Our High Street Op Shop tour is coming up on Thursday 3 April - we’d love some company for this day of sustainable transport (we’ll take the bus) and sustainable shopping (second hand is the best.

Before that we have the Alphington Show coming up on Saturday 29th March. So I hope you have your knitting … and jam … and relish ready to go … and are perfecting your breadmaking or chocolate cake baking … so many great categories to enter.

Entries are to be dropped off this Friday before 5pm when the serious business of judging happens. Then on Saturday we’ll open the doors and invite the neighbourhood to pop in and admire the winners, enjoy a Devonshire tea served by the CWA … do a bit street shopping at the makers market, take a ride on a pony … have fun with craft … and hang around for the Alphington Dog Show - starting at 1pm. A great day of low key family neighbourhood fun!

And today - join us for lunch - our garden to plate program continues weekly! Help cook from 11.30am. We’ll wrap things up around 1pm. It’s free!

Also … Wednesday is playgroup day - and there are lots of families coming along this year which is terrific. If you are looking for some company for your little one (or yourself) please drop past from 10am-12pm in the front garden. Only $5 weekly.

See you this week … or at the Alphington Show!

Cheers

Leanne

Thanks to some funding from Bendigo Bank we are going on a mid week Op Shop Tour, on Thursday 3 April. It is going to be fun. We’ll catch the 508 bus out the front of ACC to High Street, and explore the op shops, stop for coffee and lunch - and compare bargains! To join in just sign up here! It’s $5, but effectively free because we’ll use that to buy a coffee.

I love op shopping and I cant wait to head out on this sustainable (we’ll be taking PT AND buying second hand) adventure. We’ll meet at 10am here at ACC and then head out for the day. I hop you can come along!

A quick post this week with photos ...

• Preserves Group is on Tuesday at 1pm. Help us cook up seasonal produce … have a chat, meet other locals.

• Could you help us on Saturday 29 March for an hour or so … cook the BBQ, help us organise the Dog Show … perhaps be a judge? We’d love some more volunteers …

• Come along to Alphington Arts on Thursday night at 7.30pm - make art and arty friends!

• Check out the rest of our program … Wednesday Playgroup, Garden to Plate lunch on Monday … Line Dancing, AAA Bowls … and lots more!

• In other news … you might remember local Tony Wilson who helped us make our podcasts a few years ago. Well, he’s made a film called Ange and The Boss … a documentary about soccer but also about the migrant experience in Melbourne post WW2 … and it’s on in local cinemas this week. You should go and see it! It’s funny and kind and interesting and heartwarming … about a very famous soccer player called Puskás from Hungary who briefly coached South Melbourne Hellas back when Ange Postecoglu was playing.

That’s about it for the week.

Hope to see you soon, Leanne.

A little mini holiday mid term for us. We’re closed on Monday for the Labour Day long weekend but will be back Tuesday raring to go.

This past week I had a conference in Queenscliffe on Monday and Tuesday. It was really super to catch up with my colleagues from the other houses in the north-east region and talk about and share successes, priorities and how we can advocate for our sector and support each other better. Such nice people run neighbourhood houses!

Closer to home, this week Corrado took a trip to Bunnings and with Clare’s input bought some plants to start our autumn planting.

Each summer we assess what has and hasn’t survived and thrived due to our summer neglect (otherwise known as summer holidays) … and then try to make sensible planting decisions to ensure our garden remains beautiful … but also is as robust as possible.

So on Friday we planted some new things … including a mandarin out the back in a new little garden bed that popped up due to our renovations … and some salvias out the front … along with bulbs I think … donations from locals (thanks!).

Our gardening group has also been working on creating a seed saving system. We’ve been letting some things go to seed over the last 18 months, and then saving the seeds to share. Thomas has now sorted all our saved seeds into a seasonal growing plan partitioned box … and we’ve packaged them all up into cute recycled packages made from the pages of magazines and books etc. … which means we’ll be able to easily share the right seeds to plant at the right time of the year via our seed library out the front … so the whole neighbourhood should benefit from his organising! Thanks Thomas.

We’ve had another great week of creativity … with Crunch on Thursday and AAA Art on Friday. Thanks everyone who came along.

Also another birthday celebration at community lunch - happy birthday Sarah.

And we put a display up in the library windows for the upcoming Alphington Show. A reminder to you to think about entering … and coming in along! Pony rides for littlies … and other fun stuff to make and do … CWA Devonshire tea for grownups. Market stalls for shoppers! And then the Dog Show at 1pm! It’s going to be great. 11am-2pm on Saturday 29th March.

We do need some BBQ volunteers this year. If you could help cook or serve for an hour we’d we super grateful! Please email us or call the office.

Kalimna is currently taking a couple of weeks of leave … so I am a bit all over the place (we miss her calm and kind organising), but I am muddling along trying to get everything sorted. I am sure we will manage (but please excuse me if I miss some things along the way).

I hope you have a relaxing long weekend … I am at Port Fairy Folk Festival with my family enjoying catching up with friends, perfect weather and great music (photo of Peter Garrett, Missy Higgins and Elsy Wameyo).

See you when I’m back.

Leanne

Hi everyone

How can it be March already?

We’ve had a busy start to the year - getting our new food programs off the ground and all the usual things back up and running.

A couple of things to note:

1. Garden to Plate - today at 11.30am. We’ll be making pesto gnocchi for lunch - using up the basil from the garden! Yum. Sign up online and come along if you are keen.

2. Our Ukulele groups are now full for the term - if you are interested in Uke you can go on our waiting list (just contact the office).

3. We only have 1 spot left across our Book Clubs - on the 3rd Tuesday of the month. It is not too late to collect the book an join in the first conversation this month if you are interested. Join online.

4. Our Thursday Supper Club will start up next week on the 13 March and will run for 4 weeks this term. It costs $5 per week (that is $20 for the 4 weeks). We will have a couple more spots available on top of those already booked, so if you are interested please sign up online.

5. Crunch is up and running - and we have a great crew of regulars but would love some new faces to come along too! Thursday from 12.30-2pm - $15 weekly for a yummy lunch including a fancy coffee and an art activity with the materials provided. Book in online.

And we’re getting ready for the Alphington Show.

This year we again will have the Alphington CWA ladies helping us run the event and judging the winners … and they’ll be making Devonshire Teas … which will be inside, served from the kitchen on the Saturday. And we’ll also have some lovely locals from the Preston Garden Club come along and judge the floral side of our show.

Also … the pony rides are back. For $10 you can bring your little ones along for as many rides as they can fit in from 11am -1pm … when the ponies go home and the Dog Show starts. There will also be a guess the lollies in the lolly jar competition (who doesn’t want a their kids to go home with a big jar of lollies …. ???) and crafty activities as well.

We’d love you to join in the fun - so start cooking and crafting and thinking about what you can enter now. You can find all the details here.

Have a great week.

Cheers Leanne

Here are all the details of the Alphington Show …