Jobseekers' flood stuns wholesale nursery manager

Image: A colourful crop on its way to retail outlets from Marlborough Nursery, Redland City, Queensland, Australia.

JOBSEEKERS often complain about their heavily massaged applications 'falling into a black hole' without any response from the employers. Although recruitment specialists say the applicants should not take this personally because employers are often too busy to reply to dozens or hundreds of candidates, many bemoan the lack of advice. Someone who has their heart set on an advertised position may need closure to let them move on and continue on life's pathways. A bright magenta and yellow notice in the Classifieds has invited employers to place a simple two-centimetre notice to notify unsuccessful applicants and allow them to escape their 'limbo'. The campaign underscores the good old-fashioned courtesy that underpins the service mentality of classified advertising through many generations. Tuesday's Bayside Bulletin helped about 150 people 'move on' with Marlborough Nursery's notice thanking applicants for the recently advertised nursery hand positions.

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Nursery manager Michael Duffy was surprised at the big response. He said the nursery recruited new staff twice a year and this time received about double the usual number of applications, most by email. The nation's growing unemployment rate has been making headlines, and Michael said the response rate could be 'a sign of the times' but many applicants had indicated they were seeking a change of direction in their lives. The applicants ranged from teenagers to seniors, with men and women equally represented. Michael said few had horticultural qualifications or experience – which had been more common when the Redlands' nursery industry was bigger. He has worked with Marlborough Nursery for about 30 years and has been manager for about the past 10. The nursery has 26 staff and needed four new hands this summer.

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Marlborough Nursery began in 1979 as a small ‘back-yard’ hobby nursery and developed on a Wellington Point site but later expanded to Redland Bay where it now does all its growing. A wholesale nursery, it does not open to the public but its products feature in stores, garden centres and florists "from Cairns in North Queensland to Adelaide in South Australia and everywhere in between". Marlborough Nursery specialises indoor flowering and foliage plants, with a range including anthuriums, bromeliads, spathiphyllum, orchids, alocasia, calatheas, dieffenbachia and stromanthe. The nursery states two of its milestones as being in the first group to be accredited under the Nursery Industry Accreditation Scheme Australia (NIASA) in 1993 and more recently gaining EcoHort accreditation. "We pride our self on our quality and service and are continually trialling new varieties to add to our existing range," the nursey says.

This column has appeared in The Redland Times.

Forget Sochi as battle of churches rages on bayside

Image; Oh, and while we're talking - we're all praying for a fine day next Saturday ... from Redlands Lutheran

THE spectacle of the Winter Olympics faded to a mere bit of fuss over a few sport events when the battle of the churches erupted recently in these columns. Readers of the Classifieds must have been riveted to their seats as Capalaba Uniting Church, Cleveland Baptist Church and St James Lutheran Church, Cleveland, went 'head to head'. It was indeed one of the most exciting Garage Sale columns in publishing history as the three churches promoted their fundraisers. The lengthy lists of tantalising items – complete with the use of capital letters, italics and exclamation marks – showed the palm-sweating anticipation.

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Jokes aside, the churches are firm believers – they know they can get results with prayers and classified notices. Capalaba Uniting Church's Owen Roberts, whose wife Pauline is a church elder, says its February 8 carboot sale was a great success, with about 24 stallholders, about as many as the Ney Road property can hold. The vendors pay $10 a stall, which has helped the church with maintenance and other costs for about the past 15 years, he says. The market is held every two months. Further east, Joye and Evan Kriedemann are the co-ordinators of Cleveland Baptist Church's monthly "Community Car Boot Market". Joye says the market is "going from strength to strength" and the Waterloo Street church was abuzz with activity on February 1. "It was fantastic," Joye says. "We now have about 45 stallholders at each market."

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The church has focused on making the market more than just a buying and selling experience by setting up a special stall to promote community groups and causes. The next market will be on Saturday, March 1.

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Motorcycle leathers, yes – gang patches, NO!

THE Newman government's campaign against outlaw motorcycle gangs appeared to be working when sets of leather jackets, dry riders and helmets featured in the For Sale column. But the vendor, a Wellington Point man, said he was simply having a clean-out after selling his bike and indicated the only patch he would wear would be to give up smoking.

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Bridge lobby general stays optimistic

THE grand old lady of the Russell Island Bridge Lobby, Joyce Webb, 90, says she was not disappointed by a smaller than usual turn-out for the advertised annual general meeting at Redland Bay on February 1 and the failure of a television crew to attend. Joyce said the Toondah Harbour development issue was a distraction on the day. The lobby was just short of a quorum to hold elections but still had its executive serving almost 1500 members around Australia.

This column has appeared in The Redland Times.

Tenterfield terrier knows he's my funny Valentine

Images: What a dog! What a card! What a great greeting first up on February 14!

JUST before Classie Corner gets back to business in the marvellous community of classified advertising and while the warmth and fuzz of Valentine's Day 2014 lingers on, here's some entertainment for all the Tenterfield terrier lovers who lap up my posts about this fabulous breed. Joey left me a card - and a Lotto ticket... For other posts about terriers on this site, use the search box above and see why dog lovers around the world keep clicking on the links.

Daughter keeps dark secret from mum after theft

Image: The Ormiston woman's appeal from the heart.

FEELINGS of violation and loss can haunt victims of break-in and theft but they may be just part of the agony. Add 'guilt' to the mix and the victim, rather than the criminal, receives the severe punishment. Such is the case for an Ormiston woman, who admits she has difficulty 'moving on' months after a theft from her home. She blames herself for not ensuring the security of the stolen property, which belongs to her mother. The suffering is compounded by a dark secret: "Mum still doesn't know." For this reason, the woman declined to be identified. We'll call her "Vicky" – short for 'victim'.

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RACKED by torment, Vicky recently placed a Public Notice in the slim hope she might recover some items that she says "held great sentimental value". Tears seemed to run through her 10-line notice, which began with "Can you help?" and told of her desperation after the discovery in December that nine plastic storage tubs were missing. The sad saga began in July when Vicky and her husband helped her mother move into a nursing home. The couple stacked the tubs in a covered area behind their home. "I thought my husband had moved them, maybe into the garage, and he thought I had done it," she says. "Before Christmas, I looked for a handmade fabric nativity scene that my mother treasured – that's when I realised the tubs were missing."

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THE police were sympathetic but unable to offer hope of recovering the property with so little information after so long, Vicky says. "I can't really say what was in the bins because I don't know," she says. She has been touring secondhand shops in hope of seeing something familiar. She can remember only the nativity scene, hand-embroidered tablecloths, a porcelain dinner set with floral motifs, craft magazines and knitting patterns. Luckily, she had taken some items including photographs inside her house; the 50-litre tubs with coloured plastic handles contained many "bits and pieces".

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VICKY says her home has a high fence with a gate and a lot of trees and shrubs, making "a very private area". She believes the intruder(s) would have needed a utility or truck. A construction project was under way in the street at the time. "If only I had known straight away," she says. The theft was the first such incident that Vicky and her husband have suffered during their 25 years at the one address. Today, during her daily visit to her mother, Vicky again will carry the weight of her secret, fearing the revelation would break another heart.

This column has appeared in The Redland Times.