Australia Day 2010

January 24, 2010
by Rodney Olsen
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Are you ready for Australia Day this Tuesday?

We celebrate Australia Day on the 26th of January each year because it was that day in 1788 that Captain Arthur Phillip took formal possession of the colony of New South Wales and became its first Governor. The first official celebrations were held in 1818 to mark the 30th anniversary of white settlement.

If you want to find out more about Australia Day you can go to the official website here.

Watching fireworks on Australia Day has become a solid tradition in Perth but over the past several years many people have started looking for ways to avoid the parking hassles and find a family friendly event. Answering the call is the 98.5 Sonshine FM Town of Bassendean Australia Day Celebrations and Fireworks event which has built a reputation as a safe place to spend Australia Day with friends and family as well as providing a spectacular show.

If you’re in the Perth area it’d be great to catch up with you at Ashfield Reserve, Guildford Road, Ashfield, for the evening. It’s a great event that culminates in a massive fireworks display away from the big and sometimes rowdy crowds of the city fireworks. 98.5 Sonshine FM is proud to be providing the soundtrack and we’ll be broadcasting live from the venue.

I’ll be joined on stage by my friend and colleague, Arthur Muhl, to MC the live entertainment which starts from 5:00 p.m. There’ll also be a citizenship ceremony. The fireworks will begin lighting up the skies later in the evening with the whole event finishing at 9:00 p.m.

If you want to enjoy some great entertainment in a more relaxed family atmosphere, without having to wait hours in traffic on the way home, come on down.

Either way, make sure that you’ve got some plans in place to celebrate.



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Deathtoll likely to be in the thousands

January 13, 2010
by Rodney Olsen
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Following on from my last post, reports are now saying that around three million people are likely to be affected by the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti and the deathtoll is expected to be in the thousands.

As previously mentioned, I visited Haiti in April 2008 at the time when there were riots in the streets over skyrocketing food prices. I was there with Compassion Australia to see the work they are doing in Haiti. Leading that tour was DJ Konz from Compassion. He joined me on the phone this morning during my radio programme on 98.5 Sonshine FM.

While details are still sketchy, DJ gave listeners a better understanding of the enormity of the disaster in Haiti. You can hear what DJ had to say by clicking the play button on the audio player at the bottom of this post.

Compassion will endeavour to keep sponsors up to date with the situation for those children sponsored through Compassion on their website. They will also put a disaster relief plan in place as soon as possible. Your donations will make a huge difference.

[audio:http://mpegmedia.sonshinefm.ws/feeds/MOR130110_0949.mp3]

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The wheels are turning

October 17, 2009
by Rodney Olsen
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We’re finally on the road.

At nine o’clock this morning our team of seven cyclists and our trusty support crew said goodbye to friends and family as we left 98.5 Sonshine FM in Como to begin our ride for cancer. If you missed the details you can read all the details at my previous post, Cycling to fight cancer.

Today’s a big day with a ride up Greenmount Hill followed by several more challenging hills until we get to York this afternoon. It’s a tough road but I’m reminded that those who are facing cancer often travel a much harder road. I’m glad to be relatively healthy and happy to do what I can to help people facing some tough times.

If you haven’t had opportunity to donate so far, please click on the SPONSOR ME button in my sidebar or just follow this link.

As I try to balance cycling and radio boradcasting over the next week I’m not sure how much opportunity I’ll have to update you during the trip. I’m hoping it’ll be often but I really don’t know if that will happen.

Thanks for your support.



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Cycling to fight cancer

October 16, 2009
by Rodney Olsen
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daffodil.jpg(I really need your help to get the word out about this. Please read and act on the ‘Help spread the word’ section of this post.)

It all begins tomorrow. I’ll be one of seven cyclists who will start riding from Perth to Albany, a distance of over 500 km. It’s all for a cause that touches most of our lives.

We don’t like to talk about cancer so we can start believing that we’re alone in facing its cold hand. The reality is that since I’ve started talking to others about it I’ve only encountered one person who hasn’t been personally affected by cancer.

Back in February my wife’s sister passed away at the age of 41 from cancer. It wasn’t the first time that our family had journeyed with loved ones facing cancer.

I believe that it’s time to give people who have been touched by the many forms of this terrible disease a chance to tell their story.

Each morning for a week I’ll be sharing cancer stories on my 98.5 Sonshine FM radio programme before hopping onto my bike just after midday to cycle to the next town.

Cycling to make a difference.

During the ride we’ll be raising money for Cancer Council Western Australia. I’ve spent some time checking out the services they provide and I can assure you that their work is absolutely vital.

Click here if you’d like to donate through a secure website. Your donation will make a big difference, no matter how big or small.

Help spread the word.

I need a huge favour. I’m begging you to share the link to this post through your blog or whatever other means you have available. To make it easy you can simply click the following links to share on Facebook or Twitter.

Here’s the itinerary:

Saturday 17th October 2009: Perth to York – 97km

Sunday 18th October 2009: Rest Day

Monday 19th October 2009: York to Pingelly – 87 km

Tuesday 20th October 2009: Pingelly to Wagin – 100 km

Wednesday 21st October 2009: Wagin to Katanning – 55 km

Thursday 22nd October 2009: Katanning to Cranbrook – 80 km

Friday 23rd October 2009: Cranbrook to Albany – 91 km

TOTAL: 510 km

If you’d like to donate towards a wonderful cause, just click this link.



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The day draws closer

October 15, 2009
by Rodney Olsen
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cadent_1_small.jpgTime has gone so quickly and I’m now only a couple of days away from riding from Perth to Albany to raise money for Cancer Council WA. If you haven’t had a chance to donate yet you can head to my secure donations page right now or click the SPONSOR ME button in my sidebar.

If you’re in the Perth area and would like to farewell the group of seven cyclist who are taking part you can join us at Sonshine FM in Como from 8:30 this Saturday morning. It’d be great to have a bunch of people showing their support so please be part of the farewell if you can.

If this is the first you’ve heard of the ride you can fill in all the gaps by reading my previous post, Breaking the silence on cancer.



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