Welcome to Winter and Bondi Winter Magic 2019

It’s good to see the annual arrival of ice skating back at Bondi Beach. It reminds us that the shortest day of the year is just weeks away and that we’ll soon be back on the journey to warmer weather and longer days.

For those who love precision the Winter Solstice arrives in Sydney at 1.54 am on Saturday June 22nd and the day will be 4 hours and 31 minutes shorter than at the time of the Summer Solstice which will next arrives at 3.19 pm on Sunday December 22nd.

For those more interested in Bondi Winter Magic, it runs from Tuesday 28th June to Sunday 28th July and features a 22metre high Ferris wheel, Sand Castle Building, History Walks, Music on the Streets, Art on the Streets and more. Don’t get caught out though, the skating finishes a week early on 21st July. One wit quipped “Ice skating on Bondi Beach, next we’ll be seeing Icebergs on the horizon”

Ice skating also reminds us of climate change and the fact that the past summer has seen many places in Australia with heatwaves of over 40 C lasting for more than 6 days. Marble Bar in north western Australia saw more than 20 days of temperatures above 40 C (104 F), but then they’re used to it, back in 1923-1924 they suffered 160 consecutive days of temperatures over 100 F (38 C).

Away from the topic of weather, this edition of the paper includes articles about the 1988 Ferrari Testarossa, the Giant Steps Centrepoint Stair Challenge charity fund raiser, Retiring from Small Business, Investing in Opals, What’s On, Paddington Patter, Tucked Away businesses and much more.

The edition also features articles that started their life on our new Community Publishing Platform* including one on why we need 12 hugs a day to be at our best. This is not surprising, because our ape relatives spend up to two hours a day grooming each other, so we’re programmed for physical contact. One immediate response to grooming is a reduction in heart rate and the release of endorphins. Hugs can have the same effect, but don’t require two hours a day.

Finally, we wish you a warm winter of cosy nights and comfort food and look forward catching up again when the days start getting longer.

*To explore our new Community Publishing Platform visit www.easternsuburbslife.org.