Do we have a picture of what intimacy is or isn't? Do we measure how intimate we are with different people depending on their relationship with us? "Of course!" I may hear you say but I would like you to suspend that indignation for an hour and listen to us unpack the possibility that we may have more to learn and understand about intimacy and it is so much more that sexual intimacy.  

Join Lucy Dahill as we delve into the intimate world of bipolar and breast cancer with Victoria Brown. Are there changes we can make to our way of living that would have an effect on how we feel in our life? Do we need to understand mental and physical illness better in order to reduce the stigma attached to the label? All this and more on this weeks' Up Close and Personal episode of Stay in the Loop with Lucy

How much pressure do we put on one day of the year to make us feel complete as mothers? Mother's Day brings up a lot of potential for smashed pictures and the odd 'after all I do for you..' conversations! So how do we fulfil the 'needs' of our children whilst also appreciating we are women first and that without self-care and self-nurturing we are unable to bring that love, care and nurturing to people in our lives? 

My guests are Laura Lloyd, Michelle Crowe and Jean Grima

We uncover how much do we enable dependent behaviour and how often do we teach life skills?

Talking of which... it was also a great opportunity to tell everyone about the live 2017 International Women's Day broadcast scheduled for Hornsby Mall on Wednesday 8th March when a Celebration of Women takes over the mall area with a mixture of experiential and information stalls! Yes, you can get free massages as well as find out how to re-design a space, build a business, get bra fitting and health and wellness advice....and so much more! We will be there with a live broadcast as well.

In this episode I have interviews about how men can be a major part of the change in attitudes about women and domestic violence, as well as the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Womens Shelter, the Soroptomists, and a number of other participants from the 2016 Hornsby Walk the Talk. Also highlighted this week is an interview with Zohara Mendes who spoke about the work she is doing raising awareness for her generation about domestic violence. the wealth of experience and wisdom in our community is evident in these interviews. This is about people who care, sharing how and why they care and being prepared to step outside their comfort to encourage others to do the same.

​We can be the change we want to see in the world. Listen out for the interview with Zohara Mendes who I suspect you will hear about in the future. She is a passionate yet unimposing speaker and here talks to me about her work around Domestic Violence.

This week's show is the first of a two-parter. The Hornsby “Walk the Talk” Community Walk hosted by Soroptomists International was full of people wanting to take part in White Ribbon Day as well as supporting the start of 16 days of activism against Gender Violence Campaign. The call is to raise awareness - we are asked to ‘Orange the World!’ 

I have split this show into 2 parts because the subject matters were just so different, so first cab off the ranks was the Variety Bash Berowra to Bowen...

​More than 100 cars gathered in Berowra in their pre 1976 cars to drive more than 3000km to help disadvantaged people and kids for the Variety Bash Berowra to Bowen 2016 sponsored by Bryden Lawyers. They check in and support a number of communities along the way as well as being supported themselves by local groups who feed and accommodate the on their travels. Triple H 100.1fm community radio was there to cover the event and help them on their way.

Next up was Sarah Cloutier who has spoken to us about cooking and the sugar trap in the past - today it was about a personal choice she made not to have children and then to be part of a discussion on SBS's Insight program Child Free.

Sarah also talks about valuing what we have to offer the world when we don't by into expectations that don't feel like the right path for ourselves.

My guests in the studio today were Jean Gamble who work in private practice and Trudi-Anne Carmody who works as a hairdresser and has a wealth of experience connecting with clients on any number of issues.
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This interview was full of humour about the reality of peri-menopause, menopause and post menopause yet is applicable to anyone who knows, lives, or is a woman of any age :-) 

I am so honoured to have hosted this conversation with 2 very experienced workers in the domestic abuse field - Senior Constable Malcolm Baker and Peter Foster. 

I hope you develop an understanding of abuse and our responsibility to all be part of the solution.