M8kadifranz

One of Opportunity International's amazing ambassadors, Leah Israel has just set up a site offering the opportunity to buy some of the amazing made by Opportunity's clients in Africa, India and Asia.

This is a fantastic initiative, giving a direct link between people here in Australia and our poor clients. Plus, the proceeds of all sales go directly to fund Opportunity's work. In the words of the site itself:

"M8kadifranz Virtual Bazaar offers you an opportunity to buy many unique and beautiful items made by women and men, poor entrepreneurs in Africa, India and Asia. Together we can make a huge difference in this world! And it’s as simple as making a purchase.

There is no "middle man" with M8kadifranz. All products sold on the Virtual Bazaar are handcrafted by indigenous people and have been purchased at fair prices. All proceeds go directly to fund the work of Opportunity International helping similar entrepreneurs realize their dream and to provide mosquito nets through Auzzie Mozzie."

Please visit the site and let me know what you think:

http://www.m8kadifranzvirtualbazaar.com/index.html

Pathetic Sharks Update

Well this is getting out of control.

The 'Bridge to Beach' swim - the big 11km swim that is my ultimate goal (in 2010!) - has now been cancelled "amid fears the water could be too 'bitey'".

Apparently the organisers had reports from fishermen of a lot of baitfish (shark food) in the water. And because of this 300 people due to be taking part next weekend are left disappointed (not to mention the disappointment for the hungry sharks).

I despair. We are such a media/publicity-driven society these days. Difficult though it is to be precise about probabilities, if you compare the risks of taking part in this event with the risks from any sailing, rugby or even running competition, I'm sure the harbour swim is relatively much safer. Why can't we let individuals decide if they want to take part in these things?

I'd hate to think that I could do a lot of training for next year's swim only for it to be cancelled because someone else makes a rather bizarre (and probably publicity conscious) decision that it is not safe enough for me.

Anyway, to finish on a positive note, I got my time for the 2km swim and it was 30 minutes dead, which I'm really chuffed with. An average of 45 seconds per 50m. Forget the spoilsports and bring on the next race!

Swimming with the Sharks (well, not really)

888 people took part in the Sydney Harbour 2km Swim this morning. The Chinese believe the number 8 is lucky and some people this morning were no doubt thinking that a dose of good luck would be no bad thing, given that yesterday saw the third shark attack in Sydney in three weeks!

Just to put things in perspective, every shark attack in Sydney makes the news here because they are so rare. But they do seem to have picked up in frequency recently.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/newshome/5358819

Once again the attack took place at dawn/dusk, and it’s becoming clear that – this year at least – you are taking a risk with life (or more probably limb) when you go into the water at these times. But I have a lot of sympathy – surfers in Sydney are some of the most passionate sportsmen and women around, and often early morning and late afternoon are the only fit with the good surf and school/work.

I had absolutely no fear of a shark attack this morning, and not just because the chances of being ‘chosen’ were 888 to 1. If I were a shark I’d be staying well clear. With three helicopters in attendance it wasn’t exactly a predator’s ideal hunting environment. Mind you, didn’t the shark take down a chopper in the abysmal Jaws 2???

In fact, as it turned out, the only risks were cramp and jellyfish. Cramp was a definite worry as I hadn’t swum this distance since my shoulder injury last May. But actually the race went very well. I felt good right the way through and finished strongly. In fact, I was feeling so good afterwards that my thoughts started to turn again to the 11km Circular Quay to Manly swim… maybe in 2010.

And jellfish…? Well, for the first few hundred metres the water was full of them. It was quite magical actually. Layer upon layer of these symmetrical, pulsing shapes appearing out of the murky water as I ploughed along the surface. I think there is a similar scene in Finding Nemo, which is of course also set in Sydney! Despite touching their blobby forms on every other stroke, they seemed pretty harmless, though I did notice a few people getting treatment for stings at the end of the race.

The times and results are out in 48 hours, and then it’s time to look forward to the next race. I love this aussie lifestyle!

FASHION THEIR FUTURES

Hi everyone. This website is overdue a couple of decent updates. Which will follow... honest! But in the meantime, here's a great event in Sydney.

Combining fashion, cocktails, canapes and poverty relief, this should be a really inspiring and enjoyable evening in Sydney. The event has been organised by Heather, one of Opportunity's ambassadors, as a fund-raising event for us, and I think she's done a great job in putting this together.

The cocktail party and fashion show will be held at Studio Twenty4, a fashion photography studio in Walsh Bay on Wednesday evening 29 April 2009.

Designers including Bianca Spender for Carla Zampatti, Tim O'Connor, Melanie Cutfield, Kyotap, CUE and Veronika Maine, as well as upcoming designers such as Mimmelu and They Thank You, have donated stunning outfits for the catwalk show and to be auctioned at the event.

Tickets are on sale now and cost $85 (includes drinks, substantial canapés, catwalk show, fashion auction, goodie bag and lots of great prizes). To purchase tickets go to www.opportunity.org.au and click on the ‘Donations/Events’ tab. The Fashion their Futures event page will explain the ticketing process. There is an "early bird" special which will entitle you to VIP seating at the fashion show so book early to avoid disappointment!

Ocean Swimming

It would be madness to go ocean swimming at Bondi beach just 48 hours after the first shark attack there for 80 years.

Madness.

But that didn’t stop twenty hardcore aussies going out for the regular Saturday morning swimming class yesterday. And I was delighted to be able to join them.

I’ve been recovering from a shoulder injury for more than 6 months now. After 4 months out of the water, two months using fins and a few weeks swimming normally again, I at last felt that I’d recovered enough for the fairly testing challenge of swimming in the surf.

And as for the sharks? Well, I did feel a few things bumping against my legs in the water, but there is often seaweed in the surf. In fact, the most notable event all morning was back on shore, where we were accosted by a Channel 9 filmcrew. Here’s a transcript that I’ve totally made-up as I wasn’t close enough to hear Spot over the roaring surf. But it probably went something like this…

Rugged ex-AFL Interviewer: So can you explain to me what’s going on then?
Spot (crazy aussie swimming coach): Just your regular Saturday morning ocean swimming club mate.
Interviewer: Aren’t you erm… worried about sharks, after this week’s shocking events.
Spot: Nah!! You can’t worry about the sharks. They’ve got their place. They don’t really like the taste of humans anyway. They just get a bit confused sometimes.
Interviewer: You guys seem to be the only people willing to go into the water.
Spot: Ahhh, that’s just the weather mate. A bit of drizzle scares people off. There’s no safer time to go in the water. Way I reckon, there isn’t another shark attack due for 80 years. Couldn’t be safer!
Spot: (to squad) right you lot – back in the water, get right out beyond the break! Last one back’s a dribbly Pom… etc.

And the swim went really well for me. I put a lot of stress on the shoulder swimming in and out of medium-height (for Bondi) surf and it stood up well. Going to do the harbour swim on 1st March now.

If anyone’s interested, here’s the Bondi Fit website. I love the ocean swimming – nothing can set you up better for the weekend.
http://new.bondifit.com/Surf.asp

Pssst: in case you think I’ve really lost my marbles, the attack at Bondi, and another one in the harbour last week both happened at dawn/dusk when light conditions are low and the sharks are more likely to be feeding. The risk at other times is much less, apparently…

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/bondi-attack-fires-up-shark-net-controversy-20090213-86pp.html