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- Special Mid December 2006 Edition -

Newsletter for Offshore Residents of Pittwater, Australia  Volume 9, Issue 205 December 2006     

One of the most loved island events is on again this year.
Sunday, 17 December 2006

An evening for the whole family. Bring along a picnic basket, drinks, food, torches and your best singing voices.

5.30 -6 pm Start – Harold Reserve, Carols Wharf
6.30pm Mystery Guest arrives
8.00pm Carol singing accompanied by local musicians
 

To help our Mystery Guest, please bring a small gift with your child’s name on it. Please keep gifts under $5. Thank you

Last copies of Water Access Only

Selling fast. Order now for Christmas

Over a year in the making, this local Offshore Anthology captures beautifully the essence of our unique offshore life.

Filled with short stories, poems and anecdotes, local artwork and beautiful photography from over 50 local residents, this book beautifully records the joys, adventures and captures the challenges of day to day living. Feel the rainbow of emotions, experienced as we weather the highs and lows of our unique environment. Enjoy the intimate and hilarious reflections,  and some of the more notable historical quotes from Pittwater’s early history.

I offer it to you in the hope that you will be inspired to place a few orders for yourselves and your children this Christmas
Self published by a small local team, over 600 now sold. Under 50 copies left!!
For an order form e-mail: juliette@thejfactor.com.au or buy by credit card at "ticket sales" at http://www.pittwatertradingonline.com.au
Hunter Valley house-swap anyone?

We are former residents of Scotland Island (who still miss the area!) and would like to arrange a house-swap for a weekend or a week with any willing Pittwater residents. We live in a lovely kid-friendly, 100 yr-old Federation-style 3-br weatherboard house in the historic village of Morpeth. Situated near Maitland in the lower Hunter Valley, it lies 30 mins from Newcastle, 30-40 mins from vineyards and 1-1.5 hr from Barrington Tops. Having kids aged 2 and 4, we'd need a toddler-friendly 2-3 b/r house (waterfront or not; boat if possible - not essential).  Dates are flexible, from now thru summer.  Oh, and you must be willing to feed our goldfish and fat & friendly British Blue cat Boris!  

For more info email Simone Meakin at fatgirlsim@hotmail.com or phone 02-49333981 after 8pm.

Weather Outlook from the Fire Service

Information extracted from BOM web site as a guide to Rural Fire Fighters
A warm end to the year
There is a moderate to strong shift in the odds towards above normal daytime temperatures for the December quarter (October-December) over much of the country. The pattern of seasonal maximum temperature odds across Australia is due to higher than normal temperatures in both the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Averaged over the last three months of 2006, the chances are mainly between 60 and 75% for higher than normal maximum temperatures across eastern Australia. So in years with ocean patterns like the current, about six to eight December quarters out of every ten are expected to be warmer than average over these various parts of Australia, with about two to four out of ten being cooler.
The chances of seasonal minimum temperatures being higher than the median are above 60% over most of the southern two-thirds of Australia, reaching over 80% in western WA. This indicates a moderate to strong shift in the odds towards warmer than normal conditions.

Drier conditions more likely in SE & NE Australia
There is a moderate shift in the odds towards drier than normal conditions for the December quarter (October-December) in parts of southeast and northeast Australia Across the rest of the country, the chances are generally close to 50% for accumulating at least median rainfall during the coming three months. The pattern of seasonal rainfall odds across Australia is a result of higher than average temperatures in both the Pacific and Indian Oceans, the former of which has been warming strongly in the past few months.
So in years with ocean patterns like the current, about six or seven December quarters out of ten are expected to be drier than average in these various parts of eastern and southern Australia, with about three or four out of ten being wetter.

Pittwater Council launches new Website

Pittwater Council has launched its new website, available at www.pittwater.nsw.gov.au. The new site is clean, clear and easy to navigate.

The Council has long been a leader in technological advances. Its original website was one of the first for local government in New South Wales and this has been updated continually since its creation. However, the Council wanted to make major improvements to the website to make it easier for customers to navigate.

Pittwater Council’s new website was developed in consultation with its staff and community, and uses multi-layered pathways to provide information and functionality to meet the needs of Pittwater’s varied community.

Customers will find Pittwater’s new site to be clean, clear and easy to navigate. There is a reliable search engine, an “a to z” listing, and a site map. The navigation allows users to see what’s in the section by way of dropdown menus and each section automatically expands when users click on it.

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The views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily the views of the Scotland Island Residents Association (SIRA), or any of the associated Pittwater Offshore Resident's Committees