January 4, 2021 Issue 213 The year that was...
The Local - The Heart of the Highlands
2 About Us
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Front cover: It's now 2021 and time to look back at the year that was 2020. What a year it was. But let's focus on the positives including The Local's Legends of Lockdown, celebrating those who went above and beyond during the pandemic.
January 4, 2021 Issue 213 The year that was...
The Local is a weekly community publication covering the Central Highlands. The next edition is out on Monday, January 11, 2021. Or online on Sunday, January 10 at www.tlnews.com.au Space bookings: Wednesday, January 6 Copy deadline: Thursday, January 7 Editorial deadline: Thursday, January 7 Managing editor | Donna Kelly General manager | Kyle Barnes
Image: Glenn Robinson
Sub-editors | Nick Bunning and Lindsay Smith Writers | Kevin Childs, Tony Sawrey, Jeff Glorfeld, Narelle Groenhout, Sandy Scheltema and Donna Kelly Photographers | Kyle Barnes and David White The Local - The Heart of the Highlands
The Local is a registered trademark of The Local Publishing Group Pty Ltd. The Local is a member of the Victorian Country Press Association, with editor Donna Kelly, a director.
Graphic designer & HLH coordinator | Dianne Caithness Contributors: Glen Heyne (gardening), Indre Kisonas (design), Glenn Robinson (cartoons) and Matthew Richardson (money) Accounts | Julie Hanson
Delivery | Tony Sawrey
Editorial & advertising: 5348 7883 or 0416 104 283 news@tlnews.com.au or sales@tlnews.com.au See a photo you like? They are available for sale. The content expressed within this publication does not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of The Local Publishing Group Pty Ltd. The Local Publishing Group's editorial guidelines and complaints-handling process can be found at www.tlnews.com.au We welcome all feedback.
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Legends 3
A look back at 2020 So, 2021 is upon us and it's time to have a look back at the year that was 2020. Rather than look at the doom and gloom, and masks and sanitiser, The Local wants to look back on the positives of the year. And there were many. So sit back and have a wander through the pages and see who was doing what in 2020. Enjoy the read. First up we celebrate our Legends of Lockdown - starting with Amy "Ma" Burow of Clunes.
Ma is a legend
T
HE Cheshire family has nominated 101-yearold Amy "Ma" Burow at Clunes as a Legend of Lockdown.
"Ma would normally be living independently, going on organised group outings twice weekly, however all this changed when the pandemic hit. "Ma has 'stayed home' very well, keeping herself busy doing puzzles and playing Scrabble, however that wasn’t enough for this Lockdown Legend. "Ma has been knitting blankets to donate to patients undergoing treatment at the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Centre. Ma is up to her 12th blanket in three months. "Ma says she is pleased to keep herself busy and someone who needs it warm. "We hope Ma can be considered as a Legend of Lockdown."
First published - July 13, 2020
And just a few of our other local legends...(see more in the January 11 edition)
Todd Dales and Adele Stevens: Dele Foodstore
Roger McLean: Terra Australis Distillery
The crew: Tonna's Fruit & Veg
LET’S DO SUMMER SAFELY Whether we’re having a BBQ at home or holidaying away, let’s keep protecting all the progress we’ve made, and keep our summer get-togethers safe.
Keeping our house guests limited to 30 people.
Catching up outdoors.
Keeping our hands and surfaces clean.
Staying home if we feel unwell, and getting tested.
And keeping a face mask handy at all times.
1.5m
Keeping 1.5 metres apart from those we don’t live with.
Visit CORONAVIRUS.vic.gov.au For translated information about coronavirus visit CORONAVIRUS.vic.gov.au/translations Authorised by the Victorian Government, Melbourne
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A look back at 2020 The international pandemic was called in March 2020 and by the following month people were busy finding all sorts of ways to help others. Not least was Woodend Anglican priest Melissa Clark who was kept busy delivering Easter cards to aged care residents, live-streaming services, making sure food and staples were available for all, ringing the bells at both Woodend and Trentham and ensuring: "When we come back, we want to all come back together. We don’t want to have people missing."
Life in Lockdown 3
“We have been able to help a few families who have lost work. I am really proud of our little town and the way we have all come together.”
Woodend rallying for those in most need
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ITH the residents of Bupa Aged Care in Woodend in lockdown, a number of people have rallied and asked children to make some Easter cards.
And the 103 residents all received three cards each over the Easter weekend. Woodend Anglican priest Melissa Clark said one of her parishioners, Carol, had come up with the idea and “did all the legwork and collected the names of the residents, while I did all the collecting and publicity”. “Three cards for each resident is just how good the response has been. They are all personalised and some of the kids have done multiple cards. There’s just been an amazing response and they are all now spread out on a sanitised area in my house so we don’t send any nasty things – we don’t want to take any risks.” Reverend Clark said she was teeing up with other community leaders and would continue with community projects to keep the community together and unite neighbours and the residents of Woodend. Food pantry Another project that happened spontaneously was a food and essentials pantry at the church. “We have often done collections for various things, like the bushfires, so when toilet paper started to run out, people started to bring it to the church – trusting that I would do the right thing, obviously. Then there was pasta, rice, nappies, toiletries…all sorts of things started showing up. “So we are running a mini food pantry out of the church because we can’t hold services with parishioners there anymore. We have been able to help a few families who have lost work and some others who find it tough now and again. I am really proud of our little town and the way we have all come together.” Reverend Clark said she felt there was hope in the community, with many dropping off Easter cards saying they were very grateful to live in a regional area where they could still walk the dog or have their kids climb a tree as opposed to being in an apartment in a big city. “I think the feeling is hopeful and I think, because this is a place where things have happened from time to time, fires, some significant community losses, I think people just pull together and realise the importance of their neighbours. It’s been amazing.” Live streaming Reverend Clark said she has been live streaming services for the past three Sundays but Easter and Holy Week, in the lead-up, was the busiest week of the year for the church. “It is way bigger than Christmas so it’s been a challenge to try to reconfigure all those services to live stream. We are live streaming every night during Holy Week and then from Thursday night to Sunday morning, that is when the bigger services are held. We are just getting on with it and thankfully, seeing we are in the bluestone building, the internet connection is not too bad. “We are able to connect with nearly all our parishioners, there are only a couple who don’t have access to the internet and we do what we can by making sure we stay in touch by phone and making sure they have paper copies of services, things like that.”
Ringing the bells Reverend Clark is also the priest at St George’s Anglican Church at Trentham and has arranged for both churches to ring their bells every day to let people know the church is still there for them. “I ring the bells at Woodend, because the church is next to my house, and we have a roster from all three churches at Trentham to ring the bell at St George’s. It is just a sign that we know you are all here. The world is different but the world is still normal. It is really lovely. People stop and hear that and something about that sound brings memories and hope.” Reverend Clark is also ringing the bell at Woodend for 10 minutes every Wednesday at 7.30pm – something that is being done in France. Solidarity “The word is getting out, it is a solidarity thing with the rest of the world. This is not just about us, it is about all of humanity. And we must remember we have to isolate now because when we come back, we want to all come back together. We don’t want to have people missing.”
Above, Reverend Clark and the hundreds of Easter cards Words: Donna Kelly | Image: Contributed First published April 13, 2020
April 27, 2020 Issue 177 Quarantini O’Clock Who can forget Leon Rolls and his Quarantini Hour. Yes, the lockdown was blamed for people drinking more than they should, but with Leon and Barry & Co. Travelling Libations in charge, at least we were always going to go down in style! This front page was first published April 20, 2020.
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A look back at 2020 The pandemic meant that people, already doing good work, stepped up and just did more. Usually, the Good Grub Club Daylesford feeds about 30-odd people on a Tuesday and Thursday. But demand increased and the team was providing more than 500 parcels to locals. Sallie Harvey was running the club when this story was published in April and said it was an exciting challenge. And while it was a bit of a baptism of fire, she is nothing if not passionate about people being kind to one another – because, as she says, it takes a village to feed a village.
Inspiring 5
“The mental wellbeing is as important as the physical wellbeing, and you’re going to be more mentally well if you’re eating a balanced, nourishing diet.”
Sallie: The village is feeding the village
I
N THIS time of crisis, the villagers are coming together to feed the village more than ever before.
Usually, the Good Grub Club Daylesford feeds about 30-odd people on a Tuesday and Thursday. But demand has increased over the past three weeks and in that time, the team has provided more than 500 parcels to locals, now peaking at about 30 per day. “It’s an exciting challenge, let me tell you,” says Sallie Harvey. Sallie took over running the GGCD earlier this year and while it’s turned into a bit of a baptism of fire for her, the woman is nothing if not passionate about people being kind to one another – because, as she says, it takes a village to feed a village. “It’s an amazing situation at the moment, because things are really changing and we’re having a lot of exciting community support and we are able to reach out to more people, and it’s challenging and really exciting.” Sallie and her team are working a bit from their homes, a lot out of the Uniting Church – using a new stove and dishwasher donated by the Rotary Club of Daylesford and Daylesford District Community Bank. “A couple of pub chefs and chefs from restaurants also bring me boxes of dishes to send out to people – I’ve got bored chefs and people who are already running takeaway businesses, making a few extra and bringing them in to us. You get variety, it’s amazing. And this is exactly how the village should run – for the village, by the village.” The parcels are packed, rather lovingly, with fresh fruit and vegetables, frozen and dry goods, ready-to-heat meals to put in the fridge and toiletries – all the little essentials that help make life work. “People put their name on the list, and we do a parcel every week for them. Now we’re working seven days a week, because there are so many people on the list and the boxes take a while to create because there’s so many components and we’re making up boxes to suit the individual. “We do it because we want to give people things that are going to be good for them, not something that they don’t know what to do with or that’s not in their dietary world. Those intimacies, the personalisation of our parcels, are the bits that will help people’s mental wellbeing because they know that it was made for them, and the mental wellbeing is as important as the physical wellbeing, and you’re going to be more mentally well if you’re eating a balanced, nourishing diet.” They’re hitting their mark, too. “We had one lady, in her seventies, and we delivered a parcel to her and she was so grateful – it was the first Easter Sunday she had spent alone. “It’s all about wellbeing and I would really encourage people to take note of the people around them, their neighbours, their friends, and one of the beautiful things is to be able to give somebody something - and it’s not even about a need for anything.
“Look around yourself and if you feel like you are able you can donate, or not, you can register a friend and send them a parcel and give them a gift made with love from our village to our village. I know it would brighten my day if I got one. “Nurturing each other, that’s what’s going to help us through this.” Donations to the Good Grub Club can be made at the Daylesford District Community Bank – BSB: 633000 Account Number: 173753609. Donations of fresh produce can also be made contact-free and deliveries can also be left contact-free.
Words: Kate Taylor | Image: Jack Larm First published April 20, 2020
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A look back at 2020 One thing the pandemic did was make people locked down in Melbourne look to the regions for properties that offered breathing space.
And that meant prices were on their way up for real estate. The Local reported on one sale at Porcupine Ridge which saw a barn-style house sell for $400,000 over its asking price. McQueen Broadhurst Real Estate's Kim McQueen said a bidding war started on the property over a weekend in October including six Facetime visits with the property selling for $1.317 million.
“One person said 'I am in' and we then had five people putting in offers and ended up with two bidders battling it out for 24 hours before it sold for $1.317 million. It was a great result and everybody is happy.”
'Barn' house sells for $400k over asking price
A
PORCUPINE Ridge property has sold for $1.317 million, way over its $900,000 to $990,000 price range.
McQueen Broadhurst Real Estate principal Kim McQueen said the Woolnoughs Road property sold within three days of being placed on the market, Thursday, October 2. “We put the house on the market online on Thursday and by Friday I had six Facetime inspections, all people from Melbourne, who couldn’t come up. “That same day I had one of those people say they loved it and could we arrange a building inspection. I did that for 9am on Saturday and he rang the buyers and said it was all great with no issues, and they made an offer of $995,000. That was $5000 above the asking price and the vendors were selling at $900,000. We don’t stuff around on prices, if that was the best offer on the day we would have sold at that.” Ms McQueen said the offer was accepted by the vendors but she also went back to all the potential buyers to see if anyone wanted to make a counter offer. That set off a 24-hour “auction”. “One person said 'I am in' and we then had five people putting in offers over that amount and ended up with two bidders battling it out for 24 hours before it sold on Sunday night for $1.317 million. It was a great result and at the end of the day everybody is happy. The vendors were already happy with the $995,000 offer so they were rapt. They are really beautiful people.” Ms McQueen said neither of the final two bidders had seen the house in person which was “phenomenal”. “The house is a very simple barn in the highly sought after area of Porcupine Ridge, on three and a half manageable acres, and very private. You can’t see another building and could be on 50 acres. “It was very stylish, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, cathedral ceilings and perfect for people wanting a weekender or somewhere to come up to three or four days a week. You can just lock up and leave.” The house was designed by Woodend architect Brad Hooper.
The Companion Group Going far?Go further!
First published October 12, 2020
Gigs The Guildford Hotel, Guildford Terry & Gillian - Friday, January 8, 7pm Terry and Gillian will be playing acoustic versions of classic hits from great bands including Dragon, The Pretenders, Fleetwood Mac, Jimi Hendrix, Cold Chisel, Bob Marley, Hoodoo Guru... and many more. The Millards - Saturday, January 9, 7pm Central Victorian singer songwriters The Millards (Kirsten Boerema and Michael Timcke) explore the poetry of Aussie country towns in their original songs. With close harmonies and beautifully crafted melodies, The Millards sing their hearts out with their homegrown country voice. Maine Course - Sunday, January 10, 1pm Lively and eclectic - bring your dancing shoes!
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Thousands of jobs today, improved infrastructure tomorrow.
Victoria’s Big Build is the largest infrastructure investment in our state’s history. A coordinated effort that is delivering more than 100 major road and rail projects across Victoria, and creating thousands of jobs for the community.
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A look back at 2020 Life goes on during a pandemic and in October we farewelled art glass movement pioneer Don Wreford.
Don was a long-time Daylesford resident who had an eventful life. After completing four years of study at Hornsea College of Art, London in 1964, three years later Don opened the first vegetarian restaurant in London, Manna in Primrose Hill, still there and still famous. He then travelled through Africa, Cyprus, Turkey, Syria, Mexico, USA, India and much of Europe and in the early seventies taught himself how to work with stained glass. The rest, as they say, is history.
“Don Wreford was a child of the sixties; his glass art wonderfully capturing the freedom of expression which epitomised that post-war generation. We are unlikely to see his like again.”
Vale Don Wreford
A
USTRALIAN art glass movement pioneer and founding member Don Wreford has passed away.
The long-time Daylesford resident who, with beagle Peppy, was a familiar sight throughout the town, passed away on Tuesday, October 6, after a brief battle with leukaemia. Friend and Castlemaine-based fellow master glass artist Richard Morrell said Don was one of the great characters of the Australian art glass movement. “Don had an eventful life; after completing four years of study at Hornsea College of Art, London in 1964, and in 1967 Don opened the first vegetarian restaurant in London, Manna in Primrose Hill, still there and still famous. “He then travelled through Africa, Cyprus, Turkey, Syria, Mexico, USA, India and much of Europe, studying cultures and indigenous art forms. “In the early seventies Don taught himself how to work with stained glass before moving to Sydney in 1977 to establish a stained glass studio there. Moving from flat glass to hot glass, Don found his 'metier' and worked under Stan Melis at the Jam Factory in Adelaide, then moved to Melbourne to study under Julio Santos, myself and Denis O'Connor in 1981.” Mr Morrell said Don was awarded an artist-in-residency at the Phillip Institute of Technology in Melbourne before setting up in Malmsbury in 1988. He then moved his studio to Gisborne in 1990 before settling permanently in Daylesford in 1993, where his hot glass studio in Albert Street quickly became a local arts landmark. “His fluid, flamboyant style in glass was matched only by his gift for rhetoric; many visitors to his colourful studio being beguiled as much by his eloquence as his remarkably original glass pieces. “Don Wreford was a child of the sixties; his glass art wonderfully capturing the freedom of expression which epitomised that post-war generation. Given the way the world is moving, we are unlikely to see his like again.” Last year The National Gallery of Victoria purchased eight pieces of Don’s work for its permanent collection. The Gallery has recognised him as a founding member of the Australian glass movement. Don has work in the permanent collection in The Queensland Art Gallery and has been collected by many famous international galleries worldwide. In 2004 Daylesford’s Danish community bought a “royal-blue” one-off blown vase to send as a gift for the wedding of Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, and SEPTIC SYSTEM INSPECTION & MAINTENANCE Australian Mary Donaldson. Don inscribed the vase to commemorate the event. LAND CAPABILITY ASSESSMENT services Don’s daughter Jessie Geraghty Wreford said her SEPTIC SYSTEM INSPECTION &SYSTEM MAINTENANCE INSPECTION SEPTIC father was a wonderful friend to many people and was WISH MOVING HOUSE always interested and engaged in the world around & MAINTENANCE WAS THIS EASY? him. No matter if you are moving into the area for the first time, “A world-renowned glass artist, philosopher, wild PERIODIC INSPECTION AND REPORTING moving to the big smoke or just moving across town - we will take global adventurer, environmentalist, animal lover…and OF WASTEWATER TREATMENT SYSTEMS care of you and your prized possessions like its our own home we the list goes on. He lived an incredible life and will be are moving. Locally owned and operated, Oz Trans are the leading local removalist and general transport specialists in the entire TROUBLESHOOTING AND MAINTENANCE dearly missed by many people. He was a beloved father Daylesford and Central Highlands region for over 25 years. to my sister Sassa Wreford and I, and everyone who SUPERVISION OF SLUDGE PUMP-OUT knew him has a crazy story to tell about him." • Home, piano and • Furniture deliveries commercial removals (new & second-hand) Don previously lived in Malmsbury and Gisborne LATEST SLUDGE-JUDGE TECHNOLOGY • House packing services • General freight and produce but found himself in Daylesford with a gallery, a • Sensitive freight cartage • All kinds of art cared for • Bulk freight, dry and chilled residence and what would become a collective of like• Packing supplies available minded, creative people. www.sanae-svcs.com.au “Many people were drawn to Daylesford and there CALL JASON 0407 697 877 PO Box 1040, Daylesford, VIC 3460 WWW.OZ-TRANS.COM.AU was also that artistic community, both in Daylesford koos.hulst@sanae-svcs.com.au and Castlemaine.”
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Gardens 13
P.S. On Christmas Day I was relieved of the task of removing dandelions and other thick weedy clumps that despoil lawns courtesy of a Kris Kringle gift - a wonderful longhandled gadget that simply entails placing the base over the plant and lifting it out.
If you aren't already, save on garden water
My New "decade-ent" Year's garden
With the dawn of a brand new decade and hopefully release from the horrors of the COVID era, I thought it opportune to suggest a couple of gardening resolutions of my own.
No lawn mowing
There’s no way I intend breaking this one. Never again will I be seduced into mowing our so-called lawn. In actual fact, I have been forbidden to even touch the lawn or the mower. Since I brought home Peta’s new toy, an amazing batterypowered, cylinder lawn mower, she’s regularly been merrily buzzing around our patch of feral grass. Heaven forbid a blade of grass should show its shaggy head, she’s onto it. In reality, our previous elderly electric mower came to grief after taking on a bunch of hidden gumnuts, and I was delighted to discover the new mower. I’ve always considered the scissor-like precision of cylinder mowers to be superior to the bludgeoning action of rotary blades.
This one is a no-brainer. Every plant, at least all that have a root system, obtains its nourishment from soil-borne water taken by those roots and distributed throughout. Overhead water may cool the plant in Summer but it can also cause it grief in especially cold Winters. So it makes sense to provide the water directly to the soil through a slow-release dripper system. Besides it eliminates evaporation loss and watering paths and driveways. If you must use a sprinkler make it one of those floppy ones designed for tanks, dams and other low pressure water situations. They operate by flopping from side to side, splashing the water, rather than throwing out jets of fine mist. Fortunately, in the time of poly pipe and plastic fittings, establishing a network of drippers and microsprays throughout your garden is a simple and relatively inexpensive task, especially when you count the savings you make from the water you won’t be using.
Return what you can to the garden
I’ve always been an advocate of the "waste not, want not" credo. But whilst I’m ever ready to sing the praises of compost bins or worm farms in minimising and reusing organic waste, there are simpler, cheaper ways of giving back to the earth. If you don’t have the garden space, or patience, for a large compost bin but don’t want the smell or accompanying vermin of an open heap, you can always resort to the trench method. This consists of digging a short, narrow trench to a spade’s depth in a fallow area of your vegetable patch for your scraps, returning the soil to cover them as you go. Extend the trench as needed and start replanting from the oldest end. Paper waste, especially newspaper, will break down more quickly and better suit the worms if it comes in small pieces. I have a small, bin-type, electric paper shredder left over from my business office and that turns out beautiful compost bin and worm farm fodder. It also makes great mulching material after the shredded material has soaked for a time in a bucket of water or is covered with a thin layer of sand or loam to prevent it blowing around. The good news is that the chain stores have perfectly good shredders for around $50 these days Happy New Year!
Got a gardening question? Ask Glen. Email glenzgarden@gmail.com
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Pick me, pick me
Just sayin’... By Donna Kelly
K
YLE is still taking a break, as you can see over there, and hello to those who were nice enough to get in touch to say he is just being lazy. Hmmm.
Christmas went past very quickly and as I write this it is already New Year's Eve. We have a couple of good friends coming over and we all intend to give the big bird to 2020. To do this in style we are sacrificing a couple of things we found over the past year. One is a giant inflatable Corona bottle - about a metre high. Kyle bought it early in the year and we were going to do something with it in the ChillOut parade. You know, something fun, but we held back and sure enough, there was nothing fun about it. So we are going to stab it tonight. We also have some lavender-scented toilet paper. A four-pack. If you remember back to the toilet paper wars, there was not a lot around. We were on a road trip to Lorne and Kyle had already been shoulder-charged out the way in one supermarket where there was just one lonely pack left on the shelf. We found our way into another tiny supermarket and there it was, pure gold, or pure toilet paper anyway. Four-packs everywhere. We asked the owner, a bloke, what he was doing selling it, and not even at an inflated price. His answer was simple, he was allergic to lavender. (Not sure what an allergy would do in that particular place but let's not go there.) So, we have two things ready for this evening. Kyle was also keen on sacrificing a virgin but after asking around we realised they were even more scarce than a fourpack of toilet paper in March. COVID has also reared its ugly head again in Victoria. Six cases as I type and back to masks inside. I don't really mind, I kept mine on anyway. Kind of used to it now. But everyone I talk to just can't understand why masks are not mandated in New South Wales. And get that hard border in place again. If they need more of that orange fencing, Hepburn Shire has some left over. Anyway, from the crew at the The Local - wishing everyone a healthy and happy New Year for 2021. It's been an unprecedented, socially-distanced, isolated year and I am happy to see it in the rear vision mirror. I don't often wish time away but 2020 can well and truly bugger off. Just sayin'...
You can't have this one but she is a fine example of a rescue pooch. Rosie was adopted as a six-week-old puppy from the Peninsula RSCPA in 2000. She was dumped, with her puppy brothers and sisters, in a box on the side of the road. We chose her because she was the most quiet of the litter - but later found she had kennel cough and once recovered was a maniac, for almost 16 years. Meanwhile, Mount Alexander Animal Welfare in Castlemaine is a little closer than Pearcedale. Call 5472 5277 to make an appointment to find your forever friend. (Pick me, pick me is run in memory of Rosie and Curly - we picked them!)
The Local - Connecting the Community
T
he Local is all about Connecting the Community. We run good news stories about amazing people and places, and festivals and events. And our fantastic advertisers run great deals for locals and visitors alike.
To give back to the community, The Local has been running its Connecting the Community adverts for eight years. The adverts are for not-for-profit groups and organisations to lend a hand when finances can be a bit tight - or just don't exist. We all know how hard it can be to make volunteer-run organisations work on the smell of an oily rag! To apply just email donna@tlnews.com.au with your event or organisation. We also put call-outs on our Facebook page and those of the various communities in our wonderful region. We work on a first-in basis, with a nod to time-lines too. There are a few conditions, well mostly that not-forprofit bit, and also that you aren't grabbing a free advert and then we see a whacking big paid advert in other media. That wouldn't be fair.
Cheers, Donna (Ed)
Save the date! Recent rain has seen the most amazing regrowth of grass along the walking tracks and Friends of Cornish Hill are calling on our local community to lend a hand. We have the equipment and fuel but we are a tad short on people power to give us a hand to brush cut. A fallen tree along the water race also needs some attention too. If you can spare an hour or two of your time then contact the Friends on 0409 216 251. We would love our community to step up and give us a hand.
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Kyle’s Rant You either love them or you hate them - and mostly people seem to love Kyle's Rant.
To write them he says he conjures up the image of a grumpy old man, seemingly unaware he could just look in the mirror. When masks became compulsory he became enraged when he looked around and saw people wearing them incorrectly and decided to name all of the looks. Cartoonist Glenn Robinson added to the fun with his front page.
First published September 28, 2020
"Your Doodle Is Showing: This is the tucked under the nose look, showing off all kind of proboscis. I mean, you wouldn’t get around in your Speedos at the local pool with your bits out exposed to the world, would you?"
TL
September 28, 2020 Issue 199
The Local
W
HEN making rules such as mask wearing, the various layers of government must have to apply a “slippage” rate. That is a rate for the 15 per cent of society who are colloquially known as “dipshits”.
Opinion 15
Mask mayhem
Travelling around the streets of the Central Highlands, with my windows wound up tight and the air conditioning on reticulation, for fear that someone will recognise me and want to have a chat, I have noticed a few folks miswearing a mask. And so I have come up with a list of them, which has also been the inspiration for GROB’s front page of this edition. Now the list is in no particular order of intelligence or The Local - The Heart of the Highlands one’s need to breathe fresh air, take on sustenance or cater to addictions...so here goes. The Flapper: This is the mask over one ear variety. These folks are ready to spring the other loop over their ear at a moment's notice or if the police show up. Your Doodle Is Showing: This is the tucked under the nose look, showing off all kind of proboscis. I mean, you wouldn’t get around in your Speedos at the local pool with your bits out exposed to the world, would you? Who Turned Out The Lights: This is the classic where the participant wears the device so high, they can no longer see but their bottom lip is getting plenty of air they generally look a little confused. The Ambler: That sometimes not so fast-moving creature who is claiming to jog but is actually moving quite slowly. Vigorous arm movements don’t always equate to speed. The Snood: This is where the player has a coffee cup in their hand, which may or may not still have fluid in it, but by the holding the perk trophy they are no longer bound by the law and their mask remains around their neck. The Smugster: Then there is a gang I have found myself in while treading the backroads with nobody around and that’s the "I have a mask in my hand therefore I am wearing one". Sort of like if a tree falls in the forest and no one sees it fall, did it really? The Chuffer: That is where the citizen chooses to light a ciggie and needs to keep their mask well away in case it catches fire. The Ding-a-ling: And the world wouldn’t be the same without the person on their mobile phone who believes either the people on the other end need to see their lips, or they don't want to talk with a muffle. WTF? Now, briefly, to the other end of the scale. The Safety Officer: This is my OTT but preferred person who wears both a mask and a shield - and are sitting in their car, alone. So for the flappers, doodle showers, amblers, lights-out brigade, ding-a-lings, snoods, smugsters and chuffers out there, please simply fit the mask over your nose and mouth, squeeze down the wire on your nose if applicable, and make sure you have a good seal around your nose and mouth. If you can’t live without your caffeine, don’t wander around the joint while drinking it, spitting your bugs around the place. Simply find a quiet spot out of the way, drink your coffee, replace your mask and continue your day. The same goes for the smokers, amblers, ding-a-lings and smugsters, simply do what you have to do by yourself in situ and while moving about among your fellow humans, put a mask on properly. As for the “lights out” mob, maybe we just keep you around for shits and giggles. How to wear a mask rant over…
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A look back at 2020 Pivoting was a big word for 2020 with lots of businesses having to find new ways to do things.
Just one of them was Lauren Richardson, a grower of edible flowers in Glenlyon, who found out the hard way the Melbourne orders for her products had come to an abrupt end. It could have been a time to go under the doona but Lauren diversified and expanded her customer base by moving into dried edible flowers and syrup, produced from elderflower, roses and lavender.
M
ARCH 18, 2020. This date is stamped into many people’s memories as the day everything shut. Among them is Lauren Richardson, grower of edible flowers in Glenlyon.
Our people 17
“I always worked in hospitality part-time and had friends with a wholesale fruit and vegetable business. Working with them I saw that there was a market for edible flowers.”
Finally it's time to smell (and taste) the roses
As usual, she sent a load to the wholesale market in the Melbourne suburb of Epping, which supplies the nation with flowers, fruit and vegetables. Like most other people Lauren knew of COVID, but of course “it was all happening overseas”. Next day she rang to see what was happening. “We don’t have another order,” she was told. “We don’t know when there will be another one.” Six weeks would pass before orders resumed. With no income she pulled her children out of daycare, which meant she couldn’t work. None of her four staff qualified for JobKeeper. “There were lots of empty beds and dead flowers…crops with no market.” And as if this was not hard enough, her husband David had just finished scheduling the season’s matches for the Football Federation of Australia at its St Kilda Road headquarters when COVID struck. Since then he’s been working at home four hours a day rescheduling in a project that resembles unscrambling an omelette. For Lauren, the pandemic taught her to diversify and expand her customer base. So she moved into dried edible flowers and syrup, produced from elderflower, roses and lavender. Diversify is what her family has always done in the six generations they have lived in the Central Highlands. Lauren’s mother’s family is from Leonards Hill and their history includes having a grandfather who helped build the railway line to Daylesford. And when the timber milling was gone, he saw the line pulled up. Over six generations since the mid-1800s, her family have been christened and married in the Daylesford Uniting Church. She followed this tradition by getting married there in 2018. She and husband David have four-year-old Eve and 18-month-old Louise. The family moved from Glenroy in Melbourne in November 2018, while Lauren’s parents, Glenda and Colin Richardson, were well established in business here. Colin made the first Ned Kelly Wood Heater in his Daylesford Engineering business back in 1984. Lauren’s path to flower farming was a winding one. She did her BA in arts and science, majoring in anatomy, at Melbourne University, then studied the history and philosophy of science, moving on to a degree in architecture, and finishing one semester short of her MA. “I always worked in hospitality part-time and had friends with a wholesale fruit and vegetable business. Working with them I saw that there was a market for edible flowers.” Flowers have been part of food for centuries, with rose petals used in the Middle East to make rosewater and syrups, as well as Turkish Delight, while the ancient Romans ate lavender, roses and violets. Eastern cultures incorporated orange blossom, chamomile and calendula, while edible flowers bloomed as a display of chic in the Victorian era, with nasturtiums, roses and elderflowers being eaten. Asian dishes featured banana blossom and varieties of orchids and chrysanthemum. A huge revival in edible flowers arose over the last decade, says Lauren. “I began with viola, marigolds, roses, rockets and peas.” Apparently the flowers of rocket are much less harsh than the leaves. Then there are coriander flowers. But not all parts of flowers are edible, she cautions. While the flowers and leaves of elderflowers can be consumed, the leaves and stem are poisonous.
After seven years in her business, Flowerdale, she now grows between 30 and 50 varieties, with viola the most popular and used in cake garnishes or on pancakes in café breakfasts, and even in cocktails. Herbal flavours are sought after by top restaurants, she says, mentioning the famous Attica in Melbourne and Brae in the Otways near Birregurra. Flavours from sage and pea flowers are popular. Lauren had always wanted to produce dried edible flowers, so the lockdown saw her growing them for syrups such as elderflower, roses and lavender. A tour of her garden reveals voluptuous scents from roses, subtle perfumes from others. And an electric fence to keep the hares off a carnation patch. Ducks go for marigolds and cornflowers, apparently, while rosellas prefer the interior of roses. Back at the house I taste a couple of nasturtium leaves, with a glass of water. Their echo of Japanese wasabi is remarkable. Lauren tells of an intriguing development in her world, the Daylesford-Macedon Flower Trail. Flower farmers and getaways, among others, joined to promote the region and each other. They hold events such as farm gate sales and workshops, with details at www.consortiumbotanicus.net.au The consortium wonderfully sets out to “grow, harvest, source, design and celebrate ethical, sustainable, beautiful 'botanics' for the cut and edible flower markets… working together to put truly-local, low-tox, bee-friendly flowers in Australia's hearts, homes, vases, bouquets and boutonnieres!” That would put a spring in anyone's step.
Words: Kevin Childs | Images: David White First published November 2, 2020
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Never published but created in April by cartoonist Glenn Robinson. The revenge of the geese.