Very local, state, national and the wider world, in everyday language, for people who haven’t got all day.
From a band called Fukers raising the roof for our firies, to an eighty-something bloke who built an ocean-going boat in his backyard, to a war that’s still keeping petrol dear, here’s the local-to-global wrap for 24 May 2026.
Betty from Blacktown and her brother Kevin from Kiama, making sense of the world’s chaos the only sensible way: over toast, a strong cuppa, and a good long natter on the phone. That’s what this Catch Up is for.
Very Local: a joyous night in the village, and a boat sixteen years in the making
Two cracking local stories this time, and both of them good news for a change.
The Fukers had Jamberoo dancing. The fundraiser in the village was a roaring success, raising money for the Jamberoo Rural Fire Brigade and the Red Cross. By all accounts it was a beauty. One person who was there summed it up far better than I could:
“Fukers didn’t disappoint, in fact they were wonderful. Congratulations organisers and Fukers for a joyous, uplifting evening that included audience participation via singing, dancing and the good news from vocalist Paul Taylor that the band will return next year to again help raise funds for the Rural Fire Brigade and Red Cross. Thank you Fukers for an absolutely fabulous evening in the village.”
Best of all, Paul Taylor has promised the band will be back next year to do it all over again. Good on the organisers, good on the band, and good on everyone who put their hand in their pocket for our firies.
The building is the thing. On the side of Saddleback Mountain, a Jamberoo fella named Michael set himself a job that would make most of us put the kettle on and have a lie down instead. In his own backyard, by hand, he built an ocean-going catamaran. An eighteen-and-a-half-metre boat that he designed himself. It took him sixteen years, with his wonderful wife Susie beside him the whole way.
Everyone who knew that narrow little road kept asking the same question: how on earth are you going to get it down off the mountain? There was even talk the ABC might film the whole thing and lift the boat out by helicopter. In the end no chopper was needed. The boat was cut into pieces and crawled down the road bit by bit over the best part of a week. And now she’s finally floating on the water, named Archimedes. A lovely reminder that it’s never too late to chase a big dream, and that sometimes the building of the thing matters just as much as where it ends up. You can read Lynne’s full story here.
Across the Country (Federal)
A surprise change out of the United States is worth a mention, because it touches plenty of Australian families with loved ones over there. The Trump government has announced that foreigners already living in the US who want a green card will now have to leave the country and apply from their home country instead. It’s a big shift from how things have worked for years, and it’s caught a lot of people on the hop.
Around the World (International)
Trouble at home for first responders abroad. A sad reminder this week of how dangerous the job can be. In New York, one person died and 36 others were hurt in a blast at a shipyard, and most of the injured were firefighters and other first responders rushing in to help. And over in Southern California, around 40,000 people were told to leave their homes and schools were shut after a storage tank kept leaking a hazardous chemical. A timely reminder of what emergency crews everywhere put on the line, which makes a night like our Fukers fundraiser for the Rural Fire Brigade feel all the more worthwhile.
The bottom line
It all joins up, Betty. A war on the far side of the world squeezes household budgets, the same squeeze that’s shaking up politics everywhere. But closer to home, the news is brighter. A village packed a hall to look after its firies, and a man on a mountain proved you’re never too old to do something improbable and wonderful. Not a bad lot to talk over with Kevin and a cuppa.
Sources: Clover Hill Diaries, NPR, Euronews, CNBC, Sydney Morning Herald, and others.
A note on Betty and Kevin: Betty grew up in Kiama before life took her to Blacktown. Her brother Kevin still lives in their old home town. Keeping up with what’s happening down the coast is partly nostalgia for the place she came from, but mostly it’s how she and Kevin fill those long phone calls she looks forward to all week. That’s what this Catch Up is really for. Not just the news, but the conversations it keeps alive.