Salvos helping fire victims

January 4, 2010
by Rodney Olsen
2 Comments

salvation_army.jpgFire can cause such devastation. Last week a huge fire near Toodyay, 85 kilometres north east of Perth, destroyed significant property including 38 houses. Thankfully no human lives were lost.

Initial assessments suggest fallen power lines caused the fire.

Dozens of families have lost everything. In the last couple of days they’ve been allowed back into the fire affected areas to see if anything remains of their homes. For many there is only heartbreak.

Thankfully the Salvos are already helping people in the area. You can help them to help others by donating online. If you’d like to show your support for those affected by the fires, click here.



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Happy Christmas 2009

December 25, 2009
by Rodney Olsen
4 Comments

It might be Christmas Eve 2009 where you are but here in Perth the clock has passed midnight and it’s Christmas Day.

I want to take this opportunity to wish you and yours a very happy day as you celebrate Christmas wherever you are in the world. Many will be experiencing a white Christmas while here in Perth, Western Australia, we have a hot summer day forecast. At 35 degrees Celsius (95 Fahrenheit) it’s not quite a scorcher but I’m glad we have air conditioning.

Remember to pace yourself throughout the day so that you don’t regret it all on Boxing Day and don’t forget to take time out to reflect on what Christmas is truly all about.

Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace, good will toward men. – Luke 2:14

It’s our first Christmas in our new (well … new to us) home and we’ll be hosting my side of the family for Christmas lunch.

I’d really love to hear how you’ll be celebrating. Please leave a comment or two to let me know.



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Magpie Season

November 18, 2009
by Rodney Olsen
4 Comments

magpie.jpgThere was a fair breeze blowing this morning as I made my way to work. It gave me an extra work out on the bike.

It also made conditions trickier for a magpie that I’ve encountered a few times in recent weeks. I’ve never actually seen this magpie but I’ve heard it tap the top of my helmet when I’ve gone past a particular area on Willeri Drive in Willeton.

It mustn’t have taken the wind into account today because that tap was backed up by a fair bit of force. I heard it and felt it today. Magpies provide a very good argument for the wearing of bicycle helmets.

If you’re new to the idea of swooping magpies, it’s what these birds do to supposedly protect their nests during the breeding season. They will sit high in their tree until they see you and then they’ll fly towards you at a rapid pace. They use their sharp beaks to do whatever damage they can as they swoop at you as many times as they can until you leave the area.

This particular magpie is rather cunning in that he only attacks from behind. He’s a stealth magpie.

At least maggie season should be over soon.

I know that birds need to protect their nests and their young. I’m very protective of my family too. I just wish the magpies would understand that cycling past at 35 kilometres an hour does not mean that I’m about to stop, get off my bike, climb their tree and harm their family.



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Tour de Perth 2009 Results

November 16, 2009
by Rodney Olsen
1 Comment

tourdeperth.jpgI had a great weekend helping with the commentary for the Scody Tour de Perth. Gary Suckling once again did most of the race calling and it’s great to work with someone who has such a great knowledge of cycling …. and the ability to talk the leg off a chair.

I’m looking forward to working with Gary again at the Perth Criteriums which will be held in early February 2010.

Big congratulations are in order for all the cyclists, organisers, officials, volunteers and sponsors of the event. There was some exciting racing in the elite competition, backed up by some excellent support events on the Sunday.

Here are the final overall General Classification places in the Scody Tour de Perth.

Women’s Elite Competition:
1st Ruth Corset
2nd Ellen Van Duij
3rd Simone Grounds

Men’s Elite Competition:
1st Travis Meyer
2nd Graeme Brown
3rd Richard Lang

Full results for every stage are available here.

I spoke to one of the organisers of the Tour de Perth, Matt Bisset, on my radio programme last Thursday morning in the lead up to the event. You can hear what Matt had to say by clicking the play button on the audio player at the bottom of this post. Further details are at the official website.

[audio:http://mpegmedia.sonshinefm.ws/feeds/MOR111209_1157.mp3]

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Perth Royal Show 2009

September 23, 2009
by Rodney Olsen
2 Comments

It all starts again this Saturday.

The Perth Royal Show begins at the Claremont Showgrounds from this Saturday the 26th of September until Saturday the 3rd of October.

The Perth Royal Show is Perth’s biggest community event attracting 400 000 visitors from the city and the country every year. It has a history spanning over 170 years and serves to showcase WA agriculture, small business and entertainment.

An interesting element of this year’s show is that it’ll be smoke free. Smokers will have one area within the showgrounds where they can light up while the rest of the event will be free of second hand cigarette smoke. I think it’s a great move forward.

98.5 Sonshine FM will broadcast live from the show each day.

I’m really looking forward to presenting my morning programme from the show each day of next week as well as hosting this Saturday morning.

I’ll have a range of interesting guests and will probably get involved in some weird situations. I may even end up broadcasting from the bumper cars, from the top of the ferris wheel or some other sideshow ride.

If you’re thinking of heading to the show this year, make sure you drop in to our broadcast centre and say hello. We’ve changed locations from previous years. We’ll be overlooking the main arena on the opposite side to the grandstand.

Broadcasting from the show instead of our Como studios will almost double the distance I’ll have to cycle which will be great training for our cancer ride coming up next month.



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