The Local June 19, 2023

June 19, 2023 Issue 282 Artistic tree change

The Local - The Heart of the Highlands

Front cover: With the attitude that “life is too short” Karima Baadilla has swapped accounting for art and the city for the country. Read her story by The Local's journalist Eve Lamb on the back page.

Image: Sophie Timothy

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 former director.

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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.

The Local is a fortnightly community publication covering the Central Highlands of Victoria.

The next edition is out on Monday, July 3, 2023. or online on Sunday, July 2 at www.tlnews.com.au

Space bookings: Wednesday, June 28

Copy deadline: Thursday, June 29

Editorial deadline: Thursday, June 29

General manager: Kyle Barnes on 0416 104 283 or kyle@tlnews.com.au

Editor: Donna Kelly on 0418 576 513 or news@tlnews.com.au

Editorial assistant: Eve Lamb on 0493 632 843 or editorial@tlnews.com.au

Sub-editors: Nick Bunning, Lindsay Smith & Chester the Cat

Writers: Eve Lamb, Kevin Childs, Tony Sawrey, Jeff Glorfeld & Donna Kelly

Photographers: Kyle Barnes, Eve Lamb & Nadine Jade

Graphic designer: Dianne Caithness

Contributors: Glen Heyne (gardening), Darren Lowe (music), Richard Cornish & Jen Clarke (recipes), Clive Hartley (wine) & Bill Wootton (poetry)

Accounts | Julie Hanson Delivery | Tony Sawrey

Love to lead?

could run an election

Previous electoral experience is not essential. However, you must:

• be able to effectively lead a team

• be a strong communicator

• be able to manage and direct multiple activities within a tight timeframe

• be able to follow procedures to ensure elections are fair, impartial and conducted according to the law.

The next Victorian Local Government elections will be held in October 2024 and this role requires availability for approximately 15 weeks around this time. For a job description, further information, and to apply, please visit vec.vic.gov.au/jobs

The Victorian Electoral Commission is seeking highly organised people to train as Election Managers.

You

All about women who launch, and brunch

Daylesford’s Women to the Front launched into the world in style on International Women’s Day back in March and is now busy preparing for its next local event in August.

Em Ireland is a main moving force behind the Women to the Front concept and is no stranger to many as Daylesford’s ChillOut former festival director with over 25 years of music and events industry experience.

Em’s resume includes work on major fests like Big Day Out, Meredith Music Festival and Golden Plains and she runs her own events management company. In making Women to the Front a reality, with plans to ultimately see it take off nationally, Em is ably assisted by Tasha Robinson at their Daylesford HQ.

“Women to the Front is an event and forum that celebrates, supports and honours women in industry,” she said.

“It’s a multi-generational thing. I’m a 50-year-old woman and Tash is a 20-year-old woman and one of our aims is to connect new businesses with older businesses and provide mentorship.”

Em says Women to the Front aims to connect, support and mentor women from all sorts of business and industry sectors from food and agribusiness to the science, health, education and arts sectors.

Touring their enjoyable networking events – think brunch in pleasant setting with interesting guest speakers – to regional and metropolitan areas is a key aspect, and Em says that when they held their launch event in March a pleasingly wide cross-section of business and professional backgrounds were represented.

“We had midwives, local ice creamery and hot chocolate entrepreneurs, primary producers, musicians, teachers, and media professionals,” she says.

“Initially it's a festival-run event, promoting women. But behind the scene is an infrastructure created to share nationally, bringing women to the front of their industries and promoting and assisting other women through mentoring, socialising and connection to share valuable ideas and safe work practices.”

Em says the ultimate hope is to connect women in regional areas who are isolated, linking them both socially and within industry.

“Mental health issues are at an all-time high and people have been forced into isolation,” she says.

At the moment Women to the Front is getting set to host another Daylesford event in August.

“We've invited women from across regional areas and some from metropolitan Melbourne to join in a discussion about surviving the winter months and what the coming year looks like,” Em says.

For the annual Words in Winter festival they’re also planning to stage a women authors’ panel on Saturday, August 26.

Making women in the community know they’re seen, heard and supported across all ages is a main motivator behind the formation of Women to the Front - “especially trans women and non-binary persons who identify as they, them, femme.”

Enhancing the experience of people in the community and creating lifelong connections, and infrastructure, for people to use and enjoy for years to come are additional main motivators she mentions.

“We want women to not feel alone,” Em says.

For those keen to know more, they’ve set up an Instagram account with the handle @womentothe_front where they give recognition to women in industry.

Words: Eve Lamb | Image: Contributed

Pictured, back, from left, Em Ireland and attendee Connie Conlon, with Tasha Robinson

Recognition for career in ophthalmology

DR SANDRA Staffieri has been appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to medicine as an orthoptist and vision researcher, and to paediatric ophthalmology.

The part-time Hepburn resident is a research fellow at the University of Melbourne’s Centre for Eye Research Australia and the Retinoblastoma Care coordinator/senior clinical orthoptist at the Royal Children’s Hospital.

Her research is focused on hereditary eye diseases, including congenital glaucoma, congenital cataract, eye movement disorders and retinoblastoma.

Dr Staffieri’s PhD, with the aim of reducing delayed diagnosis of retinoblastoma (eye cancer in children), included the development and evaluation of an information pamphlet for new parents describing important early signs of eye problems in children.

Dr Staffieri said while her career had been “accidental” in many ways, she took her work very seriously and was privileged to be able to help families through journeys after days that were often their worst nightmare.

While she trained as an orthopist, gaining a diploma in 1984, she upgraded that to a Bachelor when it became available in 1992 and found herself working in paediatrics. “I actually wanted to be a paediatrician growing up so that was pretty lucky, and it was really just how my career unfolded. I am well known to have said I prefer working with children than adults.”

Dr Staffieri then found herself coordinating children with retinoblastoma in Victoria and Tasmania at the Royal Children’s Hospital – ensuring all screening appointments were kept along with tracking down any better available outcomes for the children and their families.

“We were giving families quite devastating news, that their child has cancer or is at risk of cancer, and that is quite harrowing and involves a lot of intervention for many years. Anyway, it was a conference in 2012 where it all took off and I realised that delayed diagnosis was really common even in a country like Australia.

“Children could be diagnosed earlier but parents sometimes did not know the signs that something was not right, and even health care professionals could be unaware. That is purely because the child is well and healthy and they keep doing what everyone else is doing – it is not like many other cancers.

“So it became my mission to try and improve things and the past 11 years I have had an incredible journey, doing a PhD in developing awareness for parents and trying to get that implemented on a large scale here and overseas.”

Dr Staffieri also went to Papua New Guinea earlier this year to implement more awareness strategies – a country where children still die from retinoblastoma.

Dr Staffieri is also kept busy doing genetic eye research at the University of Melbourne’s CERA and works on the characteristics of eye diseases, tracking down family members and getting DNA samples.

“If we can unravel the secret of why different eye diseases occur and why some people have greater vision loss than others, then we can look at different treatments, and better treatments.”

Dr Staffieri said working with children was challenging but not in the way many people would think. “It is just a different set of skills and there is nothing more rewarding than being able to talk around a really frightened child and being able to get all the information you need from them for the team to make a decision. That is quite rewarding.”

Retinoblastoma can run in families, which means many of the children seen 30 years ago are now coming with their own babies for screening, but for the most part there is no family history involved. But it remains the most survivable of paediatric cancers, offering very good long-term outcomes.

Dr Staffieri said her house in Hepburn was her “happy place” where she and her husband could retreat from their busy work lives and “catch our breath”. “It’s been a real godsend and we have been looking to move up to Hepburn for a long time now the kids have all flown the nest.”

The connection came years ago when her mother migrated at the age of 13 with her family after World War II. They ended up at the migrant camp at Bonegilla in Victoria and then her mother was sent to the Daylesford Convent as a boarder.

“Every year in autumn Mum would traipse us up to see the Presentation nuns and I loved the autumn colours. When we are here we watch the autumn evolve and then the leaves are gone and winter comes and then we see spring and the green fuzz of the leaves on the trees. We just love to be here, kick back and relax.”

Dr Staffieri said she had mixed feelings about her award because in some ways represented “someone else’s grief – but I also have the incredible privilege to be there for them and try and make it a little easier and then I watch their kids grow and that has been incredible. From that first day with the parents thinking the world has opened up and they have fallen through a crack, yet their children have got through all of that and grown up to be adults and do amazing things. It is overwhelming and pleasurable in equal measure. It is nice to be recognised, because it is not just a job, but I do what I hope someone would do for me if I was in their shoes.”

Words: Donna Kelly | Image: Contributed

Lynda, Belgrave South Wurundjeri

King's Birthday honour for Anneke Deutsch

DAYLESFORD’S Anneke Deutsch has been awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for services to the community.

The 61-year-old, who identifies as a proud lesbian, said it was wonderful that her work had been recognised by the King’s Birthday award.

“I’m most proud that my service to older lesbians is being recognised with this mainstream honour. Social acceptance has changed so much over my lifetime. When I first started working in the early 1980s, I was closeted because coming out would have negatively affected my career. It’s easier now, but still there are other battles that we must fight as same-sex attracted, lesbian-identified women.”

Ms Deutsch’s professional career included working with Ballarat Health Services as a clinical leader and senior prosthetist, with LaTrobe University’s School of Human Biosciences as a sessional lecturer and with AusAID, Australian Business Volunteers and the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics as a prosthetist, tutor and co-ordinator. The last included establishing a prosthetic, orthotics and rehabilitation service in Tarawa, Kiribati where they made the first leg prostheses for i-Kiribati people – teaching locals how to make artificial legs so that they could run their own rehabilitation centre.

And if that was not enough, Ms Deutsch also turned her hand to volunteering locally and with national and state organisations, much of her work aimed at improving the lives of lesbians, especially older women, around the country.

She was a founding member of Hepburn Wind, the first project of the Hepburn Renewable Energy Association and the first community-owned wind farm in Australia, later known as the Sustainable Hepburn Association or SHARE. One project was to organise the first of the bulk buy solar arrays including installing a free one for the Daylesford Community Child Care Centre.

Ms Deutsch was also a member of the Hepburn Health Service LGBTI Aged Care Advisory Committee and helped the health service achieve the Rainbow Tick Accreditation for its aged care services, a first in Australia.

From 2008, she has volunteered with the Matrix Guild of Victoria, a charity for older lesbians, taking on roles including Housing and Aged Care spokeswoman, secretary and president. Her work led to the creation of the first social housing specifically for older lesbians in Australia - establishing a partnership with the community housing provider, Women’s Property Initiatives.

Ms Deutsch is currently busy on her latest challenge, as the co-founder of Older Women In Cohousing or WINC. The not-for-profit group is creating a 32home cohousing community in Castlemaine, based on sustainability, accessibility, architecture to enhance social interaction, inclusion for women with a range of financial assets, a culturally safe place for older lesbians and the sharing of intellectual property to help others with co-housing communities.

Ms Deutsch, whose work this year was also recognised with her inclusion on the Heather Mutimer International Women’s Day Honour Roll for Hepburn Shire, said while same-sex relationships were now accepted it had not always been the case and many older lesbians had been through very difficult times.

“I have always been someone who volunteers, and started with sustainability issues and Hepburn Wind, but then I realised I could use my personal experience being a lesbian to help others. My own relationship is at about 35 years and while it (same-sex relationships) is something now quite accepted, especially in a place like Daylesford, that was not always the case.

“I was trying to organise a big lesbian festival in ’98 and it was hard to find a venue that was happy to host us or was comfortable with us. And it wasn’t until 2008 that I could nominate my partner for my superannuation if anything happened to me.

“And in the 70s and 80s you couldn’t get a mortgage unless you had a guarantor who was a man. That was alright if you had a brother or a father who had not disowned you, but a lot of lesbians were not in that situation – so you couldn’t house yourself.

“‘Queer’ was an insult and many old lesbians have not reclaimed that word, myself included. My lesbian partner and I had friends who left straight marriages for a woman partner and lost custody of their kids as a result. Their ex-husbands could argue in court that their ex-wives were unsuitable custodial parents simply because they were lesbian.

“I am 61 now and when I look back I realise how far we have come in many ways, but there is more to do.”

One of those is WINC, a project aimed at providing affordable housing for older women, mostly lesbians. The group had hoped originally to buy land in Daylesford but are now coming close to fruition on land bought in Castlemaine.

The 32 dwellings are almost full with about 80 per cent taken up by lesbians. Older women who do not identify as lesbian are welcome to apply for the housing which is partly social housing, partly fully paid and also for “middle women” who don’t have enough to buy a home but have too much to be eligible for social payments.

Ms Deutsch said the group was now looking at different means of offering shared equity through either private investors or perhaps government investment.

“I think if it comes off it will be a great pilot for any women - older women, lesbians - who can’t buy a house. And we are at the planning permit stage, so nearly there.”

Words: Donna Kelly | Image: Dorothy McDonald

“It’s easier now, but still there are other battles that we must fight as same-sex attracted, lesbianidentified women.”

- Anneke Deutsch

Be part of every part of life

A career as a nurse or midwife means you’re part of an incredible workforce with all the support, training opportunities and job security you need.

Right now we’re recruiting 5000 nurses and midwives. To be part of it, start your career in nursing or midwifery now at health.vic.gov.au/jobs

Concerns about in-home care price rises

A Creswick local has spoken out over changes to a Commonwealth Home Support Programme pricing schedule being implemented by in-home care provider, Benetas from July 1.

The resident, who wished to remain anonymous, contacted The Local saying the cost of using the in-home CHSP care services is rising by around 130 per cent for her, with the changes becoming effective from July 1.

She also raised concerns about the lack of support workers saying it was sometimes just the "luck of the draw if your support worker arrives on the day allotted to you".

A Benetas spokesperson said in order to keep pace with cost of living increases and supplier charges, there had been a review of the organisation's pricing. "This has resulted in price increases for some services, in line with pricing recommended by the government."

The 65-year-old resident, who receives help due to mobility issues, said it had been 12 months since Benetas took over the aged care service from Hepburn Shire Council.

“I received the schedule of new fees and it is interesting to note that they now have three levels. If you are in the lower or middle-income bracket these new fees are large increases. I fall in the middle-income bracket as I am still working, but I still have a mortgage and being a woman in her older years with no superannuation to speak of, this means if I stop working, I will lose the roof over my head. The result will not be a good one for me."

The resident said over the past three years she had received three hours of domestic assistance for 1.5 hours per fortnight or three hours per month for $21. That would now be $49.50 - an increase of about 130 per cent.

“I feel for those of us that have worked all of our lives, raised children on our own, paid taxes, not received child support from our ex and not (been) granted superannuation until early 2000 (at a measly three per cent).

“It is sad that now not only do I have to keep working in my sunset years and face looking after myself as I won’t be able to afford home care once I stop working. How is a single person on a pension going to find the extra money for care when they can barely eat or keep themselves warm?”

Raising staffing concerns, the woman said she believed many support workers had left as they were being paid less than when they were with the council, and were also spending hours driving around the shire and not being paid for their time.

Podcast return

The Local is hitting the airwaves with the return of its Country Life podcast.

The fortnightly podcast unwraps each edition of The Local, and is brought to you by general manager, or Ranter, Kyle Barnes and editor Donna Kelly.

Kyle said the podcast was a down-to-earth look at the stories and their backgrounds, published in The Local "A couple of years back we ran a podcast four times a week during Covid to keep the community informed. The podcast included many interviews and a wrap-up of the paper which was weekly at the time.

"This fresh approach is to have a bit of a look at the story behind the stories using plain speak and the experience of the editorial team. There are also a few colourful anecdotes along the way.

"It's all about being local and real. We are not comedians swearing and carrying on, just an editorial team doing a wrap-up at the end of each production.

"And if people are a bit time poor but want to keep up with their local region, it is an easy way to do that.

"Like with all podcasts, and there are so many out there, you can check it out in the car while driving around the region, at home while you are doing the boring stuff like the dishes or gather the family around the wireless after dinner for some wholesome entertainment. Jokes."

Tune in at www.tlnews.com.au and scan the QR code, which is always within the top four posts. Or head to Spotify.

“It is the luck of the draw if your support worker arrives on the day allotted to you, as they are often shunted around and more often than not the person who is waiting for them (the client) is not informed.

“When they don’t show up you are often told you will be waiting for your next allotted day (in a fortnight) as they have no-one to backfill.

“If your support day falls on a Monday which mine has sometimes – and it’s a public holiday – too bad, you wait another fortnight for a service. Trying to ring them is a nightmare as the phone often rings out. They frequently state they will get back to you and don’t.”

A Benetas spokesperson told The Local the organisation valued the opportunity to support "the care needs of our clients in the local community".

“As a not-for-profit organisation, it is essential that we remain competitive on pricing compared to other service providers in the market, so we can provide the best level of care for our clients in the long term.

“In order to keep pace with cost of living increases and supplier charges, we have recently completed a review of our pricing schedule. This has resulted in price increases for some services, in line with pricing recommended by the government.

“We continue to invest in improving the services we provide and in supporting our team members with appropriate remuneration in recognition of the important contribution they make in caring for our clients.

“We would welcome the opportunity to discuss the feedback that the client has raised to ensure that we are supporting their needs appropriately.”

Hepburn Shire Council won a Local Government Professionals award for its Aged Care and Disability Services Transition, after its decision to withdraw from offering aged care provision.

Words: Eve Lamb & Donna Kelly

Just briefly...

The Victorian Goldfields UNESCO World Heritage bid has been given a boost thanks to $3.8 million announced in the Victorian Budget for championing Victoria’s outstanding heritage.

The bid is the initiative of a regional partnership made up of the Victorian Goldfields Tourism Executive and 13 local councils led the City of Ballarat and the City of Greater Bendigo. Macedon Ranges Shire Council Mayor, Cr Annette Death, said the worldwide recognition would complement tourism initiatives in the Macedon Ranges and its unique heritage.

Words in Winter is back for its 20th year, to be held over the last weekend of August.

The theme is 'Out of Shadows' with special guest speakers including Jon Faine, Marieke Hardy, Alicia Sometimes, Shalini Kunahlan, Erin Reilly and Sean M Whelan. There are more than 20 events with many free and family-friendly. Link: www.wordsinwinter.com

Professor Tim Entwisle, the retired director of the Royal Botanic Gardens of Victoria (Melbourne and Cranbourne), will be the guest speaker at this year's Winter Feast on Tuesday, July 4 at the Daylesford Town Hall.

The event is a picnic cabaret hosted by the Daylesford Horticultural Society and The Friends of Wombat Hill Botanic Gardens. Tim had prominent roles at both the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney and The Kew Gardens in London before returning to Melbourne in 2013 and is one of Australia's most renowned botanists. BYO food and drinks. Details on Facebook. The event is free but bookings are essential via Eventbrite.

Hepburn Shire Council has released its draft Affordable Housing Strategy and Action Plan.

Mayor Cr Brian Hood said 25 actions had been identified that may help to create the right conditions for more affordable housing in the shire. Each action falls within one of four themes: community and partnerships; advocacy; land use planning and regulation; and incentives and investment. “I encourage the community to review our draft strategy and action plan and let us know what they think,” Cr Hood said. Link: www.participate.hepburn.vic.gov.au/affordable-housing

Would-be election managers keen to work at the 2024 local government elections can apply now to join the Victorian Electoral Commission’s pool of senior election officials.

Senior election officials are responsible for coordinating elections for entire council areas and will work for almost four months during the local council election period leading into and following October 2024. Applications are open until July 14. Link: www.vec.vic.gov.au/jobs

Winners of the inaugural Telstra Macedon Ranges Community Choice Awards 2023 have been announced.

They are: Riddells Creek Nursery (Riddells Creek) - Agribusiness and Primary Production; Zenkai - Complete Recovery of Health (Woodend) - Health and Wellbeing; Fook Shing (Kyneton) - Hospitality and Accommodation; Laser Blanks (Romsey) - Retail and Service; and Magnum Signs (New Gisborne) - Trades and Manufacturing.

Two Central Highlands organisations will receive state government funding for youth-led events for the 2023 Victorian Youth Fest - a month-long celebration in September.

Successful recipients are the Macedon Ranges Shire Council's Art Space and Woodend Neighbourhood House's Woodend x Level-Up.

Applications have opened for Australia Post’s 2023 Community Grants program, which funds community-led, local projects that connect individuals and communities to improve mental health and mental wellbeing.

Eligible not-for-profit groups across Australia can apply for grants of up to $10,000 to support projects which have the primary purpose of improving mental health and wellbeing in local communities. Applications close on July 2. Link: www.auspost.com.au/grants

Got some news to share? Email news@tlnews.com.au

Bromeliad is a familial name encompassing a somewhat endless plethora of colourful, mostly bullet-proof, house plants - all with their own specific botanical names.

Bromeliads come from North and South America, growing in a great variety of climatic conditions, and each requiring their own special conditions to succeed, whether they belong to the many terrestrial (ground growers) or ephytes (air plants).

Fortunately our climate seems to agree with all but those from the steaming Amazon jungle. But even these are able to deal with our winters if grown in hot house conditions.

Most come from high in the Andes and others from the deserts, meaning their home of choice could be a glasshouse, sunroom, verandah, shady rockery or even full sun. Whatever the requirements, there’s bound to be plenty for your needs. The one pictured right is an example of one of the many of the terrestrial species, aechmea gamosepala.

Early explorers of the New World found they had a ready market with botanical gardens and private collectors, for these and other unusual plants - not to mention those fabulous orchids. This helped with their expenses, so a trained botanist was always a very important member of any expedition. Columbus is credited with taking the pineapple back to Spain after his voyage of discovery.

It was only a matter of fate that the Spanish, orchid-seeking expedition my great grandfather, E.B. Heyne was about to lead, was foiled by a shipboard bout of bubonic plague so he ended up instead, aboard the good ship Godefroi, bound for Melbourne and a role in the establishment of its fledgling botanic gardens. The rest, as they say, is history. A copy of his original plan of the Government House and Royal Botanic Gardens hangs proudly on my study wall.

The aechmeas and similar hard-leafed varieties will do well out of doors in our climate, although the variegated leafed forms will need a little protection from the midday sun, due to minimal chlorophyll in the coloured stripes.

These can be gradually hardened to take outdoor conditions, if given some protection from a shrub or small tree. Like many other similar forms they are also ideal for interior decoration if placed in a well-lit space.

Terrestrial bromeliads do best if left to grow in a compost suitable for orchids with a 1/3 sharp sand added in a well-crocked pot for good drainage. More plants are lost through over-potting, over-feeding and over-watering during cold weather than for any other reason.

The other branch of the bromeliad dynasty are the tillandsioideae. These are perfect ephytes (air plants), which extract moisture through their foliage and use their roots mainly for anchorage on trees. To grow them in containers, use the smallest pot possible to contain the roots and pack them into place with tree fern chunks or peat moss fibre. They need a bush house or glasshouse protection, but will thrive on a windowsill with indirect sunlight.

In case you hadn't heard...

Basil was thought to be responsible for breeding scorpions so was avoided to prevent body infestations.

And, if you are ever caught out in a thunderstorm don’t take heed of the 17th century advice that you would never be struck by lightning if you’re standing under a bay tree - highly unlikely anyway in this bay tree-less country.

Finally, if you wish to obtain the favour of great persons, then you should anoint your body with chicory juice. This is so because of the magic associated with this plant, or so it was thought back in 1559.

Got a gardening query? Email glenzgarden@gmail.com

MON-FRI: 7.30AM-5PM SAT: 7.30AM2.30PM

15 Mink Street Daylesford

SLEEPERS & EDGING topsoil & compost

Mulches AGGREGATES & SCREENINGS SAND

FEATURE ROCK

MESSAGE FROM THE MAYOR

Canberra assembly - Last week I attended the National General Assembly of Local Government in Canberra with Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Bradley Thomas. More than 1,000 Mayors and CEOs from around Australia came together to discuss the challenges of local government and how we can work more collaboratively with each other and the Australian Government to address critical issues. Some of the key topics included financial sustainability and fair share of federal government funding, funding for road repair and safety, administrative bureaucracy around disaster recovery funding, skills shortages, cyber security, affordable housing and natural disaster planning. Hepburn Shire Council also moved a motion advocating the federal government adopt changes related to the topics of gender identity, variation of sex characteristics and sexual orientation to be included in the 2026 Census to better inform all levels of government on matters affecting members of the LGBTIQA+ community.

Recognition - Congratulations to Shire residents who were recognised in the 2023 King’s Birthday Honours. Karen Heap received a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to the Indigenous community in a range of roles. Anneke Deutsch received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to the community through a range of roles. Thank you to Karen and Anneke for all your work over many years and congratulations on this recognition.

Cat curfew – Reminder - The dusk to dawn cat curfew will come into effect from 1 July. Pet owners must ensure their cats are confined to their property during this time. Enforcement of the curfew will begin with education followed by issuing of Warnings and Notices to Comply or Infringement Notices where appropriate. Don’t forget to register your cat and ensure your details are up to date. This will help you to be reunited with your pet if it is lost. Council offers free registration for the first period of registration (commencing April each year). Under the Domestic Animal Act 1994, all pets over three months of age must be microchipped and registered with Council. Find out more at www.hepburn.vic.gov.au/cats

Consultation – Surveys on Future Hepburn that will inform the Township Structure Plans will remain open for submissions until Sunday 2 July. The draft Glenlyon Recreation Reserve Masterplan will soon open for community feedback. Visit our engagement platform Participate Hepburn at https://participate.hepburn.vic.gov.au to have your say.

Council meetings - We have two Council meetings in June. Our Ordinary Meeting of Council will be held on Tuesday 20 June from 5.30pm and a Special Meeting of Council on Tuesday 27 June from 4.30 to consider adoption of the draft Budget 2023/24. Council meetings are livestreamed on Facebook at @hepburncouncil. You can address Council or ask a question at meetings. Find out how at www.hepburn.vic.gov.au/Participate

Cr Brian Hood, Mayor

COUNCIL PLAN FOCUS AREAS

AFFORDABLE HOUSING

After a lot of input from our community, we are pleased to release our draft Affordable Housing Strategy and Action Plan, which aims to help address the many challenges of meeting housing needs in our Shire. The draft strategy includes 25 actions across four themes: Community and partnerships, Advocacy, Land use planning and regulation, and Incentives and investment. We invite you to review the draft strategy and action plan and provide feedback. Have your say at https://participate.hepburn.vic.gov.au/affordable-housing Submissions close on Sunday 9 July.

CRESWICK EV CHARGER

We’re pleased to announce a new electric vehicle charging station is now open at the Creswick Visitor Information Centre. The charger has been made possible due to a partnership between Chargefox, Hepburn Energy, Council and Central Highlands Water, with installation by Fells Electrical. The charger was partially funded by the State Government’s Destination Charging Across Victoria Program. More stations are on the way for Hepburn Springs and Clunes (at locations to be confirmed) and at the Trentham Community Hub.

TRANSFER STATION ASSISTANCE DAY

Some residents have told us they need assistance to get their rubbish or recycling out of their vehicle or trailer, so we’re hosting a trial Assistance Day at the Daylesford Transfer Station. We want to ensure everyone can unload their rubbish or recycling and take advantage of the Transfer Station’s facilities. We’ll be providing extra staff to make the unloading process as smooth and safe as possible. Assistance Day will be on Thursday 22 June from 9am to 5pm.

YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID

Council and Youth Gurus are running accredited Youth Mental Health First Aid training for community members, so they can better support young people who might be experiencing mental health challenges. This training is ideal for parents, teachers, sports coaches, community leaders, and anyone who has contact with young people. The free training is for people aged 18+. Places are limited. It includes four hours of online training and a face-toface session, which will be held on Sunday 30 July from 9:30am to 5:30pm at Creswick Neighbourhood Centre. Find out more and register at www.hepburn.vic.gov.au/Young-people

COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS

Our Community Conversation to talk about future growth for Creswick has been rescheduled. Come along and speak with Councillors and staff anytime between 3pm and 5pm on Wednesday 21 June at Creswick Hub meeting room. If you can’t make it (or missed these conversations in other towns), please complete a survey at Participate Hepburn or fill out a survey at a Council hub or library.

The Council Plan 2021-2025 describes how Council will strive towards our vision, where to focus efforts, and how to measure progress. Each Focus Area has a series of priority statements, with actions against each item.

EAT | DRINK | ENJOY

Out & About in the Central Highlands

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Gig Guide

The Palais-Hepburn, Hepburn

June 23 - Comedy Republic

Darren Lowe

Adored independent comedy theatre Comedy Republic is hitting the road with a stacked line-up of their funniest favourites. Comedians Daniel Connell, Lizzy Hoo, Bronwyn Kuss and Bron Lewis will all be taking to the Palais-Hepburn stage for one night only.

June 24 - Áine Tyrrell

Áine Tyrrell is an inspiring and thought-provoking multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and unmissable entertainer. Refusing to be boxed by the music industry with their narrow definition of Irish Folk, she is reclaiming and redefining her rise every step of the way with her genre Irish as F**k. Her set moves from singing, guitars, powerful vocals, to spoken word and hip hop.

June 30 - The Swing Sensations with The Martini Set

The Swing Sensations show with The Martini Set with the Shaun Evans Horn Section. A musical journey of 1940's Hellzapoppin swing to early Rock and Roll, get your swingin' shoes and toe-tappin' feet ready on for this one.

July 1 - The Australian Doors Tribute

Whiskey a Go Go, June 1966. The Doors hit the stage with energy, and electricity bringing the room to a fever pitch. Jim Morrison announces the show. Is everybody in? The ceremony is about to begin…Australian Doors Tribute recreates this heat in their uncensored celebration of music and poetry.

Got a gig happening? Email news@tlnews.com.au

Or post it on Gigs at www.tlnews.com.au

Wine notes with Clive Hartley

Gambero Rosso

The Gambero Rosso Top Italian Wines Roadshow rolled into Melbourne last month with over 50 producers represented from across Italy. It is a once-a-year opportunity to taste around 200 Italian wines.

The event is open to trade as well as wine lovers and is organised by Gambero Rosso, the organisation that publishes the definitive yearly guidebook on Italian wine. It is an eagerly awaited book to read who has achieved the top rating of ‘tre bicchieri’, the coveted 3-glass rating. It is a hectic few hours of tasting and a day I revisited some old familiar friends and found some new ones, in wine terms of course. Here are a few.

I’ve known Sella & Mosca from Sardinia for a long time. In Melbourne I tasted an aromatic 2022 Vermentino full of tropical fruits and herbs. Also recommended was their 2019 red Mustazzo Cannonau.

It comes from 50 year-old Grenache vines, grown at an altitude of 600 metres. The wine had lovely sweet red fruits with a smooth and velvet palate. Bellavista is a sparkling wine from Franciacorta and the quality has always been high.

Nothing has changed with the current 2019 vintage Brut being elegant and with autolytic driven flavours that rivals a good Champagne. With well over 350 indigenous grapes in Italy there is always something new to discover and at the tasting it was the turn of Cesanese, a red grape from Lazio. The Casale del Giglio Matidia 2021 was a lovely bright red cherry juicy medium-bodied spiced red similar to a Gamay.

You don’t need to go offshore to taste some Italian inspired reds. Try Vinea Marson Sangiovese 2018 from Heathcote. It is a lovely, complexed wine with sweet fruit, herbs and cedar oak flavours. Or their 2017 Nebbiolo which displays classic herbs, flowers and tobacco aromas balanced by cherry and licorice flavours and was rated as ‘Outstanding’ in the Australian Wine Guide

Clive Hartley is an award-winning wine writer, educator and consultant. His Australian Wine Guide (7th ed) is available for purchase from Paradise Books in Daylesford or via his website – www.australianwineguide.com.au

daylesford bowling club & Bistro Your Community Club

LGBTIQA+ events

Community groups, organisations and artists have the chance to be part of Victoria’s state-wide celebration of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender diverse, intersex and queer (LGBTIQA+) communities this summer.

Minister for Equality Harriet Shing is encouraging groups and individuals to apply for grants of up to $15,000 to be part of the Victoria’s Pride Regional Activation Program.

Victoria’s Pride is an annual state-wide celebration of our diverse LGBTIQA+ communities. It includes a series of regional events held over the summer months and a one-day street party in Melbourne’s iconic Gertrude and Smith streets precinct, which will take place on February 11, 2024.

The event gives all Victorians the chance to learn about and demonstrate their support for LGBTIQA+ communities along with providing opportunities for LGBTIQA+ people to connect and express pride in who they are.

Leading LGBTIQA+ arts and cultural organisation Midsumma delivers Victoria’s Pride, through a partnership with the state government.

From now until August 8, Midsumma is seeking proposals for regional and rural Victorian activities planned for delivery on or in the lead-up to February 11, 2024.

Funded activities will form part of the Victoria’s Pride program and may include artworks, community celebrations, historical exhibitions and other projects documenting or highlighting the experiences of LGBTIQA+ people.

Applications are strongly encouraged from First Nations, gender diverse and culturally diverse people, as well as people with disability. Midsumma will run two information sessions on Tuesday, June 20 at 5.30pm and Friday, July 21 at 10.30am.

Commissioner for LGBTIQ+ Communities Dr Todd Fernando said the regional and rural activities for Victoria’s Pride were a chance to highlight that people with diverse genders, sexualities and sex characteristics are part of every community. Link: www.midsumma.org.au/regional-activation

Let’s support our community and shop local!

“Locals supporting Locals”

Restaurants, Bakers, Butchers, Cafe’s, Local vineyards, Distillers,

Remember we offer free delivery, T&Cs apply. Delivery times are Monday to Saturday between 10am and 4pm.

We accept credit cards over the phone or we have an on-board eftpos machine. You will need to be at home for the delivery with proof of age if asked by the driver. Give the Foxxy team a call on 5348 3577. Keep safe, everyone.

one of a kind

The Daylesford Hotel is one of a kind. It’s majesty, it’s music and it offers many spaces, with over 100 year’s of history in the heart of town. A traditional style pub with all the modern delights, offering pub meals as well as a broader range for all dietary wants and needs. Wine & dine on the Sunset Balcony overlooking greater Daylesford or find a Cosy Corner and curl up next to the fire inside. Finally, after many years we are back. Open from midday everyday with lunch specials and entertainment in the evenings; including Open Mic on Mondays, Trivia on the Wednesdays & live music through to Sundays.

Be sure to book ahead for dinner, music, events & accommodation. Check for more details here: daylesfordhotel.com.au

2 Burke Square, Daylesford, Victora, Australia | (03) 5348 2335

Leanne socks it to us

FINDING an enterprise that makes beautiful handmade socks in every colour of the rainbow in Clunes is really not so odd.

The Odd Sockery’s slogan is ‘Bringing Sock Making Back to Clunes one Pair at a Time’ and, as owner and sock maker Leanne Wills says, that’s because commercial sock making actually happened here way back.

“The history does fascinate me,” she says. “Historically Clunes did have a sock manufacturer here and that history really struck a chord with me, the fact that it ties in with the history of Clunes.”

The Odd Sockery has now been bringing sock making back to Clunes since 2018, and to do so Leanne brought her own considerable background in textiles – and a vintage Gearheart Circular Sock Knitting Machine circa 1904.

“This is a circular sock knitting machine that I found on eBay. It had been in a museum home in America. It was in parts and when we brought it out we didn’t know if it was all there and we didn’t know if it was working. We took a punt.”

Fortunately, it was a punt that paid off and now, from this machine and other restored and newly built machines, Leanne designs and creates a wide range of socksall hand cranked and dyed.

They forge a link to the town’s rich history of sock manufacturing going back to 1939 when the Interknit Hosiery Company produced its first pair of socks in Clunes.

“I’ve been able to go on from there and develop into a whole array of experimentation. I’ve discovered the whole world of colour and my confidence has just burst through and I’m loving working with dyes,” Leanne says.

Visiting this rare little enterprise that has its main shopfront at BOOM Clunes in the town’s Fraser Street, is a sock fancier’s dream come true as the colours come in just about every hue imaginable, striped and solid, and the yarns used are a tactile treat.

To reel off a few options in The Odd Sockery range, there’s merino hand-dyed numbers, there’s the striped sock, the ribbed top shortie, the possum merino, the custom sock designed to meet individuals’ health, circulation and colour palette wants and needs.

There’s the art gallery collection, designed originally by Leanne in collaboration with the Art Gallery of Ballarat shop where they’re also stocked.

“They feature a loose rib top boot sock with contrasting cuff, heel and toes made using Nundle Woollen Mill's Australian merino yarn - which I just love - and Danish self striping yarns that are processed in Italy,” Leanne says.

She says The Odd Sockery socks are all finished using the famed “Kitchener stitch” so named after the British Secretary of State for War during WWI. “Commercial socks today have a ridge at the toe but the socks I make on this machine are the same as a hand knitted sock,” says Leanne.

“The Kitchener stitch is hand stitching when the sock is being finished and it was developed to help prevent trench foot in the war because a big threat to the army was trench foot which was exacerbated by ridging on socks causing irritation and infection.”

She says the ultra warm merino possum blend range is a recent addition and has “a lovely story” behind it.

“I’d been asked a few times about possum but I wasn’t sure about it. Then unsolicited, I had a local Aboriginal elder approach me and she took me aside and said I give you permission to bring back possum.

“The possum wool we use comes from New Zealand where the possum is an environmental pest. We don’t get any of it from here where it’s protected. They’ve set it up in New Zealand as a way of controlling its numbers. I’m just delighted with the whole story of these. I feel very privileged to have had the Aboriginal blessing.”

Another new development is the very recent introduction of The Odd Sockery’s Donegal tweed range which Leanne makes using tweed yarn imported especially from Donegal, Ireland. “It is the warmest sock – apart from the merino possum - that I’ve ever worn. These are a sock for those who are truly dedicated to warm feet. They’re more suited to being a dress sock and they also make wonderful bed socks.”

At this time of year Leanne is at full stretch meeting demand as many sock fanciers can’t wait to slip on a warming pair of The Odd Sockery’s lovingly hand cranked and hand dyed foot apparel. “I do have trouble keeping up because everyone wants them at the same time. It is slow fashion. Yes I am using technology, but it’s industrial revolution technology.”

While the manufacturing process may be retro, the Odd Sockery’s sales mechanisms are more up to the minute, and the Clunes-made socks are now finding their way all around Australia via The Odd Sockery’s online shop.

Leanne has even started a Facebook group – Circular Sock Knitting Machines and Knitters of AUS – for those keen to learn more about the rare old trade. It has over 500 members and quite a few also regularly get together in person in Bendigo.

Words and images: Eve Lamb

Landscape Prize

The Maldon Artist Network has partnered with EDGE galleries in Maldon to present the Maldon Landscape Prize for painting, drawing and mixed media. The $10,000 prize is sponsored by the HMR Foundation based in Italy. The prize encourages artists to personally interpret landscape. The theme, Essence of Place, invites artists to bring their skills - everything they know, observe, and apprehend, to create work for consideration that may be formal, technically balanced, out of order, maverick, wildly inventive, traditionally understood, arresting, composed, sublime, joyous, anguished, abstract or a combination of the above. All works will be submitted digitally online for initial judging by a panel of professionals and the finalists will be exhibited at EDGE galleries. Landscape painter Mary Tonkin will judge and award the prize.

Links: www.maldonartisnetwork.org.au or www.edgegalleries.com

Left, an example of Essence of Place, Geobloom No. 4 by Philip Hunter

"Philip Hunter was an original, unlike any other painter, in the way his draughtsmanship was in constant service to a symbolic and evocative vision of the country." (Peter Graven, Sydney Morning Herald, May 15, 2017).

As well as being a dedicated landscape painter Philip Hunter was an academic. Having graduated at Prahran College he later completed postgraduate studies at the Victorian College of the Arts. Philip first taught at Prahran and then became a legendary teacher in painting at the VCA.

Image reproduced with permission

WE OUR LOCALS

We are proud to offer you Green Hills Natural Beef and Lamb from our very own farm. It’s as local as you are. In store today.

3 KG FOR $99

Our premium Green Hills Natural Porterhouse is undoubtedly some of the best beef you can get your hands on. Comes as a whole piece or cut into individual steaks and vacuum sealed, this represents incredible value for money.

Recipes with Jen Clarke

Chicken and chickpea curry (serves 4)

A very simple and cheap 'n' cheerful winter warmer. This recipe can easily be halved, and it also freezes well.

4 small chicken thighs, chopped into thick chunks

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, sliced

2 teaspoon turmeric

2 teaspoon curry powder

1–3 tablespoon Thai red curry paste (depending on how hot you like it. I use Mae Ploy and 1 tablespoon is enough for me)

1 tin crushed tomatoes

1 400ml tin coconut milk

1 tablespoon fish sauce

2 teaspoon brown sugar

2 cans chick peas, drained and rinsed

2 handfuls of spinach leaves, roughly chopped

Chopped coriander, to serve

Preheat the oven to 180c.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saute pan that can go in the oven. If you haven’t got a pan that goes in the oven, you can use any frying pan and transfer the curry to an ovenproof dish before you put it in the oven.

Season the chicken thighs, add to the pan and cook for two minutes, flipping once. Remove to a plate. Add the onion and a pinch of salt to the pan and cook gently for about five minutes until the onion is soft and starting to brown on the edges.

Add the turmeric, curry powder and Thai red curry paste and stir for about a minute. Add tomatoes (half fill the tin with water and add to the pan) and stir in.

Add the coconut milk, fish sauce and brown sugar and stir to combine. Taste to see if it needs any salt, you can always add more at the end.

Add the chick peas and the chicken pieces and mix well. Bring to a simmer then transfer to the oven (or use an ovenproof dish) and cook for 30–40 minutes. Add the spinach and allow it to wilt into the sauce.

You can add some water if the sauce is very thick. Check for seasoning and sprinkle with coriander. Serve with rice.

Maldon

DAYLESFORD AND DISTRICT AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY

This year's Show Schedule is now being compiled and preparations for this year's show are well under way. Any member of the public, private individuals, families or businesses who would like to sponsor an event or a prize, pennant or rosette, and have that sponsorship acknowledged on the prize certificate and in the show schedule both in print and online should contact either the Society President Don Harvey on 0438 279 681 or Show Secretary John Nicholls on 0408 804 018. Prize sponsorships could be as small as $10 but a class aggregate rosette would require a sponsorship pledge of $25. Any sponsorships would be welcome as this year's show is the 149th annual event and we are looking forward tour 150th annual Daylesford Show next year. To browse possible events to support head to www.daylesfordshow.com for last year's Show Schedule.

La L

Presented by Maldon Ar tist Network and Edge Galleries

Judge Mar y Tonk in

Enter

First Prize of $10,000

People’s Online Choice $1000

Entries Close on 8 September, 2023. Submit online now maldonartistnetwork.org.au

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Thursday, Sunday, Monday | 5pm - 9pm

Friday and Saturday | 5pm - 10pm

Tuesday & Wednesday | CLOSED

5348 4123 | 24 Albert St Daylesford | pizzerialaluna.com.au

Bookings Essential - 03 5473 4021

Kyle’s Rant

IAM seriously concerned about the price of living and the potential recession we have on our hands, and I don’t get it.

I cast my mind back to the global financial crisis of 2007 where in America five trillion American dollars got written down and basically the American taxpayers bailed out the banks. The banks were lending too much money to what was essentially a high-risk mortgagee bracket.

The banks went on to take their bailout money, pay themselves bonuses and then go on to fight Congress, who wanted to break up the banks and reform the laws, with that bailout money. The banks won.

Of course, everybody around the world felt the pain, countries like Iceland went broke and people all over the globe did their arses in property price adjustments.

So, I understand why our Reserve Bank has had to tap the brakes through its lever of putting up interest rates, but for how long?

The problem for me is that I don’t understand how the RBA can have accurate data leading to decisions around the interest rates. Seven times in 2022 and four times – so far – in 2023, with the most recent increase being this month and the next hike looking likely for July.

The data that they are working from is at least three to five months old, without fuel, food and general cost of living having been accounted for in real time. Census for example, admittedly a lot more complicated and layered look at the population, actuates and then releases its data around 10 months after its initial capture.

So how can the RBA know that we haven’t collectively had enough interest pain? We all have blind faith in this force of bureaucracy that told us to borrow as much as we can as “the interest rates won’t shift until 2024”.

How do they know our pain and are they considering the cohort of honeymoon mortgages that are coming off their sub two per cent rates. These guys locked in a three-year fixed rate in mid to late 2020 when the real estate market was red hot. They are about to enter into the real world of six per cent plus rates!

My issue comes down to people in power at the helm of the economy, making huge impactful decisions on our lives and then getting driven back to their palatial mortgage-free homes in limousines paid for by the taxpayer.

Philip Lowe - governor of the RBA and his bunch of merry men/women/ they/them/people/folks - it’s hard to keep up the hotheadedness when trying to be politically correct).

But these privileged humans have virtually no accountability, they use old data as a barometer on the economy as well as revenue tracking by our largest companies, which sure as shit is not filtering down to the world of the average pleb.

Why don’t they rock up to The 5000 Club at Vic Park in Daylesford or any of our local foodbanks, charities and churches to get a measure of what is really going on?

I’ll tell you why, even if their cars could make it across our bush track underfunded excuses for roads without blowing a tyre or crashing into a lane-drifting, texting tourist.

It is because it is easier to look at the world through the 16th floor of 65 Martin Place, Sydney, backslapping and guffawing while weighing up old, outdated data and making considerations and deliberations over a long lunch and an eye-wateringly priced bottle of shiraz.

FFS RBA rant over…

Local Lines

Five Stars

There are times I'm asked to leave a review. Five empty stars sit on my screen. And almost always I give a full five Because otherwise I feel mean.

There's nothing wrong with saying ‘Good job’ to someone who's doing their best. And if they're doing subpar work, Maybe they're feeling stressed.

I know that it's not always amazing, the service that's been provided. But there's nothing wrong with living life so easily delighted!

And sure, this movie didn't change my life, and this book wasn't terribly great. But heart and soul went into it, so who am I to hate?

‘But the point of reviews is honesty!’ you feel the need to say. Well, honestly, I think my ratings could make somebody's day.

Sometimes I try to be a tough critic, and of five stars, give only three. But any flaws I see in something become so innocently human to me.

I'm not a god, I'm a simple gal. I'm just here to have a good time! I walk among other imperfect beings and imperfection isn't a crime.

So maybe it's true, I'm too easy to please, I give too many hoorays and huzzahs! But I've never looked at the night sky and thought there were too many stars.

- Minnie Zimmerman

Local Lines features poetry by locals about local and any other matters. Please submit poems to Bill Wootton at cottlesbreedge@gmail.com

Minnie is a 24-year-old writer who reads regularly at Chamber Poets in Woodend. In her spare time she reads, goes on her phone, and feels bad about not writing.

Pick me, pick me!

G’day. I’m Otis and I am a super handsome liver and white German Shorthaired Pointer.

I am just eight months old so my whole life awaits and I could use someone good to share it with. The folk here at the shelter in Castlemaine reckon I am “a beautiful natured puppy that requires ongoing training”. They also say that I am “full of energy and would suit an owner that has an active lifestyle”. I’d be a great walking or jogging companion. If you would like to meet up please get in touch with the Mt Alexander Animal Welfare shelter in Castlemaine on 5472 5277.

Microchip No 956000015783925

Link: www.maaw.org.au

(Pick me, pick me is run in memory of Rosie & Curly - we picked them.)

And proudly supported by Daylesford's

Just sayin’...

By Donna Kelly

IHAVE been thinking about two things this week. Yes, you know me, multi-tasking yet again.

The first was after chatting with Anneke Deutsch. Anneke received one of the King's Birthday honours, for her services to the community.

A proud lesbian herself, Anneke has spent many years working towards improving the lives of lesbians, especially older lesbians - along with a great career in prosthetics. She is very inspiring to talk to - kind of makes you wonder what you have been doing with your own life - but it was also quite confronting.

I think here in some areas of the Central Highlands we live in a bit of a bubble. Same-sex relationships are common and I think nothing of seeing two women or two men hugging it out in the street. Of course, being of my generation, if it gets too involved I think 'get a room!' but that's the same for hetero couples as well. There is only so much I want to see.

But Anneke reminded me that up until 2008 you could not put down your samesex partner's name on your superannuation form - and in the 70s and 80s a single woman needed a man as a guarantor on a mortgage. And as she said, that was unjust but doable if you had a father or brother who had not disowned you - because you happened to be born a lesbian.

Anyway, it is great that her work in this field - hopefully you have read the story on page 5 - has been recognised by such a mainstream award. I am sure King Charles would approve.

The other thing I have been thinking about is The Block. There are lots of rumours swirling, locally and in the metro media, that Scotty Cam and his crew are heading our way for the 2024 series of the housing renovation/building show.

From what I can gather, they are after 3/4 acre blocks ready and waiting for period homes to be moved onto them. And then you need room for lots of crew and cameras and building equipment and cranes etc. And fans.

So, for possible locations, I am thinking around the Smith Street development in Daylesford - very near Mitre 10, one of the show's main sponsors. Or there is apparently some land at the back of Hepburn, which is just down the road from the Mitre 10. Or, drumroll please, the back subdivision at Glenlyon, of one-acre blocks, where bitumen has only just been laid down for some of the back lanes and driveways. I mean, who lays down bitumen in winter and why would you change the lovely, gravel laneways into city streets - unless city folk were making their way here.

This year The Block is coming together at Hampton, as in Melbourne, not Little, but last year it was in Gisborne, the first time it had been held in a regional setting. It was awful - the winter weather was crap, the mud was metres deep and the landscaping looked like a nightmare.

I talked to some Gisbornians (is that right?) and they agreed it was awful - mainly because it took them so much longer to get to and fro from their home, just a few doors up, not only because of the works but the rubberneckers driving by to try and catch a glimpse of Scotty and his merry men and women. But, on the plus side, they said real estate prices had now gone up again.

Good or bad news? I don't know. If they do hold it here it will be a great tourism win for the region, which is always good. But it might mean an influx of new residents in a region already struggling to provide enough infrastructure for those who are already here, including older lesbians. We could try to have some input perhaps, but it might be already too late to down tools. Just sayin'...

Ageing DisGracefully members, including Max Primmer, get together at the Daylesford Mill Markets cafe on Thursdays at 11am. All welcome. For information email ageingdis3461@gmail. com, call 0427 131 249 or head to the Ageing DisGracefully Facebook page.

Ageing DisGracefully is an initiative of Hepburn House.

Here is the crossword solution for Edition 281. How did you go?

All words in the crossword appear somewhere in the same edition of The Local.

LET US HELP YOU MOVE TO YOUR HOME WITH OUR CARING FRIENDLY TEAM

No matter if you are moving to our region for the first time, moving to the big smoke or just moving down the road - we will take care of you and your prized possessions like it’s our own home we are moving.

Artists of the Central Highlands with

ARMED with a personal attitude that “life is too short” Karima Baadilla ditched professional accounting to pursue her passion for art, and swapped life in the inner city for a tree change at Clunes. She is now a multi-media artist whose prints create a narrative of everyday life, migrant identity and community that is fresh, vibrant and tends to bring instant cheer. Karima chatted with The Local's journalist Eve Lamb.

Eve: How long have you been in Clunes and where did you shift here from?

Karima: Hello, thanks for reaching out. We came from the inner west suburb of Footscray and this past April it’s been two years now. Time sure does flies.

Eve: What attracted you to Clunes?

Karima: We got to know Clunes because of (local real estate agent) Angela Flowers actually. She was such a personable lady and speaks highly of our town of Clunes. When we actually saw it, we knew exactly what she meant.

Eve: How do you describe your artistic style? And how did you come to art?

Karima: I guess I would call my artistic style fun and a little weird. Haha! I didn’t come to art the traditional way. I was a certified practicing accountant for about eight years before abandoning that. Long story, but basically life is too short not to do what you want.

Eve: I hear you are currently pursuing further studies at Bendigo...

Karima: I have always loved studying, it's an ongoing obsession of mine. Currently I am pursuing my honours year in Fine Art, studying is a great way to enrich your art practice and learning the context in which my work sits in a wider realm of visual art.

Eve: What goals do you hope to achieve through your art at this stage?

Karima: The honours year is a research-based degree, and I am working towards a mini thesis that scares the pants off me.

Eve: Which artists influence your work?

Karima: I love works by our First Nations' artists such as Emily Kame Kngwarreye and the works of Rosalie Gascoigne, the New Zealand-born Australian sculptor and assemblage artist.

Eve: What is your media of choice?

Karima: I am trained as a ceramic artist through RMIT, but my love is painting.

Eve: What do you find inspirational?

Karima: Persistence and generosity are what I find to be inspirational, and people around me give me that all the time. People like (Clunes Neighbourhood House manager) Lana de Kort, the way she gives to the community tirelessly, Marguerite Clancy who is a new(ish) friend of mine, who just finished her fourth(?) book and Christine Lethlean, another Clunes resident who curates amazing exhibitions through Textile Palette.

Eve Lamb

Eve: Do you work in any other area besides your arts practice?

Karima: I am a bit of a bowerbird, I jump around. I was working for Renew Australia as an arts administrator and curator for about four years before I moved to Clunes. Since then, I have dabbled with casual gigs - floristry, mural assistant, and teaching kids’ workshops.

Eve: Do you have any exhibitions or special arts events coming up that you would like to let others know about?

Karima: I am working to put more works through BOOM Clunes with other community artists. Keep an eye out for ‘Dogs of Clunes’ merchandise.

Image: Sophie Timothy