With a mouth full of a name like the "Southern Moreton Bay Islands Museum On Russell Island" it's not surprising that this little community operated gem is known locally as merely the "Russell Island Museum". Staffed entirely by volunteers, the museum is in association with Redland Museum Inc. at Cleveland.

Opening each Friday morning and on the first and third Sunday of very month, the Museum is housed in a large shed and is crammed full of local history. It is here that you can find domestic and industrial items from bygone eras with particular emphasis on the farming history of Russell Island. There is also an extensive display of historical documents and well written histories on not only Russell Island, but the other three Southern Moreton Bay Islands (SMBI) of Macleay, Lamb and Karragarra.

If you are a visitor to the island I would suggest contacting the museum prior to your visit to ensure that it will be open. Additional opening times are available upon appointment.

Video shops are fast becoming a thing of the past, somewhat like their predecessors, the single screen suburban cinema. The residents and visitors to Russell Island, however, are lucky to still have access to one. Situated very close to the island's jetty and next door to the main commuter carpark, Russell Island Video is conveniently located to enable residents to quickly pick up their evening's entertainment on the way home from work or a day's shopping.

The video store has a reasonable collection of new release and older DVDs and also sells ex-rentals for as little as $3.00 each. Hire prices are competitive with the mainland.

One corner of the store has a rather homely feel and is set up as a book exchange. On a nice large and polished pine bookcase you'll find a selection of second hand books. Although most of the books are novels and not of the genres that I prefer, there are sure to be people for whom they are the perfect fit. Also stocked is a limited number of non fiction titles. Pregnancy books, I noticed, seem to be in fair supply.

Approximate cost: $2.00

Macca's Bakehouse is a small but friendly bakery in Victoria Point. Obviously popular with the locals, when I was there at 10.00 a.m I saw a constant flow of customers. My $3.40 sausage roll with onion was most agreeable and I was surprised to see that they sold not only plain sausage rolls, but also chicken ones. Whilst it's a combination that I wouldn't normal consider it will be something that I may try next time I visit Macca's Bakehouse.

Macca's sell a large selection of pies which retail at $4.30 each. Included are curry and mince, plain, steak and tomato/onion, bacon and cheese, chunky steak, steak and bacon, and steak and mushroom. In respect of cakes, the variety included apple slices, vanilla slices, custard tarts, lamingtons, assorted danishes, apple turnovers and cup cakes. They also had a surprising variety of family sized cakes including sponge cakes, apple tea cake, banana cake, and carrot cake bar. Also sold are bags of biscuits, pizza bread and a good variety of cold drinks. Inside and alfresco dining is available.

Approximate cost: $3.40

Specializing in Christening and Formal Wear, Shop 4 Kids is a gem of a store hidden away in the quiet Cannon Central Shopping Centre. The store is absolutely jam packed full of high quality children's clothing from sizes 000 - 16.

The front of the store primarily has party clothing, together with a lovely assortment of girls' shoes displayed outside. As you go further back into the store you come to the Christening and Formal Wear section. They have an amazing range of white Christening outfits for newborn children, together with a very extensive range of white formal dresses for girls. Prices on the formal dresses range from around $69.00 to $89.00. At the back of the store are boys' suits at phenomenally reasonable prices. $89.00 will purchase you a 3 piece suit consisting of jacket, vest and trousers, together with a white shirt. These items are also available for individual sale, with white shirts generally costing around $18.00 each.

My two pre-teen boys had their Confirmation in the Catholic Church last year, together with around 80 other young people. I only wished that all of those being Confirmed had been to the nearby Shop 4 Kids to get decked out for this important occasion. The level of dress was extremely casual and not at all like the classic Confirmation photos in your family album. Clearly Shop 4 Kids is not very well known and could benefit from a little advertising in Church circles.

The Eyewear House is a small independent optometry practise in Cannon Hill. Conveniently located in the Cannon Central Shopping Centre, there is plenty of street level parking available outside of the Centre. Although the frames for selection are nowhere near the quantity available in the large franchised outlets, the personal service you receive far outweighs this. After sales service is excellent and I've always had my lost glasses' screws replaced without charge.

Stanley Road News is a small but well stocked Newsagents. Located in a tiny but vibrant shopping complex, this shop very much caters for the needs of local residents and employees of the few surrounding businesses.

As a Translink Go Card retailer, Stanley Road News provides an essential service for the passengers of the hundreds of buses that travel up and down busy Stanley Road each day. It was from here that I bought my first Go Card during an unfortunate period in which I was without a car for 3 months. The shop has a good assortment of magazines and an excellent selection of stationery supplies. Several local schools use Stanley Road News for their school book lists. Together with a large selection of John Sands greeting cards, this shop is also a Golden Casket agent and provides a photocopy and faxing service. They have a small collection of gifts and for the children, 4 Tim the Toyman coin toy dispensers at the front of the shop.

For such a small shopping complex the Carina North shops have an incredible variety of quality establishments. Stanley's Seafood & BBQ Chickens is one of several takeaway food outlets in this complex and proudly boasts to have been a Winner in the 2009 Business Achiever Awards - Best Casual Dining Experience.

Stanley's Seafood sell appetisers, seafood, burgers, chips and plenty of BBQ chickens. They are the perfect destination to pick up that quick takeaway meal after a long day's work. Also sold are a great variety of ice cold drinks. Limited alfresco dining is available.

The Cannon Hill Crusty Devil Bakehouse opened around two years ago, following on from the success of the Carina North Crusty Devil. Located at the entrance to the Cannon Hill Central Shopping Complex (the one with Woolworths), the bakery is large and has a good sized covered alfresco dining area in front of the building. Whilst dining customers can watch the production of pies, cakes and pastries through a very large window.

Inside, the store opens directly onto the shopping complex entrance, so there are no doors to enter or exit through. Free samples of one product or another are usually available, together with a table of reduced price items. The bakery has an extensive range of breads, buns, critters, sliced sandwich loaves, sandwiches, toasties, rolls, wraps, crusty critters, quiches, sweet twists, savoury twists, pies, sausage rolls, pasties, salads, and gourmet Turkish rolls. Also sold are slices, pastries, tarts, croissants, cookies, cup cakes, donuts, danishs, muffins, scones and cakes. Coffee, tea, hot chocolate, milk shakes and canned drinks are also available. Although Crusty Devil's food is always tasty and well prepared their prices are rather too high for my liking. Pies, irrespective of flavour, are all $4.40 each whilst a ham and salad sandwich retails for $6.50.

Approximate cost: $4.40

The first Crusty Devil Bakehouse to open, this Carina North bakery is the prototype of what is invariably hoped to be a chain of stores. Established by Tom Potter, the founder of Eagle Boys Pizza, the bakery aims to provide fresh, clean and fast service to all customers. The stores have a viewing area to enable customers to watch the production of the pies, cakes and pastries.

The Carina North store is located in a small but busy shopping complex and near the much acclaimed fruit shop and deli, Carina Fresh. There is a small area for alfresco dining and orders can be taken through a window from outside of the store. The inside of the store is roomy and comfortably air conditioned. During the 12 months that I taught at a nearby school Crusty Devil's Spinach & Feta Sausage Roll was one of my more frequent luncheon treats. Although reasonably expensive, at $4.40 each, I can highly recommend them.

Approximate cost: $4.40

If it's gourmet meat that your after, ready and prepared for cooking, then Carina North Quality Meats is the place to go. Forget about buying steak and then spending a considerable time preparing it prior to cooking. Carina North Quality Meats has already done that for you.

Amongst the amazing assortment of meats on offer you'll find such gems as Gluten Free Lamb Kofta Sticks, Smokey Hickory Pork Cutlets, Port Midloin Chops with Tamsund & Lime Chilli, Sticky Asian Lamb Ribs, Ankle Biters (sausage rolls), Lamb Rump - Rosemary and Mint Roast, Eye Fillet Mignon, and Lemon and Garlic Lamb Kebabs. The list goes on and on. Although the prices are not cheap, the quality is exceptional and worth forking out for.