by Guest Writers Suzie Cheel and Des Walsh

Every time I saw a well as a child I had to stop and pretend to through in penny, even if I didn’t have one.

Winter is here. After a few mornings of suffering frozen toes from going barefoot on the beach we have taken to putting on shoes and socks and varying our walking path

We have walked up to Point Danger many times, this morning was the first we had focussed on this wishing well.

Our immediate thought was that this would be a great Beach Note. It also reminded me of my childhood and the joy of discovering a wishing well, tossing in a coin and making a wish.

So just pretend, drop in a coin and make a wish

Here’s your chance … What would you wish for today?

Suzie Cheel & Des Walsh

by Guest Writers Suzie Cheel and Des Walsh

We sometimes go to galleries where there are sculptures and artworks that are made from materials that have been found in nature, recycled and then as art installation sold for thousands of dollars..

Recently we had the pleasure of enjoying a sculpture made by nature for a week or so on Rainbow Bay Beach for free. We now think of the beach as natures gallery.

What uncommon sights of art have found in nature?

Suzie Cheel & Des Walsh

by Guest Writers Suzie Cheel and Des Walsh

One morning recently at the beach we were reminded that in life as in business one needs to be open to opportunities.

As we walked onto the beach we saw the at the waters edge fisherman’s boats and trucks. One of the trucks had other walkers gathering around. As we got closer we realized they were buying fish fresh from the sea, the first time we have seen this happen in 5 years.

The still live fish were being offered for a ridiculously small sum of $1 a fish. All we needed was a bag and $1 for a fresh fish breakfast!

One bag less but enterprising woman with her newspaper money spread her jacket on the sand in lieu of a bag.

We don’t take money to the beach and missed the opportunity for fresh fish for breakfast.

Now days we keep spare money and bags in the car. Next time the fisherman appear we will be ready.

Suzie Cheel & Des Walsh

by Guest Writers Suzie Cheel and Des Walsh

This long weekend is the focus of a big event held in and around our “twin towns” of Tweed Heads and Coolangatta, here on Australia’s Pacific coast

Wintersun (yes, it’s officially winter here right now) is a nostalgia festival focused on Rock ‘n Roll & cars of the period.

One site declares Wintersun to be Australia’s and "possibly the world’s" biggest Rockabilly and RocknRoll Festival.

Some streets are lined with bands and some often very skilled dancers, and others with hundreds of lovingly maintained or restored cars on display, mainly from the 50s and 60s. For a couple of nights there is a parade of cars, driven by mature age rockers.

Not everyone goes to the extent of dressing for the era as the women in our photo have done, but many members of the various rock ‘n roll groups who come here en masse are obvious patrons of the stalls along the beach front dedicated to selling the shoes, the special petticoats and skirts, the leather jackets…

We took a day off from the computers, Twitter, Facebook and all that yesterday and spent some very enjoyable hours wandering among the thousands of visitors who descend on this relatively sleepy beachside joint for these few music filled days each year.

Seeing so many people so happy in their deliberate nostalgia was very heart-warming, even if a lot of them would know more about what the door handles on a ’59 Eldorado look like than what a Twitter handle is.

Suzie Cheel & Des Walsh

by Guest Writers Suzie Cheel and Des Walsh

The Power of Mother Nature

There is awesome power in the raging storms

The wild waves and the churning seas

The sideways rain and relentless winds

That have lashed the coast these past few days

We venture out to peek at what

Mother Nature has left in her path

We see magic in the sun rising

Over the white still churning, sea

Then we see the fallen trees,

The debris the storm has left behind

The once sandy beaches now covered in foam.

Flotsam and jetsam.

Suzie Cheel & Des Walsh

by Guest Writers Suzie Cheel and Des Walsh

The sea’s been wonderfully warm for Autumn (Fall) and this week the sea has been crystal clear. But for the board riders the waves have been modest in size and frequency. So the surfers have had to practise patience and be ready to spring into action when a good wave comes.

We notice that experienced surfers do a lot of stretching before they actually go into the surf, so when the moment comes for action they are less likely to pull a muscle. We met one of our board riding friends the other day limping, he had done just that the day before.

In business as in surfing there are times you have to wait, just make sure you have done your "stretching exercises" so you are prepared to spring into action when the opportunity arises.

The old saying comes to mind:

Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”
-Seneca .

How do you stretch while you’re waiting for the wave?

Suzie Cheel & Des Walsh

Happy Mother’s Day!
From Liz, Suzie, and Des!