Your Community Health has recently been in contact with us about a program called Seniors Lifestyle Victoria that is being offered through them until June 2028 (that’s ages away right?).

The program is for people over 65 who live in the community with mild to moderate changes in health who would like support to improve their health and wellbeing.

If this is you (or someone you know and love) you can contact Your Community Health to access a care coordinator who will work with you to develop a personalised plan, with local services tailored to meet your individual needs and goals - how great is that!?!

To find out more scroll through the information below or visit the following links:

https://www.yourch.org.au/services/seniors-lifestyle-victoria/

https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/seniors-lifestyle-victoria/

Thanks to those that donated tiles for our mosaic project. We’re making a new garden bed for the very front corner of our site.

After a busy weekend and some more creativity during the week the 4 panels are well underway (we ‘re doing the fiddly bits first). We’ll continue working on this project sporadically over the next month or so and hopefully it will be installed by our next big art event, being Alphington Open Studios, coming up in November this year.

Here are some progress pictures for those that are interested. If you’d like to help out just get in contact with us and we’ll let you know when we will be mosaicking (most likely Thursday and/or Friday mornings … ). Just email us at info@alphington.org.au or talk to Leanne or Lee or Clare if you are here.

Last year (or was it the year before …) Thomas came along to Gardening Group with a fresh chilli, and asked Clare to teach him how to grow his own chilli plant from it. So Clare and Thomas started the process - drying the chilli pod, saving the seeds, planting the seeds, nurturing the seedlings … planting and growing the plants, harvesting the chillies, drying them … and saving the seeds … AND NOW … if you pop past our little seed library out the front you can pick up some of Thomas’s seeds to plant in your own garden! And Thomas is an expert in growing chilli plants.

Also … we’ve got some dried chillies (that we put in the dehydrator) in the kitchen for our community cooking too!

If you would like to learn more about the processes and practicalities of gardening and growing food at home, join Clare on Friday mornings in the garden from 10.30am-12pm … spring is a great time to get going so you have a wonderful summer vegetable garden to admire (and eat!).

We were recently contacted by Dementia Australia to see if anyone in our community would be interested in more information about memory loss, what’s normal and what can be signs of early dementia. And … we though that perhaps some people in our community would be interested in this topic, whether they are the children of older parents, older people themselves, people experiencing memory loss, worried about memory loss and/or partners of people who are experiencing memory problems etc. etc. So …

Join us for afternoon tea and a conversation on Thursday, 17th September at 1.30pm.

'Worried About Your Memory?' with Leigh Mankey from Dementia Australia

This interactive information session provides an overview of:

• Understanding the brain and how memory works

• Common memory changes and the difference between normal ageing and dementia

• Factors that can affect memory

• Looking after your brain and maintaining brain health

• Practical tips to support memory

• When to seek help

• Where to access support and services

Leigh is a Dementia Support Specialist with Dementia Australia, who provides individual and group education, information and support for people living with dementia, their families and carers.

This is a free activity - but we do need you to book. Please book in here.

Our preserves pantry is now overflowing … with the addition of preserved lemons, tomato relish and sweet pickled zucchini (always yum).

Thanks to those that donated fruit, and those that came along to preserves group on Tuesday to help chop, stir, chat (perhaps the most important bit!) and package.

Pop past and buy a jar next time your a nearby. The tomato relish recipe we use was a prize winner🥇in the Alphington Show this year. It’s good. With mustard and curry powder undertones … and thickened with cornflour that doesn’t contain gluten.

And if you are not sure what to do with preserved lemons here’s a SUPER easy and delicious recipe from Claudia Roden … you just chop some stuff up, and chuck it in a pot to do its magic (just make sure you are generous with the salt and pepper - the key to good middle eastern recipes I think).

Moroccan Lemon Chicken

• 1 large chicken ( or you can use 4-6 chicken thighs)

• 2 tablespoons oil

• 1 onion grated, or finely chopped

• 1 teaspoon tumeric

• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• salt and pepper

• a good bunch of coriander leaves finely chopped (if you don’t like coriander you can just add more parsley instead)

• a good lunch of parsley leaves finely chopped

• 1-2 preserved lemon wedges (lightly wash off some of the salt and the flesh, then finely chop up the preserved rind)

Put the chicken in a large saucepan with all the ingredients except the preserves lemon. Half cover the chicken with water and simmer gently, tuning it over a few times until it is so tender that the flesh can pull off the bone (about 1.5 hours). Throw the lemons into the sauce and cook a few minutes longer (you can add more or less lemon - to taste).

Serve with rice or couscous etc. etc.