Opal residents playing in swimming pool with grandchildren
01 Oct
Opal by Living Gems

Light of our lives

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Couple rejoice at sharing time with grandkids Life would feel lonely without grandchildren, according to Opal by Living Gems homeowners Desley and Vic McMullen, who between them have 13 grandkids and one four-month-old great grandson. “We were married 30 years ago, a second marriage for both of us, and have quite a few grandchildren, aged from eight to 25, who are the light of our lives and all so precious to us,” said Desley, who never misses an opportunity to spend time with them. Minding the children gives the couple great joy. “We see my son’s three daughters, eight-year-old twins and a ten-year-old, more often than the other grandchildren these days and have never been short of ideas when it comes to keeping them occupied,” said Desley. The over-50s lifestyle resort has plenty to interest the girls including a great swimming pool and heated spa in the Country Club. “They are like ducks to water when it comes to the pool and always come equipped with...

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On track - Opal couple make travel a priority
01 Sep
Opal by Living Gems

On track – Opal couple make travel a priority

After working all their lives and raising three children, Bruce and Linda Woodbine retired to Opal by Living Gems over-50s lifestyle resort seven years ago, bought a caravan and started travelling, and they haven’t looked back since. “One of the reasons we moved to Opal was for the security, which allows us to lock up and hit the road on our many adventures whenever we want without having to worry about our home,” said Bruce. The couple have seen some amazing sights and experienced so much since they began travelling, taking up to two trips each year including one 24,000km roadtrip around Australia. “We have a great caravan with everything you could want including a bathroom, and it’s been a fabulous home away from home. We mainly stay in caravan parks but have also enjoyed free camping, especially when we have travelled up north,” said Bruce. Both agree it is the freedom and ability to stop wherever and whenever they like that makes them...

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Opal by Living Gems resident with war memorabilia
01 Apr
Opal by Living Gems

Betty remembers it all

Opal by Living Gems centenarian and one of the original founding members of the Logan Village RSL, Lily Elizabeth May Milne-Ward, has seen more than most of us can imagine. Betty, as she likes to be called, is as sharp as a tack and remembers every detail of her time as an aircraft woman in the Royal Australian Airforce during World War Two. “I joined the RAAF on my 18th birthday with other young women who wanted to be trained up to help,” said Betty. “We were rookies back then, but we were well and truly trained to march, I can tell you, and a few weeks later, the Americans arrived in Bankstown, so we were moved to Melbourne.” Betty worked as a nurse in her first year in service, in No. 2 RAAF Hospital in Ascot Vale, Melbourne. Between 1942 and 1943, Australia came under Japanese air raid attack. The injured were brought back to Melbourne for the nurses to mend. It wasn’t...

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Opal by Living Gems veterans
01 Apr
Opal by Living Gems

Logan Village’s military legacy

History has a new facet at Opal Residents at Opal by Living Gems live on the border of a significant piece of Queensland’s World War Two history. In this feature, we uncover the history of Camp Cable and speak to three men who served in each of our armed services. Bill Malkin, Royal Australian Air Force (1966-2011) When Bill was 16, he thought he wanted to be a chemical engineer. “Not that I really knew what that was,” he said. “We were living in Townsville and my parents certainly didn't have the means to send me to university." That's when the father of his girlfriend at the time, an air force recruiter, suggested that he consider a career in the service. “I think he was trying to get rid of me!” he joked. "The truth is that it was a great opportunity. I started as a cadet radio apprentice." Despite not liking high school, Bill discovered that he took to university study and found that he also...

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28 Nov
Living Gems, Living Gems Caboolture, Living Gems Pacific Paradise, Living Gems Toowoomba, Opal by Living Gems

Retirement village or lifestyle resort. What is the difference?

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Many of us have heard the terms retirement village and lifestyle resort – but, what’s the actual difference?While there are definitely similarities between the two (in that they both appeal to older people who live independently and have communal facilities), the key difference between the two sectors is the contractual and financial models that apply.Whatever option you are looking at that best meets your needs, it’s important to seek professional financial advice.The Queensland Government website has excellent guides for retirees about understanding the risks of retirement units as investments.They explain that living in a traditional retirement village is not the same as owning your own home or renting. In most cases, you do not purchase the property title to the unit. Instead, you purchase a right to live in the unit and the right to benefit from the lifestyle facilities the village offers.Lifestyle Resorts or manufactured home parks are often marketed as ‘Over 50s Lifestyle Resorts’. Once a purely affordable...

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25 Jul
Living Gems, Opal by Living Gems

Southport Croquet Club visits Living Gems

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Members of the Southport Croquet Club made their way to Opal by Living Gems Lifestyle resort in Logan Village on 17 July 2018.Beryl Turner, Southport club captain, along with a group of eight members enjoyed a great day at the Resort, having a go for the first time at the Resort’s croquet court.Living Gems has been sponsoring the club, located at 1 Queen Street, Southport for the last 12 months.Mary Kerr and Diane Miller, Home Owners at Opal by Living Gems, are both club members at Southport. Mary said she didn’t start playing croquet until she moved into the resort but has always thought it was a game she would play in her retirement.“Whilst Opal by Living Gems’ croquet field was under construction last year, home owners were invited to use the club’s facilities at Southport.”“I’ve been playing croquet for two years, it is a fun sport. I am the president of the club and help organise two set games...

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20 Jul
Living Gems, Opal by Living Gems

Opal by Living Gems relay team close in on fundraising goal

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Relay for Life team, Opal by Living Gems, have been powering on to meet their fundraising goal of $10,000 by 7 October 2018. The current total is now over $7,000 thanks to the efforts of the Home Owners at Opal by Living Gems as well as their family and friends.The team have raised funds from various events as well as raffling items donated by local businesses in Logan Village.Team captain, Nola Green said they are well on their way to meet their goal after the recent success of their Biggest Morning Tea event and Pie Drive.“The Biggest Morning Tea was a really wonderful event, I think everyone had a great time and we raised just over $1,900 on the day.”“Special guests at the recent Biggest Morning Tea included: Logan City Councillor Laurie Koranski and Cancer Council Queensland personnel – Megan Connors, Senior Co-ordinator, Regional Fundraising; Jane Haylock, Chair Jimboomba Branch; and Amanda Power, Senior Coordinator, Special Projects Relay for Life....

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06 Jul
Living Gems, Opal by Living Gems

Meet your Neighbours: Keith and Gwen

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Originally from the United Kingdom, Keith Revell made the move over 40 years ago to Brisbane where he met his wife Gwen.Not long after our two wonderful children were born we moved to New Guinea for three years, from there we chose to settle in Redcliffe until our children went on to university. After a stint in Melbourne and over 30 years in a stressful Corporate role we eventually moved to Heritage Park seeking a quieter, less stressful life and bought a newsagency.The business thrived, and we quickly learnt that this was not going to be a quiet life! We sold the newsagency after six years and took a gap year, which has 10 years and counting, we are still contemplating when we will retire!Having made the decision to downsize we continued our search for a quiet life and stumbled upon Opal by Living Gems whilst researching Over 50s Lifestyle Resorts. We actually placed a deposit on a site at...

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26 May
Living Gems, Opal by Living Gems

Living Gems residents’ top effort for cancer research

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Last year, Relay for Life team Opal by Living Gems, raised $7500 for cancer research. This year the team have started their fundraising efforts early in hopes to surpass last year’s donation.Living Gems Home Owners and team captain Nola Green said last year they hadn’t heard of the Relay for Life until attending an Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea event.“After speaking to some representatives from Cancer Council, we came home and put together a team of fifty. We didn’t start fundraising until May 2017 but still managed to collect $7500, which we were very happy with.”“This year we have renewed vigour, we achieved second place in the fundraising last year, so this year we aim to be first.”At the closing ceremony of last year’s event, the Opal by Living Gems team were also presented the ‘Spirit of Relay’ trophy, which is awarded to an individual or team that displayed exemplary effort.“Last year was a fantastic weekend and everyone who came enjoyed...

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