In defence of REX Airlines

The Editor,

re: News reports about last Thursday’s cancelled REX Airlines flight to Dubbo, due to bad weather in Sydney

Whilst I can sympathise with those passengers who were severely inconvenienced when their Sydney-dubbo flight was firstly delayed and then cancelled last week, it must be appreciated that these events were weather-related and totally outside REX’S control.

The impacts were probably compounded by the fact that Sydney Airport has a curfew on late night flights.

One passenger, interviewed on TV said she would never fly with REX again. In saying this, she might like to take account of our experience with QANTAS.

My wife held a booking for a Sydney-dubbo flight upon her returning from overseas. Before the due date, QANTAS cancelled her flight as the aircraft was required somewhere else. This meant she had about seven hours waiting in the terminal to catch the new flight.

I asked if she could have access to the QANTAS Lounge, or at the very least a basic lunch provided for her. These requests were denied.

What is the difference as both events saw passengers inconvenienced?

The REX situation was weather-related and beyond the airline’s control. The QANTAS situation was created by the airline for their convenience. I know which airline I would choose to support.

Name withheld on request, Dubbo Bev MCGRATH dropped into our office with a hand-written letter that she found in her mailbox, along with a “quite large and heavy” boiled pineapple fruit cake.

The letter reads:

“Dear farming family,

I am just passing through your district on my way to Brisbane from Bairnsdale.

Three weeks ago I asked family and friends to make a Boiled Pineapple Fruit or two to drop into mailboxes on my way North.

All cakes are homemade and may have grog or nuts.

All come with kind thoughts which we extend to your family at morning tea time.

Best wishes

Linda Cameron.”

Bev would love to get in touch with this lady, and we’d like to know if anyone else has been at the receiving end of similar random acts of kindness.

Contact Dubbo Photo News if you can help. The Editor,

Thank you so much for putting our ad in Dubbo Photo News for Mate Helping Mate at Toongi Hall. The night was a great success.

Your help was very much appreciated.

George Richmond,

Dubbo The Editor,

We are writing to thank

and the Dubbo community for their support of Mchappy Day in 2018 – the largest annual fundraiser for Ronald Mcdonald House Charities (RMHC).

The Dubbo community helped us celebrate 27 years of Mchappy Day and raised more than $4.8 million for RMHC nationally. These donations ensure that Aussie families get to stay together while their seriously ill or injured child undergoes treatment.

Throughout the country we saw communities, such as Dubbo residents, help raise vital funds for RMHC. We saw local Bucket Brigades, Scout groups, emergency services as well as sporting and TV personalities visiting Mcdonald’s restaurants, to help make a difference.

We want to personally say a big thank you to everyone in the Dubbo community, who got involved.

Barbara Ryan,

CEO of Ronald Mcdonald House Charities Australia.

Naomi Watts,

Mchappy Day 2018 Ambassador. THIS weeks’ word is Alliterate, which means to rhyme.

Rhyme and its close cousin rhythm can help us celebrate success, face our fears or soothe our sorrows. Or just make us feel better, brainier or braver.

Melody, rhythm and rhyme is in our souls, our hearts and our heads. It helps whether the weather is woeful or when we are hurt or happy.

Sometimes the simplest, silliest sounds soothe our scarred souls better than the smoothest, sugariest sauces or the richest, rare rewards.

Pretty much all creatures, great and small, are musical and probably poetic. Yes, we can dispute the virtues of some: a cicadas’ song may seem loud and lousy, like the latest pop or death metal track, but it’s music to the ears of those it’s intended for. Girl Cicadas.

Research shows that swearing spectacularly can actually help us feel better when we’ve been hurt, whether we’ve hit our hand with a hammer or are suffering some other sort of seriously sad situation. Surely there are similar studies somewhere that show the productive power of alliteration for positive purposes – be it grinding grief, bothersome boredom or hearty health and happiness.

But seriously, the point is, don’t always be so serious. Sometimes be silly, and there are lots of ways to do that. This one costs nothing and makes us think.

So, this week alter your attitude with appropriate alliteration. Whip up wonderful whoopee with wit. Write a response with righteous repartee.

Go on, have a rhyming, riffing, rapping week.

z In this series of articles, Dubbo-based ikifit founder Kim Macrae writes about ideas and activities that can help brighten our own lives and the lives of those around us. Each article is based around one of the words in the iki song “Every Single Day”. The core belief is that the key to living productive and rewarding lives is choosing – and practising – behaviours that lead to positive, life-affirming outcomes for ourselves, our families and our communities.