The Directory of Trades & Services (DOTS) is a monthly A4 sized publication delivered free to the residents of the Southern Moreton Bay Islands (SMBI). Usually 24 pages in length, the Directory advertises businesses and services both on the SMBI and also the nearby bay side suburbs of Redland City.

With at least 8 pages, including the front and back covers, produced in colour the Directory is an eye catching means by which businesses can advertise their services to these somewhat remote island communities. In addition to full, half and quarter page colour advertisements, smaller black and white ad spaces are also available. A Trades and Services Directory also lists Important Numbers, Celebrants and Churches, Clubs and Associations, Community Services, Justices of the Peace, Medical, Schools, and Sporting Groups, together with various trades and services listed by category. Just about any information that you'd require as a resident of the Bay Islands can be found in this Directory.

Approximate cost: $Free

Living on an island with a phenomenally large parasitic tick problem, ensuring that I have a constant supply of suitable preventative treatments is essential. Buying my preferred product, Advantix, from veterinary clinics and pet shops is usually very expensive. For a 6 pack of Advantix for dogs sized from 10-25 kg I have seen, and paid, prices varying from $89.00 to $98.00. It was for that reason that I recently Googled pet product comparison sites to find a cheaper alternative.

By far the cheapest price I found was with Budget Pet Products, a small family run business located on the Gold Coast. A 6 pack for large dogs cost only $65.90 with the added bonus of free postage. The site advertises that orders are dispatched within 24-48 hours, however my order was processed that very same door and was in my mail box the following day. I couldn't have asked for a better service and am blessed to have found such a superb supplier in an area within my next day postage network. I can't recommend Budget Pet Products more highly.

Approximate cost: $65.90

If you thought that 1 hour film processing centres no longer existed, then you're not the only one mistaken. So did I until I came upon Supershots Photographics at the Capalaba Park Shopping Centre early last week. Despite all the signs proclaiming "Fujifilm processing 1 hour" I was almost certain that the large machine in this store was actually a contraption for printing digital photos. How wrong was I. What I'd stumbled upon was an amazing relic of the 1980's and 1990's - something that every shopping centre once had. Remember the long gone Rabbit Photo chain?

When I asked the shop attendant about their film processing he indicated that they still processed 8 or 10 rolls of film per day. This, understandably, was only a small segment of their business which now principally involves digital photo printing. For sale at Supershots Photographics you'll also find very large canvas prints, which are currently marked down to $25.00 each, together with greeting cards. If you know anyone in Brisbane who still uses a film camera give them a call and tell them to stop sending their films away for processing. The answer to their processing problems is only as far away as Capalaba.

Lara's House is an absolutely divine gift ware store in the Capalaba Park Shopping Centre. The shop's windows are jammed full of the most imaginative items and once you enter the store you're overwhelmed by the variety of different gift lines. I was originally drawn in by the large display of Golliwogs in the window. I hadn't seen any for many years and had assumed that they were no longer manufactured.

The shop window also contains a large array of winged fairy statues, some standing 18" tall or higher. Playing on the publicity of the London 2012 Olympic Games, there are red London bus inspired ceramic gifts such as salt and pepper shakers, together with traditional blue English Police Boxes. To some of us these can only ever be a Tardis and I was thrilled to be able to pick up a money box for each of my boys at only $11.95 each. So helpful are the staff that they volunteered to put them aside for a few days without even a deposit. Also particularly cute was the Tardis lamp for $49.99.

Lara's House also sells a large collection of wall clocks, die cast cars, jewellery boxes, Cabtree & Evelyn products, Gibson serviettes, and a huge collection of porcelain dog figurines. There are Be Jewelled hairbrushes for sale at $9.95 each. Coming in either pink or purple, they have a variety of girls' names embossed on them. Dragon and warlock statues are in abundance, together with a good number of angels.

Surprisingly for an otherwise secular store there is a large selection of Confirmation gifts, crucifixes, rosary beads and even "Pray the Rosary" books. Directly opposite these Catholic gifts are a large selection of statues of the Buddha. Lara's House is a delight to the senses and I couldn't recommend it more highly.

As the largest supermarket in the Southern Moreton Bay Islands (SMBI), Supa IGA Russell Island provides an essential service to not only Russell Islanders, but also the residents of other islands, particularly Lamb. As none of the SMBI have a bridge to the mainland, carrying large loads on the passenger ferry can be more than a drag. It must have been with much delight, therefore, that the residents of Russell Island greeted the opening of their first "real" supermarket in August 2008.

Supa IGA Russell Island is a large, spacious and well appointed supermarket. Equal in size to a standard Woolies or Coles, this IGA provides all the essential grocery needs of the community and more. Prices are generally competitive with mainland Supa IGA stores. There is a reasonably sized fruit and vegetable section, a particularly well stocked deli, and a large selection of meats. The only downside is that sometimes the store is out of stock of items essential to me, for example, 2 litre bottles of Coke. This is because the store is reliant upon its products being barged into the island. Having recently changed ownership, Supa IGA Russell Island is promising an improved service and cosmetic changes to the store have already begun. It now opens from 7.00 a.m. until 8.00 p.m. 7 days a week which is an absolute God send as there are no convenience stores on the island.

A.B.I.S. is an acronym for Advertising Bay Island Services. The A.B.I.S. is a monthly A5 sized business directory for Russell, Lamb, Karragarra & Macleay Islanders and is distributed free to householders. It can also be found at large retail outlets such as the Russell Island Supa IGA.

Proudly proclaiming that it should be carried everywhere so you always have the number that you need, The A.B.I.S. provides the most exhaustive listing of businesses and community services in the Southern Moreton Bay Islands (SMBI). Listed in category, you can readily locate anything from Marriage Celebrants and Justices of the Peace to Couriers and Painters and Decorators. With advertising starting from as little as $40 per month, the A.B.I.S. is jam packed full of advertisements for local businesses. It's a must for every Bay Islander and visitor to the islands.

Approximate cost: $Free

Redlands Pets Centre is a large independent pet store within the Capalaba Park Shopping Centre. They sell a large variety of pet related products, together with a good mixture of live fish and aquarium needs. In respect of my needs, they sell products such as Advantrix and Frontline Plus which provide protection from both fleas and parasitic ticks. Akin to most pet stores and veterinary clinics, the prices charged for these products are very high and they can be purchased much cheaper online.

Redlands Pets Centre also sell puppies, kittens, guinea pigs and surprisingly, young chickens of a month or twos age. I have philosophical issues with dogs and cats sold in pet stores and consider the sale of chicks most inappropriate. Chickens are not the sort of creatures to be purchased on a whim because they look cute. Few people are experienced with poultry and even fewer have the facilities at home to readily house them. People who genuinely seek out chooks know where best they can be procured, and it certainly isn't at a pet shop.

With only three stores in the southern suburbs of Brisbane, Casheez is a small business with big ambitions. Situating itself within the same market as the huge Cash Convertors, the proprietor of Casheez clearly hopes to emulate the aforementioned business's success.

Casheez is essentially a pawn brokers and short term money lender with a large store attractively displaying second hand goods for sale. Their gimmick is that all all their services end in a "z", for example, loanz, buyz, salez, productz, careerz etc. The staff are extraordinarily polite and respectful and the store inviting.

I joined Vibe Village around a month or so ago after reading positive reviews for the site here on WOMO. It operates somewhat differently from other consumer review sites in that members are invited from time to time to participate in a specific panel. That may involve testing a product or merely being presented with product scenarios and being asked to comment upon them.

Within days of joining I was selected for a panel which reviewed a soon to be released product on the scenario basis described above. For participating each day for 5 days I was rewarded with a $20.00 gift card. It was a lot of fun and I look forward to being able to participate again soon.

Vibe Village also send out the occasional invitation for surveys. Whilst a financial reward isn't offered, you enter into the running to win one of maybe 50 or 70 $20.00 gift vouchers. On my vague understanding of odds this seems to provide a fairly good chance of winning.

Approximate cost: $Free

It's a somewhat sad indictment on our consumerist society that every shopping complex now has at least one discount variety (or $2.00) shop. Notwithstanding that most goods sold are of negligible quality and are bound to fall apart within days, if not hours, of purchase, people nonetheless flood these stores. The lead up to Christmas must be a bumper time for them. So pervasive is the scramble for throw-away goods that even department stores such as K-Mart now appear to only sell cheap and nasty items that are almost guaranteed to never survive their warranty period.

Go Dollars at Capalaba is one such discount variety store. Whilst I'm sure the owners operate their business in the best of faith it is unfortunately no different to the hundreds of other similar stores around. Christmas decorations are available in abundance and there is a good variety of pet products. I was particularly interested in the unique range of neon flashing lights that they sold in the vicinity of $40.00 each. These included messages such as "fish & chips" and would make an interesting and talk provoking addition to the kitchen that has everything. If you're into finding cheap stocking fillers for Christmas then I have little doubt that you'll find much of interest at Go Dollars.

Approximate cost: $From 50c