Radio couple air their views

The show goes on!

Radio presenters Marilyn (Mazza) Bennet and Ian Braybrook are still gracing the airwaves and bringing as much joy to listeners as they always have.

They own Radio 88FM for Seniors in Castlemaine which they run from a studio in their cosy Castlemaine home. Between them they have many followers as well as a swag of awards and citations that read like a Who’s Who of the broadcasting world.

Mazza OAM (for service to radio and to the community) began in radio in Bendigo over 35 years ago and is a well-known in radio. She has also acted in television and theatre and worked in print media and the entertainment industry. Mazza moved to the Castlemaine area to be near 3CCC, where she was from its earliest days.

Ian is a radio veteran, who was a breakfast presenter for many years, has won many radio industry awards and is well known throughout central Victoria. He is a former manager of KLFM Castlemaine and WMAfm and is also the author of a number of popular books – many of which have been co-authored by Mazza. Both were in the cast of the iconic Blue Heelers TV show.

They say radio veterans never really retire – they simply come up for air every now and again. And now that Mazza, 79, and Ian, 87, are getting older, they’re still as busy and immersed in the local community as ever.

“We’re still broadcasting every day,” Mazza says. “We have no plans to stop anytime soon – why would we? There’s too much to do! We’re busy and happy and are thoroughly enjoying life.” Ian adds, “My radio involvement keeps me active and alive.”

That’s the thing about Mazza and Ian. They have a zest for life that is infectious. They also have the uncanny ability to whole-heartedly throw themselves into community causes and events along life’s journey.

Like the inevitable ageing process – they’re all over that! They were on the Seniors Festival Committee in Castlemaine, (Mazza was awarded Senior Citizen of the Year in 2016) and she also chaired the Positive Ageing Advocacy Group (PAAG).

Then there’s health. Mazza was treated for several skin cancers – now she’s the “poster girl” for basal cell carcinoma awareness.

So, with their usual go-get-‘em attitude, it made perfect sense that they opted to receive help to make life that much easier at home, thanks to their government-funded home care packages through Uniting AgeWell. Mazza, who had a knee replacement, uses a stick to aid her mobility. Ian lives with emphysema - “not surprising really, everyone in the media smoked like chimneys back in the day,” explains Mazza.

They receive help around the house and their big garden. They have also had rails and ramps installed around the house to help with safety. “We’ve used our home care package to get a tablet which keeps us in touch with family. My grandson is in the Air Force, and I chat to him all the time!” says Mazza.

She and Ian have nothing but praise for Uniting AgeWell and describes the Home Care Workers as “wonderful and very good at their jobs.”

Mazza also can’t thank Care Advisor David Wojtowyez enough for all that he does for them. “David is amazing, I just have to get on the blower to him and he makes himself available. I tell him the problem, and he comes up with a solution. I’m planning on a second knee replacement soon, and I will be working with him to see how I can get help to make the shower safer before the surgery.”

Both Mazza and Ian drive, and they’re close to their big blended family of children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

They’re also keen to embrace any new adventures that come along their way.

Mazza, in particular, admits she would struggle to say no to a challenge! Days after giving birth to her second child at the Western General Hospital in Footscray, she asked, “Why are there only older people on the Hospital Auxillary?” She promptly rectified the situation by starting the Plus 20 Auxillary with younger members. Then there was the time she did a fundraiser in Bendigo, going up in a cherry picker to join an announcer sitting in a hut on top of a pole. She also co-established the Lioness Club in Golden City after discovering that Lions was for men only at the time.

In the meantime the show goes on! Mazza, who at one stage organised the Free Entertainment in the Park for the Bendigo City Council, along with Ian, set up the Harcourt Heritage and Tourist Centre, which proudly still hosts the Harcourt Apple Fest.

Mazza was a member of the Castlemaine Theatre Company and enjoyed putting on productions – ignoring the calls of “break a leg” when the curtain goes up. They’re also both doing research on another book which they are co-publishing. Then there’s trying to fit in time to do a bit of reading, watch TV and garden.

The only thing they good naturedly disagree on, is footy. Mazza is a die-hard Collingwood supporter, Ian barracks for Essendon. And a collection of mascots around the house ensures a lot of hilarious ribbing goes on!

The mascots are not their only collection. Mazza has a vast assortment of egg cups and also thimbles, stored in two display cabinets in the house. “It’s been fun collecting them over the years,” she says. “I’m not sure the younger generation know what thimbles are though!”

And are there any words of wisdom she would like to impart? “We all get older,” says Mazza. “We can’t control that. But we can control how we go about it! Life doesn’t stop until the final curtain call!”

Learn more about Home Care with Uniting AgeWell