This week our bloggers were very keen on a few different topics and there was a lot of discussion. We couldn’t decide on a single topic so, we decided on our “free” writing day! It’s choose your own adventure!
 
Enjoy!
 
HELLO FRIENDS, 
For this month's choose your own adventure blog I'm going to write about “choose your own adventure” books. You know the ones that have the choices at the bottom of the page with the page numbers to turn to... for example: “to continue down this path turn to page 35” and it will have a second and sometimes a third choice and their page numbers. I would read the twist-a-plot books, I think there were about 13 of these books with all different stories. These books would throw me through a loop, I didn’t realize that these books existed, and my choices would usually get my characters in some sort of trouble. 
I think these books must have been interesting to write for the authors and hats off to the editors. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the books, and they were brilliantly written I just would love to be in the room when these books were written and edited. I feel like it would be a fun, interesting and probably a completely chaotic process. Imagine writing a book and having to plan for all the different outcomes in the story and making sure everything is placed in the book just right so that it still makes sense and flows nicely. It may feel like I’m rambling on but it’s just such a interesting concept to me.  
In our real life we get to choose our own adventures and learn all the fun lessons along the way and I think like life the books teach you that with every choice there is a consequence, every action a reaction. Just unfortunately for me none of my real-life choices have let me into a pot of gold... YET. Wouldn’t that be nice?  
Remember that you are in charge of your own adventure, wether it be in a choose your own adventure book or in reality and you can always choose a different direction. Our lives are just like books, something new on each page and there’s always a fresh chapter with new and exciting things waiting for us. Maybe today you’ll choose to read a twist-a-plot book or maybe you’ll make a big life decision whatever it is I’m proud of you and I support you!  
Have a wonderful adventure  
Shan  
 
 
Today’s blog is about my dog 
 
My dog is always in my room when my mum and dad are away. I am the one who takes care of her and lets her out because sometimes she needs to go to the toilet. I always feed my dog and sometimes I will walk with my dog. My dog breed is a small poodle, her name is Keira and she is a cute black dog. She is kind of the old lady in my house. My dog and I have been together for 12 years and I love her. – TJ
 
 
This week it’s a mix of different things as today we are all doing our own topic, this week I have chosen to talk about a show I have been watching with my boyfriend and the recommendation along with it.
The show is called Lucifer and all of its seasons are on Netflix right now, Lucifer is about the literal devil himself taking a break from hell in Los Angeles alongside with his favorite torturer demon Mazikeen, he runs a nightclub named Lux and parties all night relaxing until an incident occurs and he has to help a local detective find justice and punish the evil doers.
 The show takes us into the lives of Lucifer and the Detective named Chloe with a string of crime and murder happening with her daily job. Lucifer eventually gains trust in Chloe and he becomes her civilian consultant in cases. 
This show is both sarcastically funny and drama filled with family problems, fun fact this show is also part of the DC Universe – Holly
 
Today we were told “it’s free choice”” well I hit a brick wall! 
What to write about? I went for a walk to find ideas and guess what I decided - UMBRELLA SUPPORT and what it means to me, it is a great way to learn NEW SKILLS and I have learnt the following. 
 
1 Blogging 
2 Social skills 
3 Talking to others especially in front of a group 
4 How to meet new people 
5 Over coming fears about unknown situations  
 6 Dealing with changes 
7 Believing in myself
 
I could talk for so long about this group, they are wonderful caring friends who always give you support. We are so lucky to have an amazing support team lead by Cindy along with Jessy, Deni, Delia, Keirra and recently Krystle and Sheridan 
They mean so much to me.
 
Do you have a special group or a friend that is there for you and gives you support? If you do how lucky are you! I know I am to have made great friendships since 15th March 2021 with this organisation. 
 Love from Jess 
 
 
Hi dear readers! I’m back after my mum’s wedding! Woohoo! 
In today’s blog I’m going to be telling you all about my mum’s wedding due to me not being here last week. 
My mum's wedding was absolutely incredible and a magical moment in my whole entire life because honestly it was! I love them both so much because they both make me smile when I see them both happy together. They were both meant for each other always.
I love weddings, do you love weddings? 
You might be wondering what did I do at the wedding?
Well, it was amazing and magical because my mum was a beautiful bride with a beautiful dress. She looked on point and stunning (as always) and I love the man whom she got married to.
I love my life because they both make me happy.
thank you for following my life journey right now, thanks for listening. – Angelina
 
 
Just think about how if you could go back into your family history and discovered there was Royals. You could trace back in your ancestors and they might be related to the royals as an example. When you watch the show (who do you think you are) the English actor Danny Dyer has Royal ancestors.
 
There are lots of royalties in pop culture’s such as in Disney and non-Disney movies. 
Not many countries have Royal’s such as Israel are the best example due to their prophets they don’t have monarchy and they don’t have royal’s because they considered God as their King. Both Europe and Asia have Royals there have been another 10 countries abolished both the Royals and monarchy. There is a thin line that I have royalty in my family history 
 
Do you have hidden royals in your family history? – Phillip
 
 
Last week I chose the topic of my year 12 graduation.
 
Please bear with me. I know I have been writing about it for three weeks.
This year I'm in year 12 at high school. I am so excited to be graduating  from school. It has been an exciting and interesting year at school. I already got my jumpsuit outfit which is a beautiful dark purple colour called grape and I got off a website called JJ’s house. I ordered my jumpsuit last month and it arrived last Monday.
 
I am getting the bottom of my outfit altered because it is too long and I can’t wait to wear it on my graduation night.
 
I’m bringing my books home next week. For me it means that it is the end of school and no more studying for me this year.
 
Finishing year 12 is a big achievement. I should be proud of myself and I’m looking forward to next year. Do you remember when you graduated from school or are you graduating from school this year? – Charlotte
 
Mystical means a spiritual mystery, psychic belief.
 
I believe in Angels, Fairies, mermaids and unicorns _ Do you believe in the mystical?
For me I can see and feel them especially when I am at the beach it's my calm safe place or when I am at home and it's quiet. Do you have a special place ?
 
I have some psychic abilities which are picking up on my inner spiritual and entities talking to me since I was a little girl and some are my best friends that I still talk to each day and my spirit guides and Angel guides talk to me and protect me. 

My psychic abilities also include…
Seeing shadows
Seeing shadows around people
Seeing auras around people 

I really strongly believe my spirit guides are 
Angels 
Fairies 
Mermaids 
Unicorns 
Astrol Body Spirit Guides (Spirit Guides)
 
I am also very big believer of animal spirit guides; I really strongly believe and feel that my animal spirit guides are:
Dolphins 
Dogs
Koala Bears 
Wolfs 
Bears 
Panda Bears

Crystals are very spiritual calming and healing. The clear quarts is the king of crystals and the amethyst is the queen of crystals and I have lots crystals that I love very much that I cannot part from.
The universe is surrounded by the stars and the sky and are a really big, massive spiritual place. My most favourite spiritual mystical colour is Purple and my favourite colour is Purple. I am a very spiritual. Are you a mystical person?  Gipsy 

MUSIC!! It entertains us, it can help us relax, it can change our mood and it can bring so much joy! Our bloggers this week share their wonderful world of music. This is yet again a great read…
 
This week it’s time to sing and scream out as we talk or better yet sing about this week’s topic music, so this week I’m going to talk about my favorite musical that my boyfriend introduced me to and saw with him, Hamilton. Hamilton is about the American revolutionary war and the founding fathers of America but mostly about Alexander Hamilton.
This music was made and composed by Lin-Manuel Miranda. This musical has won multiple awards like the Tony awards for best musical and a Grammy for best for best musical theater album. The Broadway musical has been going on since 2015 when it premiered back in January 2015.
This musical is currently in Hamburg in Germany right now. You can currently watch the musical movie on Disney plus. The songs are so catchy and easy to sing along side and the acting and the history is worth watching this musical, it has drama and tragedy and humor, this musical is part history part rap and the productions is amazing to watch and work the stage, part of the stage has a moving center in the middle to replicate walking dancing and practical movement needed for this musical, especially the gun battles and a popular song in the play called Hurricane.
This play is also about taking a chance to change the way we think about our future and our legacy. – Holly
 
 
HELLO FRIENDS, 
In the past week when mentioning Meg Mac, I've had people say, “who’s that?” or something along those lines. I assume usually that because I listen to Meg Mac or Thelma Plum that everyone else has heard of them too. Not everyone will deep dive into Australian music and the musical talents that we bring to the table, shout out to anyone who has. Sometimes it’s a pure coincidence that you stumble across a great musician.  
I found out about Meg Mac through a friend of mine, she would have “never be” by Meg Mac playing in the car. Then I went and found more of Meg Macs songs to listen to and fell down the rabbit hole of Meg Macs music. I just love her unique voice and the way she takes you on a journey with her music.  
 I spend a lot of time talking about Delta Goodrem, I know you all know who Delta Goodrem is. Shes been mentioned a few times in at least two blogs. Delta brought Thelma Plum on her show Christmas with Delta to sing “Have Yourself a Merry Christmas” with her, seeing and hearing them sing together was beautiful. Thelma is another artist with a unique voice, I love her sound but also love the way she performs.  
All three artists are authentically themselves when they perform and sing, which is beautiful to see, and I love that they are Australian. Obviously, I love other singers too but it's so very important to celebrate our artists here in Australia, they are people that work so hard to bring us joy and make us feel.  
Let's all find a new Australian artist to listen to and discover. Also remembering all the Australian artists that we know and love! 
Have a wonderful day my friends – Shan - x   
 
 
 
Hello welcome to our blog today. Scarlett and Jess have decided to do their blog together as they both had the same topic - The  Wiggles!
 
The Wiggles started in 1991 in Sydney with four members Greg, Murray Anthony, and Jeff. They all had their own colours. The idea came from Anthony who wanted to write a children’s album. At the time he was studying to be a teacher. 
 
They commenced tours around Australia and they even had wiggly mascots Dorothy the Dinosaur, Henry the Octopus, Wags the Dog, and Captain Feathersaw. Later they grew into a large band and had backup dancers. They often perform at Dreamworld on the Gold Coast. 



SCARLETT’S VIEW

The Wiggles make me feel in the mood for dancing whenever I hear any of their songs. I remember laying on the couch when I was little watching the Wiggles on VHS tape. Some of the songs they have written are Fruit Salad, Monkey Dance, Toot Toot Chugga Big Red Car, Hot Potato, and Crocodile Hunter with Steve Irwin. They are great songs and they are great songs to dance to with your family. These day the Wiggles have new members Lachlan, Simon, Tsehay  and Anthony still sings these days. In my opinion, Toot Toot Chuggga Big Red Car is the most popular Wiggle song as it has been heard by loads of people around the world. The Wiggles is one of the most popular childhood bands in Australia. My favourite Wiggle is Greg because he gets the audience involved with the dance moves.



JESS’S VIEW
 
I love the Wiggles because of their colourful outfits. Each member has their own colour. My favourite was the yellow Wiggle which was played by Greg and later by my favourite Wiggle Emma. I remember watching them with my sisters. We loved their songs and would sing along doing the actions to such songs Chugga Chugga Big Red Car, Fruit Salad. Do you have a favourite song?
 
Has our blog produced a childhood memory? 
Did you like the Wiggles and can still sing their songs?
We can!
 
Happy reading and dancing by wake up Jess and Scarlett the dinosaur.
 
 
Last week the topic I chose was High School Musical 3 senior year. Let me start by telling you about the movie HSM (High School Musical). The high school musical 3 senior year the movie was released on the 24th of October in 2008 in the USA. It was filmed in Salt Lake City USA and it was directed by Kenny Oretega. I like It because it talks about the senior students graduating from East High School. I can relate to the movie because I’m graduating from high school this year. I love the songs and I'm excited to be graduating from high school.
 
Have you seen any of the high school musical movies or if you have seen It what is your favourite movie? – Charlotte
 
 
The Voice
Intro: I want to sing for people, I want them to have the music it’s a nice feeling.
Quote by Delta Goodrem 
 
What I think about the voice (music). It is a way to express our inner voice and emotions in both music and songs, what I am telling you next is list of songs that suit my voice 
The songs that suit’s my voice are: Jessie’s girl by rick Springfield. I can relate to this song due to someone that I really like but she is all taken by someone else.
Another song  Angels brought me here by Guy Sebastian I can relate to personally.
If you don’t know Guy was the winner of Australian Idol between this song and Dear Life by Delta Goodrem is a very personal emotional song for me. Do you feel the same? My last song I’ll stand by you by The Pretenders. I love this song because there is someone that I really care about and I want to protect her from any form of harm. 
 
How do you feel about these songs?
Do they stir a memory for You like ME – Phillip
 
 
It's about Gorillaz they are my favourite band. I like all music and it makes me relaxed and it calms me down but sometimes when I turn off my music it makes me easily angry because sometimes the noise around me can get too much for me.
 
The Gorillaz was created by both Damon Albarn and the artist Jamie Hewlett, from London in 1998 the year of the monkey. – TJ
 
 
My most favourite singing star is Britney Spears.
I have always wanted to be a singer and I have been singing since I was a little girl. I remembered when I was four years old girl my mum always told me that I had been making funny singing sounds since I was 2 years of age and she always thought it was really funny. I taught myself how to sing but I never had to push myself, I just new how to sing it just comes to me naturally. I never had the confidence to take it further but now I have made the steps to work on my voice by doing singing lessons so I can record my music and I would really love most of all to record a music album in a recording studio and write my own songs.
 
At the moment it is just the beginning of my song writing lessons.
Song writing is about brain storming and coming up with all different ideas and being in touch with your surroundings, feelings, and self-expression.
Song writing is very different to writing a script or writing a book or journal or a  blog. I find that writing a script and a blog or a journal is so much easier than writing a song but writing a song is all about the learning process and the more you learn the better you get at it.
With writing a song I find that I am to really putting all my thoughts and thinking into it. It can be very challenging but at the same time I am creating music that I will be able to sing and it mean the world to me. 
 
This is first time in my life  that I have taken charge in what I really love the most and has made me the happiest that I have been in my life and one day I really hope to share all my music with the world.
 
Thank You Gipsy

​MUSIC!! It entertains us, it can help us relax, it can change our mood and it can bring so much joy! Our bloggers this week share their wonderful world of music. This is yet again a great read…
 
This week it’s time to sing and scream out as we talk or better yet sing about this week’s topic music, so this week I’m going to talk about my favorite musical that my boyfriend introduced me to and saw with him, Hamilton. Hamilton is about the American revolutionary war and the founding fathers of America but mostly about Alexander Hamilton.
This music was made and composed by Lin-Manuel Miranda. This musical has won multiple awards like the Tony awards for best musical and a Grammy for best for best musical theater album. The Broadway musical has been going on since 2015 when it premiered back in January 2015.
This musical is currently in Hamburg in Germany right now. You can currently watch the musical movie on Disney plus. The songs are so catchy and easy to sing along side and the acting and the history is worth watching this musical, it has drama and tragedy and humor, this musical is part history part rap and the productions is amazing to watch and work the stage, part of the stage has a moving center in the middle to replicate walking dancing and practical movement needed for this musical, especially the gun battles and a popular song in the play called Hurricane.
This play is also about taking a chance to change the way we think about our future and our legacy. – Holly
 
 
HELLO FRIENDS, 
In the past week when mentioning Meg Mac, I've had people say, “who’s that?” or something along those lines. I assume usually that because I listen to Meg Mac or Thelma Plum that everyone else has heard of them too. Not everyone will deep dive into Australian music and the musical talents that we bring to the table, shout out to anyone who has. Sometimes it’s a pure coincidence that you stumble across a great musician.  
I found out about Meg Mac through a friend of mine, she would have “never be” by Meg Mac playing in the car. Then I went and found more of Meg Macs songs to listen to and fell down the rabbit hole of Meg Macs music. I just love her unique voice and the way she takes you on a journey with her music.  
 I spend a lot of time talking about Delta Goodrem, I know you all know who Delta Goodrem is. Shes been mentioned a few times in at least two blogs. Delta brought Thelma Plum on her show Christmas with Delta to sing “Have Yourself a Merry Christmas” with her, seeing and hearing them sing together was beautiful. Thelma is another artist with a unique voice, I love her sound but also love the way she performs.  
All three artists are authentically themselves when they perform and sing, which is beautiful to see, and I love that they are Australian. Obviously, I love other singers too but it's so very important to celebrate our artists here in Australia, they are people that work so hard to bring us joy and make us feel.  
Let's all find a new Australian artist to listen to and discover. Also remembering all the Australian artists that we know and love! 
Have a wonderful day my friends – Shan - x   
 
 
 
Hello welcome to our blog today. Scarlett and Jess have decided to do their blog together as they both had the same topic - The  Wiggles!
 
The Wiggles started in 1991 in Sydney with four members Greg, Murray Anthony, and Jeff. They all had their own colours. The idea came from Anthony who wanted to write a children’s album. At the time he was studying to be a teacher. 
 
They commenced tours around Australia and they even had wiggly mascots Dorothy the Dinosaur, Henry the Octopus, Wags the Dog, and Captain Feathersaw. Later they grew into a large band and had backup dancers. They often perform at Dreamworld on the Gold Coast. 



SCARLETT’S VIEW

The Wiggles make me feel in the mood for dancing whenever I hear any of their songs. I remember laying on the couch when I was little watching the Wiggles on VHS tape. Some of the songs they have written are Fruit Salad, Monkey Dance, Toot Toot Chugga Big Red Car, Hot Potato, and Crocodile Hunter with Steve Irwin. They are great songs and they are great songs to dance to with your family. These day the Wiggles have new members Lachlan, Simon, Tsehay  and Anthony still sings these days. In my opinion, Toot Toot Chuggga Big Red Car is the most popular Wiggle song as it has been heard by loads of people around the world. The Wiggles is one of the most popular childhood bands in Australia. My favourite Wiggle is Greg because he gets the audience involved with the dance moves.



JESS’S VIEW
 
I love the Wiggles because of their colourful outfits. Each member has their own colour. My favourite was the yellow Wiggle which was played by Greg and later by my favourite Wiggle Emma. I remember watching them with my sisters. We loved their songs and would sing along doing the actions to such songs Chugga Chugga Big Red Car, Fruit Salad. Do you have a favourite song?
 
Has our blog produced a childhood memory? 
Did you like the Wiggles and can still sing their songs?
We can!
 
Happy reading and dancing by wake up Jess and Scarlett the dinosaur.
 
 
Last week the topic I chose was High School Musical 3 senior year. Let me start by telling you about the movie HSM (High School Musical). The high school musical 3 senior year the movie was released on the 24th of October in 2008 in the USA. It was filmed in Salt Lake City USA and it was directed by Kenny Oretega. I like It because it talks about the senior students graduating from East High School. I can relate to the movie because I’m graduating from high school this year. I love the songs and I'm excited to be graduating from high school.
 
Have you seen any of the high school musical movies or if you have seen It what is your favourite movie? – Charlotte
 
 
The Voice
Intro: I want to sing for people, I want them to have the music it’s a nice feeling.
Quote by Delta Goodrem 
 
What I think about the voice (music). It is a way to express our inner voice and emotions in both music and songs, what I am telling you next is list of songs that suit my voice 
The songs that suit’s my voice are: Jessie’s girl by rick Springfield. I can relate to this song due to someone that I really like but she is all taken by someone else.
Another song  Angels brought me here by Guy Sebastian I can relate to personally.
If you don’t know Guy was the winner of Australian Idol between this song and Dear Life by Delta Goodrem is a very personal emotional song for me. Do you feel the same? My last song I’ll stand by you by The Pretenders. I love this song because there is someone that I really care about and I want to protect her from any form of harm. 
 
How do you feel about these songs?
Do they stir a memory for You like ME – Phillip
 
 
It's about Gorillaz they are my favourite band. I like all music and it makes me relaxed and it calms me down but sometimes when I turn off my music it makes me easily angry because sometimes the noise around me can get too much for me.
 
The Gorillaz was created by both Damon Albarn and the artist Jamie Hewlett, from London in 1998 the year of the monkey. – TJ
 
 
My most favourite singing star is Britney Spears.
I have always wanted to be a singer and I have been singing since I was a little girl. I remembered when I was four years old girl my mum always told me that I had been making funny singing sounds since I was 2 years of age and she always thought it was really funny. I taught myself how to sing but I never had to push myself, I just new how to sing it just comes to me naturally. I never had the confidence to take it further but now I have made the steps to work on my voice by doing singing lessons so I can record my music and I would really love most of all to record a music album in a recording studio and write my own songs.
 
At the moment it is just the beginning of my song writing lessons.
Song writing is about brain storming and coming up with all different ideas and being in touch with your surroundings, feelings, and self-expression.
Song writing is very different to writing a script or writing a book or journal or a  blog. I find that writing a script and a blog or a journal is so much easier than writing a song but writing a song is all about the learning process and the more you learn the better you get at it.
With writing a song I find that I am to really putting all my thoughts and thinking into it. It can be very challenging but at the same time I am creating music that I will be able to sing and it mean the world to me. 
 
This is first time in my life  that I have taken charge in what I really love the most and has made me the happiest that I have been in my life and one day I really hope to share all my music with the world.
 
Thank You Gipsy

It’s almost spooky time! Is it just me or have you noticed that each year this celebration seems to get bigger and bigger? When I was growing up it wasn’t such a big thing here in Australia but now, WOAH! Walk into Kmart and its EVERYWHERE! Our team have been looking forward to this day for a few weeks now and are looking forward to sharing their thoughts, experiences and research on this very interesting topic of Halloween.
 
Welcome to our blog today where I chat about all the kid-friendly Halloween movies available to watch with the family or loved ones.
 
Before I start telling you about some amazing flicks, I’m going to start with a joke. 
What do you call two witches sharing a apartment?
Broommates!
 
One of my favourite Halloween Movies is Monster House as I’ve watched it since I was a kid and that was a long time ago. Monster House is about two kids playing basketball at their house, a ball accidently rolls across the road to the neighbours garden, the neighbour gets angry when anybody goes into their yard and takes their stuff into their house. They don’t get it back until the end of the movie. 
 
Another one of my favorites is Coraline. Coraline is about a girl who moves house and gets “another mother”. She goes looking around the house and finds a doll that looks exactly like her with button eyes. This doll takes her on adventures at night making her scared of the new house and her “other mother” who wants to sew buttons onto her eyes. 
 
I also love the movie Hotel Transylvania they stay in a hotel for monsters ONLY, as monsters are scared of humans.
 
I also love Toy Story of Terror the movie as this movie brings back memories of watching Toy Story when I was younger. They stay in a hotel when one toy goes missing they try to find their gang to get them all back to the manager at the hotel he finds the toys and tries to sell them on eBay. 
 
Some of the other movies I would recommend are the Adams Family Movies, Casper, Ghostbusters and the Haunted Mansion movie. All these movies are amazing in my opinion. 
 
What is your favourite Halloween Movie ? There are so many to choose from.
 
Let’s finish with another joke to make you smile.
 
What do you call a witch that lives on the beach
A Sand Witch.  
 
Thank you for Reading this Spooky Halloween Blog 

Have Fun Trick And Treating! - Scarlett
 
 
Hello and come on an awesome story of trick or treat. Welcome to the tradition in my family of Halloween. My sister and her two little monkeys love Halloween and even decorate their house in full Halloween style. You’ll see witches, ghosts and more. My sister even decorates the front of her home with carvings of pumpkins, religious crosses and much more. 
 
When we go trick or treating, we make sure to look for houses with balloons on their letterbox and decorations or a front light on.  The kids love everything about Halloween especially the candy!  
 
Fun fact, Halloween has been celebrated in Australia for over 150 years, it isn’t just America. In fact the first recorded celebration was in 1858 in Castlemaine. Halloween had its origins in Scotland and Ireland thousands of years ago. 
 
How do you celebrate Halloween? Do you dress up? 
 
Happy toothless HALLOWEEN 
 
LOVE FROM JESS the Pumpkin,🎃   
 
 
 
This week we will be blogging about Halloween and it’s genre so I’ve decided to talk about one of my favorite tv shows related to the spooky season (but I watch it anytime). The show is called Ghost Adventures, It follows a group of paranormal investigators trying to show proof of the supernatural and abnormal entities in many locations famous for its hauntings.

The show is run by Zak Bagans, Aaron Goodwin and Nick Groff but he resigned after 2014. The ghost adventure team started in 2008 and is currently on its 25th season which is quite amazing for that long. I love this show because along with spooky findings the guys themselves are hilarious. One of their own especially Zak, loves investigating these ghost and findings but guess what? He is afraid of heights, snakes and clowns, surprising right?

They spend a full night locked up in these haunted places to investigate the following paranormal activity and yes literally they get locked up from going outside and running away from fears of the unknown, I would highly recommend watching this show as it is funny and interesting along with some goofy adult men screaming like pansies. – Holly
 
This year’s Halloween is held on Tuesday 31st of October 2023. 

 You might be asking when did we start celebrating Halloween and why? 

Halloween was first celebrated around 2,000 years ago, when Celtic people in Europe celebrated the end of the harvest and the start of a new year in a festival called Samhain, the Halloween origins which held on November 1. 

Do you celebrate or join in celebrating Halloween?  For me and my family we don’t celebrate Halloween but I do see other families trick or treating and dress up in costumes.  

I was asked if I dressed up what would I wear? I would wear Wednesday Adams from the Adams family because I have watched all season 1 episodes from Wednesday and all the movies from Adams family. It is a really good show and movies. 

Do you have a favourite character you would dress up as and why? 

At the shops I see so much Halloween things and it doesn’t bother me because I’m just not into it but for those who are do you like seeing those kids dressed up trick or treating?  For me I like seeing kids happy and living life and doing something that they like to do.   

How do you feel about Halloween? 

Do you like Halloween or do you just not care? Angelina.
 
It's HALLOWEN!!

This week we are talking about Halloween and my family and friends have already had a party! We had a Halloween dinner and eyeball Halloween ice cream. We had spiders made of chocolate too. 

I dressed up in ghost face mask and Halloween clothes with a long black cloak and boots.  

We will have another party with red colour blood drink. My little brother loves Halloween and is dressing up as Sonic the Hedgehog. He loves the movies and the show and the blue outfit. 

I love to see the houses with Halloween decorations like spider webs, black bats and blood handprints. 

I am excited for trick or treating, and I have a trick ready to go in case you say "trick!" 
Happy Halloween everybody! TJ
 
Hello Friends,  
 
SPOOKY SEASON IS APON US!  
 
What does everyone do for Halloween?  
 
I usually watch Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas because I love that movie so much because it's so very different to the usual Disney movies and it can be a Halloween movie or a Christmas Movie. (Yes, I also watch it at Christmas time as well). 
 
This Halloween I have decided I am going to shake it up a bit and I'm going to watch Disney's new movie Haunted Mansion. It's come out on Disney Plus and I’m both excited and scared about it. Watching movies on Halloween is something I like to do because it makes me happy and hopefully this year's choice of movie doesn’t change that.  
 
I like to think that Halloween can be a great opportunity for some self-care! If you're not feeling like going out or joining the trick or treaters and their parents, then it’s a great time for some- you time!  
Do whatever makes you happiest, there is an abundance of spooky themed skin care products online, you could do some online shopping, hang out with your fur babies (or non-fur babies), there are also lots of pet costumes too, make some spooky drinks, have a self-care date and make yourself dinner. The ideas are endless honestly. You can get on Google and get some inspiration too! 

I will watch a movie as I said, make myself a treat bag, cuddle up with my bubble tea plush and my Minnie mouse weighted plush and just enjoy the night.  
 
 
HAPPY SPOOKY SEASON! 
 
Just as an extra bit here; I started this blog post with no idea what I was going to write and ended up with a great little writing piece so for anyone who might be struggling to get stuff done, take a breather, drink some water and try again. You are only human.  – Shan
 
 
 The true story of Halloween (Samhain).  Can you believe Halloween isn’t originally an American Pagan in heritage.  It is Irish Pagan.
Before you read this I need you to believe in something about the true meaning of Halloween. 
Samhain is the celebration between living and the dead (or, the undead) and before Dracula was born, there was an Irish vampire named Abhartach. A fun fact about Abhartach is his grave is real, it is at the very back of the Slaghtaverty Dolmen Cemetery, in Northern Ireland. It is referred to as the Giants Grave.  His character inspired Bram Stoker’s novel, Dracula. Another fact here is that Bram Stoker was Irish, as is Halloween itself.
 
You may have heard about Merlin who is a Celtic Druid. Druids were the people who started Samhain, which we refer to as Halloween. They started ancient Irish pagan ritual’s, such as Bonfire. These were used to help the dead Passover in to afterlife. You may have heard of Passover within Judaism, the Jewish celebrate this. 
 
That’s what I love about history, is that all times and places are interconnected.  – Phillip
 
 
Happy Halloween! Last week I chose to write about the Witch Trials of Salem.
 
The trials started between early 1692 and mid 1693, about 300 years ago now.  300 years  ago there were  two witches  who  were mother and  daughter.  Sarah Good and Sarah Orsborne were their names.  They were actual witches that were tortured, hanged, buried alive for witchcraft . 

They started because 200 women  were accused of doing witchcraft and magic  and the women were tortured at the stake for this. There is a movie based on the witch trials called Hocus Pocus.  In the movie The Sanderson sisters, one of them called Sarah tells us about Hallows Eve, a very special day.  When the black flamed candle would light, the three Sanderson  sisters would come back.  

Do you celebrate Halloween? – Charlotte
 
 
Halloween is a huge American celebration and is  also celebrated in a Australia but not as big as America, it is becoming bigger in Australia each year.
 
I really believe the meaning of Halloween is a spiritual cycle of death and rebirth where people release and let go of all negative and lower energies that hold them back and will celebrate new energies that take place.
 
My  belief of Halloween is where people feel a spiritual connection to the spiritual world they can feel real senses of their astral body, white shadows, glows, auras around them, the angels and the white witches. White witches are the good witches their meaning is good with the spiritual world heavens.
 
What I really love about Halloween is all  the costumes and decorations. My favourite Halloween costumes is a witch’s because I like the style and it is a childhood memory and  it is a spiritual connection to me.

My favourite Halloween decorations in the stores are the witches and pumpkins. One day I would love to decorate my home inside and out.

What is your favourite part of Halloween - Gipsy

HAPPY HALLOWEEN FRIENDS

​Choose your own adventure – October 2023
 
Our participants decided they would like this week to choose their own adventure. If you’re new to reading our blogs this is when our team can write about anything they like! We do this once a month and we love it! This team of writers have so much to share so let’s sit back and read about it!
 
Welcome to our blog today I chat about an exciting adventure happening in November. 
 
This year I’m doing my first independent travel with my best friend Bridie we are traveling to Queensland, and we are even taking Jeff the Umbrella Bear with us.
We are staying on the Gold Coast which I love, especially the theme parks and the feel it brings.

We are planning to go visit Dreamworld, Movie World, Sea World, and Wet and Wild. All the parks are lots of fun and they have so much to offer.

We are catching taxis to get to all the destinations we want to go to and explore. I am so excited and a tiny bit nervous as this is my first holiday without Mum and Dad. To make me feel less nervous I’m going to message them each day. We are going to take many photos to remember this time. I’m looking forward to cooking dinner and paying for my own things while I'm away too.

On the days I’m not having a ball of fun I'm walking or going shopping. My favourite stores I have mentioned in a previous blog.

I’m going to have fun at the place we are staying too.
The reason I’m going to have fun at the resort is because they have a ropes course, jumping pillow , mini golf  and many swimming pools to choose from.
I can’t wait to go the beach as I love the beach especially because I love building sandcastles and jumping of a pier.
 
Thank you for reading our blog as you can see I’m so excited to enjoy this experience in Queensland. - Scarlett
 
 
I get to choose my own adventure today for the blog, and one of my favourite things is the Every 1 Cafe. I have learnt so much by being one of the Every 1 Cafe favorites. 
We make a team work no matter our disability. We have great teamwork skills together. We've learnt about what's a good greeting, we make sure to shake hands. And smiling is important to make people happy. It makes me happy.  I've learnt that in a cafe there are many jobs, and I am good at listening for instructions like “order up” when the coffee is ready. It's important to work well and get everything done in the time we have.
 
I use the term "watch out behind you" so my friends know I am behind them, we don't have any accidents. This is what teamwork means to me, watching out for each other. We are getting the job done together. 
No matter the weather we love to do the Every 1 Cafe, don't be afraid of the weather. We are indoors. It doesn't matter if it's cold or hot or wet or windy. At the end we close, we clean and we set up the room for dinner. When will you come and see us?  – TJ
 
 
This week the weather turned from sun shining to gloomy rainy weather and we all had a different topic to work on so we decided to use choose your own blog card for this month, I decided to talk about my roleplay journey online this week.
My roleplays are mostly always on VR or discord depending on the time and availability, I have worn my OC to my first Dinner with friends, let me tell you about my OC Maria the Kitsune.
She is part of a family of 9 sisters, each with their own color of the rainbow, My character has the purple hue in her hair and tails and has the ability to manipulate water and move it to her will she also has a rapier for fast and effective quick attack while slicing her enemies with it.
All of the sisters are kitsunes, a Yo-kai /spirit entity who often pulls pranks in Japanese folklore, each tail represents who’s the oldest and strongest, Maria is in the middle with 6 tails and Mikuru’s is the oldest with 9 white tails, then there is the second oldest named Arashi with 8 grey tails and so forth.
They were born just after the fall of the samurai era in Japan around the 1800s, the role play consists of flintlock firearms and katanas and other weapons used in that era. My character looked after the naval forces for the coast of her island they inhabited and owned.
My friend has been planning and making this roleplay since 2018 and we are almost finished with the main story line. – Holly
 
Hello happy readers! My name is Angelina and today I am going to talk to you about Friends the American TV sitcom because why not!  

Friends is an American television sitcom created by the talented David Crane and wonderful Marta Kauffman in 1994 on the 22nd of September. Friends' sitcom was officially the best series from all over the world after its debut from its first episode.

After 10 seasons they officially ended the series on the 6th of May 2004, saying that Monica and Chandler move to a suburban area in New York. (SPOILER).

There is now an amazing friend's experience dedicated to the show down in Docklands. It's still open up until the 26th of November so get going if you are a HUGE Friends fan!
​ 
You might be wondering what the point of Friends the American sitcom and the point of the show is is because it’s all about friendship and living solo in a world where you need your friends around if your family aren’t there beside you on your journey.  – Angelina
 
Hello all for those who are new my name Jess. I am a great Aunty to 4 nephews and 3 nieces.  I also have two amazing sisters. I belong in the middle. I love cooking up a storm, yummy foods such as tim tam balls. 
 
I also enjoy crafts especially my diamond dots, I have done one based off a family photo of myself and my two sisters. I do lots of different crafts and am working on a special one for my great friend. I have other box’s is my garden. I have planter boxes that have flowers and herbs which have grown and are so beautiful. 
 
I am also a national bowler for Victoria and absolutely love bowling. I have lots of friends from other organisations were I do different programs. I have also been engaged for 21 months and love my family and extended family, I do not drive so I get round by taxi, thank you Chan!
Happy reading all my fans love from Jess 
 
 
What you need know about England not just only the Royal’s but includes mythology and folklore’s. My ties with England is it’s goes back to my English SC times grand- grandfather on my grandpa’s side.

II  Now that I picked up my English traditions this includes perfect traditional food as well

III A British profession named William Shakespeare most famous with story wright theatre is the Macbeth’s witch hunt.

IV have strong British ties with both sides of from British ancestry to William Shakespeare and British traditional foods/traditions. - Phillip
 
 
Last week it was “Choose your own adventure” and I chose Harry Potter as my topic. The main character is Harry Potter and he is played by Daniel Radciffe. He started out as a child actor and he's a very good actor. 

Interesting facts about Harry himself, is he was cursed as a child in movies and the books by a very powerful and evil wizard, Lord Voldemort.  He now has a lighting scar on his forehead. Harry’s middle name is James. His parents went to Hogwarts and his mum was a witch, her name is Lily and his dad’s name is James.

Harry is in Gryffindor house, however if I was in Harry Potter I would go into Gryffindor house also because it’s my favourite house. 
​
There are 7 movie series’ and even a musical called Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.  I’ve seen it and it is very good. I loved it because I love Harry Potter.
Have you seen any of the Harry Potter movies or read any of the books? - Charlotte 
 
Hello Friends, 
Today I’m going to be talking about some other friends; SHARKS!! 

Why you ask? Because it’s a CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE BLOG! 

So, I have some random facts about sharks just to start us off,  
There are over 500 different species of sharks swimming in the world's oceans, with the biggest living shark being my favourite The Whale Shark (18m - 20m) and the smallest being The Dwarf Lantern Shark (6.3 - 7.9 inches).  

The most common shark species is the Dogfish there's 119 different kinds of dogfish, I won't name them all here. However, in Australia the most common shark is the wobbegong shark. There are 4 different species of wobbegong shark; Ornate Wobbegong, Spotted Wobbegong, Tasseled Wobbegong and the Dwarf Ornate Wobbegong.  

Now to deep dive into whatever I want to say about my shark friends;  
Whale sharks or Rhincodon typus which is their scientific name are my absolute Favourite shark, they are so beautiful, and I love watching them slowly swim in videos taken by experienced divers. They are just the gentle giants of the ocean. They can live to about 150 though very few whale sharks survive to adulthood. They are in fact sharks not whales even though they have whale in their name. Their markings are also like human fingerprints! One of a kind to each individual shark.  

 Sharks like me really enjoy personal space from humans, they just want to live out their days being happy shark friends and living their best shark lives. I think they need a little more respect than what they get from us. We enter their habitat and thrash around swimming, attracting their attention and then get upset when we get attacked. Imagine if I came into your home unannounced, uninvited and started trying to swim in your dining room? I bet you’d be pretty upset too!  
​
Shark attacks are rarer than you might think just as a side note.  
Have a wonderful week everyone! - Shan 

​UF0S’S Aliens
I am a real big believer into UFO’S Aliens it is my most favourite subject in the world, and when I start talking about UFO’s aliens, I don’t stop because I find it so very fascinating.

There have been so many UFO sightings all around the world.

UFO sightings have been seen in America, Australia ,Europe and Asian Countries. They say that in America Alaska is notorious for UFO sightings and unexplained things going on.

My beliefs are pretty out there and these are my believes into UfO Aliens. I really feel that I have had many UFO Alien experiences since I was a little girl and I would like to talk about one of these experiences.

I remember when I was a little girl in my sleep I was hearing a very loud helicopter sounds and I saw all these weird faces looking down on me and this would happen a lot to me has a child.

I was never frightened by it, I just always thought they were my little friends and they continue to visit me through my adult life up until today and when every time I close eyes I can see their faces very clearly.
​
Have you or anyone you know experienced a UFO Alien experience.
I  hope enjoyed reading my 2nd blog - Gipsy 

My favourite TV show or Movie…
 
We warmly welcomed Gipsy to our blogging team this week. Gipsy shared with us that she loves writing and was keen to get started so that’s exactly what we did!
Get comfy, grab some popcorn and pour yourself a big glass of your favourite soft drink as we settle in and “view” this weeks blog all about TV shows, series or movies… 
 
The favourite movie of Charlotte and Tyson. 
 
This is a big coincidence this week, Tyson and Charlotte share the SAME favourite movie, Scream!!  So this week we are teaming up to tell you all about it.
 
Tyson:-
“I love a good horror, this is for sure.
We really like murder mysteries, because they keep you guessing and the sound effects are the best! I love the killer. I love his boots, his long black cloak and the ghost face mask is very interesting to me.
 
Charlotte:-
“I like mysteries and definitely the killer too, he has a great outfit.
We both love the jump scares, you have to watch the movies at night. 
I first got into Scream after a breakup, it was comforting and enjoyable, and kept me busy. My big sister also made me watch it with her because she was scared”
 
Tyson:-
“You may have seen a sneak peak of my Halloween outfit last week, well you may have seen it last Tuesday at Dinner with Friends. I first saw Scream on the TV, and thought wow this is good.  I have since watched them all and have been scared each and every time”
 
Charlotte-  What is your favourite movie or horror movie?
 
Tyson- Dinner with Friends was on Tuesday!  It’s almost Halloween time!! Charlotte and TJ
 
 
Most people who watch TV shows watch on either on TV or Netflix but for me I use a different form to watch my Favorite show.
And that art form is called Anime and I will be talking about my first official Anime I watched, the show isn’t what you may think, it isn’t Dragonball Z or Sailor Moon, and the other ones that were on Saturday morning TV. The one Anime that got me into the Genre. It’s called Fruits Basket and I will be talking about why this Anime made me a fan of the genre to this day.
Published in 1998, this Japanese Manga was made into an Anime in 5 July 2001 to 27 December 2001 with 26 episodes, with only covering about a quarter of the manga. The story is about a Highschool girl Named Tohru Honda, a selfless and optimistic girl who loses her mother in a car accident, she tries to live by herself, but gets welcomed into a home by the most popular boy in her school, she desperately refuses as she doesn’t want to burden him and his family. But when she discovers a big secret, she stays with them to keep the secret safe from everyone.
 
In 2019 they did a revamp of the entire Anime with updated graphics and original voice acting from the original 2001 Anime and decided to include almost everything from the manga, this show is targeted at shoujo, an editorial category of Japanese comics targeting an audience of adolescent females and young adults. It is very funny and has a lot of drama and sad scenes mixed with heartwarming lessons about forgiveness and moving on.
I cried along with my boyfriend when the finale came around. The 3 seasons of this Anime have been uploaded to Crunchyroll. I even brought the 26 original copies back from Japan as a set and have all the newer DVD’s that came out and much more, needless to say I am a massive fan and would recommend this Anime if you haven’t already tried, this Anime’s genre is supernatural, romance, drama and comedy. Holly
 
Welcome to our blog today I chat about my favourite TV show called iCarly.
The Story behind iCarly is a girl named Carly Shay who films in a spare room in her apartment where she lives with her older brother Spencer . The first episode is called “Pilot”. They originally filmed because they wanted to showcase the talents of students and their school.  They posted it online and had heaps of views, the fans wanted more. Eventually, they started the show and called it iCarly.  
 
The reason it was my favourite tv show is because it makes me laugh and I always enjoy my time while watching. It has brought me lots of joy and happiness and given me an interest in media. I don’t really like the new version as there are different actors and it’s not as funny as it used to be.  
 
My favourite episode of iCarly is “I spy a mean teacher”.  There was a mean teacher at the school, and so they would hide in her wardrobe and check out her stuff.  Carly and Freddie are the only ones there as they think it will be cool and Sam was watching from the outside to try and distract the teacher. In the end though, they all get caught as the teacher sees them. Carly and Freddie get caught in the wardrobe and Sam in the garden.  
 
My second favourite episode is “Look A-like “and its my second favourite because this episode reminds me of my twin friend Charlotte.  We often get called the “Arlotte’s” like a band! 

In this episode they ask if you know anybody who looks like them and to send an image to the website during this episode.  They find random people who look very similar to the stars of the show Carly, Sam and Freddie.  They invite them to come and be on a live show but little did they know they were just going to chill in the studio and watch movies.
 
Have you ever seen iCarly? I have seen it loads of times and highly recommend you watch if you have not seen it. Thank you for reading this blog I hope you learned something about my favourite tv show. – Scarlett

This week while we talk about favourite TV shows or movies, I’m going to explain how celebrity look a likes have been a part of my life too.
 
There are many look-a-likes amongst the normal people and actors and actresses. Firstly, Danny Zuko from Greece, who is played by John Travolta. I have been compared to him quite a lot as I’ve performed many Danny Zuko’s solo songs.  I may even perform one on Tuesday at Dinner with Friends, if you’re lucky.
 
Secondly, Nick Jonas, he is one of the three Jonas Brothers.  Here is fun fact:-  Funny thing about me and him is that we both are the same age and we both grew up in a Christian home (both our dads are a pastor of the church).  Nick Jonas has been in Camp Rock, and the remake of Jumanji.  I love both these movie too.
 
Lastly, I have discovered that Louis Tomlinson from one Direction and I are the same age, born in the same month and the same year!  We are both in boybands as I created my boy band when I was at a Day Service. 
 
Did you know the word Doppelgänger is German and it means someone who is almost identical to someone else. I have seen lots of doppelgängers in my time, including myself and those I have mentioned today. – Phillip
 
 
Home and Away the Australian soap opera commenced on the 18th January 1988 and the original characters Alf  Stewart and Irene are still in the series.
 
The original story line is about a foster home with children from the city coming to live in the country. The original show was going to be called Refuge but was changed to Home and Away or H&A.
 
It commenced each week from Monday to Thursday at 7pm and for me 7pm is and has always been a block out time for me. Family and friends know not to contact me during that time. The main characters were a family with five foster children who moved to “Summer Bay” to run the caravan park and the fun began. 
 
The show has been sold to over eighty countries, making it one of the most popular Australian soap operas.
 
Myself and a close friend are crazy  about the show because of the interesting story lines, nothing is off limits - e.g. drug abuse, weddings, funerals you name it they have had it on.
 
I don’t have a favourite character now but Sally a foster child was my favourite until she moved away from the bay
 
I have been lucky to go to “Summer Bay” which is filmed in NSW at Palm Beach. I have some sand as a souvenir.
 
Do you like H&A and do you still watch it?
Do you have a favourite character? 
Have you been to Summer Bay?
 
Jess - A dedicated fan as well as my good friend Britt.
 
 
Hello Friends! 
After a short discussion about what we would write about in our blogs today we settled on favourite T.V. shows, fits perfectly with what I had hoped to write about today... BLUEY!  
 
Bluey is an Australian cartoon about an adorable six-year-old blue heeler puppy who loves adventures with her friends and family Mum Chilli, Dad Bandit and Sister Bingo. I think it’s a great show that anyone can watch and enjoy. It's also fantastic that it is an Australian show (Screen Queensland and Screen Australia), being an Australian myself this makes me extremely happy and proud that we have created such a good kids show. The fun part about it being a kids' show is it's not just the young people who love it. Adults are on board the Bluey train too!  
 
I am one of those adults who love Bluey, nothing makes me happier than putting my AirPods in and diving into the world of Bluey. I have the Bluey music in a playlist on my phone because why not right? I love the Grannie's episode I'm pretty sure it’s in season 1, episode 28. I could watch it over and over again. I recently got to go see my 1-year-old niece who loves Bluey also, it was great to watch it with her. I’m pretty sure she’s mostly a fan of the intro music the most. She does also have a favourite episode though, Cricket which is in season 3, Episode 47.  

Random fun fact for you Chloe Hayden (Actress, Author, disability advocate, motivational speaker and social media influencer.) Loves Bluey too!  
 
My favourite characters are Bluey, Rusty (Red Kelpie) and Unicorse (Unicorn Puppet). 
I love Bluey because she's the main character but also because she's always going off learning new things in her adventures and she's great fun. Rusty is so imaginative, he's being a handyman fixing fence's one minute, showing off his awesome cricket skills the next and loves playing army! He’s a great character! Another reason to love Bluey is there is a Unicorn that appears in a couple of episodes and that brings me to my next favourite character; Obviously I love Unicorse Because he’s a unicorn and unicorns RULE! (Unicorns are my favourite) he is a bit cheeky though and seems to love spoiling story times.  
 
So there we are I LOVE BLUEY and that’s something that makes me happy. What TV shows or movies do you love? Maybe give Bluey a go?  

Have A Wonderful Day Friends! – Shan
 
 
My favourite TV Show - Home and Away
Home and Away is on week nights from Monday to Thursday at 7pm. My favourite characters are Leah, Justin, Theo, Cash,  Kirby, Mackenzie, Harper, Diana and Felicity.

The reason why I love Home and Away so much is because I really love all the drama and how all the actors present in their acting. They are very good at it, all of the actors! 
In Home and Away they really know how to act and I really love that Home and Away is filmed on the beach and I really love where Home and Away is set in Summer Bay.
 
Recently what’s been happening in Home and Away is Justin and Leah were kidnaped and taken to an isolated building with no food or drink fluids and Justin tried climbing up onto the roof so they could find a way out to get help, then parts of the roof collapsed and Justin fell and parts the roof fell on him. Justin was seriously injured, both Leah and Justin needed medical attention but what happens to Justin? Will Justin survive? If Justin does not survive, then Home and Away will never be the same but I will still love Home and Away. Justin is really cool! I really hope Lyric make their album and it gets really big and everything works out for Lyric, I hope Felicity has a child with Tane her husband. 
I really wish Home and Away could go for 1 hour and a half or 2 hours from Monday to Friday because there never anything on TV - Gipsy

​What does history mean to you? Is it the years before we were born that you’re interested in or is it something that happened last weekend? Technically both are classified as history if we think about it as it happened in the past! So, here we go…

My Recent American History
I'm so excited to tell you about MY American history, it is short, and very recent. I only got home last week!
 
I went on a long flight from Melbourne to San Francisco, and drove a wicked BMW convertible to the Golden Gate Bridge. It was so much fun. I was also nervous because it was the first time on a big big plane. And I was nervous to be on the other side of the road!

We went on another flight to Phoenix and we visited my family. My sister and her husband, and their two children. I was so excited to see them, but it was night time and I was tired. 

We got to see a pre season NBA game, the baseball and the NFL. My sisters puppy slept in my bed, so comfy under my blankets. It was very strange to be living and be awake at the different time to everyone at home. 

We had huge crabs and massive burgers and chips. Their soft drinks are too big. 
Many cars in many colours were really fast and low to the ground. 
It was the most awesome almost 2 weeks, ever!! – TJ
 
Welcome to our blog today. I chat about the history of the AFL. For those who don't know AFL is Australian rules footy. It is a well known game. Loads of people love it; some don’t like sport in general, but others seem to enjoy it.
 
There are 18 teams in the AFL, including the Sydney Swans known as South Melbourne, Richmond Tigers, Melbourne Demons, Gold Coast Suns, North Melbourne, and Collingwood Football Club. They are all great teams I barrack for the Sydney Swans as my grandparents chose this team for me before I was born. 
 
Did you Know Thomas Wentworth Wills believed that a football club should be formed to keep his teammates fit I didn’t know this but now I do.
 
Before AFL our game was known as VFL Victorian Football League as teams were only Victorian. In 1982 VFL South Melbourne relocated to Sydney to become the Sydney Swans. In 1987, 14 teams were now playing and they included West Coast Eagles and Brisbane Bears (now called Lions).  In 1990 the VFL became the AFL and Adelaide Crows, Fremantle, and Port Adelaide joined. In 1996 the Brisbane Bears merged with Fitzroy to become the Brisbane Lions.
 
Currently, in the AFL, there are clubs in all different states around Australia. It's good how the game includes all states around the country so every club gets a chance to show the talent of emerging players. Players go through a draft and the clubs have picks to get the player of their choice and some of these players can come from the team's academy and the father’s sons.
 
Sometimes teams swap picks so teams can have players they would love. The players get ranked according to their talent from number 1 to like number 20 and picks are numbered so people know which clubs have which picks.
 
The AFL holds a grand final each year in September and each year the grand final parade is on. It gives the fans of the game a chance to see their favourite players before the grand final. Only the teams competing are at the parade as well as the rising star player and the Brownlow medallist.
 
At each game teams have merchandise stands were people buy their footy gear and player badges to wear. You can buy footy jumpers scarfs and many more other types. – Scarlett
 
 
Hello Friends, 
I'm just going to start off this blog with a quote: 
 
“Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” - George Santayana  
​
This quote fits in so very well with what I'm going to talk about today.  
At some point or another you would have learnt about some form of history in school, the history of events of the world, your country and your state. You might have taken it upon yourself to learn about some history on your own. Good on you if you have!  

There are some schools who allegedly can not teach about some historical events, books or people. This makes me sad because like the quote says if you don’t learn about history, it could be something that happens again. It would be like Groundhog Day, just being stuck in a loop of repeating history over and over again. 

Yes, history is a big topic to talk about, it's uncomfortable and dark. Remember though that this is the history that is ingrained in the land, it's a part of family trees, it has brought people together as well as violently torn people apart.  

Now to what I think about not teaching certain history in schools, I think it is for lack of a better word crap! I don’t care if you don’t believe it happened, it goes against your beliefs, or you don’t feel it's important. That’s a bit of a you problem. If the topics taught are taught in an age-appropriate way and it's factual I see no issue with it. It’s apart of the important part of education. Don’t get you knickers in a twist over it.  

Without being taught history w e will have a whole generation of people who won't know about history, without that knowledge and understanding we will have people who, as the quote says, be doomed to repeat history.

Don’t you think that puts them at a disadvantage because I do, how are they supposed to grow as people if they don’t have the opportunity to learn from the past.  
Some want to forget the past when it should be remembered, it's our warning sign for the future.  

So go out and learn something about history or teach someone else about history.  – Shan
 
 
Today’s topic is history and as of last week we got a new Premier Jacinta Allen. I would like to talk about some interesting facts of  Melbourne’s Premiers 
 
Melbourne was founded in 1835 and our 1st Premier was William Haines on the 30 November 1855.
 
Did you know one of our longest serving Premiers was Sir Henry Bolte for 17 consecutive years and our shortest was Frank Forde in 1945 for only 7 days
 
Jacinta Allen is our 49th Premier, she replaces Dan Andrews our longest serving Premier from 2014 to the 27th September 2023. She is our 2nd female premier, the first was Joan Kirner who served. She was our 42nd Premier from 1990 - 1992. A fun fact is she was called the” polka dot Premier”
 
Another of our Premiers was Jeff Kennett who was our 43rd Premier serving between 1992 and 1999. Apart from his love of Hawthorn he is the founder of Beyond Blue a amazing organisation.
 
Another fun  fact is Premiers can run as many times as their party votes them in.
 
The year I was born John Cain Jnr was our 41st Premier. Jacinta Allen will be the 8th premier I have seen.

How many Premiers has there been in your life time?
 
Happy reading love Jess.  
 

My family has deep history set in the early Australia’s war.

Firstly, my Great Grandfather has a memorial plaque in Chelsea VIC at the Courthouse Museum. He was one of three policeman who firstly served in WWI, and later rescued over 100 people in a devastating flood, in 1934 in Chelsea.  I am very proud of this family history, as it proves to show how much care the family brings to helping others. It’s in our blood.

 My surname Gilding has rich Global history, originating in England and migrating to the United States and Australia.  Gilding is a derivative of the term Gold, and was often given to those who either worked with Gold in an artistic manner, or who had gold blonde hair.  The earliest mention of the surname Gilding comes from The Great Survey of 1086 in England, much like the modern day Census.

 I feel proud to be a Gilding, and would like to keep that surname forever as it holds a special place in meaning to me. It is a rare surname as you don’t see it often, as there is limited information on its history. – Holly
 
My family history is really, very important and interesting to me.
 
If you need to know more about your family history there is an app called Ancestry. I love this app as it has taught me so much. It is one of the best sources to find out more on family history.

When you look back though and beyond my Australian family history I have English, Northwestern European and Scottish. This makes me feel proud to have such a mix in my heritage.
 
Researching into my ancestry has shown I might be related to someone that is infamous. King James the VI and I of Scotland and England. He was around in Shakespeare days writing Macbeth and during the witch trials.
 
Another way you can trace your family history, is through World War records. I have found family history through past occupations and personality traits. I found out that most strange job is being a “Gentlemen” I found this out on my dads side.  Can I just say that I am a gentleman, so it is no surprise to you and me, as it must be in my blood and brain! – Phillip
 
 
I have chosen the topic of the history of the Eiffel Tower because I love the history of it.

Here are some things that I found interesting

Here are some interesting  facts Eiffel Tower:
 
Did you know it took 2 years, 2 months and 5 days to finish building the Eiffel Tower the people  who started building the tower in late January 1887 until  March 31st  1889 and took lots  of technology and architectural materials such as iron and steel .
 
The tower was built by Gustave Eiffel and the Eiffel tower is located in Paris, France. The Eiffel Tower is a dream destination of mine because I've never been and I’d love to go and see it light up at night as well as it being a romantic destination .
 
What is an interesting part of history, do you know? – Charlotte
 

​Choose your own adventure 28/9/23
 
Today’s blog is our “Choose your own adventure” addition! It’s fast becoming a favourite for our talented bloggers and having the freedom to write about anything they like shows us what is making their intelligent minds tick! As our regular support worker Jessy is on a family holiday we welcomed our support worker Krystle and Sheridan our Disability Cert IV student who is spending the next five weeks with us. They were both super impressed by the team and their writing.


Sporting in Spring is such a busy time, we’ve got the AFL Grand Final, Melbourne Cup, Swimming competitions and much more since the weather is so nice, but today, I’m not going to talk about AFL or horse racing, in fact I highly doubt you have heard of this sport.

Maybe you’ve seen it on the Medicare Insurance advertisement 2 or 3 years back. What I’m talking about is called Swordcraft.  A LARPing game, where you fight your friends and teammates with foam swords and dress up in medieval clothing.

It’s quite an intense game of make believe and fun mixed with Warhammer fantasy lore.
I first started in 2019 just after my trip to Japan. My character is a half elf and I wear prostatic ears alongside my makeup and clothes, I am a speedy healer with a foam staff with a rapier by my side.

This hobby does come with an expensive build up to make your character and immersive yourself as your character. Here’s a quick rundown of how much I’ve paid for my equipment.

My main weapon is my mage staff which I heal and cast spells which comes with a hefty price of $326.95 (as of now) my rapier is $176.95 (as of now), my brown leather and red corsert is $195.95.

I would recommend playing this for an emersed environment and to get fit in a nerdy way and buying preowned items.

I’m planning on going back to play soon, they play on Friday nights in Melbourne at Westen Oval in Parkville Victoria, I sometimes even go to the Saturday games every fortnight in Traralgon.
​
It is fun and very tiring but it is so worth it. – Holly
 

My dad Brendan was diagnosed with throat cancer on the 27th of June 2023. His journey has begun spending a lot of time in and out of hospitals like Monash Clayton and Peter Mac. He has been getting many tests done and is being given lots of medications. The effect has been really tough on my family and dad has been through so much, so have my mum and my family.
 
It’s been very hard watching him go through the treatment. Recently we received encouraging news which helps us to stay positive. Have you or a loved one gone though cancer treatment and if so how did it affect you? From my family to yours we can get through this. Don’t stop believing love Jess.
 

​Welcome to our blog today. I speak about my experiences about going to the AFL Grand Final.
 
​I have been to loads of grand finals. The first one was in 2014. I was a bit nervous because it was against Hawthorn who are a great AFL team in my opinion as I liked a couple of the players who used to play for them or currently do now. Sadly, this was my first loss.  I thought of the positive not every team can make the finals and my team the Sydney Swans have a chance like every team each year.
 
In 2015 I also went to a grand final. Sadly the Swans lost against Hawks again but at least we tried. I remember some of the players who played in these games. There we some players who have since retired. 
 
In 2016 I went to my first grand final parade. I got to see some of my favorite Sydney players. Issac Heeney remember me and gave me the thumbs up as I recently went to  Sydney the week before. I loved seeing the players as it brought me a lot of joy and happiness there were a lot of Western Bulldogs fans there. I also got to see Patrick Dangerfield as he won the Brownlow medal this year. The next day we went to the ground it was so cool. I got a Swans flag to wave at the game sadly we lost this again year. I still go to the games even though we lose.
 
In 2022 I went to yet another grand final even though we lost by heaps of points. I was thinking of the positives and got to see one of my favourite singers , Robbie Williams. He is a rockstar and he is a great singer. Swans tried their best but it was proven that the Cats were the better team on the day.
 
I also met Joel Amartey, James Bell and Peter Ladhamas as they didn’t play on grand final day. That was my positive, getting to meet  a couple of players who I’ve never met before.
 
Thank you for reading about my experience about grand finals. Have you ever been to one? They are great. If you don’t like sport its probably not for you. There are also loads of people there too. What AFL team do you barrack for? There are a lot to choose from even if you don’t go for a team. – Scarlett


I would like to talk about my hidden talents.  I have many.
 
Firstly, I have supernatural senses due to growing up in Christian home. I can tell the difference between undead and spirits and no, I am not an exorcist. 
 
I am also very good at cooking/baking as my dad’s side are all bakers and mum side are all chef’s. I picked these skills up from both my parents because it is in my blood.
 
Athletics is another hidden talent of mine as I am quite Athletic. I did lots of sports back at schools and day services. This includes tri-state games also I can put my legs around my head, but no this does not make me Spider-Man!
 
Lastly, I have great knowledge in mythology.  In many mythology’s around the world they have dark past also with pop culture’s such as movies, TV shows, novels (my favourite novel is Bram stoker’s Dracula).  This is a huge interest to me. 

Do you have any hidden talents? – Phillip


HELLO FRIENDS! 
 
Welcome to today's blog. Every month we do a choose your own adventure blog which means we get to choose our own topics, when normally we all have the same topic that is voted on by the blogging group. For this month's Choose Your Own Adventure Blog I have chosen to dive into my journey of becoming obsessed with reading. 

I have a “small” library of books at home and when I say small, I mean two bookcases crammed with over 200 books. After reading that sentence it might surprise you to learn that I haven't always enjoyed reading, in fact in my early primary school days I HATED reading, it just wasn’t something I was good at, and I couldn’t make the words make sense to me, it was really frustrating that I wasn’t able learn as quickly as my classmates and I wasn’t interested in the books I was using to learn to read.  
 
In 2003 my grade three teacher took us to the school library; it was a weekly trip for about half an hour or forty minutes. Never usually a life changing experience, except on this day it was. My grade three teacher asked me about the books I liked to read and obviously I said I don’t like to read. I think I might have offered my Grade three teacher a challenge that day and she 100% took it. 

You see what I didn’t know is that you could choose books about things that interested you and that everyone learns at a different pace. This is what happens when books are chosen for you, which is what most teachers did and when I didn’t read, I got told off or given extra books to read. Fun Right?  
 
However, this teacher took the time to ask what I was interested in. At that time, I was OBSESSED with horses and The Saddle Club. She took me to the area of the library that had books like Pony Pals, Black Beauty, Pony Tails and of course The Saddle Club.  

This moment was life changing for me because even if I wasn’t ready to start reading The Saddle Club Books that day. I had something to work towards and get excited about, plus my grade three teacher was there to help me get to all my reading goals. Guess who learned to read and enjoys reading now? 
 
ME! 
 
Shout Out to My Grade Three teacher for the time, patience and commitment. Also, to my mum who saw all my frustration trying and failing to do the reading thing. We got there in the end <3  

I must recommend books while I have your attention: 
The Resilience Project – Hugh Van Cuylenburg, Different Not Less – Chloe Hayden, First We Make The Beast Beautiful- Sarah Wilson, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart- Holly Ringland and Horrie The Wog Dog – Ion Idriess – Shan
 

Today's topic is the writer's choice and I have chosen coffee stores and reason is because people go to different coffee stores.

What is your idea of a coffee store?  Mine is Starbucks because in my opinion Starbucks is a good coffee store.
 
Let me start with history of the Starbucks company. It was founded in Seattle US on March 30th 1971, and there are 90 stores throughout America. In July 2000 the first Starbucks in Australia wasnopened in Sydney NSW by former Starbucks employee Howard Schultz.
 
At one stage there were 90 stores throughout Australia, today there are only 17 stores, 7  are in Victoria. There are over 8,000 varieties of drinks that you can purchase. My favourite is only available at Christmas time. It’s the Gingerbread latte but during the year I like a chai latte.
 
Do you have a favourite drink at Starbucks and if so what is it? - Charlotte
 
 Well there you go! Another snap shot into the minds of these creative writers. Join us again next week as our talented team… JUST WRITE! 

​SPRING HAS SPRUNG!
 
I LOVE Spring! Like REALLY REALLY LOVE it!
It tells me that sunny days are coming, the weather will be warming up, daylight savings is on the way and dare I say…CHRISTMAS! Can you tell I’m excited?
Today our team blog about Spring, and Spring holiday destinations…Cindy
 
Spring is the start of the warmer months and when people start to relax and clean or even travel before the busy season in Summer. Spring is perfect for a nice walk since blossoming is in effect,
In the last few weeks of Spring I will be going on another cruise with my significant other who I talked about in previous blogs. We are celebrating his grandma’s 80th as well, Adam joined my family and I for my grandmas 80th in August so it is just mere coincidence that I will be going on another so soon after.
The cruise we’ll be on is called P&O Comedy Cruise and it will be held on Pacific Adventure for 3 nights.  I would recommend a 4 night or 3 night cruise for your first time, depending on your body and how you deal with motion sickness it can be very daunting so bring anti-nausea if you want to try.
Considering the price for hotels and foods and airfares, a cruise has got you covered for all that for a cost of an airfare usually depending where and when. But Spring can have some self reflecting time as well, hence why It is called spring cleaning, refresh and clean out old stuff for the summer months following, get rid of all those dusty 5 year old jackets and donate them for a good cause, it is time for a upgrade!
And for a closing scene I’ll give you all a small reading!
“The card I pulled for everyone is a reversed attachment. This card reversed is a wonderful indicator that an old negative pattern, relationship or desperate attitude is being released. As you continue to let go, you will be able to establish new ways of doing things and relating to others” – Holly
 


It’s spring! Yay. The weather is amazing especially the sunny days as it brings me joy and happiness.
 
I love doing outside activities in the sunshine especially going onto walks around Lysterfield Lake and Wilson Botanic Park as I love going for walks as they count as exercise and are suitable for my health and well-being too. I also love running and playing basketball in the sunshine. Another fact about me is that I love playing tennis in the summer and spring weather too.
 
I also love going to the beach during the summertime as I love spending time in the water during the warm days as it brings me joy and keeps me cool in the hotter days ahead. I also love spring as I have a swimming pool and can often be found there during the summer and Spring time.
 
Funny fact: Great Danes do not like the heat and my dog Lucy is scared of water so I put her bed under the air conditioning or spray her with the garden hose to cool her down sometimes.
 
Some of the other activities I would suggest doing in the warmer weather are gardening, going to a park with your family or having a picnic. I can ride a bicycle or a scooter around a bike track. Or even blow some bubbles in the sunshine. They look so cool when they are in the sunshine. You can even draw with chalk on the footpath outside your home or at a local park.  On Monday’s, we blow bubbles in a park and draw some amazing drawings as a team in the sunshine. Some people choose to play basketball too as it’s a team activity.
 
The every 1 cafe sells milkshakes if you want to get a refreshing drink like a milkshake. My favourite is chocolate. We have many other cold beverages located at Amstel Club 1:30-3:30 on Thursday’s. We had a team meeting recently about what else we can offer during the warmer weather. 

Don’t forget Slip, Slop, Slap, and Seek Shade to reflect the importance of seeking shade and sliding wraparound sunglasses to prevent sun damage. – Scarlett.
 
Spring has sprung! Come on an adventure, to see what I got up to last week as the weather was stunning. We decided to do some sight seeing on the Mornington Peninsula. Our first stop was Moonlight Sanctuary. Moonlight Sanctury is about 50 minutes from the CBD and is set in a bushland setting with over 70 Australian animals. Some are kangaroos and wallabies which can be hand fed. You can also cuddle a koala, which I did. We walked around looking at the animals and learnt about cockatoos. It was fabulous.
 
There are plenty of places to enjoy a picnic. We spent at least an hour there but could have spent more time. I recommend it to families. There is a cafe there too. 
 
Our next destination was Arthur Seat which has a chairlift ride which is called The Eagle. It is an enclosed cabin and the view is stunning. We could see the city of Melbourne. We decided to do the return trip where you can watch cars below us. We enjoyed lunch at the restaurant which was delicious.
 
Our last destination was originally a surprise, it turned out to be Charlie’s Auto Museum. It’s a private owned collection of over eighty cars and bikes. There is a model of the Titanic and Luna Park. It was originally opened in 1988 in a small shed on his property but it has grown so big. It was interesting to see olden day cars and some overseas cars. My favourite car was a pink stretched limo.
 
Another highly recommended place to visit. I had a blast of a day. Have you been to any of these places and if so what did you think of them?
 
Happy reading about my sightseeing day love Jess 
 
 
 
Seasonal travel for me will be in Spring time.
There are so many countries that you can travel to in spring and some of the countries I would like to travel are.
Europe
Romania
Hungary
 
Greece (Go to the temple of Persephone to thank her for spring)
 
Asia
North and South Korea
Philippines
Thailand
Japan
 
Indonesia (Did you know that Indonesia is both European and Asian) Did you know there is a hidden country called Eurasia if you want to find where is Eurasia in world map is, it’s in between both Europe and Asia. 
 
Most people want to travel during spring because the warmer weather brings delicious seasonal produce, blooming flowers, and the days are longer which give you more time to enjoy with family and friends.
 
What country would you like to travel to in Spring?  Phillip
 
 
 
Spring is here! I like spring because the sun is out, and the weather is warmer, the butterflies are flying around, the bees are buzzing, you can have a long walk at the park, or a bike ride or have ice cream with family and friends. You can also go swimming in a pool or at the beach.
 
Spring festivals. Have you ever been to a spring festival? I’ve been to two spring festivals which were Oktoberfest which takes place in late September and throughout October and second festival I’ve been to was the Tulip Festival which start on 16th of September  and goes until the 15th of October.
How do I feel about the festivals? I love going to the Tulip Festival because the different colours of Tulips are so pretty. You can even buy Dutch clogs or  take photos in the giant Dutch Clogs, some are even Disney themed clogs and music  , food and drinks are delicious. The Oktoberfest highlights German food, drinks and music. I reckon that’s just about getting out and enjoying spring. Charlotte
 

Who loves themselves a little retail therapy?
In store or online, these shops and outlets can help us buy everything we need, even when we don’t need anything! These days we shop online for so many things but in store we can touch feel and smell everything on offer.
This week our team blogs about their favourite shops or retail outlets…
 
Retail and stores are part of our everyday life. From the supermarket to buying clothes for the season, it is the second biggest employment with 9.8 percent of Australia working in retail as their main job. I’m going to talk about the stores I go to when I have free time and money.
The shop I’m going to be talking about today is called Critical Hit and it is Located in the heart of Melbourne, they are labeled as a hobby and pop culture store.
They sell everything from Anime goods and pop references to exclusive items from Japan, I mostly go there to try my luck at Itchiban Kuji, meaning number 1 prize, it is like a lucky dip with letters, A being the highest to go for and hardest to get, this includes figures, plushies and big items, then the list goes down from there until a set letter like H or G being the smallest like a keychain. I have been lucky a few times, I even won an A prize on one ticket.
They sell Manga and cds, posters, figures, TCGs (trading card game), Plushies, and apparel.  They even can help recommendations on what to watch next and are LGBTQ+ friendly. – Holly
 
Welcome to our blog today I chat about my favourite retail shop which is Sportsgirl. I love shopping at Sportsgirl because of the clothes they sell and the really cool accessories they have. I especially love the T-shirts and jumpers as they make me feel comfortable to wear and I can move easily. I love buying clothes that I can move and grove.
Sportgirl has been opened since 1948 to bring fashion and beauty to the world customers love seeing their new products in the many different stores around the world.
Sportgirl is a business that can be founded all around the world, they have many locations such as Cranbourne and Fountain Gate and you can find these locations on their website for a location closer to you.
Sportgirl is an Iconic Australian brand specializing in fashion beauty and accessories. The journey began in 1948 and Sportsgirl is now operating in 120 stores nationally including online.
The first store Sportsgirl store opened in 1948 as an alternative to its sister label, Sportscraft, on Swanston Street Melbourne. The store was owned and operated by the Bardas family, who at the time had no retail outlet and had been distributing their Sportscraft clothing label via department stores. Why do you like Sportgirl? – Scarlett
 
 
My favourite shops are EB Games, Woolies and Coles.
My favourite shop of all time is EB Games or wherever I can buy my Xbox cards. Why you may ask? It's because I'm a gamer in my spare time. It's a must for me to buy an Xbox card every Wednesday afternoon when I go shopping If not I get cranky. But lately, I have been trying to save money for my trip to America so I'm spending less than usual but I still buy a cheaper one. The card is for my Fortnite game that needs to be updated.
The other shops I go shopping at are Woollies and Coles. Wednesday afternoon is when I cook dinner for my family with the help of my support worker Jessy from Umbrella Support. We go food shopping for my breakfast, lunch, snack, Pepsi Max no sugar, and the stuff I need for cooking dinner.
As for clothing my dad and I do them together I love shopping with him. I'm looking forward to Next week I will have fun with my dad but I will also miss my friends. – TJ
 
 
Jay Jays were founded in 1978 in Sydney by 2 brothers. In 1993 it was purchased by the Just Group and it’s a very successful company. Jay Jays sells jumpers, t-shirts, shirts, sweatpants and their policy is all about having a good time and living carelessly. Inspired by youth, culture and street wear.  
I think Jay Jay's have great street wear, and they are a fabulous clothing brand and as a customer there I love it because all their outfits and clothing are very suitable and comfy. The Jay Jay's clothes are made in Bangladesh and the company is now owned by Just Jeans. The locations of jay's jays in Australia are in Cranbourne, Dandenong, South Wharf, Doncaster, Southland, Chadstone, Docklands, Knox, Karingal and so many other locations throughout Australia. 
Do you like shopping at retail stores if so what type of store? - Angelina
 
 
 
Kmart was established in 1969, with the opening of its first store in Burwood, Victoria, and was only open for 45 min and closed due to safety reasons. The original hours were only Monday to Friday 9 to 5 and Sunday trading. In the late 1980’s late night trading opening their doors at midnight now Kmart is open 24 hrs a day 7 days a week and their 323 stores throughout Australia Kmart were voted best. family store because it sells such as things as home decor and textiles, furniture, apparel and footwear, children's entertainment and toys, pet supplies, photographic developing, camping and fishing goods, sporting goods, small appliances, storage and home organisation, confectionery, stationery, books, cards and party goods
I used to work at Kmart over 10 years ago or a little more. I love how it’s got a variety of things. And the prices reasonable for the product. 
We have tried to find out when Kmart first opened its doors at midnight. We think it was the late 1980,’s but we could not find out the exact date. Do you know? Do you like Kmart  - Jess
 
 
 
Hello Friends! 
 I just want to start off by saying that I hope you are having a wonderful day!  
Now let me make it better by talking about two of my favourite things!  
BAGS AND DISNEY!  
 
I’ll back up the truck here for a moment, most in our blogging group are talking about our favourite retail stores or online stores. I have chosen Loungefly.com  
 
Don’t know what Loungefly is, that’s all good because I'm going to tell you.  
 
Loungefly.com is amazing!  
They have vegan friendly & licensed backpacks, bags, apparel (clothes), wallets, enamel pins, ear headbands, keychains and lanyards. 
 
Everything you find at Loungefly.com or at the places that stock the Loungefly Brand is inspired by all things pop culture. This means you'll find; Disney, Pixar, Star Wars, Marvel, Harry Potter, Stitch Shoppe and MLB (Major League Baseball). So just fandom heaven really. A Fandom for anyone who doesn’t know is fans of a person, team, group or series for some examples.  
 
You see now why I love Loungefly, BAGS AND DISNEY. I’ll also add that I have two loungefly bags; A Lion King full sized backpack and a Simba mini backpack and you can safely assume that I love both endlessly and they bring me a lot of joy!  
I love all my bags, but the Loungefly ones just hit different for me and my goodness they are such good quality.  
The bags being vegan friendly is a bonus too.  
 
Did you want a bit of a background on Loungefly? 
Well, here it is! 
Loungefly was founded in 1998 in a small warehouse in California by Trevor Schultz.  
They started small and now are one of the biggest or leading collectable companies.  
As of 2017 when they joined with Funko Pop. They have been stocked in physical stores such as EB Games, Zing and Sanity just to name a few as an example. Google Loungefly and you'll find them stocked in most web stores (Popcultcha, shopDisney) because they are just that good!  
 
GO GET ONE! Or don’t, I don’t want to tell you how to live your life.  
 
 
Today Phillip wasn’t feeling the vibe of retail so decided he would branch out and blog about traditions…
 
Intro: What is religion traditions many countries has their own traditions since growing up
 
European traditions
 
1. Throwing pottery out of the widows, which started in an Island called Corfu in Greece.
 
2. Partita a Scacchi, Marostica in Italy is a human chess game.
 
3. Easter whip, in Czech Republic & Slovakia who believes by whipping girls and women will help with luck and fertility.
 
4. Ursul (bear dance), in Romania and Moldova is a winter even that symbolises death and rebirth of time, and push off the evil spirits.
 
5. Sinjska Alka (Chivalric Tournament), in Dalmatia Croatia is chivalric tournament.
 
6. Caber toss, is a Scotland, tradition which is a Highland Games  that involves tossing a large pole called a caber.
 
Asian traditions some examples are  Different Greetings, kick off your shoes, Mind your head and feet, slurping is good, and share your food.
 
African traditions
 
1. The courtship dance of the wadable
 
2. The lip plates of the Morsi
 
3. The bull jumping of the Hamer
 
4. The red ochre of the Himba
 
5. The spitting of them Maasai
 
6. The healing dance of the san
 
The list goes on and on tradition around the World is vast topic so I am going stop here and maybe I will have another occasion to blog on this topic that I am  passionate about.
 
What is your family traditions and A,Y,O,K? Phillip