General News
16 June, 2026
A Mum's World: No place like home
Cinema, theatre, live music and good food without the traffic jams: Yolande says sometimes the best getaway is found right on your doorstep.
Oh la la, I just went out three nights in a row and it’s not even Christmas!
I cannot remember a three-night stint of leisure and luxury only five minutes from home ever before.
Firstly, we went to the cinema to watch a movie on its national release, stuffed ourselves with popcorn and were thoroughly entertained – Kym only rested his eyes for a few minutes during that one.
The next night we had front row seats – literally – to The Wizard of Oz, performed by the stellar talent of the Horsham Arts Council.
No time to rest our eyes at this one as they were glued to the fabulous colour and adorable drawn-on freckles of the tiny children.
Our third night out found us digging into a pub meal with family, sharing a laugh and listening as the band began to play.
I cannot help feeling blessed to live in the country, with gorgeous flora and fauna all around and a severe lack of traffic jams, which also boasts all the perks of current big screen presentations, excellent dining, live stage shows and bands in pubs.
For most of my life we had to wait months for the latest movies to hit our cinema screens in regional areas, but not anymore.
There have always been musicians and theatrical performances as creatives pulled together to find an outlet for their brilliance, but I guess the difference for me in this moment, is that I can easily get out to enjoy them.
I’m an empty nester now, who can leave the house without a major logistical operation or extensive consultation, and with a little money in my pocket.
I realise I’m still adjusting to this incredible situation.
Although we do have our very last teenager still living in student residence to feed and house while she finishes her applied science degree, it does feel like a meal out for us is an option without causing too much distress.
Obviously filling the car with diesel to leave town is a whole other kettle of fish, and don’t get me started on how much the meat cost for my Classic Beef Stew last weekend when I had a cook up for the daughters who were home, but still…
The themes in The Wizard of Oz were wonderful to revisit – I was surprised to find I knew every word the Scarecrow, Tinman and Lion were singing because I’d completely forgotten, ‘There’s no place like home’.
What a gorgeous message about appreciating where you are and what you have while helping others recognise the strengths they have been equipped with, along with a huge dose of not running away from your problems and being ready to say, “I’m sorry”. All this wrapped up in colour and fun.
It didn’t seem like a coincidence that the communion message in church was about the word ‘Eternity’ that Arther Stace scribed thousands of times across Sydney pavements in the 1930s as a signpost to our ultimate ‘no place like home’.