The Small SHIFT: I Will Survive event where seven women, spanning seven decades, tell their story in seven minutes, is back for the fourth year running on Thursday, 5 November.

The Echo loves your letters and is proud to provide a community forum on the issues that matter most to our readers and the people of the NSW north coast. So don’t be a passive reader, send us your epistles.

It is the age-old story – the lack of public transport across the Northern Rivers that leads to high car ownership and a failure of local and regional public transport infrastructure and use.

There’s something special about biting into a perfectly ripe peach or nectarine, with juice running down your chin and the taste of summer in every mouthful. Stone fruit season is now underway, and local grower Rajesh Kumar is bringing a beautiful selection of fresh fruit to the farmers’ markets.

Most of us would struggle to squeeze a lifetime into seven minutes. Seven local women are about to give it a go, with stories of what they have survived along the way.

Robin Harrison, aka Professor Cuddlebumps and Apprentice Earth Wizard, was a much-loved figure and friend to many in the Caldera and Byron Shire. He was a performer, an activist, a change maker and sustainability advocate extraordinaire.