The Local Issue 207, November 23, 2020

November 23, 2020 Issue 207 ‘Ho Ho Ho!’...‘Woof!’

The Local - The Heart of the Highlands

2 About Us

www.tlnews.com.au

Front cover: Richard (aka Ritchie Rich or Naughty Noddy) Herr and his pooch Blosom are brightening up Christmas. Read all about what they are up to on page 10.

November 23, 2020 Issue 207 ‘Ho Ho Ho!’...‘Woof!’

The Local is a weekly community publication covering the Central Highlands. The next edition is out on Monday, November 30, 2020.

Or online on Sunday, November 29 at www.tlnews.com.au Space bookings: Wednesday, November 25 Copy deadline: Thursday, November 26 Editorial deadline: Thursday, November 26

Image: Chris Turner, Inkd Fotogrfa https://inkdfotogrfa.com/

Managing editor | Donna Kelly General manager | Kyle Barnes Sub-editors | Nick Bunning and Lindsay Smith Writers | Kevin Childs, Tony Sawrey, Jeff Glorfeld, Narelle Groenhout, Sandy Scheltema and Donna Kelly The Local - The Heart of the Highlands

Photographers | Kyle Barnes and David White The Local is a registered trademark of The Local Publishing Group Pty Ltd.

Graphic designer & HLH coordinator | Dianne Caithness

The Local is a member of the Victorian Country Press Association, with editor Donna Kelly, a director.

Contributors: Glen Heyne (gardening), Indre Kisonas (design), Glenn Robinson (cartoons) and Matthew Richardson (money) Accounts | Julie Hanson Delivery | Tony Sawrey

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.

5348 7883 or 0416 104 283 | news@tlnews.com.au or sales@tlnews.com.au See all our e-editions at www.tlnews.com.au

Local Lines Sky News, Sun News What news are you listening to?

Is it a disembodied voice bouncing fear and anger from a rusting satellite dish destined to join the cloud of space junk in the stratosphere?

Is it sky news or Murdoch’s sun that only shines on him?

Hubris to name them so, a small fox has more wisdom and beauty.

Today I fled ‘civilization’, racing through green fields lush from late spring rain, flooded rivers filling lakes where water birds nest, pelican and black swan, ibis and duck.

Flocks of swallows dart across blue skies and cockatoo in full yellow crest plays dare with a crow for seed.

At midday rain clouds gather leaving a rainbow in its wake.

Why are grey skies over green hills so beautiful?

Old homesteads and miner’s cottages with rose gardens and windbreaks of cypress, driveways lined with elegant poplars.

I feel my grandmother here, the scent of quinces and lemon, homes not painted fashionably black and land not for sale.

By evening I arrive at the coast where a heaving sea crashes against the cliffs in the sacred marriage of earth and water.

The sun finishes the symphony of colour turning the sky tangerine and pink and the ocean to mother of pearl.

Rays of light dazzle and blind as sun surrenders to the horizon.

A melting that reveals the moon and stars granting you the experience of infinity.

Now that is Sky News, that is Sun News.

Frances Guerin’s studio is located outside the spa town of Daylesford in the Wombat Forest. Her studio serves both her creative spirit and visitors who come for open studio visits, community exhibitions and meditation practice. Her background in philosophy and transpersonal psychology lends itself to deep enquiry into human consciousness which informs and generates her prolific art practice.

Poems for Local Lines come predominantly from a group of poets. However, other locals who would like a poem considered for publication can contact Bill Wootton - cottlesbreedge@gmail.com ADVERTISEMENT

Mary-Anne Thomas MP LABOR MEMBER FOR MACEDON

As your local Member of Parliament I am keen to hear from the community and assist with any State Government matter.

Mary-Anne Thomas

- Frances Guerin Shop 14, Nexus Centre, 9 Goode Street, Gisborne, VIC 3437 P: 5428 2138 E: mary-anne.thomas@parliament.vic.gov.au Authorised by MA Thomas, Shop 14, Nexus Centre, 9 Goode Street, Gisborne. Funded from Parliamentary budget.

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Our history 3

A bell helps give new life to a Blackwood

A

LINK with one of the world’s most famous bells has been found in the tiny town of Blackwood, a discovery that is now part of its renewal.

A bell found in the 130-year-old Uniting Church is from the same foundry that made London’s Big Ben. Dated 1854, the Blackwood bell has been silent for about 30 years. It carries the name of J.Warner & Sons, a firm that made over 2200 bells over its 135-year history until 1921.

There is unlikely to be any written history of these bells, however, for all records were destroyed by German bombing of London during the World War II. Two people who can scarcely contain their delight at the discovery are working on the restoration of the church, which will also become a community centre.

Restorer and acclaimed bluegrass musician Nick Dear and his offsider-cum-painter Brendan Hehir both remember their children ringing the bell at Sunday School about 30 years ago.

But it remained hidden until 63-year-old Brendan crawled up and filmed it with his phone. There’s no trapdoor so a hole was cut in the roof. “By the time I got down the ladder Nick had found that Warner’s foundry had started in 1790 and forged Big Ben.” The bell sits in a recess in the roof cavity and Nick reckons it has remained unseen over the 130 years. “We knew it was up there because a sash cord hung down, but it broke about 30 years ago.”

He began restoration work three years ago. “It’s become like the Sydney Opera House,” he says of progress, speculating that it could be finished by Christmas.

The former Methodist Church had to be restumped. The tea room, which had been added, was “on its way down the hill”, so it’s given way to a tiled bathroom, including access for people with a disability.

There’s double-glazing on windows that also cunningly tilt open to allow air flow.

Nick is making what look like remarkable doors, their panels from ancient submerged Tasmanian timber. The finished product will be of Tasmanian oak and Victorian ash.

The architraves have been made in Victorian style with two detailed panels, jokingly called frilly knickers.

Nick refashioned a couple of bed-ends for the finials, the decorative top-knobs.

There’s an eye on quality, he says, mentioning the new floorboards of Baltic pine, 100mm boards instead of the usual 140mm, and found at a company in Werribee.

Nick milled the joists and verandah timber.

He won’t disclose the cost (the budget is “slim”) but says the church is paying, with some help from Moorabool Shire.

When it’s finished the church will sit on a town square, which will run down to the nearby pub. There are plans for a rotunda for big shows and the square will be home to markets, fetes, art shows and music. When I mention this in the pub later, the delight is almost overwhelming.

For a town of 350-360, which doubles at weekends, this is shaping up like a real community hub, with talk of weddings at the church, which was first renovated by a working bee. The Uniting Church apparently used money from the sale of other disused churches to pay for some of the restoration.

Blackwood has something of a reputation as a home for a remarkable number of talented musicians, so Nick is clearly looking forward to some gigs. He tells of “shape note” singing, an old English style for those who can’t read music or even sing.

The conductor stands in the middle of the singers who are grouped in ranges. “It’s easy to follow, with shapes on the page instead of notes. Within minutes, you’re full tilt. You bellow it out. We’ll do it again.”

And for the musically minded, the bell’s note is F Sharp, although as Nick explains, back when it was made, this note was closest to G. And seeing he hasn't heard the bell ring in 30 years, he’s looking forward to that grand day.

Words: Kevin Childs | Images: Kyle Barnes & contributed Check out the YouTube video at www.tlnews.com.au

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Hepburn's new councillors 5

Council to provide for the needs of community

J

EN Bray is one of the two new councillors for Birch Ward and is well known in the Hepburn Shire for her extensive work on community issues. Her commitment to projects such as the Daylesford Skate Park, festivals, youth, and improving the schools, led to many people encouraging her to run as councillor in the recent elections.

Cr Bray is also one of the founders of the grass-roots movement Community Voice which she said aimed to shift the process of local government in Hepburn Shire towards participatory democracy by encouraging continual community participation.

“I’ve always been active in the community because it gives twice; it adds value to the community but it's also really rewarding for me personally. People have seen me stand up for the community and wanted me to advocate for them.

“My background is in performing arts, event management, running festivals and community events and teaching. I’ve worked at the Victorian College of the Arts and NICA (National Institute of Circus Arts). I grew up in the country, moved to the city to study and work, but came back to the country to raise a family. I’ve lived in Hepburn Shire for 20 years.

“I wanted to become a councillor because I wanted to change the dynamic between council and community. I see it as a collaboration. Council are there to provide for the needs of the community. The community can offer expertise and insights into making things work. Rather than it being an ‘us and them’ situation, I’m hoping we can change that to ‘we’.

“My number one goal is to find a way for council and community to work collaboratively on decision making. This is actually something that will be mandated by the new Local Government Act 2020. It may seem like participatory democracy is a grass-roots buzzword but in fact it's already written into the new legislation. It’s something council is required to implement. It’s exciting to be part of this process.

“Given that I want to listen to the community, my key goals will stem from what the community expresses. I’m also passionate about a rethink of our tips and how we can do waste management better: salvaging, recycling, organics. I want to keep on track with Hepburn Shire Council’s goal to reach net zero emissions by 2030.”

Cr Bray reflects on how the Hepburn Shire can move forward after the challenges of COVID-19.

“I want to ensure that a social housing policy is put into place as soon as possible.

We need to support the most vulnerable members of our community. I want to make sure that stays on the agenda.

“Council needs to reach out to those who that have been hardest hit by COVID-19; mental health and domestic violence have been exacerbated throughout the lockdowns. Council can play a role in linking people to relevant services. We need to support local and that includes business, agriculture, and the arts.

“We’re in a challenging time. But I have a lot of faith in the strength and creativity of this community. By harnessing that energy and working together I believe our shire will really grow and thrive.”

“I wanted to become a councillor because I wanted to change the dynamic between council and community. I see it as a collaboration.

Council are there to provide for the needs of the community.”

With six of the seven councillors recently elected to the Hepburn Shire being new to the game, a sense of optimism and hope exists for more positive interactions between community and council. This weekly series by Sandy Scheltema will explore the new councillors' hopes and wishes for the shire.

We’re upgrading the Ballarat Line As part of Victoria’s Big Build, the Ballarat Line Upgrade will deliver more frequent and reliable services for growing communities in Melbourne’s outer western suburbs, Bacchus Marsh, Ballan and Ballarat.

Better stations, more services and improved reliability We've built a new station at Cobblebank and upgraded Rockbank, Ballan, Bacchus Marsh and Wendouree stations.

Trains are using the 18km of track duplication between Melton and Deer Park West, helping boost reliability along the entire line.

Locals are already benefitting from two new peak services – one in the morning and one in the afternoon – between Melton and Southern Cross Station.

Following commissioning, critical safety testing and driver training, more services will be introduced for communities along the Ballarat Line. This will include more services during peak times and trains every 40 minutes during off-peak.

More benefits to come Major construction is now finished but there’s still work to be done to get the new track and signalling ready for more new services.

During the five-week disruption, track duplication will be completed between Bacchus Marsh Station and Maddingley and at two level crossings in Ballan.

These works will allow passengers to begin using the new platforms at Ballan, Bacchus Marsh and Wendouree stations.

They will also give trains more options to pass each other using the new tracks at these stations and new passing loops at Ballan and Millbrook.

Coaches replace trains From 28 December to 30 January on sections of the Ballarat, Ararat and Maryborough lines. There will also be local road closures with detours in place.

Benefits for the local economy The Ballarat Line Upgrade has created more than 400 jobs, with benefits for local businesses and suppliers.

The project’s investment in local economies has benefited more than 40 regional contractors and suppliers, including water carters, concrete manufacturers, fencing contractors and equipment rental companies.

Regional Rail Revival The Ballarat Line Upgrade is being delivered as part of the Regional Rail Revival program, which is upgrading every regional passenger rail line in Victoria and creating jobs and local supplier opportunities across the state.

Coronavirus and Victoria’s Big Build Works on the Ballarat Line are progressing with strict COVIDsafe Plans in place.

The health and safety of our workforce and community remains our top priority.

For more information and advice about the coronavirus (COVID-19), please visit coronavirus.vic.gov.au.

For more information, visit regionalrailrevival.vic.gov.au/ballarat or call 1800 105 105 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week).

Authorised by the Victorian Government, 1 Treasury Place, Melbourne

719

Find out if you’re affected at bigbuild.vic.gov.au

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Our singers 7

Woodend Warblers back to full rehearsals

B

ACK in April 2018 Andrew Price saw a post on the Woodend Community Ponderings Facebook page that piqued his interest. Someone had written: ‘Would like to organise a small singing group – any ponderers who would be interested in coordinating?’

Andrew had a lot of experience with choral singing and had been a member of the Men in Suits choir for many years where he also served as assistant musical director. So he decided to get in touch with Tricia Hartshorn, the person who put up the post.

It turned out Tricia and her friends had been out for a fairly big night and they all talked about how they would like to have a get-together and start having a sing. So she posted it up to Facebook when she got home but totally forgot about it.

She woke up the next morning to a raft of comments from people keen to join in.

“I put my hand up to coordinate," says Andrew, "and talked with Tricia about what I thought we could do. She said: ‘I thought we could get together for a bit of a group sing-along, nothing too serious and we definitely wouldn’t want to perform.’ I said: ‘Don’t make any firm decisions on any of that and we will see how we go’.”

Today the group is known as The Woodend Warblers. They are a community choir with no audition required and everybody welcome. Their first rehearsal attracted about 20 people and by the beginning of this year they were getting up to 40 people coming along. At this time last year they were at their busiest preparing for a number of Christmas engagements around the town including about four or five different carol services and singing in the streets during Thursday late night shopping.

“Obviously COVID had a massive impact on that. After singing in person became impossible mid-March we continued meeting via Zoom for four or five months,” Andrew said.

“Numbers did dwindle since it was a very different experience on Zoom. You don’t get to hear each other and in spite of our best efforts a few months ago we decided to put a pause on the Zoom singing until we were able to get back together face-to-face.”

In the past four weeks, with the loosening of restrictions, they have been meeting up again in small groups outdoors. Right now that is set at 10 singers plus a leader.

But as of November 23 group gatherings limits will increase to 50.

For the Warblers, this will mean the entire choir can come together again and they will be returning to a full rehearsal on November 25 - all socially distanced with hand sanitiser and other precautions. One of the members of the choir has even made special masks that have more room in them so that everyone can move their mouths and breathe easier while singing.

“We are planning to meet that Wednesday evening at the old Black Forest timber mill on Black Forest Drive because they have a large open covered area. The owners are keen to support community activities and we are massively grateful to them for making the space available to us.”

The Woodend Warblers began as an informal group singalong. Today they can again come together in four-part harmony, perform whenever they can and have a great time doing it.

“I’m overjoyed with the way the choir has progressed,” says Andrew, “and what it does, the purpose it serves for a lot of the members of the group is as an important social hub and creative outlet as well.”

Above, from left, Andrew Price, Arthur Hayes, Kelly Clune, Henry Roberts, Alex Murfett, Mike Moore, Andy Scicluna, Katie Street (front row), Rebecca Franke (middle row), Grant Thomas (behind Rebecca), Sandra Turnbull, Ray Tadd, Cleo Moore (front row), Kerry Backhouse (middle row), Brenda Secker, Marina Herriman, Liz Higgs, Janice Koop, Keran Barrett and Tricia Hartshorn (aka Dame Violet Crumble) Words: Tony Sawrey | Image: Supplied Listen to the Country Life podcast or see the YouTube video at www.tlnews.com.au

WE’RE BACK UP AND RUNNING!

A great pre-Christmas treat for all the family. A ride on the Victorian Goldfields Railway is the “must-do” experience for all visitors to the region over the holidays.

Bring your family and friends for a relaxed day out and help support the railway. We run on Sundays and selected Wednesdays, leaving Castlemaine at 11.30am with the return trip departing from Maldon at 2.45pm. *Online pre bookings are essential

8 Just briefly

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Land course Kindergarten

REGENERATIVE graziers Graeme Hand and Colin Seis will deliver a Regenerative Grazing short course this Friday, November 27, one of a number of sessions being held over Summer and Autumn.

Participants will need to establish a regenerative grazing trial on their property.

To register interest in the course, which is partly funded by the National Landcare Grant program, contact 5422 0333.

Small business

BUSINESS Victoria is offering a free Zoom workshop to help local small traders and small business owners who are finding it difficult to make ends meet due to COVID-19.

The two-hour workshop will cover home-based, hospitality and retail sectors and include topics on the benefits available, managing business loans, employee assistance, upskilling and tenancy rights.

The event will take place on Tuesday, 1 December from 6-8pm. Register: 5421 9654.

Blowhole

THE blowhole in Hepburn Regional Park has been re-opened following a $250,000 investment from the Victorian Government.

The blowhole has a new viewing area and visitor access trails.

The blowhole is an old goldminer’s tunnel that produces an impressive spout of water when the Sailors Creek water level is high. Set on the Goldfields Track, the visitor area was severely damaged during a rainfall and flooding event in 2016.

Following geotechnical assessments, site design and careful construction on the challenging terrain, the popular visitor site is once again open to the public.

A NEW kindergarten will be built at Kyneton Macedon State Labor MP Mary-Anne Thomas said the blowhole was a beautiful spot in the region where Primary School, boosting kinder capacity for the area and ensuring families will be able to ditch the history and nature combined.

"As we welcome visitors back to our region, I dreaded double-drop off. encourage people to head down and enjoy the brandThe new kinder will feature modern learning new visitor area and the surrounding trails.” facilities and outdoor play spaces – boosting kinder capacity for Kyneton and ensuring locals can access the best facilities.

The project will be delivered in partnership with the Victorian Government and the Macedon Ranges Shire Council and will be ready to open for Term 1, 2022 – in time for the roll-out of the Three-Year-Old Kinder in Macedon Ranges.

Work will be undertaken with the council, school community and other stakeholders to progress this project through planning, scoping, design, and construction phases.

EVERY TEST HELPS Every test helps us keep on top of this virus.

So even if your symptoms are mild, or you’ve been tested before, every test helps.

For testing locations visit CORONAVIRUS.vic.gov.au Authorised by the Victorian Government, 1 Treasury Place, Melbourne

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An Aussie in America

M

ELBOURNE is a great place for walking. One thing I loved about the tram network was how much exercise I got from walking all through the city.

Our US correspondent 9

The US Constitution has had 27 amendments, including the first 10, known collectively as the Bill of Rights.

The First Amendment deals with freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly and the right to petition the government.

The Sixth Amendment protects the right to a speedy public trial by jury, and the right to be represented by a lawyer.

These are some fine and important pieces of the American way of life.

And yet for many Americans, the only amendment of consequence is the second, which says: A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Over the years, the NRA has convinced its many millions of members and supporters that this right to “keep and bear arms” is absolute. Whenever there is a mass shooting, and some people question the need for unregulated access to weapons of war, politicians refuse to act for fear of angering NRA supporters.

The NRA has also convinced its members and supporters that the Democratic Party wants to impose harsh gun control laws, and take their guns. This might be an excellent idea but no American politician has ever advanced such a policy.

I’ve been asked several times by Australian friends, how did Trump manage to win so many votes? Well, for many millions of Americans, nothing Trump says or does has any impact; all that matters is their belief that he won’t come for their guns.

Bloody hell. And they say Aussies are a weird mob.

One day I was walking in North Melbourne, near the Queen Vic Market, when I noticed a gun shop.

Now, in the town where I grew up, in northern California, there was a bottle shop - what we call a liquor store - in which, when I was a young man, we could buy beer, wine, spirits, and handguns and ammunition.

Also, my grandfather kept rifles and shotguns in a rack, hanging on a wall, in his home. No locks, no restraints. Plus, my father kept a Words: Jeff Glorfeld .45-calibre pistol and a few boxes of ammo in a drawer in his bedroom, under a stack of T-shirts. He’d brought the gun home with him from the Korean War. (Jeff, a former editor at The Age and writer for The Local, lived in Wheatsheaf for a Us kids could use these guns, but we’d been taught to ask permission before we long time with his wife Carol before moving back to America.) took them out target shooting.

I later became friends with a guy who was a Vietnam War veteran who had an M-16 automatic rifle like the one he’d carried in the Army, and we used to go out and shoot it.

I also had a friend, a guy I’d grown up with, who was a fan of the Dirty Harry movies; such a big fan, he bought himself a .44 magnum revolver just like the one Harry used (“The most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off.”), and we shot that too.

Yes, I am comfortable being around guns. So when I saw this gun shop in downtown Melbourne, I was curious and decided to go inside.

The shop door was locked, however. I had to press a button so someone inside could buzz me in. Once inside, I saw rifles and shotguns displayed in securely locked racks along the walls.

I asked if I could look at an Italian-made Benelli shotgun, which had a beautiful hardwood stock and grip and lovely engraved receiver - easily a $4000 gun.

The sales clerk asked to see my gun owner licence. I don’t have one, I told him.

Well then, he replied, you can’t touch the guns.

I was surprised, but not upset. I lived in St Kilda, worked at The Age in the heart of Melbourne, and had no use for a gun. I admired them for their craftsmanship, but had no need to own one.

Several years later, now a resident and owner of some Wombat Forest property, near Daylesford, I decided I might like to own a gun, and began the process of obtaining a licence. Bear in mind, this is to own a “long-arm”, not a handgun.

First, I had to demonstrate a need for owning a gun. I could claim that as a land owner I wanted to shoot varmints, aka rabbits. We didn’t have a rabbit problem, so my next route was to join a shooters’ club. I did this by subscribing to a club magazine; later, I thought, I might apply to join the shooting club at the Glenlyon Recration Reserve.

Next, I attended a firearms safety course in Ballarat, which included a thorough briefing by a law enforcement officer, who described how extraordinarily thorough and careful gun owners in Victoria need to be when it comes to storing their firearms and ammunition.

Finally, I had to supply two pieces of identification, and a reference from “an acceptable referee who has known you for at least 12 months and is not related to you by either birth or marriage”.

For my referee I used our friendly local dentist, who also owned a winery in Glenlyon.

I sent everything to the authorities and some weeks later received a letter in the mail, which politely explained that I had neglected to have one of my documents initialled by my referee, and if I would rectify this shortcoming, I could receive my licence. At this point, after all the hassles, I decided I didn’t want to buy a gun. I let the application lapse.

OK, here’s the point. In the US, the National Rifle Association claims to have 5 million members and bills itself as “proud defenders of history's patriots and diligent protectors of the Second Amendment”.

10 Christmas

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At last, the most wonderful time of the year

B

ACK in 2019, Richard (aka Ritchie Rich or Naughty Noddy) Herr and his pooch Blosom decided that Daylesford's Howe Street needed a lift. So Ritchie commissioned “Santa’s Tailor” in Texas, USA for a bespoke Santa suit.

Santa’s Tailor is one of the leading designers of Santa suits in the United States having created suits for film, television and stage. The suits take 18 months to make with many video calls and online fitting sessions - way before Zoom and COVID. Then, when COVID hit in March and Myer initially announced it was cancelling its Christmas windows, Ritchie and Blosom decided that they would set up a real Santa Wonderland in Daylesford and spread cheer not just in the Howe Street Village but the whole region.

Ritchie's House of Curiosity and Ruby Slippers, at 20 Howe Street, would become a Snow Dome Santa Wonderland with hundreds of vintage and pre-loved snow domes for admiring and sale. And from December 1 there will be a Santa Letterbox out the front for children to drop off their letters to Santa. If self-addressed, stamped envelopes are included the children will also hear back from Santa.

Then, from Monday, December 14, Santa will be at the shop from 3pm-5pm every day for children and parents to visit. During December, Santa will also be visiting schools and nursing homes, and he is also available for corporate and private functions.

On Christmas Eve at 5pm Santa, accompanied by Tom Shaw riding his horse Maverick, will take to the streets starting in Howe Street at House of Curiosity/Ruby Slippers. They will then head down to Vincent Street, stopping at Winespeake, Biggin & Scott and Koukla/Frangos before heading up to the fabulous Christmas lights display always on show in West Street (near corner of Raglan Street) before heading back to the North Pole.

Santa and Blosom can be contacted on 0428 327 198 or 5348 1441 for bookings.

Not just chats with Santa...he is too busy getting ready for Christmas Eve and his world trip. Not even COVID restrictions can stop Santa and his reindeers.

Pictured right, Santa with Chantel Leaver of Leaver's Hotel, Creswick Image: Chris Turner, Inkd Fotogrfa https://inkdfotogrfa.com/

YOU’RE MORE SUITED THAN YOU MIGHT THINK NOW RECRUITING FOR OVER 3000 POLICE POLICE CAREERS

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Our producers 11

Home grown and hand made at Trentham

I

RENE and Andrew Brooks have been at their Trentham East/North Blackwood property for 12 years. In that time they have turned a hectare over to a diversified cultivation of fruit trees and market gardens.

Like other growers around the area they frequented the local farmers markets to sell their produce including Lancefield, Woodend and Malmsbury. Come 2020 everyone knows what happened. The pandemic took hold and public gatherings such as markets were one of the first areas of the regional economy to be restricted and shut down.

“When COVID-19 started to look really concerning and serious back in March,” recalls Irene, “none of us knew what an earth it was going to be all about and where that journey was going to go.

“The word around was older people were more vulnerable and my husband and I are both in our 60s. I said to him I just wasn’t comfortable going anymore, so we basically stopped all farmers market activity at that point.”

But they realised, as the weeks of shutdown turned into months, that just because the markets had been closed, that didn’t mean the garden would stop producing.

They pondered on what they might be able to do to get the produce they had to customers. Then they had the idea to reopen their business at their farm under the name of Home Grown & Hand Made. They returned to trading in November and the results have been very encouraging. Love it or hate it, Irene is the first to acknowledge that Facebook has been instrumental in helping the Brooks set up anew.

“I was a person who avoided any involvement with Facebook since its inception but I realised that I would probably find it most useful for the transition and getting the word out to potential customers. So I enrolled for Facebook and have been training myself to use it as a way of letting people know.”

At Home Grown & Hand Made the ethos of the property is: If we don’t grow it, make it, or create it here then we don’t sell it. The range of produce available unfolds with the seasons and currently some of the food they offer is asparagus, rhubarb, apples, cherries, blueberries and raspberries.

They also grow saffron and have fresh cut flowers when available including peonies, liliums and David Austin roses. Next they have a range of what Irene describes as pantry items and shelf staples all ready for Christmas. These include roasted cherry jam with brandy, lemon and lime marmalade and tomato and saffron relish.

“There are a lot of new people coming to us, many from the local community and even from Melbourne and overall feedback has been excellent. It has been great to re-engage with stall trading after a six-month layoff. But I think selling from home is definitely the way forward for us.”

Restrictions are now easing and farmers markets are coming back again. Many traders will return to their old ways of doing business, but not the Brooks. At their farm everything is on hand, if they need something they can go get it. They will not miss the demands of market days; the travel, the early starts and all the arrangements that have to be in place the day before.

Still, that does not mean there is less work to do.

“Maintaining productive gardens takes lots of maintenance,” says Irene, “pruning, plantings, general weeding, mulching, feeding and all those things. But I truly love doing it and it is a major creative outlet. Others may play an instrument or do art, but this is how I express my creativity.”

Words: Tony Sawrey | Image: Kyle Barnes Listen to the Country Life podcast at www.tlnews.com.au

“There are a lot of new people coming to us, many from the local community and even from Melbourne and overall feedback has been excellent. It has been great to re-engage with stall trading after a six-month layoff.”

www.tlnews.com.au Head to The Local's website for video & Country Life podcasts: Tony Sawrey with the Woodend Warblers' Andrew Price; and Nick Dear and Brendan Hehir on Blackwood's famous bell.

And hear the Country Life podcasts: Narelle Groenhout with Madeleine from 3bears farm; Donna Kelly with Trentham's Peter Young; and Tony Sawrey with Irene Brooks of Home Grown & Hand Made.

12 Happy & Healthy

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Cambodian organisation reaching out

F

OR Side-by-Side Riders, men and women who were scheduled to cycle 650 kilometres through Cambodia fundraising for REACH, a Siem Reap-based non-government organisation, the global pandemic has been a unique obstacle in 2020.

It quashed this year’s event and shuttered the community centre and REACH school managed to only briefly open in March. But it’s something they’re determined to cycle, run, walk, even swim around in 2021. Its students will be cycling 200kms and looking for support.

“We’ve had to think outside of the box,” says John Ioannou, director of REACH’s Australian fundraising arm behind the Side-by-Side name. “With Cambodian borders shut we had to brainstorm novel ways to raise funds while burning kilos.”

From January 1, active Side-by-Side participants will have 17 days to travel 200 kilometres by any non-assisted means in their local surrounds, sponsored by friends, family and fellow competitors for a fundraising target of $500.

Such money has never been more vital, with 80 per cent of REACH’s 100 impoverished families without income since tourism ceased, according to its Australian founder, Trentham's Emily Williamson, pictured. “We’ve provided crisis food security, outreach and medical and emergency support to keep these families from starvation,” says Emily. “But borders are still closed and there are no volunteers or visitors onsite. Funds are drying up.”

With stress and domestic violence exacerbated by the pandemic, Emily is hoping the ride will provide hope and distraction for families, particularly local at-risk teens sponsored to make the 200 kilometre journey over two days themselves.

“A lot of training is involved in such a venture, which benefits self-esteem as much as fitness,” says Emily. “We love the idea of our supporters not only committing to a challenge, but bringing members of our community in with them.

Virtual, but still side-by-side.”

Link: www.ridetoreach.org

Words & image: Contributed The Companion Group

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Pandemic book project House sales record time

T

HE four of us sat at the big table, Jude and Millie on one side and Maggie and I on the other. The table is situated under the carport converted into a pleasant garden room and the perfect place to review and edit Millie’s most excellent poem.

Jude and Millie had been the organisers of the U3A Writing Group up until the first pandemic lockdown forced us all into isolation.

It was decided to continue the Writing Group via fortnightly Zoom meetings. At that point they decided to step out of the lead role of the group to concentrate on the singing group, the Warbling Wombats. Jude didn’t think she had the technical ability to run Zoom meetings and handed the organiser role to me.

Though the Zoom meetings were attended by a small proportion of the membership they became an excellent platform for developing new ideas. It was Maggie who came up with the concept of a written record of the effects of the restrictions and lockdowns on the members of the Writing Group. The idea was greeted with some degree of enthusiasm by the members and we decided to go ahead.

It wasn’t intended to be an accurate historical record but rather how it made members feel.

Were they happy, sad, inspired, discouraged, lonely, did they have nothing to do or did they have plenty to do? Other suggestions included the effects on family, grandchildren, work, play, shopping, walking, entertainment, hobbies, projects and, of course, writing. The pieces could be fact, fiction or fantasy, poems and stories. Anything from a paragraph to several pages would be allowable.

We decided to give the final book compilation a catchy title. After brainstorming several ideas we settled on Face Masks and Sanitiser with a sub-title of Thoughts in Pandemic Lockdown by Daylesford writers. We still need contributions to fill out the book to make it a more substantial creative work. I therefore invite members of the U3A Writing Group, other members of U3A and members of the wider community to write a short piece and send it to me for inclusion in the book.

All contributors will be acknowledged, however their works can remain anonymous if they wish. Email contributions to knighttime.drafting@bigpond.com

Words: Gordon Nightingale Top, Gordon and Maggie Nightingale (contributed) Below, Millie Gouldthorpe and Jude Brown (Kyle Barnes)

T

HE latest Days on Market data for October 2020 from the Real Estate Institute of Victoria revealed that the average Victorian home is spending just 33 days on the market before being sold, the lowest recorded since 2009.

REIV president Leah Calnan said the Victorian real estate market was starting to shine post COVID-19 restrictions with homes across the state taking less time to sell.

Calculated as a rolling monthly average for properties sold by private treaty, Days on Market data is a metric that reflects the level of buyer interest in the market.

The October 2020 results show a market picking up strongly after recording a sluggish 71 days on market in September, coming back stronger even when compared to the 40 days it took to sell in October 2019.

Homes in metropolitan Melbourne are purchased within just 25 days on average, much quicker than the 74 days it took to sell in September 2020, and even less than the 34 days it took this time last year.

In regional Victoria it now takes a home 43 days to sell, down from 56 days in September 2020 and 55 days in October 2019.

Montrose in Melbourne’s East is the fastest area in the state to sell a house with homes being sold in just 14 days, down from 17 days last year.

Eastwood near Bairnsdale is the quickest place to sell a home in regional Victoria, taking only 23 days from listing, down from 64 days last year.

Ms Calnan said Victorian real estate agents were enthusiastically servicing buyers returning to the market.

“With homes in Victoria taking less time to sell, optimism is returning to the Victorian Real Estate Market. Days on Market is a strong indicator of buyers' desire.

Competition between buyers is heating up, and people aren’t waiting to purchase the property they want.

“Low Days on Market data is very encouraging as we are coming out of COVID-19 restrictions. While others have been predicting a big fall in Victoria’s property market, the REIV has consistently reported accurate, objective statistics that show the underlying strength of our property market.”

Your say...

A

S AN outgoing councillor and mayor, I want to take this opportunity to thank all those who supported my candidature and efforts during a very challenging 2020.

While I was defeated in the recent election, I believe I can be proud of completing several projects that have in the past been subject to dreadful division in the community and consequently, were left to wither.

Progress on the construction of a new Trentham Community Hub and refurbishment of the Mechanics Hall has been completed with terrific involvement from the whole community and the two Trentham Sports Ground strategic plans and improvement program is also now finalised, again after community input and involvement with key stakeholders. The childcare centre in Trentham is now complete. This important project had lapsed due to a number of reasons. Our streetscape works in this town are now well under way.

I have to take issue with the nascent political movement called Community Voice. The behaviour of some individuals on social media has been reprehensible by any standards and went far beyond fair political activities and debate or comment.

On November 12 I received an apology from this organisation which reads: "In relation to recent comments made on the Community Voice Facebook page that have expressed strong opinions of the former Hepburn Shire mayor Licia Kokocinski, Community Voice sincerely apologies to Ms Kokocinski for any offence caused and reminds its members the posts must be kind and courteous with no hate speech, bullying as per our group rules. ...The views expressed in the post do not represent the views of the Community Voice organisation or the CV Facebook admin and CV apologises to her for any offence and any upset that may have been caused by the post."

I did ask CV to write to the local papers with this apology because one particular post (and similar others) were denigrating to me personally and made a serious imputation and clearly, they did not have the courage to send this to the local papers, so I am doing this instead.

- Licia Kokocinski, Trentham

Letters to the editor are always welcome. Keep them shortish and to the point. Any addressed Dear Sir will be deleted. Email news@tlnews.com.au

www.tlnews.com.au

Our pioneers 15

Ray Spencer - Creswick’s own forestry pioneer

D

R RAY Spencer has worn many hats over the years. A Creswick local, he travelled the world as a forestry and urban planning professional with his young family and later as an internationally renowned forest industry expert.

He is a highly regarded forestry academic, has created policies that still guide Victoria’s land management frameworks today and has taught hundreds of Australia’s professional foresters.

Often, when driving through the region he reminisces about the local forests of years gone by and gets concerned with the current state of our forests. But that’s a story for another day.

Ray’s work history is as extensive as it is impressive but behind these achievements is a husband and father of three sons whose greatest honour was the opportunities he was afforded as a young forestry student at the then Victorian School of Forestry in Creswick.

Creswick owes much of its beautiful forested setting to the early pioneering foresters. In 1872 close to 6000 hectares of land was reserved for Ballarat and Creswick State Forests by the legendary John La Gerche who became Victoria’s first forester.

Fast forward 81 years and a young man born in Ararat with a curious mind and a love for the natural environment started at the Victorian School of Forestry in Creswick.

“I was always interested in agricultural science and also thought about becoming a commercial artist. But I was lucky to be accepted into the forestry school given it was extremely competitive - only 12 intakes each year,” he said.

“The first year was very science- and academic-based and in the second and third years there was a lot of practical work. We wore our green forestry school blazers with pride. We had our own football team and because of the school I was able to meet my wife,” he said.

It turns out that Ray had arranged for a group of students to attend Ballarat to give blood and a young medical scientist from Newlyn was on duty. A few weeks later they attended a ball (Barbara can still recall the aqua organza dress she wore) and the following day Barbara attended her first footy match to watch Ray. It wasn’t long after they married that their life became one of regularly relocating for forestry postings to places many of their friends had never heard of.

Because of Ray’s excellent results at the forestry school, (Dux 2nd and 3rd years) doors started to open.

Ray’s ability to make things happen had him earmarked for promotion. He worked for the Forests Commission Victoria as an inventory and remote sensing specialist before a senior planning role with the fledgling Westernport Bay Environmental Study and then assistant director with the Town and Country Planning Board.

Ray said the experience he gained outside forestry taught him how to navigate the political nature of authorities and competing interests which he later applied as a Principal Research Scientist working on National Forest Policy in Canberra.

He was instrumental in developing the concepts and methods of supplementary aerial photography in light aircraft for monitoring and mapping forest changes including fires. Ray continues to be internationally recognised for his work in this area.

Ray completed his Honours Degree at Melbourne University in 1967 where the top students from Creswick were sent. A Masters degree followed, then a Masters in Regional and Urban Planning in England and in 1997 he was awarded a rare Doctor of Forest Science. In 1980 Ray became a senior lecturer at The University of Melbourne.

“At that time there were only two nationally-accredited forestry schools. The program highlighted the important roles of science and judgment in natural resources management. Those who choose a path in forestry are true environmentalists, despite rhetoric to the contrary.”

While his career path has seen him work and study in Europe, the United States and Canada and he has spent the best part of 30 years travelling the world as a forestry expert, Ray and Barbara have always called the Central Highlands home.

“I’m so proud of what I did over the years and I couldn’t have done any of it without Barbara by my side.”

With a career rich in opportunities and recognition, many would describe Ray as a true local living treasure.

And a little extra…Ray’s youngest son Lachlan followed in his father’s footsteps inspired by the work of his father and a love for the environment and people. Lachlan has a passion for forestry and has forged his own reputation as a senior leader in Australia’s forestry and forest product sector.

Above, Ray with pooch, Bam Below, Ray in the Australian bush in the 1990s Images: Contributed Words: Narelle Groenhout

House.Land.Home.

Herbs - the garden's all-rounders

The pleasure of stepping out of the kitchen door to gather a handful of fresh herbs to flavour a favourite dish should not be missed by any gardener or home chef.

Herb growing can be as simple as a few pots of mint or parsley on the kitchen doorstep, or as complete as making a traditional formal herb bed the garden centrepiece.

Not all garden herbs are useful just in cooking, many are grown for their medicinal value, others used in cosmetics. Sometimes their uses overlap. For example, savory, a popular culinary herb, may be classed as a medicinal one if its value as an aid to indigestion is considered. Fennel is also culinary when used to flavour fish, but cosmetic when used to rid the face of wrinkles.

Some herbs may be classed as vegetables if grown in the kitchen garden - horseradish, tree onion and garlic are but three examples and not all are lowgrowing perennials, like the poetic parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. Elder is a tree, sweetbriar a prickly bush and bergamot a hardy, colourful perennial shrub.

Herbs differ from vegetables in that vegetables are a main course component, whilst herbs provide added flavour to the whole meal. Although many are attractive flowering plants, they are distinct from the plants grown solely for their beauty, having other uses when fresh or stored and dried.

Herbs cut and dried should be allowed to flower first. Once flowering is completed, pick and tie the stems in small bundles and hang them upside down in a garage or cellar until they have completely dried. Store them in sealed jars until needed.

Some herbs, mostly the annuals and biennials, are propagated from seed.

Fortunately they generally self-sow, providing an almost permanent supply. Others are easily grown from cuttings but mostly they grow from root divisions of the older plants.

Almost all herbs do best in a sunny, but sheltered, position in well-drained and well-composted soil, whether it be in a large pot or garden bed. But before you even start gathering plants for your herb garden be sure to work up the bed, digging in plenty of well-rotted animal manure, compost or leaf mould. If the soil is poorly drained you would do well to raise the level of the bed by surrounding it with a course of bricks, stone or timber. Or, if you really mean business, this would be a good opportunity to build yourself a ‘wick garden’ as in my column in Issue no. 190.

Herbs vary considerably in height so check on how tall they will grow when you obtain them so you can be sure to place the smallest at the front. You can assess the number of plants for your bed by allowing an average space of about 50x50cm for each plant.

But do make sure that the regularly used gourmet group - parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme etc., are located no more than a few steps from the kitchen door.

You should also consider some of these linking plants as well.

Aloysia citrodora - the lemon-scented verbena, a large shrub with strongly scented leaves that, when infused in boiling water makes a delicious and mildy sedative tea.

The dried leaves are useful for hanging in wardrobes to keep the clothes smelling sweetly.

Calendula - the marigold used by herbalists to bring out the spots in measles and chicken pox. The flowers, when rubbed on the skin, will ease the itching of a bee or wasp sting.

Carnations - carnation flowers can be steeped in water and refined to make a cordial syrup.

Solidago odorata - the golden rod. A tall growing perennial, bordering plant, known in North America as the source of Blue Mountain tea, an aromatic digestive tea.

Got a gardening query? Email glenzgarden@gmail.com

Bells Water Gardens @ Newlyn

Bells Water Gardens has been in the water garden business for over 25 years, building and maintaining ponds and growing a diverse range of aquatic plants for the nursery trade and public.

We are passionate about building natural eco-system ponds, adding beauty and encouraging wildlife, allowing interaction with nature. Water gardens built by us are quiet, contemplative places to rest and energise the senses.

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18 Crossword

W RD

CROSS

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LAND CAPABILITY ASSESSMENT

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Design

with Indre Kisonas

Tiles, paint and art

Have a guess at the quick DIY home pick-me-up that is trending at the moment. If your bathroom, laundry or splashback requires a facelift, what would you do? Paint the tiles of course. Yep, DIY painted tiles is the trend.

The trick to being successful is all in the preparation.

You don’t want to rush this bit because like any paint job, it’s mostly prep that will see the paint sticking and staying. We want to avoid those chips and peeling paint bits.

That just makes for a bigger headache.

Clean the area thoroughly, kill any mould, sand the surface to benefit the adherence of the paint, use a primer and an epoxy or special tile paint. Voila. New room.

Who would paint their tiles, you ask? It is perfect for those who have tight budgets and are time-poor. If you have the renovator's delight and are putting up with the gross bathroom and kitchen until you can get the reno, paint it. Re-tiling a space can be a big inconvenience to the family still living in the home. It takes weeks to do, not counting the hours spent researching and deciding on your tile and colour choices. Usually you pay a professional to do a great job, but you can be waiting weeks or even months for them to be free. It all costs good money and takes much planning time.

On the other hand, provided you have a weekend free and lots of energy, you can achieve amazing changes. Perhaps you want a mosaic splashback? There are stencils to help you achieve this. Fancy a tessellated bathroom floor? Stencil it. How about a coloured feature shower wall? Easy. Get artistic and create your own tile designs. How satisfying would it be to wake up to your very own splashback whilst cleaning your teeth every morning?

Hand painting ceramic tiles were the original way tiles got painted. It was at the beginning of the Bronze Age when glazed pottery was produced in Mesopotamia.

Clay mixed with water and heated produced pottery. Ceramics at this time were either monochrome or decorated by painting simple linear or geometric motifs. It all became a lot more complicated later on.

I must confess I have not personally painted tiles. I have painted kitchen cupboards however. Using the same good prep for the cupboard doors as for the Image: Hand made and hand painted tiles by Joanna Davies proposed tiles, I had great success in freshening up the old kitchen. @jo.davies.artforall I would love to hear stories from people who have painted tiles. If enough people have tried painting tiles, the stories could make up the next TL Design article for all to share. In fact, I would love to hear any funny renovating stories and mishaps. There could be a book in it.

Indre Kisonas - owner and principal designer - iok design indre@iokdesign.com.au | www.iokdesign.com.au

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Design 19

20 Opinion

www.tlnews.com.au

Just sayin’...

Pick me, pick me

By Donna Kelly

I

AM not a shopper. I know some people get a real thrill out of shopping but not me. I think I did enjoy it when I was younger, especially when we bought our first house, but after a house fire I realised possessions were not as precious as living things, like our dogs, which we managed to save.

Along with ourselves.

Nothing deep here, I just realised I had a lot of plates and cups and pictures that didn't really spark joy, as Marie Kondo would say. Mind you, having lived in Japan, I didn't really see any houses or underwear drawers that would conform to Ms Kondo's ideals. Most houses had stuff everywhere and the kitchens were overflowing with not only crockery and cutlery but also benchtop devices like rice cookers, hot water urns and mini-grills. And when meals were served, the devices were pretty much carried out and placed on the tatami floor by the dining table, which was also on the floor, literally. Maybe that is why Spark Joy took off. Perhaps the Japanese were like us and just wanted to fold their way out of the junk.

Anyway, despite my indifferent attitude to shopping, during lockdown, I did venture online. And Click & Collect. That has produced some odd results. The former has seen earrings smaller than a one-cent coin (does anyone remember those?) in a box that could have accommodated a case of wine. Lots of plastic wrap. There was no way those little buggers were going to be damaged. (I don't really like them now although they were only $6. I should have stuck to wine.)

Then there was a shirt that was the wrong size but when I tried to return it I had to pay $13 postage even though the promise was free returns even for a change of mind. I also have four pairs of track pants, despite ordering only two. I would return two of them, but, you know, the $13 thing.

Then at Click & Collect the wrong coloured hair dye which I used one night when I was bored, going from bottle blonde to a shit brown. Made my face even paler and too many people, even though I was masked up, ask: "Are you OK?" Never ideal to look sick during a pandemic. We also have some jars of strange jams we will never eat, threw out too many packets of smallgoods and wilted vegetables which were on their use-by date as they were loaded into the car and puzzled over who exactly had ordered the kitty litter. We don't have a cat. (Talking of litter, ask me about the Clunes Bowls Club one day...)

Anyway, as we hit 22 days of double zeros today as I write, I am back off shopping by remote and more into going into stores and choosing what I want. I just did exactly that with some nice sparkly masks from That Bargain Place in Daylesford.

And now I hear from Sunday night, masks will no longer play a big part in our lives.

Hmmm. Shopping, just not my thing. Just sayin'...

'

Kitten season is here and is a very busy time for animal shelters. Demand for kittens is always high, and turnover fast. Elmo, pictured, and his two brothers were all quickly adopted this week. If you are wanting a kitten (or indeed any kind of pet) call the shelter and ask to fill in a Pet Adoption Survey Form. When a pet comes along who may be your perfect match, you will get a call from us. It might be your potential new BFF!

Mount Alexander Animal Welfare is in Castlemaine. Call 5472 5277 to make an appointment.

(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)

www.tlnews.com.au

Opinion 21

Kyle’s Rant

I

T APPEARS that we are on the precipice of a new age, there has been a sort of a seismic celestial shift with Trump certainly on his way out of office. Although getting him out of the big white shed is like wrestling a possum out of a tree, as he tries to grab on to all the branches on the way out.

The other shift in the cosmos is the discovery of myriad vaccines coming on the market with bigger than expected success rates across the whole population, which I think is pretty exciting stuff. But I do wonder about how to convert a vaccine into being vaccinated. It seems there may be a long road to hoe with around 7.8 billion arms to inject around the world.

Speaking of body parts, I took a trip to Myer in Ballarat with my dearest, as she was on the hunt for another piece of apparel to fancy up her iso tracky-dack look. I go along on these excursions now and then, to see what all the retail hoo-ha is about.

For those of you not familiar with this building, it's on Sturt Street and is probably about as old, but in pretty good nick. A genuine 1960’s department store with lifts that take twice as long to get to the next floor as taking the stairs. I’m sure if you looked around you would see the remnants of those old sucker tubes that used to relieve the tellers of their cash and suck it straight into the strongroom for counting.

But back to my shopping experience. I needed to visit the gentleman’s toilets and asked for their whereabouts. I was directed to the first floor behind the women’s intimate section. I thought I had heard the last part wrong so I began my journey up the sweeping staircase and on to floor one, where I asked for further instructions.

I was directed to the far wall and as the layers of pink, purple and black started to come into view, yes, I was headed for the lingerie section. I got to the outer zone and slowed my walking from a canter to a granny step, my shoulders hunched while looking around to see how if anyone was staring. Couldn’t they have put the facility near a blokey place? Not that I don’t like a bit of ladies' undie action, I just don’t know whether to declare my interest or pretend not to notice the froth and bubble.

But there I was longingly looking at my toilet target some 20 metres away through the undergrowth of unmentionables and, with a deep breath, I started my journey towards the oasis of relief. I was struck with the kaleidoscope of colour, texture and netting but finally made it to my destination, a genuine 1960s washroom.

A few minutes later, with real relief, I started my trek back to freedom and finally emerged as if I had been hacking my way through the forest, carving a track to where no man had gone before.

Labyrinth of lingerie rant over…

(Ed's note: I am not the one who left with an Akubra...)

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7 acres of well organised, easy to navigate, recycled goodness in the heart of castlemaine.

Salvage Yard

Structural timbers, hundreds of doors and windows, landscaping timbers, ex-commercial double glazed glass, steel, masonry and found objects... right down to hard to find hardware and homewares!

Now also supplying a range of small production, sustainably sourced new timbers for flooring, decking, overlay and cladding.

Also, manufacturers of custom designed engineered trusses from recycled timbers.

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Let’s support our community and shop local!

“Locals supporting Locals”

Restaurants, Bakers, Butchers, Cafe’s, Local vineyards, Distillers, Brewers and of course each other.

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.

Dele Foodstore & Catering

Tailored catering & ready-made take home meals, made with local and ethical produce.

Chat to the Dele team about how we can help cater your next event.

Our new store in Trentham has a great selection of take home options, plus you can grab a bite to eat in store.

DAYLESFORD Unit 1/37-39 East Street

Mon- Sat: 12pm - 7pm TRENTHAM 41 High Street Mon - Fri: 3pm - 7.30pm | Sat-Sun: 10:30am - 7pm

5348 2462 | info@dele.com.au

www.dele.com.au

www.tlnews.com.au

Living through COVID-19 23

Out of the frying pan...into ???

IT'S been an 'unprecedented' year and for most Central Highlands residents it's been one of lockdowns but also open spaces for enjoying masked walks.

But for some former residents it's been a different year. Some better, some worse. "Out of the frying pan...into ???. In the first of our series, Trentham's Peter Young talks about his near escape to New South Wales and southern Queensland.

A

FLUKE of timing saw my wife Sally and I spend most of Victoria's lockdown in a 19x7 foot aluminium box trundling around pleasant climes in northern NSW and southern Queensland.

Our annual grey and bald nomad trek to skip Trentham's Winter saw us head north across state borders just before they closed.

We had mixed feelings during 116 days of caravan travel, wondering whether we should discreetly smudge mud on them to disguise our Victorian number plates.

We were relieved to be in what were low coronavirus risk environments compared to home.

We felt slightly guilty gambolling about in shorts and T-shirts while family, friends and neighbours were doing it tough in Melbourne and Victoria.

And then there was something I would never have expected as a white, elderly, privileged and probably entitled (ew...this coffee has beans which were burned and is too cold!) Australian male (what we used to call the "pale, male and stale" demographic in my corporate days).

We occasionally felt like despised Australian refugees in our own country.

There was the road worker in southern NSW who gave us the finger and shouted obscenities about going back where we came from; the man in a NSW service station who stood toe to toe shrieking at me that we had no right being there and letting me know he had photographed our number plates and was alerting police; the frequent embarrassed pauses when we dutifully filled in cafe and shop coronavirus tracing forms while staff stepped back, cleared their throats and said: "Oh...that's...a Victorian postcode!".

One major chain caravan park where we had pre-booked sent a message saying we were no longer welcome (not in words that blunt, but I can read between the lines).

A TV bulletin we saw early on incorrectly reported Victorians were being ordered home and an angry letter to an editor demanded that Victorians who had poured into NSW just before the border closed (e.g., us!) be rounded up and sent home.

And I was reminded, when arriving in Queensland, of a day back in the 1970s when I crossed the Berlin Wall into East Germany through Checkpoint Charlie.

As we approached the border in stop-start, bumper-to-bumper traffic, our Victorian rego plates were spotted and police ushered us off the highway into what I called "the lane of shame" - a sorry straggle of Victorian vehicles lined up by the freeway.

A burly cop eventually appeared, took our drivers' licences, looked at us, looked at them, looked at us...and then asked for our Queensland Border Permit. A passport to travel within Australia.

He then examined our documents and receipts proving we had been in NSW and not Victoria for the past month, smiled nicely, and said: "You folk have done the right thing, welcome to Queensland".

However, having noted all of the above, we were more often welcomed with either sympathy and concern about "poor Victoria" and, quite frequently, with "thank goodness you have brought your tourism dollars here - we are really missing our Victorian visitors".

Back home now, and pleased to be here, despite some apprehension around the place about the horde of Melburnians descending on us.

Knowing how we were made to feel in our own country up north, we are making them feel welcome.

As long as they mask up, socially distance and use sanitiser.

Above, Sunshine Coast hinterland Words & image: Peter Young Listen to the Country Life podcast at www.tlnews.com.au

Listen now at www.tlnews.com.au

24 Out & About

Gigs

with Darren Lowe

Guildford Family Hotel, Guildford Cartwheels - Friday, November 27, 7pm Peter and The Wolves - Saturday, November 28, 7pm Original Word Open Mic - Sunday, November 29, 1pm Crosswind - Friday, December 4, 7pm The Old Married Couple - Saturday, December 5, 7pm Mark Wardle with Barry Fitzpatrick & Fred Lakerink - Sunday, December 6, 1pm Mick Coates & The Shallow Gravediggers - Friday, December 11, 7pm Charlie Bedford - Saturday, December 12, 7pm The 3-Chord Club - Sunday, December 13, 1pm Christmas Quiz Night - Thursday, December 17, 6pm Cartwheels Christmas - Friday, December 18, 7pm A Swinging Christmas with Jazz Deuce - Saturday, December 19, 7pm Carols by the Barrels with Terry & Gillian - Sunday, December 20, 1pm (right) All the above gigs are outside with limited numbers. All people must be seated and wear a mask unless eating and/or drinking. ID may be required. There is a two-hour limit.

Palais-Hepburn, Hepburn Supper Club Thursday dinner & show with A Queer Soiree - Thursday, November 26, 5.30pm-10pm

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

To market, to market

Y

OU can find everything you need at weekend markets, from fresh fruit and veg to handmade jewellery and wares, throughout the Central Highlands and surrounds. Here are just a few.

Daylesford Sunday Market – every Sunday (pictured) Wesley Hill Market - every Saturday Daylesford Farmers Market – first Saturday Trentham Neighbourhood Centre Makers Market - first Saturday Golden Plains Farmers Market - first Saturday Woodend Farmers Market - first Saturday Castlemaine Artists’ Market – first Sunday Trentham Community Group Market - second Saturday Kyneton Farmers Market - second Saturday Ballan Farmers Market - second Saturday Kyneton Rotary Community Market – second Saturday Maldon Market – second Sunday Clunes Farmers Market - second Sunday Trentham Farmers Market and Makers Market - third Saturday Glenlyon Farmers Market – third Saturday Leonards Hill Market - third Saturday Creswick Market - third Saturday Talbot Farmers Market – third Sunday Woodend Lions Market - third Sunday Trentham Station Sunday Market - fourth Sunday Buninyong Village Market - fourth Sunday All markets subject to COVID regulations and not all may be operating.

Check first.

Pizzeria

La L na Home deliveries Thursday to Sunday Get your pizza fix during COVID-19 Thursday, Sunday, Monday | 5pm - 9pm Friday and Saturday | 5pm - 10pm Tuesday & Wednesday | CLOSED

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

The Local Classifieds Innovative Farm Implements

Don't be shy.

Say it here.

Specialised implements for most types of farming Small and large acreages All soils and conditions Check us out

www.fixengineering.com.au Links to YouTube working models If it isn’t quite what you’re looking for, If it doesn’t quite do what you want, If you have some ideas of your own to explore:

Ask Mike: 0418 508 573 info@fixengineering.com.au

Are you a tradie? Advertise here. 5348 7883 ALL ROUND CARPENTRY

Pierre: 0425 783 871 SOLUTIONS | SOLUTIONS SOLUTIONS | SOLUTIONS

Servicing commercial refrigeration domestic and commercial air conditioning

Servicing the local community for over 45 years

Phone: 5348 1291

Sales-Service-Maintenance-Installation -Mobile coolroom hire Garry Rodoni: 0417 734 206 Chris Milham: 0436 402 730

Support your local tradies!

Consulting in Administration & Management Book-keeping Administration Payroll Temp service Supplier monthly reconciliation Qualified to manage a small team of office workers

Hepburn Earthworks

Drives, drains, moving dirt, excavation, $400 half day $750 full day man and machine.

Caterpillar Bobcat, excavator and Dual Roller.

Phone: 0438 662 203

Christ Jules Services Julie Hanson 0459 619 701 julphil.hanson@gmail.com www.christjulesservices.com.au

Ph:0434 357 882

POOL AND SPA MAINTENANCE SERVICES DAYLESFORD AND SPA COUNTRY Over 25 years’ experience in the Pool and Spa industry.

Cleaning and servicing of pools, hot tubs and jacuzzis.

Water chemistry and water balance Commercial properties Domestic applications Reasonable rates All enquiries welcome Noel 0419 554 319 Declan 0438 212 107

PLASTERER DAYLESFORD FIBROUS PLASTER WORKS (MACKLEY’S) • NEW HOMES • RENOVATIONS • CEILING ROSES • ORNAMENTAL CORNICE Daylesford

Peter Mackley 5348 3085 or 0418 571 331 Gary Mackley 5348 1108

Are you a tradie? Advertise here. 5348 7883

Clement F Mooney

Email: c.mooney@bigpond.net.au Available to assist with all general accounting services and preparation/electronic lodgment of Tax Returns and BAS for Individuals, Sole Traders, Partnerships, Trusts and Companies.

A.B.N. 37 961 487 978

Certified Practising Accountant Registered Tax Agent B.Com, C.P.A., M.B.A.

Tel: 03 5424 1441 Mobile: 0412 584 555

trenthamselfstorage@outlook.com

Office: 19 Albert Street, Trentham 3458

E L E C T R I C I A N

John Roberts Electrical Services REG 15644

Domestic Commercial Industrial Mobile 0439 682 619

DAYLESFORD APPLIANCE SERVICE

das3460@bigpond.com

electrical appliance repair service washer, dryer, fridge, dishwasher, oven, cook top etc.

Call Kiyo on

0419 267 685

das3460@bigpond.com

Daylesford Newsagency & Tattslotto Newspapers, magazines, Tattslotto, drycleaning, stationery, photocopying and lots more...

55 Vincent Street, Daylesford 5348 2061

Malone Tree Services Liam Malone . Limited Access . Fully Insured .Specialists Qualified . Mulching Available

0423 945 436

PH: 0400 059 613 - 5348 6634 ADMIN@JESSEDAWKINSGARDENS.COM.AU WWW.JESSEDAWKINSGARDENS.COM.AU

Hello Daylesford!

We’re so happy to be here.

Brendan Blake is a passionate foodie and talented home cook. He is also a supermarket owner in Castlemaine and Ballarat. He travels through Daylesford every day and has long been wanting to create a place that was part market, part grocer and part deli - combining incredible local artisan produce with some of the world’s leading gourmet delicacies.

Introducing Blake Family Grocers - your gourmet super store filled with local artisan produce, cheese, charcuterie, gourmet groceries, household essentials and much, much more.

We will be open every day from 7am to 8pm for that early morning coffee run, to finding that hard-to-get spice for that special dish or for a quick dash to grab something for dinner. And, if you are a local producer or maker - we would love to hear from you and proudly stock your product on our shelves.

So come say hi to our friendly team. We are so happy to be here.

1 Howe Street Daylesford.

Ph 5318 1128

blakefamilygrocers.com.au

Open 7 Days 7am-8pm