I discovered this business whilst hunting down a women's mannequin for my dressmaking. I was absolutely astounded by the size of the business and the variety of goods they had for sale. You would need hours in the store just to partially digest what's on offer! Needless to say, I acquired my mannequin at a brilliant price of $35.00 and learnt where most of the $1.00 and $2.00 shops probably sourced their stock from. Whilst there's plenty of junky throw-away goods for sale at a pittance there's also an extraordinarily large array of good quality items at very reasonable prices. It you have a few hours to spare and a couple of dollars to spend Sunrise Imports in certainly the place to visit.

Every town needs an internet cafe, especially if that town's an island accessible only by sea. Lanzone supplies Russell Island's residents, tourists and day trippers with handy access to the internet. Located only a short stroll from the jetty, Lanzone has 3 or 4 computers available for public use, together with cold drinks for sale.

Lanzone also sells new and used desktop and laptop computers, and undertakes servicing and repairs. A range of computer accessories are sold from printers and modems to cabling and assorted parts. Although I haven't bought or had serviced a computer at Lanzone, my kids can vouch for the replacement mouse I bought them for the bargain price of $9.99. Being able to purchase a new mouse on the island without having to spend the time and money on a ferry trip to the mainland was a distinct bonus!

The Greenslopes Sleep Investigation Centre is one of three laboratories of Sleep Care, a Brisbane based sleep clinic. Sleep investigations are undertaken at this location for patients with private health insurance. It is also the location for follow up appointments with Sleep Care's Specialists for those Medicare funded patients who undertook their Sleep Investigation elsewhere. Free parking is available within the grounds of Greenslopes Private Hospital.

My follow up appointment was with Dr Allan Finnimore, who was most professional and understanding. Dr Finnimore carefully reviewed the results of the sleep investigation and provided sound advice on weight loss as an alternative to the intrusive CPAP machines. Having followed Dr Finnimore's advice and lost weight I have experienced no further sleep problems. I could not have been happier.

St Andrews Place Sleep Investigation Centre is a bulk billing facility of Sleep Care which has three laboratories in Brisbane. Conveniently located close to Brisbane city at the St Andrews War Memorial Hospital, the facility has plentiful reasonably priced parking.

The thought of undertaking a sleep study was quite daunting, however all my fears were allayed once I was in the capable hands of the very professional sleep technician. The sleep study required me to arrive at the facility at around 7.30 p.m. and stay until 6 a.m. the following morning. The most onerous part of the procedure should have been the hour it took to be hooked up with a plethora of monitors. These sensors, which are placed on various parts of your body, monitor heart rate, breathing, leg movements, brain wave activity, and the level of oxygen in your blood. Luckily, however, the sleep technician was a wonderful conversationalist and we found many topics in common to talk about. The hour spent being wired up seemed to fly. Within a short time of going to bed the monitors didn't worry me and I had a good night's sleep. Before I knew it, it was 6.00 a.m. and time to leave.

The longer established of two free monthly magazines servicing the Southern Moreton Bay Islands (SMBI), Bay Island News is a larger format glossy colour magazine of close to 50 pages in length. Not only does it cover local news and businesses from the SMBI of Russell, Lamb, Macleay and Karragarra Islands, it also directs its attention wider afield to Stradbroke Island, Coochiemudlo Island, and the bayside suburbs of Redland City.

Together with extensive coverage of Redland City Council news, Bay Island News devotes considerable space to community news concerning groups and facilities on all of the islands. Monthly updates include reports from the Macleay Island Police and further developments in the ongoing community agitation to have our local ferries brought within the Qld Government's Translink scheme. Each month there is a fascinating historical article on "Boats in the Mangroves" - stories of vessels around the Bay Islands. The SMBI museum at Russell Island also contributes enlightening and entertaining pieces on island history.

A very comprehensive Community Director lists associations, clubs, churches, celebrants, community services, JPs and other essential telephone numbers. The Business Directory also lists all shops, trades and services not only on the SMBI but also Stradbroke Island. Advertising is extensive and includes not only SMBI and Stradbroke Island businesses, but also some in the bayside mainland suburbs of Victoria Point, Redland Bay and Cleveland. Bay Island News allows islanders to effortlessly keep abreast of local news and to support local small businesses.

The Bay Islander is one of two free monthly glossy colour magazines covering the Southern Moreton Bay Islands (SMBI), Russell, Lamb, Macleay and Karragarra. Issued mid-monthly, the magazine is a relative newcomer to SMBI publishing and is soon to celebrate two years of publication.

Each month The Bay Islander provides stories of interest and importance to islanders such as round-ups of Redland City Council, particularly in respect of SMBI issues, together with columns from the Redland City Mayor, Division Councillor, State member and Federal member. "Church Notes" outlines activities in the local churches, whilst "My Russell Roundup" is authored by a prominent local and pertains to issues on Russell Island. There are similar columns for Karragarra Island ("Karragarra Calling"), Coochiemudlo Island, and Lamb Island ("On the Lamb with Lou"). There's also a monthly report by the Bay Islands Chamber of Commerce Inc, together with social pages such as "Teen Read", "Hot Goss", "Island Get About" and a fishing report.

The Bay Islander strongly supports local SMBI businesses with regular feature articles and a trade directory. Most businesses on the islands advertise in the Bay Islander, which indicates the strong support and influence that the Bay Islander has. Local residents know which businesses to support and are assured of keeping up-to-date with local issues.

One might wonder why you would need a swimming pool when you live on an island? After all, aren't you entirely surrounded by water? Whilst that is entirely true, the number of sharks and jelly fish in Moreton Bay make swimming in the bay extremely hazardous. There's a lovely little netted swimming area down by the jetty, however when the tide is low or receding there's precious little, if any, water in which to swim.

To the rescue comes the Russell Island Pool. Only a few years old, the 25 metre outdoor pool is open from September until April each year and is heated at a most agreeable temperature of 27 degrees. Half of the pool is covered in vast shade sails, thereby providing much needed sun protection. There is also a shaded wading pool and covered grassed area for relaxing or watching the kids. Although not selling the ultimate swimming pool fare, hot chips with tomato sauce, the kiosk nonetheless is well stocked with cold drinks, ice creams, chips and microwaved meat pies.

The Russell Island Pool has a swim squad and the pool is also well used by the Russell Island State School for their learn to swim program in terms 1 and 4. I've even seen students from nearby Macleay Island making the trudge up the hill from the jetty to the pool. As the only public pool in the Southern Moreton Bay Islands (SMBI) it provides a much needed service to the community.

Approximate cost: $3.50

Taking the kids to the Clem Jones Centre is a fantastic way to spend a warm afternoon. Open to the public at all times is a heated 50 metre Olympic pool and a children's wading pool. The wading pool has a great child sized slide which is always very popular with the children. The wading pool isn't heated though, but that doesn't seem to dissuade the kids at all. There are plenty of shaded areas and tables for families. A nice sized lawn affords the opportunity for a bit of a run around and the well stocked, and reasonably priced, canteen keeps the hunger away. The hot chips with tomato sauce take me back to my childhood days spent at the local Olympic Pool.

The Clem Jones Centre also has a 12 metre outdoor pool, which appears to be used primarily for training, together with a near new indoor 25 metre pool. This facility is not generally open to the public, but used for hydrotherapy and learn to swim classes.There's also a gym at the centre, although I've never used it. The staff are friendly and always happy to loan out (free of charge) googles and kicking boards.

Approximate cost: $5.00

Vinnies, Cannon Hill, is a large and well appointed op shop. Located on the corner of busy Wynnum Road, luckily there is plenty of on-street parking in Muir Street, together with drive-in parking at the rear of the store.

Cannon Hill Vinnies sells a very sizeable quantity of good quality and very fashionable clothes. They have saved me the embarrassment of being without a decent thing to wear out on a number of occasions. Unfortunately the cost of clothing is somewhat more than one would anticipate from an op shop. That being said, St. Vincents de Paul do raise money for very good causes so paying a little extra is nothing when you know that the profits are being put to fantastic use.

Cannon Hill Vinnies also sells quite a large selection of second hand furniture, most of it in very reasonable condition. Also sold is a small selection of new Catholic devotional products such as rosaries and prayer books.

Aid for the Blind Op Shop at Cannon Hill is a great op shop raising money for a very worthy cause. The volunteer shop assistants are friendly and helpful and will even hold clothes for several days, without deposit.

The quality of the clothes sold is very good and the prices reasonable. A women's skirt, for example, would usually sell for around $8.00. Clothes are displayed in accordance with variety, eg, skirts, tops, dresses, and also colour, thereby making your clothing choice much easier. Particularly fashionable clothes are displayed in appealing racks outside the store in the mall. They also have racks of size 16 and over clothes and sell a variety of home and kitchen wares, for example, plates, knives and forks. Aid for the Blind Op Shop is also a good source for LP records, for which they generally have a plentiful supply.