Hi everyone

Sorry I missed the newsletter last week! I was on an overnight flight from Penang home and after 4.5 weeks of holidays I was a bit vague and forgot to check if we’d put something together or not.

But … I am back now and it has been lovely to catch up with so many of you in the last few days.

And … we’ve got lots starting up this week.

• Monday (today) - Table to Plate. It’s free! Join me from 11.30am-1pm and we’ll cook up seasonal produce (and catch up on life, school holidays etc.) and then sit down and eat together. We’re going to be cooking with lime today - fresh from my (and Julie’s) garden! And using some of the leafy greens that are flourishing in the garden beds at ACC, along with potatoes that we harvested just before the holidays.

• Clare’s Artful Paining and Drawing is starting this week, and Corrin’s Learn to Weave course is also starting up. Look at the bottom our this email, or on our website for their contact details to book in. It’s not too late!

• On Thursday we have Crunch. $15. I will cook lunch, and make you a coffee with a little sweet treat. Lee will lead a fabulous art activity. There is a regular crew of people who are coming now - but new faces are very very welcome. It is friendly, yummy, creative and fun. We hope to see you.

• Friday - Community Morning and Community Lunch. Free. Join us for craft and chats inside and/or join Clare in the garden and community shed for more practical activities (along with chats of course) outside from 10am. Followed by lunch at 12pm.

• Saturday - a new addition! John is running our new Men’s Breakfast. $10. Join him from 8am and cook up a storm together, before sitting down to eat and get to know each other. Suitable for men of all ages - brothers, sons, fathers, uncles, grandpas … You can contact our office to book in or get in touch with John (his details are in the brochure below).

Also, our Winter Salon is coming up very soon - on 22-24 August. We are seeking local artists to be part of the show, so please encourage anyone you know to get in contact with us if they might be keen. There is a form to fill out on our website. It is free to enter. Please not that works need to be for sale. It is always a lovely event - one of the highlights of the year. On the Friday night we’ll have our opening night, with drinks and nibbles from 5-7pm. And then the show will be open on the weekend from 10am-3pm for anyone to drop in. This year local artist Joe will be using The Kiosk for a poetry and movie installation - Lee and I spent last Thursday setting up the space and giving it a trial run - it is going to be super fun!

Okay, so that’s about it I think. Hope all is well with you and look forward to seeing you at ACC soon!

x Leanne

Alphington Playgroup is back on Wednesday morning. Come along from 10am-12pm and make some local friends in the garden. Lots of lovely people attend (kids of course, and mums and dads and grandparents and carers) and there is space inside on rainy days. It costs $5 weekly. We’d love to see you.

AND … did you know we have Alphington Toy Library open at the same time? Well, Tuesdays AND Wednesdays … You can borrow up to 4 toys for 2 week bursts. Great for clutter busting at home, good for the environment … join up for $50 a year!

Also … we offer Birthday Party Hire of our space on Sundays. You can choose a morning or afternoon slot. 4 hours from $165. It saves you from cleaning your house and we have lots of great supplies on site to reduce single use plastic. If you are interested just visit our website to check out available times and book in.

Did you know you can rent our space for children’s birthday parties on Sundays?

You can book in for the morning or the afternoon, and it costs $150 +GST for the main room and undercover space out the back - with access to the kitchen (and toilet of course). Perfect for a small party with enough room for eating and party games inside or out depending on the weather …

Or if you need a bit more space you can add on the dining room and front yard for an additional $100 +GST.

We let our hirers use all our plates, glasses, platters, cutlery etc. which means that the parties can be more sustainable … and of course for mums and dads - they don’t have to vacuum their own house (and clean behind the couch) for visitors.

If you are interested in birthday party hire visit our venue hire page to find out the available dates for the rest of the year.

All going according to plan (thank goodness I was disorganised and missed the cheap deals on Qatar earlier in the year … so had to book with Malaysian Airlines) when you are reading this I am in Lyon, France. And yikes, it is going to be hot!

• Forecast Temperature Melbourne: 5-14 degrees

• Forecast Temperature Lyon: 22-34 degrees

I am visiting my oldest daughter who has been studying at uni in Lyon for the last 6 months - so I am very excited to see her! And I hope and trust that everything is going smoothly at ACC.

Tahlia is in the office this week holding the fort. I am sure she will be able to answer all your questions, and if not, she can touch base with Kalimna to sort things out. And if that fails I can check emails overseas.

Community Lunch is still on - we’re having bolognese this week along with a green salad and garlic bread. All welcome at 12pm. And of course you can pop in to gardening beforehand to work up your appetite - from 10am with Clare.

This week we have the Thursday morning and evening book clubs on. We’re looking forward to seeing you! A reminder to all book club members that we will close for the school holidays at the end of this week - so it is important to pop in and collect your books (if you missed your scheduled meeting) before 2pm Friday, and please drop your books back at the library if they are overdue rather than leaving them here - once we close on Friday we cant return them until we are back on 21 July.

Our new program is out for Semester 2, so you can check it out below, and book in via our website. We’re excited by all the things coming up in the second half of they year and hope you are too!

Have a great week. See you soon.

Cheers Leanne

This week join us for our Men’s Group on Tuesday night from 7pm. Call John to find out more 0439 899 352.

Or Playgroup on Wednesday morning at 10am. Also Line Dancing at 10am - at Alphington Scout Hall. Each costs $5. Just come along! There’s also Armchair Theatre on in the afternoon from 1.15pm. This is run by Darebin U3A.

On Wednesday evening we have Sound Healing with Keiko from 7.15-8pm. Just $10 for a super relaxing experience. Find out more or book in Sounddroplet@tutamail.com.

On Thursday we have the first Embracing Life and Death session from 1-3pm. Find out more or book in with Andrea, Andrea_babon@yahoo.com. And the Alphingtones Choir run at night over at St Andrews Uniting Church Fairfield from 7.30pm.

Finally Friday is our Community Morning - craft, gardening, community shed activities from 10am. Community Lunch at 12pm.

We hope to see you soon!

Cheers Leanne