Top yarns vote: the greys have it

TARZALI husband and wife Barbara and Elliot Hannay will be among six silver foxes, grey panthers and wise owls lining up on Sunday to share their fascinating stories as part of Seniors Week in Cairns.

They will join four other “amazing greys” from diverse backgrounds for a community lunch designed to get “inspiring seniors recognised and older folks out”.

Arts Nexus founder and organiser Eve Stafford says the lunch also includes former Cairns mayor Val Schier, artist Jenuarrie Warrie, musician Ray Elias and community leader Olive Tau Davis.

Barbara Hannay is one of Australia’s best known roall mance authors and has penned more than 40 books for Harlequin and, more recently, seven novels for Penguin Australia – WRITERS: Romance author Barbara Hannay (left) and husband Elliot Hannay (above), pictured while editor of the Townsville Bulletin, will speak at the Amazing Greys lunch in Cairns on Sunday. Elliot had just been served a $3 million writ from underworld figure Abe Saffron. set in North Queensland with contemporary and historical threads intertwined.

A former high school English teacher, Barbara has sold more than 12 million copies of her books worldwide and released her latest book, Meet Me in Venice, this month.

Barbara won a RITA award from the Romance Writers of America in 2007 and has won two Romantic Book of the Year awards in Australia.

Elliot Hannay is a veteran journalist, author and former Townsville Bulletin editor.

Last year, he launched Conversations with Katter … Politics, Life and What Matters and will release his memoir, The Colt with No Regrets in September. Elliot began his journalistic career at 16 in newspapers, working for AAP, ABC Radio and television.

While editor of the Townsville Bulletin, he was served with a writ for $3 million in damages for writing about underworld figure Abe Saffron and was visited by Ku Klux Klan affiliates in Townsville.

The Amazing Greys community lunch is at Rydges Esplanade from 12-2pm Sunday, August 25.

“This is a good afternoon out to bring your golden oldies, friends and neighbours for a convivial chinwag and storytelling,” Eve says.

To book, ph: 0437 366 651 or visit https://amazingreys.com/

CELEBRATION: Cairns small business owner Samantha Hoult is heading north to chill out in Port Douglas for her 33rd birthday, but caught up with family and friends first.

HEALTHY: Whitfield’s Amy Eden got her birthday off to a healthy start with a brisk morning walk before lunch at Nu Nu, followed by a massage and dinner with the family. “Perfect”.