Hi everyone,

Lots of getting organised behind the scenes this week. We’ve been diving into emails, setting up the processes for this coming term and confirming numbers … all the boring admin-y things that make us feel somewhat under control (at least temporarily!). But, more excitingly, we’ve also been mosaicking! We are currently working on a project with Clare that is coming along very nicely. If you are around Thursday or Friday morning this week and would like to help us (hopefully) finish things off, we’d love some help!

Also, on Friday, we collected the fired ceramic pieces for our totem poles - they look beautiful! See the poste below for some pictures.

As you may recall, I am on the community reference group for the 2 Wingrove Street site, and we had another meeting on Wednesday. If you read the minutes from the last Council meeting you will know that they voted to continue to have reference group in place as the site is developed. There are lots of great community thinkers in the group, all with different stakes in the site and the wider community outcomes … so I think it is a really valuable … and it is super to be a part of this process. I’ll keep you up to date as things progress. Council is currently about to launch into seeking geotechnical assessments for the site - which will be very helpful and really are essentaial - because the site used to be the tip, and so there are inevitable issues around stability and leeching etc. etc.

This week we are back into the swing of things with our Money Matters - Scams and AI conversation on Wednesday 14 October from 12-2.20pm. We have 16 people booked in, so a few places left if you still want to reserve a spot available at our website here.

Then on Thursday night we have Alphington Arts at 7.30pm. Come along for a fun night of getting creative.

It was lovely to see everyone on Friday - we had some new people along which is always great. Also, we had a good turnout this week for playgroups on Wednesday and Thursday (let’s hope the weather keeps being nice on these days).

Okay, that’s about it I think. See you soon!

Cheers Leanne

Look - most of the pieces came back from Northcote Pottery on Friday, and we can finally see the results of all the hard work that went into shaping and glazing!

Our new totem poles are going to look amazing I think. Thanks so much Clare for organising this project - it has been a lot more than either you or I anticpated I think - but the results will be worth it I am sure. And also a big thanks to local artist Avis Gardner for sharing her process with us.

The aim is to have our new habitat totem poles fully installed by November, ready for the Christmas Makers Market.

Welcome back to Term 4. I had a great break and I hope you did too.

A quick summary from my end - I went down to Anglesea and caught up with my sisters, held my baby Scarlett’s 18th birthday party at our house (and survived the 100 guests - no it was actually super and they were very well behaved … lots of lovely kids live in our neighbourhood right! All buckling down for year 12 exams now). And I booked one of Darebin Council’s hard rubbish collections and did a big clean out of our tools and garden stuff - how did I accumulate so many rusty things? Also I pulled up some weeds and planted some tomatoes and capsicum … just before the rain of the last few days - so I hope they are settling in well.

Anyway, now I am back to all things ACC and look forward to the last quarter of the year!

And we’ve got lots coming up …

• Money Matters: AI and Scams (talk) - on Wednesday 14 October. Join us for this free lunch and talk. Advertised as part of Seniors Month (but open to all).

• Heart Centred Breathwork (short course) - starts up on Tuesday 20 October for the early risers (at 7.30am). John is running this course and it will be a super way to start the day!

• Money Matters: Managing on a Limited Budget (talk) - on Wednesday 21 October. Join us for this free lunch and talk. We are running it as part of Seniors Month - but we’re not ageist - anyone can attend!!!

• Community Yoga (short course) with Rosie starts on Wednesday 21 October at 5.30pm. Always lovely.

• Cook by the Book (short course) - on Thursdays from 11.30am, starting on 22 October, for 6 weeks. This term we’ll be cooking from Yotam Ottolenghi’s Simple cook book. I think he is my favourite contemporary chef with lots of fresh and delicious recipes that are often vego or vegan … and this book also at the back suggests some recipe combos that would go well together, or some ‘feasts’ … so the plan will be to dive in and try to make them together. YUM!

• CRUNCH (short course) - also starting Thursday 22 October, from 12.30pm (6 weeks). After sharing lunch with the Cook by the Book crew (looking forward to their Ottolenghi feasts) we’ll be doing weaving this term - basket weaving with rope and raffia, and perhaps with natural materials too. Join us to build up some skills as we work together (and maybe most importantly enjoy great conversations) and create some wonderful pieces (that could be super for Christmas presents I imagine).

• Uke Singalong (event) - Sunday 25 October, in the afternoon (details to be confirmed!). The Flukes (our uke group) are once again going to host a singalong on a Sunday afternoon. How fun! They have been practising some new tunes especially for the occasion. Last time was super, and it should be lovely again.

• Resuscitate a Mate (workshop) - 10 November at 10am-11.30am. Life Saving Victoria is running this short refresher course - aimed at older folk (you can identify with that any way you like) - but essentially building community skills around DRSABCD … including confidence to use a defibrillator. It’s not an accredited course, but a great opportunity to learn what to do (or get a practical reminder).

• Alphington Open Studios (event) - the last two weekends in November. We love having our space available and part of this suburb wide event. This year we will be hosting 4 or 5 artists in our space (how super).

And then it is Christmas - the Christmas Market on 21 November, Christmas Lunch on Friday 11 December, Christmas Carols (at the Bowls Club) on Sunday 20 December …

And of course all the other stuff - Playgroups on Wednesday and Thursday mornings, Toy Library, Line Dancing at the Scout Hall on Wednesday mornings, Alphingtones Choir at St Andrews Church, CWA meeting on the first Monday of the month in the Parklands, U3A Armchair Theatre (playreading) every Wednesday afternoon … and Book Clubs (currently finalising their book choices for next year).

And our Community Morning each Friday - art and craft, chats and gardening from 10.30am … Community Lunch at 12pm. AAA Arts at 1pm.

Also …. if you are feeling creative this Thursday (or next) Lee and I will be working on finishing off our new mosaic project for the very front garden bed- we’ll be on the job from 10.30am-12pm. And Clare will be working on it at the same time on Fridays. Come along and join us if you would like to contribute. We’ll be chatting (a lot I imagine) and cutting tiles, and gluing and grouting … the project is looking just beautiful and it is always nice to think you were part of something creative that jazzes up the neighbourhood right?

If you are inspired by our program you can book into all our things here. Hope to see you at ACC soon!

Cheers Leanne

Congratulations Corrado (Adopted Crupi) for winning our footy tipping competition this year, and also a big congratulations to Thomas (Soarin’) for being our runner up.

Thanks Corrin, for making our new perpetual trophies. We had a special ceremony at community lunch on Friday with Alex (who has come along each week to update the ladder on the wall) awarding the trophies.

Fabulous!

Do you know what to do in an emergency?

We are super excited to be able to be offering a free CPR workshop with Life Saving Victoria later on this year! The workshop is called ‘Resuscitate a Mate’ and is targeted at older adults and seniors to teach them skills to be able to deal with an emergency situation. It will include hands on CPR practice, as well as instructions on how to use a defibrillator safely and effectively.

The workshop will be on Tuesday the 10th of November from 10-11:30am. If anyone is interested in learning these super important skills, please register for the workshop here. This workshop is subsidised by Yarra City Council.