.....want to participate more
in your community?.....

Give Lucretia a call at the Beenleigh Neighbourhood Centre
on 3287 2840....Come along and join our group..... find out about other
activities run at the Centre....or talk to Lucretia about any idea you may
have for another group or activity....

We look forward to meeting you !!!!

why would anyone want to blow up beenleigh, continued?

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			Print Email Last Update: Monday, February 26, 2007. 10:12pm (AEDT) Amundsen mulls bail application A Brisbane man facing multiple charges after police allegedly found explosives in his home says he may reapply for bail now that the most serious charges against him have been dropped. John Howard Amundsen, 41, was the first Queenslander to be charged under federal anti-terror laws after police raided his Aspley home last May. The terrorism-related charges were dropped last week, but he still faces multiple charges, including fraudulently obtaining explosives and making counterfeit money. At a mention of his case today in the Brisbane Magistrates Court, Amundsen asked the prosecution to return personal items to him, such as a book on Osama bin Laden and letters to his girlfriend. He also indicated he may once more apply for Supreme Court bail before his committal hearing begins in a fortnight. Print Email

beenleigh....join the dots...

A beenleigh perspective on the albert & logan news

hi beenleigh bloggers,,,

love to read the local paper, don't you?.... Today's albert & logan (albert edition, wednesday april 4th) did not disappoint.... judith maizey's article on page 2...titled 'not enough space' is certainly newsworthy....the canefields clubhouse has excellent programs for people with mental health issues...clubhouse's are all over the world...people who attend make a commitment to a normal working day....they work, cook and eat together and become friends who support each other through the bad times...

judith informs us that they are in dire need of new premises...lease on the dump runs out in august....sorry to whoever owns the place and has been collecting the $450 a week... but it sounds like a dump to me!.... only one toilet ...hole in the hall ceiling where rain pours in....airconditioning, oven and microwave can't be used at the same time....come on????....sounds very dodgy....

so the clubhouse needs a nice new place that they can call home....come on all you generous public benefactors....put your hands in your pockets....they used to have a lovely garden when they ran from manilla st....that's what they need...somewhere to feel safe and to establish an atmosphere of normalcy....

ok...i am off my soapbox...next story....by judith again....hello judith....our own beenleigh butcher.....brett brooks, of beenleigh butchery....what a champion guy he is....bought the butchery last year after working for twenty years (since he was 15 !!)....for three different owners....good on you brett.....

hey this guy deserves our support....he has only ever had two sick days in his life....legend....
i hope everyone has tried their ham....it is unbelievable....smoked and cured on the premises...by brett....if you have ever won a meat tray at the beenleigh bowls club, then you have had beenleigh butchery meat....beautiful pork chops....goodluck in your new business venture brett...

i am getting off the albert & logan stuff now.....but i just had to mention while we are talking food...has everyone tried the bakery called 'the just loaf' in main street ???....up the hill abit from hux's....beautiful breads, cakes and all sorts of goodies....all made from scratch....nothing artificial....my particular fave is their digger pie....oh and they make the best death by chocolate....mmm

currently....and excuse the pun....they have the best hot x buns on the planet....$5 for 6 (bargain)....lovely people....best bakery in town....

ok....back to the albert & logan....ah, letters to the editor...my favourite....
i won't get into all the logan stuff....just beenleigh....otherwise i will be here all day...lol.....
first of all young monique stevens of windaroo's letter on page 11 'tragedy looming at school road' gets the best letter award from me....she is a year 12 student and probably headed for a career in journalism....you go girl....

monique implores people to take notice of the dangerous situation on the xing in front of windaroo high....she eloquently explains how it is only a matter of time before someone is killed or seriously hurt....so slow down you commuters coming into beenleigh on the beenleigh-beaudesert road....how would you feel if you killed a kid on a school xing....about as bad as the guy who hit sophie delizio i would imagine....once again well done monique, excellent letter!!!...

andrew stevenson of eagleby has an excellent idea for capturing rain water when we have a torrential downpour....roadside gully traps....seems like andrew knows his stuff....i would mention also that there are some underground aquafirs coming off the mt warren hill....it seems this water just runs into storm water drains and is also wasted....so come on you decision makers take a little notice of the people....commonsense ideas usually work....people are the experts in their own lives and people like andrew....observe and ponder solutions to problems that are occurring in their own backyard....practice your own philosophy....don't waste a drop!!!... great letter andrew, well done...

ken wood of mt warren park thinks that people in the media should learn to enunciate more clearly..... so that they don't mispronounce words .....just think of pauline hanson saying these words and you will know what ken means......'australya' (australia).....inviroment (environment)....dias (dais).....don't hear that one so much.....next one's definetely a kath & kim...i really never hear it used in the media that much...obstropolus (obstreperous).....

well yes ken...i abhore hearing people saying 'austraya'....but it is a very hard word to pronounce if you notice.....like a person of chinese decent trying to say.....'synnny' (sydney)....unfortunately in this day and age with txt and the like we are losing the pure english 'english'.....but it is a global thing....and soon we will actually spell things differently....bring it on i say....note the fact that i do not use capitalisation....it makes for easier communication and isn't that the most important thing....

i want to keep in touch with my kids....so i learnt to txt....i luv how they have made up all these short forms for words that are 2 difficult to type....eg....i typed '2' it was one stroke as apposed to three strokes for 'two'...u c?....better we remember the 'queen's' english as something old and quaint....like the queen....

well that's it folks....the rest of the paper was the same old....adds mostly....oh that's right its a free paper, i forgot....

Beenleigh - our heritage

hi all you history lovers....here is the history of beenleigh....short form....from the gold coast city council website...

Beenleigh

View of George Street near the intersection with City Road, Beenleigh, 1886. A remnant from the scrub cleared for the Beenleigh Sugar Plantation pictured here in 1873. Aerial view of Beenleigh 1998

Beenleigh is the most northern town in the Gold Coast. It is located in a pocket of land between the Albert and Logan Rivers. When Europeans first settled here, news of their arrival quickly spread, no doubt, among the local aboriginal people the Yugambeh. The rivers were an important food and transport resource for both the aboriginal people and European settlers. In the 1860s, the area was referred to as the Logan & Albert District.

Beenleigh Sugar Plantation: Around 1864, brother-in-laws, Francis Gooding and John Davy established their Beenleigh sugar plantation near the northern bank of the Albert River. The site was located a little distance upstream from where this river joins the Logan. They named their plantation after the family’s estate in southern Devon, England. The Gooding and Davy Family continued to successfully operate their sugar plantation and mill here until the late 1880s.

In a similar pattern to the development of the Nerang sugar and cotton plantations, other syndicates and family groups took up large parcels of land in the Logan & Albert District. Beenleigh became known as the planter’s town. A government ferry was established at nearby Yatala on the southern bank of the Albert River.

A town develops: In 1868, a Mr Savage opened a general store at the crossroads of five roads leading to the Logan and Albert Rivers, Cedar Creek and farther south to the Nerang District. By 1869, Michael Tansey opened the first hotel the ‘Planter’s Rest ‘near Savage’s General Store. The hotel became a convenient stopping place for passing coaches and travellers. Prior to the hotel’s opening, the nearest pub for thirsty travellers was at Eight Mile Plains, south of Brisbane. This ‘halfway between destinations’ attribute shaped the character and businesses of Beenleigh.

As horse and coach traffic increased, the settlement acquired the services of a hotel and blacksmith and was referred to in the Brisbane newspapers as the township of Beenleigh. A government land survey of Beenleigh town-ship was completed in 1870, and a school opened in the following year.

In 1871, the deciding factor for the future of Beenleigh was the erection of a Court House – again at the intersection of the roads. Because of its relative distance from Brisbane, Beenleigh too served as a local administrative centre for the Lands Department. Farmers from as far away as Coolangatta dealt with the Land Agent’s Office in Beenleigh.

German Immigrants: Another factor that shaped the early character of Beenleigh was the influx of German immigrants who joined the Irish, Scottish and English settlers in and around the township. When the large plantation holdings were subdivided, it was generally the German settlers who acquired the smaller blocks and who continued to cultivate and manufacture sugar in the area.

The Germans had a great respect for the unity of family and this was reinforced by a strong religious focus. In some areas German settlers soon outnumbered their British neighbours. In these times, many districts around the town were nicknamed ‘little Germany’ or ‘German Pocket’. Branches of these families moved to areas like Coomera or Gilston in the Hinterland, where they dairy farmed or worked in the timber industry. Some families settled around Southport and were pioneers of the early fishing and oystering industries.

By the mid 20th century, tourists, passing through Beenleigh by car or train used the town, or nearby Yatala, as a refreshment stop. This was all part of the excitement, later a nostalgic reminder of a trip ‘down the coast’. When the Pacific Highway bypassed the town in the 1960s, it was the highway signs, ‘Beenleigh is Rum’ or the Yatala Pie Shop which caught the eye of motorists and their passengers.

Beenleigh - where's our gold? where's our coast for that matter?

hi folks...
found this interesting article on johnbradford.org ... i would like to throw
the topics mentioned within this article open to debate....

what do you think about beenleigh's connection to the gold coast?....
do we get a fair go?...

what about the twenty-five year old argument over the ring road?...

• the show society have owned the land for 130 odd years....
• 12,000 people have now signed the show society's petition....
• brisbane city council tunneled under the ecka because of it's historical value....

do you think the ring road will solve the traffic problems in beenleigh?
read this article and make your comments......
cheers 4 now,
elle

November 22, 2006 on 5:17 pm | In 4CRB Editorials

Beenleigh

The integration of Beenleigh into the City of the Gold Coast has been difficult. Beenleigh’s demographics are different and it is geographically separate.
But Beenleigh is part of Gold Coast and looks set to remain so. Perhaps in the future with the huge population growth occurring in the north of Gold Coast City and extending west into Beaudesert there might eventually be a separate local Government area.
In many respects the Gold Coast City is becoming too big. I have always believed that one essential feature of local Government is that it is in fact local. As local government areas become too big this is less likely to happen
There is still a strong feeling in the Beenleigh area that it is a neglected part of the city despite the best efforts of their own local Councillor and a very active Chamber of Commerce.
One example of this is the serious traffic problem, which exists in and around the centre of Beenleigh. Plans have been afoot for some time to address the issue but they require the dissection of the historic showgrounds and there has not yet been any agreement about how this should happen. Until that issue is resolved the centre of Beenleigh with its roundabout featuring six intersecting roads cannot be solved.
The Council needs to make solving Beenleigh’s traffic problem top priority. And making Beenleighites feel that they are an important part of the city, albeit with some unique characteristics, is also an important challenge.

Why would anyone want to blow up beenleigh?

Man used US actor's photo 'to buy explosives'

---

Original News Source

By Kevin Meade
Article from: The Australian

JOHN Howard Amundsen, the Brisbane teacher accused of building bombs in his bedroom, allegedly used a phony licence bearing a photograph of the star of the US television show The Shield to buy explosives from a Queensland company.

In Brisbane Magistrates Court yesterday, police accused Mr Amundsen, 41, of producing an explosives licence carrying a photograph of Michael Chiklis, the actor who plays tough-guy detective Vic Mackey, when he applied to buy explosives from Orica Quarry Services at Beenleigh, south of Brisbane.

The slightly built, shaven-headed Mr Amundsen, who is conducting his own defence in a committal hearing, challenged the police claim that he had used a photo of the well-built, shaven-headed actor to buy the explosives.

Cross-examining Sean Edwards, the detective who led the investigation into the discovery of 53kg of Powergel explosives at Mr Amundsen's Brisbane home on May 9 last year, the accused high school teacher said a facial recognition expert would give evidence that, apart from their bald heads, he bore little resemblance to the actor.

The expert, he said, would testify that while Chiklis had raised cheeks, his own cheeks were sunken, and while the actor had a prominent chin, Mr Amundsen's was weak.

"I'm not suggesting you're twins," Detective Sergeant Edwards said.

Asked why a person fraudulently buying explosives would produce a licence carrying a photo of someone else, Sergeant Edwards said Mr Amundsen might have been trying to avoid being identified.

Mr Amundsen is charged with fraudulently obtaining explosives and detonators. He is also charged with possessing incendiary devices, carrying dangerous goods in a vehicle, illegal possession of a New Zealand passport, making counterfeit money and using a carriage service to make a threat.

The "carriage service" charge relates to emails Mr Amundsen allegedly sent to police, threatening attacks by al-Qaeda terrorists.

It is alleged that while applying to buy the explosives, Mr Amundsen phoned Orica staff several times, using the aliases David Engels, Ian Galloway, Sue Bailey and Peter Oliver.

"Do you believe," he asked Sergeant Edwards, "I could supposedly have used an English accent for David Engels, an American accent for Mr Galloway, a female voice for Sue Bailey and an Australian voice for Peter Oliver?"

Sergeant Edwards replied: "Mr Amundsen, I wouldn't put anything past you."

The hearing continues today.

Good News Story

I have been shopping at my local supermarket at Mt Warren
Park (it's now called 'Foodworks') for just over ten years.
During that time I have seen the business change hands
several times. Currently, the latest owner is an Indian
gentleman with a blonde-haired, blue-eyed, Aussie wife.
I believe the man is an Indian of the Sikh religion. I am
guessing this because I know the previous owners were
of the Sikh religion (not Muslem, as some people thought)
....(they wear different turbans, if you notice).

So..... back to my story.....Yesterday, when I was scraping my
last ten dollars in cash to buy a few essentials – my special milk
(lactose free), greek yoghurt (yum!) and cranberry juice –
the gentleman (and he is a gentleman) said to me ‘you shop here
regularly..... don’t ever worry if you are a little short'.....(I wasn't
short ...I actually had the exact money...in change...lol)
.....he continued.... 'you are a good customer and we want you
to enjoy your shopping here….’.

So in other words.....he very kindly extended to me.... credit.
What a rare attitude in today's world. Usually there is
a sign on the counter.... ‘please don’t ask for credit as refusal
may offend’.

So I say thumbs up to the generous people at Foodworks at
Mt Warren (and here comes my free plug)
by the way they have great specials!.....eg...
Helga's bread and
muffins - $3.09...Pantene - $5.49....Jalna Yoghurt 500g $2.69..
Peters Heaven Multi Packs - $3.99....Cottonelle 6pack - $3.79)

See what I mean....great deli and chooks also....cheers 4 now

please

for all you pet lovers...this is my dog....very cute don't you think?