The Splendid Word

10/07/2026

Hearing the news just now of Derryn Hinch’s passing has me reflecting on a surreal personal encounter I had with the ‘human headline’ back in my very early journo days.

I was police reporter at the time and had just broken a front page story about three convicted child s*x offenders who had been released on parole from prison into a Ministry of Housing unit opposite a kindergarten and playground in a small country town in Victoria.

I was given a tip-off that the men had been living together in the unit for a month, and when I rang the Police Minister’s office for comment they had nowhere to hide. The men were whisked away by authorities to a new location in the middle of the night before the paper had even hit the streets.

The revelation sparked outrage in the town and across Victoria, and very quickly caught the attention of controversial talkback radio host, Hinch, who was a vocal advocate against pedophiles and s*x offenders, even spending time in prison for refusing to be silenced by legal restrictions.

In the very early hours on that morning my story broke, I was woken by a phonecall from Hinch’s producer. Before I could wipe the sleep from my eyes I was patched through to Hinch, and found myself live on air for an explosive interview.

It was the most extraordinary experience, and one that landed me in very hot water at my workplace. I didn’t have authority from my newspaper editor to be on air, let-a-lone with someone as controversial as Hinch. I was hauled over the coals when I arrived at the office later that morning, but somehow I kept my job, and lived to tell the story.

In time, that case, and the story surrounding it, was one of several that prompted the introduction of Victoria’s S*x Offenders Register in 2004. That law, which still stands today, requires individuals convicted of specified s*xual offences to report their whereabouts and personal details to police to provide greater protection to children.

Derryn Hinch will be remembered for a lot of things - both good and bad.

Today, I’m remembering him for the fearless and relentless work he did to help provide greater safeguards to protect children from s*xual abuse.

✨

13/05/2026

Unbelievably, The Splendid Word turns 15 today.

What started out as late-night writing sessions around babies and the early years of motherhood has grown into a business that has now shared stories for more than 250 clients across Australia.

This business has shaped so much of my life and today I’m reflecting on the people, stories and moments that built it.

Fifteen years feels big.

I’ve shared some reflections over on our blog for anyone who feels like reading the story behind the story.

📚Lee

Fifteen years ago today, Christy and I took a giant entrepreneurial leap, and launched our very own storytelling agency – The Splendid Word.

22/04/2026

✨First Love✨

I was 12 years old, in Grade 6, when I fell head over heels for an 11-year-old boy in the year below me who was new to town.

He was sweet, kind, cool and naturally the most handsome boy I’d ever laid eyes on.

After school I would pour my big tween feelings out onto the pages of my plush pink diary with heart-shaped lock and key, and use up reams of paper playing the Love Percentage game that was huge in the early 1990s. You know the one - you’d scribble your name and your crush’s name on the page, tally up the letters in ‘L.O.V.E.S’, do some questionable maths and voilà – your ‘scientific’ chance of ending up together was revealed. And when you didn’t get the answer you wanted, you’d add in your surnames and middle names to try for better odds. (Pretty sure mine once told me I had a 98% chance of marrying Brad Pitt. 😂) It was a silly, sweet game, but oh-so-serious to our tender hearts.

Our innocent childhood romance began with folded-up notes slipped to each other through friends in the corridors between classes. One day, in one of those notes, he told me he didn’t have a middle name and asked if I’d help him choose one. It had to start with the letter A and the list included some suggestions….Aaron, Andrew, Alex… and then, AK47. (Romantic and dangerous, right? I was hooked.😂)

Before long, our little crush graduated to secret meetings in the storage space beneath the school building. I was the responsible ‘senior’ student, trusted by the principal with the key to collect shovels, rakes and brooms to tidy up the yard at lunchtimes. But while I was there, my Grade 5 flame would sneak in. We’d hold hands in the dark, musty space between the ground and school building roof, and once or twice even kiss. On. The. Lips. (My 12-year-old heart could barely cope!)

But then came the heartbreak. His family moved away at the end of that year, and just like that, our primary school love story ended. I never saw or heard from him again…

💌 Spill the tea friends — do you have a similar childhood love story? And did you ever play the Love Percentage game?

15/04/2026

This week, our senior content writer Christy graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Creative and Professional Writing) from La Trobe University – the culmination of 10 years of part-time study, persistence and quiet, unwavering commitment.

As many of you know, Christy was my business partner when we first founded The Splendid Word almost 15 years ago, and she remains a central part of the story today as one of our much-loved freelancers. But more than that, she has always been someone I’ve deeply admired – for her wisdom, her steadiness and her instinct for language and meaning.

Ten years is a long time to hold a thread like this. Through raising three children, working and giving her time and energy to a constellation of creative and volunteer pursuits, she kept returning to this degree. Not in grand gestures, but in steady increments. Page by page, semester by semester, until the work was done.
There is something profoundly moving about that kind of perseverance. It’s not loud or performative. It’s the quiet discipline of someone who understands that a life can be both full and intentional, and that creative work often asks for patience as much as talent.

I am so proud of her. Not only for graduating, but for the writer she has always been and has continued to grow into along the way.

Congratulations Christy O'Brien. This is such a special achievement. 👏📚

15/04/2026

Five years of Hammond Providore today, and it felt like the right place to be working from this morning – laptop humming, words flowing and delicious St Remio coffee brewing, in a space that’s been part of so many of our TSW days since 2021.

Over those years, it’s been a backdrop for so many of our TSW moments – WIP meetings, client catch-ups, Christmas breakfasts with the team, and plenty of latte-fuelled thinking in between.

Hammond really is so much more than a café. It’s become an institution on our side of the river here in Moama. A gathering place, a creative corner, and a happy little slice of community that always feels like home.

Congratulations Michelle Theodore Catering on five incredible years, and on building a brand and space that is so warm, so welcoming and so deeply loved by locals and visitors alike. 🤍

08/03/2026

Happy 40th birthday to our effervescent Fi! 🎉

For more than eight years, Fi has been the voice behind so many of our clients’ socials – crafting captions, building communities, keeping accounts humming along, and making it all look effortlessly easy.

She’s thoughtful, clever, intuitive, endlessly reliable, and an absolute champion of our clients and our team. Fi, we’re so grateful for everything you bring to TSW. Today we’re celebrating you, your words and this big milestone birthday. 🥂✨

Happy 40th!

🌻Lee.

05/03/2026

Client love. ❤️

It’s been just over a year since Breathe Lab opened its doors in Echuca Moama.

But this story started long before that.

In January 2024, co-founder Nic (pictured left) was diagnosed with Stage 4 bowel cancer. She was 44-years-old, and deep in the everyday trenches of full-time work and parenting two busy teenage boys.

What followed was a blur of emergency surgery, chemotherapy, immunotherapy… and the biggest fight of her life.

Alongside her medical treatment, Nic explored integrative therapies, including hyperbaric oxygen therapy and red light therapy, which became a powerful part of her healing journey.

What began as a personal search for strength and support soon grew into something much more.

With the unwavering backing of the Echuca Moama community, and alongside her close friend Krystin, Breathe Lab was created to bring these therapies close to home.

Not just as a service. But as a space grounded in compassion, hope and accessibility.

In April 2025, Nic received the life-changing news that she was cancer-free.

Today, every session delivered inside these walls honours Nic’s story and her purpose: helping others breathe deeper, recover stronger and feel more like themselves again.

Thank you for being part of our first year. 🤍

Your recovery and wellbeing start here.

By appointment only | Book now https://breathelab.com.au/

27/02/2026

We’re delighted to welcome new client Breathe Lab into our portfolio of social media clients this month. 🌻

If you’re local to our beautiful riverside twin towns, you might already be familiar with this female-founded start-up which is putting science, recovery and wellbeing firmly on the EM map.

Co-founders Missy Murphy and Krystin Nagle launched Breathe Lab in late 2024, sparked by Missy’s deeply personal health journey following a cancer diagnosis. Through her recovery, Missy experienced first-hand the powerful benefits of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, yet found access to this treatment in our region incredibly limited.

Instead of accepting that barrier, she and Krystin built the solution.
Breathe Lab is a place where advanced oxygen therapy, red light therapy and a genuine commitment to community wellbeing come together under one calm, carefully considered roof.

We’re absolutely thrilled to be collaborating with Breathe Lab throughout 2026, crafting a bespoke social media content package that brings their story, their science and their soul to life through beautiful storytelling. Our words will be brought to life through gorgeous images captured by the one and only - whose creative prowess continues to blow our minds.

If you’re curious about how innovative therapies can support your own health journey, we’d love you to give Breathe Lab a follow on Facebook and Instagram, and take a moment to explore their story on their website.

It’s a privilege to help shine a light on a brand built with such intention, courage, care and heart.

🖊️ 📚 Lee.

23/02/2026

Thanks for the support Riverine Herald. We can’t wait to bring this festival to town!

Echuca-Moama’s Festival of Stories unites writers, musicians, artists and storytellers for three relaxed days by the river.

16/02/2026

Riverboats 2026 🎶☀️💦🎸🎹🎷

Another insanely epic weekend of live Australian music and summer-lovin’ fun under the gum trees at EM.

We even managed to get nearly our whole ‘band’ together for a team shot this year! Just missing our senior editor Kendra who we’re all sending love to in Canada. 💕

Thanks and the entire team for filling our hearts and souls with so many happy moments and memories over all these years. 🙏👏💕