By Margaret Maccoll
A three-week visit by three siblings from Switzerland has spread the interest in handball. Thomas and Salome Luck from Switzerland enrolled their three children, Svenja, Silvan and Fiona, in Sunshine Beach State School for three weeks two years ago.
International student co-ordinator Maree Thompson said being fully integrated within classes not only meant that their fluency in the English language improved immensely but they soon adopted the school culture of a coastal Queensland school, which of course includes the art of playing handball.
“Walk around Sunshine Beach SS during break times and you’ll see children playing handball in not only designated court areas, but any flat surface that they can find,” she said.
“The Luck children quickly discovered how much fun this was and on their return to Switzerland were eager to share their newly acquired skills. Svenja and Silvan introduced handball into their primary school by distributing two dozen handballs to fellow students. Svenja even wrote down a manual and the rules in German to ensure that all played by the same rules”.
Bandy Bandy a striking spectacle
When Vic Jakes of Cooroy Mountain let his two Labradors out for their evening ablutions on Sunday night he hadn’t expected one of them to discover a nocturnal moderately venomous snake.
Vic noticed his nine-month-old Labrador Abbi was transfixed by a strange, glass-like hoop which appeared to be sticking up out of the grass and was reflecting the beams of the overhead floodlight.
“She was staring intently at the object, but, thankfully, keeping a respectful distance from it,” he said.
Closer examination of the focus of Abbi’s attention revealed it to be a Bandy Bandy, Vermicella annulata, a highly attractive black and white banded snake which is widely distributed throughout eastern and far northern Australia and is a burrowing nocturnal reptile which feeds almost entirely on blind snakes (Typhlopidae),” he said.
The egg-laying Bandy Bandy can grow to around 75 centimetres but this particular specimen appeared to be nearer to 60 centimetres. The snake’s natural reaction to a perceived threat is to contort its body into rigid, vertically oriented hoops, displaying the wider white bands of the shiny underside. It is believed that this action is designed to confuse any would-be predator and also, possibly, to protect the snake’s head which always remains on the ground.
“This certainly worked with Abbi, although we know from a previous encounter with a carpet python that Abbi is distinctly cautious in her dealings with snakes,” Vic said.
“In other words, she is a wimp. And we are glad she is.”
Having got both Labradors safely indoors, Vic was able to take a close look at the evening’s visitor and witnessed the erect hoop being gently waved to and fro while the snake felt threatened. This can clearly be seen in the first photograph. Eventually the creature relaxed and adopted its more normal posture as evidenced by the second image.
Special reservation
Warm weather, Father’s Day and a jazz concert combined to make Gympie Terrace a popular spot for families to gather last Sunday.
Tables and chairs were at a premium as families were seen waiting for others to finish to grab their spot.
Nice to see a few new spots have been created along the river front.
