Electronic conveyancing of land (or E-con- veyancing) has now started in NSW.

E-conveyancing through the internet has two stages. Firstly it may involve the elec- tronic exchange of contracts for sale of land, title searching and all the other searches that solicitors perform. This stage is not compulsory but should, once fully up and running, speed up the exchange of contracts – when contracts for sale of land become binding.

The second stage is the settlement of land, farm, house and commercial sales. This stage will become compulsory. As from 1st August 2018 all transfers of land will have to be done via E-conveyancing. All banks (in- cluding credit unions), solicitors and convey- ancers will need to be registered with PEXA – the internet engine that facilitates settlement of land sales. Once settlement figures and searches have been completed and settle- ment of a transfer is agreed and authorised with PEXA by banks, credit unions and so- licitors, then PEXA registers the transfer, mortgage (or other documents) and pays out settlement funds almost immediately after settlement.

In a couple of years’ time, there will be no cheques and no paper title deeds. Monies will be sent electronically and title deeds will be a thing of the past. Title deeds to land will be held electronically by the Land, Property and Information Service on their comput- ers. None of these make conveyancing any simpler – just a different method. It is also designed to get rid of paper, but they said that about fax machines and emails… and it didn’t!

Matthews Williams is registered with PEXA and we have been performing E-conveyanc- ing for a couple of months. We are available to help you with buying or selling your land.

Easter, celebrated between Good Friday and Easter Monday, is just around the cor- ner. Here are the top five ways that Australians celebrate Easter.

1. The Resurrection of Christ

Christian Australians celebrate the resurrec- tion of Jesus on Easter Sunday. The prior- ity of Christians on Good Friday is to attend church before tucking into delicious hot cross buns, and enjoying time with family.

2. Chocolate

The happiness food is in abundance in the form of Easter eggs in shops everywhere. For some, this time of year is all about heal- ing, rest, and quality time with family with some chocolate involved, and of course the

Easter bunny!

3. Easter shows

Many capital cities in Australia put on an annual Easter show with the Sydney Roy- al Easter Show the most famous one.

4. Holidays and camping

In Australia, Easter and family holidays go hand in hand. Many Australians take advan- tage of the four-day long weekend, and get out of town to go camping.

5. Home Renovation Projects

Ah yes, those home renovation and im- provement projects you’ve been putting off… Easter is a perfect time to get stuck into them and make some progress. Whether you need to paint your house, remove some grout from your bathroom tiles – many peo- ple choose Easter to catch up on projects around the house. You can also use the time to de-clutter your wardrobe in prepara- tion for the colder weather ahead.

If you are just staying put at home, you won’t go hungry for hot cross buns or chocolate in Parkes, as well as entertainment.

Whatever you get up to over Easter, do it safely and remember to just relax and have some more chocolate!

The Parkes pool was the place to be on Sunday as it hosted a flotilla of events to celebrate the very last day of the swimming season.

The day began with a swim-a-thon relay, raising approximately $4,000 for the Life Education Van. Various organisations assembled teams, swimming continuous laps of the pool. Even Healthy Harold showed his support from the sidelines. They swam an estimated 850 laps over the day, with Mayor Ken Keith contributing an impressive 64 laps to the tally.

“I would like to express my appreciation to the many swimmers who participated and to the sponsors that supported them,” the Mayor said. “I would also like to thank Quota for their $1,000 donation, and for providing fruit platters on the day.”

The Learn to Swim program also held their end of season celebration. This was the first season that the Learn to Swim pro- gram was run at Parkes Aquatic Centre, and it proved very popular, with 390 students enrolling this term.

Sharon Ross from the Aquatic Centre said the classes were very well received. “I got some very positive feedback from a lot of parents, which was great,” she said.

The fun kept going well into the evening, with a free splash party for Youth Week, which was a joint initiative of Parkes Shire Council and CDAT (Community Drug Action Team). Dozens of kids made good use of the inflatable pontoon and enjoyed the free barbeque.

The Parkes Sharks Swim Team held their end of season presentations in the evening, with 90 of their members attending. While the presentation night signals the end of the Parkes swim season, club secretary Barbara Weaver said training is a year-round commitment for many of their swimmers who travel to Orange to train over winter.

By Raen Fraser

If you are planning to do some home decorating or other jobs around the house over Easter, Parkes Décor Shoppe is the place to go.

You can find anything there from lights and fans to curtains, blinds and awnings to linen and even gifts.

Parkes Décor is part of the Lighting Network, the largest group of independent retial lighting stores in Australia, offering many dif- ferent types of lights to choose from. These include DIY lights needing no electrician to fit them.

With the weather turning colder, the store has beautiful bedspreads, quilts, linen and cushions to choose from. With new stock arriving weekly, you will never run out of new ideas or might just find that special design you want.

Parkes Décor has a free measuring service to give you a professional quote and advice for blinds, curtains and lighting. The curtains on offer range from classic to contemporary, country style to urban living in a large selection of fabrics to choose from. You can browse through a wide range of fabric samples in store. Curtains are custom made professionally with many different finishes.

With 42 years of experience in the industry, Parkes Décor Shoppe has the answers to all your decorating questions. Phone 6862 2677 or call in at 202 – 204 Clarinda Street.

In 2008 Kinesio tape (K tape) was donated to 58 countries for use during the Olympic Games. By the 2016 Olympic Games it was hard to miss; brightly coloured strips of tape decorating the arms, legs and torsos of many high profile athletes. With this exposure, the use of K tape has become increasingly popular amongst the general population. The question must be asked – does it really work?

In a nutshell, K tape is brightly coloured, stretchy tape that is designed to stick to the skin. Proponents of K tape claim the adhe- sive backing on the tape lifts the skin, creating channels of less pressure. They claim it increases blood flow and lymphatic drain- age and reduces pressure on nerves, muscles, tendons, stimulates mechano-recep- tors, improves sporting performance and decreases swelling and pain after injury.

The inconvenient truth for any K tape believer is that for every research paper that shows a positive effect there is another one that shows little or no effect. Numer- ous systematic reviews have analysed the research data and none have reached any firm conclusions.

Many therapists will argue; if the athlete thinks it helps with pain and performance why not use it? I do not agree. If pain is helped by the use of K tape then it is unlikely there was significant tissue damage in the first place. In this case, tape isn’t needed and shouldn’t be used as a crutch.

Sure, an athlete may feel better after putting some tape on but I prefer the athlete to get better and back to sport by moving without fear.

For the fitness of you.

Linda Reilly