Copied from our mayor - Jenny Dowells page! Amber Curtis from St Carthages made this speech in the catholic schools public speaking and poetry competition. I have her permission to post it- Im sure youll agree that its wonderful. Thank you Kim Curtis: Good morning, adjudicators, parents and fellow students. My name is Amber Curtis and I love my hometown --- Lismore. Australia --- the lucky country! We have all heard that line before. Not only am I fortunate enough to live in Australia, but I live in the best place within this Lucky Country --- the Lismore City Council area --- also known as the “Rainbow region”. I was born here and I call it home. It’s easy to see why I love living here ... We have the university --- great sporting facilities --- unique festivals --- the many markets --- such diverse wildlife --- and a beautiful landscape. Added to all of this is the great climate. We also have the most amazing and interesting people. When I come to town and see them, I feel a warm sense of community. It’s the people of the Northern Rivers that really make it the best place in the world to call home. The social diversity within our community exists because many people moved here for the accepting values most of us share. The Tropical Fruits festival takes place in Lismore for that reason. This is the home of the talking book, as there are many people here with interesting stories to share. Anyone who knew Darcy Goodwin from 5 loaves soup kitchen, has met a Sudanese immigrant or who has seen the Knitting nannas, will know what I mean. When driving on our roads you can see colourful fish and other designs spray painted on the potholes. This is the work of a good man called pothole Pete. Pete has also placed many coloured magnetic hearts around Lismore --- such as the one on the Ballina Street Bridge. Another local identity who makes my hometown special is “Tree” from South Lismore who always wears gumboots. Other people call him “The mole man” and he is rumoured to be very wealthy. There is a big blind man called Toby who busks in Molesworth Street. Toby is well liked by the shoppers and he has a bit of a following within the community. Brad is another interesting character who is a resident on the main block. During the week Brad looks after his friend’s cocker spaniel for the day. You will quite often see him with her near the Mecca Café. Out of all the homeless people in Lismore …Richard… is my favourite. At lunchtime he is usually sitting on the garden bed opposite the transit centre. I wonder where he sleeps at night, and why he has no family to take him home. Then there is our Mayor --- Jenny --- who attends all our local events. Jenny is a whizz with social media so you always know what is going on in the Lismore region. She can give a speech, get a photo on facebook, do a media interview and tweet about it, all before she leaves for her next appearance. It is the people of Lismore who create this special place --- From farmers to the alternative community --- the wealthy to the disadvantaged --- the sports fanatics, artists and academics --- all this combined with the friendly and relaxed feel of my hometown, ---- makes this Australia’s best address.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Sep 2014 12:43:54 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015