Perhaps the only thing that will help abate the severity of the extreme heat we’re currently experiencing is ice cream. Lots and lots of ice cream. Eat it as though your life depends on it Gold Coasters because that might just be the case at this point.

In very good news (because luckily ice cream is also delicious), a sweet new ice creamery has just opened up at Marina Mirage and there are some flavours on offer there that are going to keep your tongue busy for a very long time. Yep.

From the beginning though, the newbie is called Ungermann Brothers and if you’re a MasterChef fan you’ll understand the gravity of this addition to our local dessert scene. Ben Ungermann was the 2017 runner up on the show and together with his brother Danny, has created a world-class ice creamery that we now get to visit on the daily.

The gourmet venue is the second of it’s kind, the first opened in Ipswich last year to rave reviews (obviously) and we are so very excited.

Opening just in time for the scorching summer we’ve only just begun (help), Ungermann Brothers is scooping up something a little bit different to your regular icy styles.

There are 18 weird and wonderful flavours including Blue Cheese and Fig, Roasted Garlic, and Lavender and Honeycomb and the exclusive Gold Coast flavour is salted caramel, tempered chocolate and potato chips which are three of our absolute favourite things you guys.

Of course they also do your regular faves too if you’re in need of some normalcy.

Move out of the way please, that’s all ours.

Ungermann Brothers ice cream is made with raw and natural ingredients. With no artificial stabilisers or flavours, every scoop is made from locally sourced ingredients in-store daily.

Umm so not sure why you’re still reading, get in the car right now and go sample one of every single flavour and bring us one of each too and we can be friends forever.

Off to bathe in a tub of ice cream now thank you for reading, bye.

LOCATION: Marina Mirage, Seaworld Drive, Main Beach
HOURS: 10am until 6pm

Words by Kirra Smith and photos supplied

It’s pretty much a sure bet that if you haven’t had the (completely awful) flu this season, you know someone who has, or does right now.

Those in the know are saying it’s the worst one we’ve seen in five years and that certainly seems to be the case with our Gold Coast pals, many of whom have spent weeks in bed with it.

In honour of spring, and because surely its time for the flu to leave now, we’ve listed the top five ways to avoid the nasty bug. You’re welcome.

1.    Wash your hands at every opportunity, especially before eating. This absolutely necessary process take 8.7 seconds of your life but it’s often something that’s forgotten in the haste of, you know, doing other stuff. Quite obviously the more you wash your hands, the less germs there are and the less likelihood of illness. Be one of those people and buy yourself a hand sanitizer to carry about too.

2.    Encourage people (we want to say kids but some adults also need to be told) to sneeze into their elbows if there are no tissues (or hankies, right Dad!) around. You don’t even realise how many things you touch throughout a day that others also have to touch. This is how germs spread guys, sneeze securely.

3.    If you are sick, for the love of God, stay home. If you can’t get to the Doctor call our good mates Dial A Home Doctor and they’ll come to you – best. There’s nothing worse than being stuck in an office with no windows and an air conditioner that’s happy to disperse illness to anyone who can breathe (that’s everyone). Arrange to work from home if possible and if it’s not, stay home anyway, work can wait. Tell ‘em we said so.

4.    If everyone around you is sick, or even if they aren’t, load up your meals with veggies, garlic, ginger, turmeric, all of the immune boosting things. You should do this regardless of the season and potential bugs in the air because a healthy immune system is the key to a healthy life and that’s a fact yo.

So there you have it, together we can eradicate this terrible flu and get outside and enjoy the spring sunshine we all very much deserve.

POST SPONSORED BY Dial A Home Doctor.

Words by Kirra Smith.

Raising awareness about mental health issues is a cause close to everyone’s heart in one way or another and at the moment, we all need to be vigilant about taking care of our own and keeping an eye on that of those around us.

Because we’re all about sharing/stealing good advice when we come across it, here are a couple of tips from local not-for-profit LIVIN if you’re feeling like your mental health could use a little TLC.

Get enough sleep
It’s super important to develop a regular sleeping schedule to help you feel energized, focused and motivated. Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day and if you can’t sleep, practice controlled breathing (focusing on inhaling and exhaling to help you relax).

Exercise
Sounds very uncool but is actually very good for not only your physical health (obviously) but your mental health too. Even just a short stint (15 minutes) will give you a rush of feel good energy and can help to relieve stress and pent up frustration.

Eat healthily
It’s no surprise fruit and veggies are good for you but did you know they can help your sleeping patterns, energy levels and general wellbeing? True story. Obviously fast food, that is easy to get when you don’t feel like doing anything, has very low levels of nutrition, which means low energy, and generally feeling worse than you otherwise would.

Enjoy yourself
Having fun for the win! Here’s an excuse to find things that bring you joy, watch hilarious show online and have a good laugh whenever you can. Talking to people who uplift your mood is clearly a positive thing to do, not to mention, if you need a chat about how you’re feeling, your friends are the perfect people to do that with. At the moment we”re in such uncertain times, it’s highly likely everyone could do with a chat and since we aren’t really meant to go near each other, may as well pick up that phone.

If you, or someone you know, needs immediate assistance please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Words by Kirra Smith