We have been helping Friends of Baucau develop a new coffee label. Lee has been working on it and it is pretty gorgeous …. and really tells the story of the wonderful projects that have been delivered in Timor-Leste through the 20 year friendship that has been fostered through the Friends of Baucau formal partnership.

Friends of Baucau is a community group that supports local community initiatives on the ground in Timor-Leste. It also provides a framework and pathway for Yarra and Darebin Councils to work alongside and support the municipal government in Baucau as it gets established over there.

If you have an interest in Timor-Leste 🇹🇱 you can find out more about Friends of Baucau here.

If you have an interest in great coffee (or are looking for a gift that keeps on giving) you might like to buy this coffee. We have it for sale at ACC or you can pop past the Wingrove Street Milkbar to buy either beans or ground coffee (thanks Juliet for helping sell this for us!).

500 gram packs cost $20. The coffee is sourced from cooperative farms in Timor-Leste and roasted and packed by Coffee Mio just up the road in Thornbury. All the profits go straight back to supporting local Timorese led projects.

Do good. Drink (Friends of Baucau) coffee.

Our last history walk is out today. It starts and ends at Alphington Park and takes you down along the Yarra River. Pop past and collect a hard copy. Alternatively you can download a copy here to print at home or use on your phone.

Happy neighbourhood walking friends.

Hi all, as COVID becomes endemic and lots more prevalent in our lives, I personally feel very fortunate that everyone at my house is already eligible to get vaccinated.

My eldest child will join Clive and me and be fully vaxxed ✅ this week and I am very pleased this has happened before she has to return to school for the GAT (General Achievement Test) on 5 October.

The younger two have to wait 6 weeks at the minute between shots, so although they’ve had their first they won’t be fully vaccinated until the end of October … I am hoping that with Pfizer supplies for October confirmed and Moderna now available, the 6 week gap will drop back to 3 weeks so they can have full protection before they head back to school mid October.

We haven’t heard any official word, but I am expecting that our neighbourhood houses 🏘 will be part of the ‘vaccinated economy’. Expert guidance in whatever form it takes will be very welcome. We have so many vulnerable people here every day (whether older, or with a disability, or younger and ineligible) that I find the responsibility of decision-making about how to keep everyone as safe as possible now that we are at the poky stage where COVID is here, quite nerve-wracking all round.

All our staff have already had the jab. Kalimna and I had ours back in June I think it was … it feels like a lifetime ago now.

Anyway, it will be lovely to see you all again when we can get back on site regularly, and we’ll keep you up to date with any advice we get about the details and requirements for opening up.

Here’s me getting my second jab.

Hi Leanne here. If you’re on social media you probably have a weakness. Mine is pet rescue videos (a scrappy looking puppy is saved from the side of the road and has a bath and looks super cute and finds a ‘forever home’ etc. etc.) Clive my partner likes pictures of Nepal …

Anyway, we have two cats and a dog at our house and I think due to the fact that I consistently click on pet related videos, these cartoons made it to my feed this week. Both made me laugh.

If you have a pet that likes to visit you in bed and/or get up close and personal maybe you’ll be amused too.

This is Lolly our very own lovely pet rescue cat wearing some bling 💍 - courtesy of the children.

Local artists collective Alphington Open Studios is hoping locals who use Instagram will follow their site … and are having a ‘giveaway’ to encourage you to do so … a series of lovely cards and some delicious chocolate are on offer.

Click here to both ‘like’ the giveaway post and ‘follow’ the page … then you’ll be in the running! Something positive we can all easily do at this time to support other locals who do neighbourly things in the neighbourhood right?

We’ve still got our fingers and toes crossed that the Alphington Open Studios weekend (currently scheduled for 27-28 November) can go ahead.

And did you know that we’re planning to host a small works exhibition at ACC as part of the event? If you are a local artist who would like to participate (you’ll need around 2-4 small works) please email your interest here. Thanks Yarra City Council for supporting this local arts initiative.

And good luck in the draw everyone!

You could win these gorgeous cards made by artists from Alphington Open Studios.