by Julie Armstrong
Newsletter April 2026
There are moments in life where you feel a sense of belonging, and this was one of them.
From 6-8th February, members of our Dragon Talks community came together for a special in-person retreat, A Weekend of Belonging, at the Mary MacKillop Retreat Centre on Central Coast NSW. For three days we unplugged our devices and stepped away from our daily routines as we connected with ourselves, each other, and our beautiful surroundings.
From the moment people arrived, there was an ease with being together, some of us reconnecting with familiar faces, and others meeting for the first time. Friday evening set the tone with a relaxed dinner at the Kincumber pub and conversation flowed easily (and maybe some wine, too). We swapped stories, learned about each other and made plans for the future. It was a great opportunity to connect with people on an autoimmune journey, as its often a very lonely one.
There was no pressure to do anything over the weekend other than to take in the beautiful surroundings, and recharge.
We had no idea how much food we’d be getting! All our meals at the retreat were catered for and we’d find ourselves lingering around chatting after each meal only to discover the staff preparing the next meal due soon. All our needs were taken into account, as the centre considered everything. We all felt a sense of calm, not surprising considering the surroundings, as well as well-fed.
Over the three days we discussed important issues such as the rebranding of Dragon Claw to MyFlareUp, as well as our new website, and all the behind-the-scenes hard work done by our volunteers. As everyone in our charity has some connection to autoimmunity, getting feedback is important – to ensure we represent the voices in the autoimmune community. We also spent our time swimming, walking, enjoying the grounds and the history of the centre. The sing-along karaoke night was fun – who knew we had so many musicians among us!
The weekend flew by and it was sad to say goodbye, but some of us learnt something very important – that community matters. And being seen and understood is good for mental health – even a short time away can restore the body and mind. These quality hours together remind us how lucky we are to have this community. We parted with happy hearts and many plans for the future.
We believe our Maple Dragons Dr Charmaine Jones and Alasdair and Susan Cook are planning a retreat in BC. Some Aussie dragons are saving their dollars to attend – assuming petrol prices and living costs decrease! We’re waiting to hear more on the proposed venue and will update our Events page soon!
