Lovely to have Yarra Mayor Claudia Nguyen here for morning tea today. And Clare sent her home with some coriander seeds to plant.

We’ve got a new friend on the the corner - a giant dog! Lee made our new little furry friend on Wednesday to brighten up our lives … and remind everyone that the Alphington Dog Show is coming up next weekend, Saturday 25 March at 1 pm.

If you have a fur baby bring it along and join in our funny and friendly dog show! $10 to enter. There is a prize for everyone.

Bring the kids along from 11am for pony rides and crown making etc. Enjoy a CWA devonshire tea! We look forward to seeing you here next weekend for the Alphington Show (and Dog Show!).

We hope you can make it. Find out more here.

On Wednesday we were just sitting down to lunch when we had an unexpected visitor. Professor Kyall Zenger from James Cook University popped in and asked if he could look in our compost bins in his search for black soldier fly larvae. We said yes, and then went about interrogating him about all the things!

So …he is currently going around Australia collecting samples to map the variety of black soldier flies that have made there way to various parts of the country … and doing genetic testing on them. Why we asked? He is looking into using insects for sustainable agriculture and aquaculture food production - and black soldier flies have both a short lifespan and are very high in protein. So he is testing to find the best flies (I assume this means the ones that are both the biggest and highest in protein, in the shortest lifecycle).

He was telling us that they have already started mass production of the black soldier fly for aquaculture food. And explained that insects are a much more sustainable food/protein source for fish than other fish (what with overfishing etc.). How interesting right?

We’ll look forward to following the outcome of his research … and perhaps, just perhaps our compost bins could be the source of THE BEST BLACK SOLDIER FLY IN AUSTRALIA … and ACC could become FAMOUS in this new endeavour.

Our second Movie Club date is approaching - Tuesday 14 March (after the long weekend) and we’ll be heading off to Westgarth Cinema to see Aftersun.

The movie starts at 12.45pm and we will catch the 12.27pm train from Alphington Station. We should be at the cinema around 12.40pm. You can meet us at ACC or at the train station (if you know what we look like). Same goes for the movies. To avoid missing each other, or missing any last minute changes etc., if you are thinking of coming along please join our Movie Club What’s App Group. Just email us here and we’ll send you the link to join.

Here are the details about the movie …

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Oscar-nominee Paul Mescal is luminous in the intimate, award-winning A24 drama from BAFTA-winning debut feature director Charlotte Wells. Winner of an incredible seven British Independent Film Awards and nominated for three Critics Choice Awards, critics have described the radiant debut feature from the Scottish filmmaker as "one of the year's best films". The spellbinding gem of a father-daughter drama stars Mescal (Normal People, The Lost Daughter) who delivers a masterclass in understated acting that reflects in his mesmerisingly natural rapport with extraordinary newcomer Francesca Corio.

This evocative 90s-set drama, with an effortlessly cool soundtrack to match, sees divorced dad Calum (Mescal) on a holiday with his 11-year-old daughter Sophie (Corio) to a budget Turkish resort. At the fading vacation resort, Sophie treasures rare time with her loving and idealistic father, Calum. As a world of adolescence creeps into view, beyond her eye Calum struggles under the weight of life outside of fatherhood. Twenty years later, Sophie's tender recollections of their last holiday become a powerful and heartrending portrait of their relationship, as she tries to reconcile the father she knew with the man she didn't.

Aftersun draws you in like an ocean current, playing out sun-baked childhood memories woven together with tender home video footage almost like a dream, but there is an inescapable feeling that something darker lingers below the surface of this beach trip. Along with Mescal and Corio who flow through this searingly emotional film with a captivating chemistry that perfectly encapsulates the complex bond between parent and child, Wells has made an unforgettable and profound mark with this heart-stopping feature debut.

AWARDS

2023 Academy Award® Nominee

• Best Leading Actor – Paul Mescal

3 x 2023 Critics Choice® Nominee

• Best Actor – Paul Mescal

• Best Young Actor/Actress – Frankie Corio

• Best Original Screenplay

2023 BAFTA® Winner - Outstanding debut as a British Writer/Director/Producer – Charlotte Wells

Winner of 7 British Independent Film Awards (BIFA):

• Best British Independent Film

• Best Director – Charlotte Wells

• Best Screenplay – Charlotte Wells

• Best Debut Director – Charlotte Wells

• Best Cinematography – Gregory Oke

• Best Editing – Blair McClendon

• Best Music Supervision – Lucy Bright

Local artist Annie practices textile arts, using materials found on the lands of Naarm. Her latest creative project PillowTalk, is supported by City of Yarra Arts, and is all about caring about pillows:

1. while they're good, keeping them good - sustainable pillow advice

2. when they're done, using eco-dyeing and natural pigment inks to transform the outer fabric.

Annie's stall at the Alphington Show (coming up on Saturday 25 March) will provide you with practical advice on pillows and pillow stuffing. She'll be demonstrating dyeing techniques and inviting passers by to join in the process. She’ll also have zines about the world of pillows, stitched mini pillow cases … and more.

If you are interested in this project that is about recycling and repurposing in a creative way, and would like more information and/or would like to experiment with eco-dyeing yourself, sign up for Annie's PillowTalk workshop at ACC on 13th May!

Annie has already upcycled cotton fabric from over 100 pillows found on nature strips round the burbs - that’s pretty great right?