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Sitting on the deck, listening to the rain fall, watching my kids play with the ducklings we picked up at the local markets, it’s hard to believe there could ever be anything wrong with the world. These are the moments we need to sustain us when life overwhelms, and hopefully moments you’ve also experienced throughout the holiday season.

This issue (Jan/Feb 2012) we have our own ‘aha’ moments: we celebrate local talent with a new book by Gary Stowe and art by Jody Graham, share the smiles on some special kids’ faces at a Lawson picnic on p10, challenge your brain power with our regular crosswords and quiz, and focus on your health with three pages of advice and information to get you back on track after the Christmas excess, from natural remedies to traditional Chinese medicine. Don’t leave the website without checking out the PDF edition of the magazine (link in the top menu bar).

We also welcome Phil Somerville to the BB in 2012 – a gifted cartoonist with a sharp eye and a sharp pen. Phil’s work has been published in The Sydney Morning Herald, The Bulletin, The Australian Review of Books and niché magazines – it’s an honour to have him on board. Read the profile on p4 then turn to p6 for the first installment of Phil’s ‘Inklings’.

If you’re the kind of person who makes New Year resolutions, I wish you luck with that. The best I can promise is that I will definitely get more exercise this year, and will endeavour to stop buying gorgeous mismatched blue and white teacups from op-shops – you know the ones with the eclectic Japanese prints by J&G Meakin, Woods, Royal Swan and Delft, the ones with the slightly crazed glaze and the hand-blocked prints, beautifully balanced and crafted… hmm, maybe that one’s a bit ambitious. And maybe also to stop collecting pets. With two dogs, two cats, two guinea pigs, two rats, seven chooks and now two ducks – and all this rain – we may need to redesign the house as an ark.

All the best for 2012 from the BB’s captain and crew!

- KMc

The date and time for the “Sensorial 2011 Collaboration” exhibition has been changed. It will now be held on Thursday, 8 December at 5pm. This is due to an event being held at Blue Mountains Grammar School on the original date which would prevent some BMGS students from attending the opening.

Greystanes Disability Services will hold its 7th annual art exhibition featuring the works of people with disabilities from 7 – 11 December from 10am to 5pm each day at the Lost Bear Gallery in the historic Leura Post Office Building at 5/148 Leura Mall. The exhibition will be launched with a cocktail party at the gallery on Thursday, 8 December starting at 5pm. The Greystanes art exhibition is held each year to celebrate International Day of People with Disability. This year’s exhibition is entitled Sensorial ’11: Collaboration and features exciting collaborative works with Year 9 Visual Arts student from Blue Mountains Grammar School.

For further information about Greystanes’s art exhibition, please contact Debra Brown on (02) 4784 1118.

It’s been a bad moon rising for people I love and people I’ve never met, to the point where I’ve been nervous to answer the phone or read the paper for fear of yet more sad news.
All the well-meant ‘count your blessings’ in the world can’t assauge the kind of grief people in our community have faced lately, but with spring as a time of renewal – and really no choice but to look forward – I’d like to share with you one of the few good news stories I’ve heard recently.
Caroline, of the mid-Mountains, in response to the last issue, wrote in the kind of letter that makes an overwhelmed and overworked community publisher vow to keep pushing the boulder up the hill, no matter how many times it rolls back down:
“Thanks so much for The Mountains Blueberry. I found it very interesting and thought-provoking. It’s also well written and a delightful contrast to the mainstream media in that the stories had a very positive and community spirited focus, rather than shallow, sensationalist negativity.
I currently have four ragged scraps of paper beside me, which I tore out of the magazine (I really should have used scissors!) They all relate to issues you covered which I want to follow up on and/ or get involved with. 
For me, this is a huge plus; I suffer from major depression and spend most of my life ‘hiding’ at home, feeling too inadequate to make contact with anyone or do much at all. Thank you so much for the gentle prompt which your mag provided.
- Caroline”
I share this not to be self-congratulatory but to remind us all – myself included – that to live in community is to be part of a wider web that affects each of us, for both better and worse. Here’s to better days ahead, and to remembering to reach out for help when we need it.
KMc

ps – don’t forget to flick through the electronic version of your BB: Sept/Oct 2011 Blueberry

It seems hard to believe The Blueberry has been out and about for an entire year, but they do say time flies when you’re having fun (and also when you’re rushing about like a headless chook).
To celebrate the niche the BB has found in the community for local stories told by local voices, this issue we look back at just a few of the articles that have generated the strongest responses from readers.
We’ve met amazing people and heard incredible stories, from a comparison of Springwood with Palestine, to adopting in China; from collecting rocks for a hobby to the existence of the Penrith panther. You’ve met local politicians, authors, composers, artists, musicians and Santa. You’ve been vicariously down the Victory Track, through Knapsack Park, past Red Hands Cave and up Birdwood Gully, and even travelled as far as Rome and Stockholm. You’ve tasted asparagus, herbs, blood oranges, rum truffles and sausages – thankfully not all at the same time.
You’ve dabbled in philosophy and history, learnt about yoga, macular degeneration, the benefits of almonds and the secret to the perfect coffee.
We’ve covered local issues, including the Faulconbridge crematorium, shooting in National Parks, alcohol in the community, Lawson’s remodelling, public art and gay marriage.
Our columns on gardening, food, health, books, local history and bushwalking have garnered a loyal following, and our contributors are due thanks for their fine work. To regular writers – Alan, Annie, Lynda, Dilshara, Pamela, Angela, Sue and Col (as well as the occasional contributors) – many thanks.
This publication wouldn’t happen without the outstanding support of some treasured volunteers. To Philip, Di, John, Richard, Sue, Adelaide and Helen for carting bundles of BBs up and down the hill – again, thanks. And a special thank you to former co-editor Magda Cawthorne, without whom the BB would never have achieved lift-off.
We’ve been on a fascinating journey these past 12 months, finding out not only what makes a community magazine tick, but also what makes the community itself tick along the way.
As noted in last issue’s editorial letter: too much content, not enough time – or even pages – to fit it all in. Thanks to all those people who continue to send in their stories, and to those who help in so many ways to keep the Mountains supplied with a publication I hope keeps reflecting our creative, vibrant and diverse community for some time yet. Here’s to another year!

- KMc

Sorry for the delay folks – the May/June issue is finally up for you to flick through, and to make up for lost time, the July/August issue is up ahead of the printed version. Go to the PDF pages link on the top menu and follow the links. Happy birthday Blueberry – one year old this month!

KMc

PDF editions

Very exciting, the mag can now be viewed in a PDF version -  you can flip the pages just as if you were at your local cafe or on the train and read the stories in their natural habitat! Just click on the link…

Bear with us: the Blueberry has some speech-making to do. Specifically, thanks are due – overdue, in fact – to the many people who help make this community publication a success. Success in this instance is judged a number of different ways. If the mag gets out to all the readers who look for it each month, that’s success. If our income covers our printing costs, that’s success (and quite frankly a relief). If the Blueberry reflects local community interests and issues, that’s success. If we manage to get through yet another month without ‘going postal’, that’s success!
These things wouldn’t happen without the outstanding support of some treasured volunteers. To our regular writers – Alan, Annie, Lynda, Dilshara, Pamela, Angela and Leanne (as well as the occasional contributors) – many thanks. To Philip, Di, John and Helen for lugging bundles of Blueberries afar, and those businesses that ask for extra copies when we do the rounds – many thanks. To Annie, for invaluable advice – many thanks. To Sallie, for remaining cheerful and adding an extra dimension to the Blueberry team – many thanks!
Getting the Blueberry together each month is very challenging, and in the production rush little things like an overwhelming sense of  gratitude can fall by the wayside. Let it be known far and wide (by at least 5500 people!) that those of you who donate your time, skills and experience are not taken for granted. Thank you, we love youse all!

KMc

It seems ridiculous that as we put the silly season behind us we instead have to deal with local folk ‘going troppo’ in this unseasonable heat! Even the King Parrots are panting in the afternoon sun outside my window as I type. You’ll find the Blueberry stimulating physically as well as mentally this month – just fold it up, hold the edge, wave it up and down – aaahhh, that’s better!
Hopefully relief will also be at hand for those parents who’ve endured or enjoyed an extra-long school holiday with their kids – and perhaps romantic relief is on the horizon for some on the 14th?
We’ve been on a fascinating journey these past six months, finding out what makes a community magazine tick. Indeed, finding out a great deal more about what makes the community itself tick as well.
We continue to take our cues from you, the readers, as we fine-tune the Blueberry’s content. As an example, from this month on you will always find your regular features the same way you eventually find your car keys – where you left them. The cover story and ‘Both Sides Now’ will stay at the front; art, culture & literature in the middle with bushwalking and gardening close by; ‘Gustation’ and the Gig Guide near the back.
We’ve allowed space for those unexpected stories you send us of course – make sure you read the interesting comparison of Palestine with the Lower Mountains on page 10 and the health update on page 9, as well as a run-down on the damage domestic pets are causing in your village on page 13.
Enjoy your February Blueberry, and stay cool…    KMc

The holiday edition (Dec-Jan) of The Mountains Blueberry appears in a bold new format!
People have responded so positively to the mag that we have decided to expand the pages to quarto (previously A5) and extend distribution. From now on, the Blueberry covers more of the Mountains area – look out for copies in Katoomba, Wentworth Falls and Leura as well as the usual places from Glenbrook to Lawson. 
In 2011 we will keep bringing you locally written stories and profiles of Blue Mountains people, and we encourage your contribution. While we can’t always fit in everything that has been submitted, we will be keeping a focus on quality local content, as that’s what you’ve told us you want.
Thank you to the advertisers who support the Blueberry – you’ll be pleased to hear that your ads will be bigger and more widely read, and we won’t be charging any extra!
We wish you a happy and safe holiday season. While Christmas can be a stressful time, make sure you take the time to rest, relax, and be aware of the good things in life. See you in the New Year…  

MC & KMc