The Local Issue 174 April 6, 2020

April 6, 2020 Issue 174 Our amazing community

The Local - now weekly!

The Local - The Heart of the Highlands

An important message from the Victorian Government

STAGE 3 RESTRICTIONS ARE NOW IN PLACE. That means there are only four reasons to be out.

Shopping for food and supplies that you need.

Exercise.

Medical care and caregiving.

Work and education – if necessary.

Stay informed at coronavirus.vic.gov.au

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Inspiring 3

Todd and Adele feeding the community

I

N TIMES of adversity people step up to the plate, and Todd Dales and Adele Stevens have done just that.

The owners of Dele Foodstore & Catering are not only keeping their business alive, serving wholesome, healthy food, they are returning as much as possible to the community along the way.

Todd said the idea was to protect the community and the producers.

“We wanted to make sure the community was still engaged and that our producers were ticking along, even a little bit, to get through this tough time.

“We knew that everyone in hospitality would go to delivery but that didn’t seem enough to me. I wanted to do something powerful and really make a difference.

Adele’s passion is to feed people and mine is to serve people and we both wanted to do as much as we could to help.

“So, the deal is that we will only take out of the business what we need to survive and the rest we will put back into a community assistance program which has three main focuses.

“The first is making sure everyone gets nourished and are well fed with healthy, wholesome local food. The second is to make sure there is a little bit in a fund in case the vulnerable need medication. For instance, my daughter suffers from quite bad asthma and is in a very high risk category – we need to ensure people can access medication. The third is to make sure there are toiletries available – like toilet paper and other essentials.”

Adele said while there was a self-serving aspect to being altruistic, which was making you feel good, it was more about paying it forward.

“It is such a freaking stressful time for everyone, and I just feel like people are really starting to peak with their fear, but I feel at times like this it is all about the community, that is what is going to get us through this. Because if it’s not, what else is the freaking point?

“And that is one of the reasons why we all like living out here in the country area.

We have a sense of community on a day-to-day basis. And really, what we are doing has always been at the heart of the way I produce food, to nourish others. It really seemed like a natural transition – and let’s face it, in the hospitality industry we need something to help us stop focusing on our bank balances!

“And feeding people is the ultimate thing I can do. Even though it is a shit situation out there, I feel like I am in my safe place. I just wish I could also be hugging my customers.”

Todd said the business was now also working with the Daylesford Good Grub Club which has been busy over the past weeks ensuring those who need it, receive free meals.

“When we announced what we were doing we had a couple of suppliers come forward, Musk Lane Wine and Daylesford Cider Company and they came up with a deal for people with part of the purchase price going back into the fund. Since then many others have come on board. We have Acres of Roses who have 5000 roses that no-one wants now for weddings and events – they have given us beautiful bouquets to sell for $20 with a very large portion of that going to the fund.

“So we are looking after the suppliers and producers, and customers can see they can come to us, stock up on a few things and support the community and those producers at the same time.

“It has worked from the get-go and it’s made us feel better about the situation we are all in and taken stress and pressure off people like the Good Grub Club and let people know there are others around who are looking after them.”

Todd said Dele Foodstore & Catering was working mainly with food deliveries although customers could call and place an order to collect from their red door in East Street.

“We mainly want people at home but if they do come here, it’s one door in and one door out, and only myself or Adele will ever be inside. And we sanitise absolutely everything. We believe that is our responsibility as business owners and just human beings. Everything has to be safe. And we want to help flatten the curve.”

The business has also just launched an online store so customers can pay online.

Check it out at their Facebook page. Food deliveries are done Monday to Friday.

Links: info@delefoodstoredaylesford.com or 5348 2462 Words: Donna Kelly | Image: Contributed

It's a bird, it's a plane... it's a coronavirusaurus

W

HILE most people have been out stocking up on essentials, or just trying to see a way forward, the Amazing Mill Markets’ Mark Ward has been busy creating a dinosaur called Vaxine.

It’s a coronavirusaurus, of course, and those driving along the Western Highway at Warrenheip can’t miss it from its roadside spot outside the Ballarat Mill Markets.

Mark, who has shut down his three mill markets, said he had been thinking how he could put a lighter edge on the situation and found himself wide awake at 3am with the idea last week.

“I knew I had a large, six-metre high dinosaur from a visual display prop business I am involved in, and then it was a matter of getting our wonderful graphic designer to come up with the artwork and we ended up with our signwriters making a massive sign which is five metres long and two and a half metres high.

“Next thing we had put up the sign, a big pendant on Vaxine with a heart on it, and I found myself sitting on the back of the dinosaur getting my photo taken.

“At the end of the day I am sure a lot of people will be amused, and I really just want to put a little smile on people’s faces.”

Mark said the decision to close the mill markets had been tough but done for the safety of stallholders and customers.

“Revenue was already down and I didn’t want my stallholders still paying rent when they were not making money. I paid everyone out, which cost me about $250,000 but we are all having to take a bit of a hit in the circumstances.

“And it makes me enormously proud that of about 500 stallholders, and maybe 1000 people involved in those stalls, there has not been one negative comment on our decision and not one stallholder has left the markets. I know that I am here to help them but they are also here to help our business as well.

“I really believe we will get through all this, we need to be strong and make some tough decisions, but I am only ever about the wellbeing of my stallholders and I know going forward we are going come back bigger and stronger, and we are going to be together for a long, long time.”

Words: Donna Kelly | Image: Contributed

OFFICIAL MEDICAL ADVICE

Coronavirus: You must take action to save lives in your community.

Stay at home unless absolutely necessary. Banks, supermarkets/groceries, petrol stations, medical services and suppliers will remain open. You must avoid non-essential travel.

If you can, work from home. Use phones for meetings and stop handshaking.

Tap to pay where possible instead of using cash.

Gatherings of 2 people max are being enforced, with the exception of households, work and education.

You must stay 2 arms lengths away from others and wash your hands for 20 seconds.

Exercise away from others.

Authorised by the Australian Government, Canberra

CUT OUT AND KEEP

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Inspiring 7

Inspiring women

Music is another passion of Arlene’s, and she has spent 20 years with the Creswick Senior Citizens Choir. She also brings her music to LORETTA Little, Dallas Kinnear, Arlene Geoffrey and Sarah Glenny the Creswick Hospital, playing piano (posthumous) were inducted into the Hepburn Shire Council's Heather once a month with her brother playing Mutimer Women's Honour Roll for International Women's Day. In the last drums and three ladies singing, as well edition of The Local we featured Loretta and Dallas. Now read about Arlene as by herself every second Saturday at the John Curtin Aged Care Facility. and Sarah.

“It’s something I absolutely love.

Not only do I love playing but I love O FAR, Arlene Geoffrey has packed a lot of community activity into a sitting and talking to the residents.”

Arlene is also quite a talented fascinating life. author and has published two books.

It’s hard to know where to begin when listing the achievements that have “The first book, When I Was 14, culminated in her being inducted into Hepburn Shire’s Heather Mutimer Women’s came about when we were driving Honour Roll. home from Daylesford and we had a Arlene spent more than 40 years running the Children’s Theatre Group, putting lady in the car with us and when we on wonderful shows in the Creswick Town Hall.

“I had loads and loads of children of course, over the years that I did the theatre went past Newlyn she pointed out with – there were over 560 children and there were only five that I didn’t like. It’s top the window to a house on the hill and said ‘when I was 14, I used to work at that house…’ so it’s about the things people did secret who they were. Everyone wants to know but I won’t say,” Arlene says.

Theatre has always been a passion of hers and she began working with the Ballarat when they were 14.

“Tell Me A Story was about people at John Curtin telling me about their past, about Lyric Theatre Group as a wardrobe mistress and costume designer – a joy that lasted music or how they went to school and it’s fascinating to hear them, the things that more than 20 years. they can tell you.”

“I loved costume design. I didn’t have much education, I left school at 13, and Theatre, design, music and writing – Arlene has most of the fine arts covered – and when I was 39, I saw an advertisement for a correspondence course in costume design is looking forward to getting back to it all. and so I did it.

“I think I’ve put more in my life than three other people put together. And now “I stunned myself because when you haven’t been to school you think you’re that I have to stay home because of this virus I’ve been driven crazy. stupid and when I did this course, across the whole lot I had an average score of 98 “I just love interacting with people.” per cent and it was a wonderful boost to my confidence. I ran the costume hire and made the costumes and some years I designed the costumes which was exciting.”

S

Words: Kate Taylor | Image: Contributed

S

ARAH Glenny led by example and was a role-model in community service

and diligence in her responsibilities.

Sarah was born in 1884 in Glenlyon. She attended primary school in Glenlyon and grammar school in Castlemaine for four years, excelling academically.

She was unusual for her era, being better educated than her peers, including the bulk of the male population.

Sarah’s parents owned and ran Glenny’s Hotel, Store and Post Office in Glenlyon.

Her father died in 1909 and Sarah took over his role as postmistress at the age of 33. She also operated the telephone exchange when her brother George joined up in 1915.

He returned from the war an invalid, however was able to help in the post office.

With short breaks Sarah ran the post office from 1909 to 1950. She was diligent and could always be relied upon, especially to connect calls at any time. She corresponded with many young men in WWI, and supported families in grief.

Miss Glenny as she was known also had a high profile in public life and community service.

She was the founding member of the Red Cross at Glenlyon in 1914, was its treasurer for many years and led a group of women who worked tirelessly to raise funds to benefit Australian soldiers overseas and other deserving charities. She received the Red Cross Long Service Medal in 1953. She served as secretary of the Church of England Ladies Guild for many years, working for the benefit of church and community.

Miss Glenny was legendary for her heroism in 1944 when, at the age of 70, she stayed at the Glenlyon Post Office to ensure communications continued as two bushfires burned towards Glenlyon.

Her education gave Miss Glenny the confidence and skills to participate in public and professional roles and hold a number of leadership positions throughout her long life. From 1896 when she left school until well into her eighties, she devoted herself to the community providing a role model for other women, comforting them in sad times and leading and encouraging them to participate in the broader community.

Words: Contributed | Image: Daylesford & District Historical Society

Daylesford Hotel would like to thank all our loyal customers for their ongoing support in these extraordinary times.

We are doing everything we can to hold onto our business. So stay at home, keep well and we will see you on the other side.

Cheers Anne Marie and Rosi DAYLESFORDHOTEL.COM.AU

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Fells Electrical: Locals supporting locals for 75 years

F

ELLS Electrical have just celebrated their 75th anniversary serving the community – and they are not going anywhere.

Listed as an essential service under the current pandemic, the company is continuing to provide electrical services throughout the region.

And any work they receive, supports not just a local business, but their local employees.

The team is led by director Jamie Grant, whose wife Tania also works in the business. Both are Glenlyon residents, born and bred in the district.

Then there’s leading hand, Colin Johns, who has worked at Fells for 11 years and is pretty much Jamie’s right-hand man. Everyone knows someone who is part of the larger Johns family.

Peter Ivanov, who grew up in Newstead and has developed great relationships with customers over the years, now takes care of the company's operations along the Surf Coast. Then there's Peter Vanzetta, who grew up and lives in Daylesford, who deals with all the office administration.

The “youngsters” are Izaac Grant, Tom Henderson and Brayden Yanner, the three apprentices. Izaac and Brayden are both 1st year apprentices while Tom is a 3rd year apprentice.

Tom and Brayden are very active in the local football community, both playing for Hepburn while Izaac is also an active football player - taking after his father, Jamie, and uncle, AFL legend Chris Grant - having recently been signed to Redan Football Club. He was also involved in pre-training with North Melbourne’s VFL team.

All are enthusiastic about their jobs, providing a service, and love working in/ around the Daylesford area.

Jamie also says that now is the time to think about installing a generator, It’s much easier, and more cost effective than in the past – and with COVID-19 one thing that people need is power.

“Where possible people have stocked their fridges and freezers and you don’t want to risk losing a freezer full of food. People are also staying at home, as they should, and so everyone is on the Wi-Fi, watching television, have a heater or air conditioner running or they are running their businesses from home.

“Many factories have shut down, but we don’t know how the power grid is going to cope with this sort of a load.

“Just last Sunday, I had about 14 customers in Glenlyon alone, who were very happy they had a generator to switch on.”

Jamie said many country properties were also reliant on bores and electrical pumps for their water, the most basic necessity, especially with everyone being asked to follow hygiene rules and wash their hands constantly.

Over recent weeks, with increasing power blackouts, many people have called to ask to have a generator installed, which can cost as little as $2700 and will run a standard house including lights, power points, Wi-Fi, air conditioning and fridges – and water of course. They are also easy to use - with electric starts, are smaller so need less room to be installed and are much quieter than those from the past.

Bigger systems, for commercial use, can range up to $15,000.

All generators installed by Fells Electrical are Australian-made for Australian conditions.

Jamie said anyone thinking about installing a generator should just call and arrange for a site visit.

"It's a tough time at the moment, for everyone, but we are here to serve the community, as we have done for the past 75 years."

Fells Powerline & Electrical is at 2 Knox Street, Daylesford.

Phone: 5348 2492 | 0418 585 722 Email: admin@fellselectrical.com

Advertorial

OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

Financial assistance is now available to support individuals, households and businesses.

From keeping Australians in jobs and businesses in business with the $130 billion JobKeeper Payment, to assisting individuals and households with a doubling of income support, we’re helping Australians during the Coronavirus.

To find out more, visit australia.gov.au Authorised by the Australian Government, Canberra

FLU CLINIC AVAILABILITY

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Dr. Susanne M. Heringslake Chiropractor Moments To Ponder a little gift from me to you

I heard a song from deep within.

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For the latest information regarding our Flu Clinics:

• Follow us on Facebook • Visit our website • Join our e-news mailing list

To share this with you would be a beautiful moment.

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Remain calm, rational

I

N THE wake of the coronavirus outbreak, psychologists have sought to reassure the public by providing advice to help prevent people from becoming overwhelmed.

Australian Psychological Society president Ros Knight said it was reasonable and understandable that people were concerned, but panicking was not a helpful way to respond.

“As humans, we are hard-wired to be afraid of the unknown and of something that appears random and uncontrollable. If you find yourself becoming anxious about coronavirus, try to remember that medical and scientific experts are following strict protocols to contain the virus and treat those affected," she said.

“Exposing yourself to a constant stream of negative information takes a huge psychological toll. Avoid reading social media posts that warn of an apocalypse and don’t get drawn into doomsday discussions. Sticking to the facts and relying on scientific sources for your information is the best way to maintain perspective and manage your feelings positively.

“Remain calm and practical and continue with your usual regime, as much as you can. Observe good hygiene habits, like washing your hands and avoiding close contact with people who are unwell, and, if it makes you feel better, wear an appropriate mask in public.”

Ms Knight added that parents and caregivers need to be aware that the situation might be having an effect on children.

“We know that children absorb information from the news, social media, and discussions adults have around them. Some children have been excluded from school. Parents and caregivers may need to carefully explain to their children why they can’t go to school or why one of their friends is not there.

“Research shows that being open and honest with children is the best way to help them cope with serious situations.

“Sharing the news will help children to not feel excluded, imagine the situation is worse than it really is or, even, blame themselves. Sharing information shows that you trust and value them, which can enhance their resilience.

“Try not to overload children with too many details. Give small amounts of information, wait and then ask if they have any questions.”

Link: www.beyondblue.org.au

www.springsmedical.com.au In an emergency always call 000

Daylesford

Kyneton

Trentham

10 Hospital St

89B Piper Street

22 Victoria St

tel: (03) 5348 2227

tel: (03) 5422 1298

tel: (03) 5424 1602

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Welcome to Kyneton

Dr Fortunato Mazzei • Emergency Medicine • Palliative Care • Sexual Health • Men’s Health • Mental Health • Implanon Accredited 89B Piper Street Kyneton VIC 3444 tel: (03) 5422 1298

Welcome to Springs Medical

Dr Carolyn Siddel • Mental Health • Child and Adolescent Health • Alcohol/Drugs • LGBTQI 10 Hospital St Daylesford tel: (03) 5348 2227 22 Victoria St Trentham tel: (03) 5424 1602

House.Land.Home.

Keeping the viral monsters at bay That handsome fellow in the photo opposite is Cecil. After many years of guard duty in our vegetable patch, he’s just earned a promotion - from lowly scarecrow to the highly-esteemed role of head Scare COVID-19!

Peta and I had a great time gathering materials and building him and, because he looks so gentle and friendly, watching our resident feathered friends resting on his arms and head, whilst contemplating their next meal. I’m sure you will enjoy spending time on your own guardian.

Naturally, the clothes came from the ragbag, the mask from Halloween and the ping pong ball eyes from nanna’s toybox. The hi-vis jacket mysteriously appeared from our son in-law’s workshop.

The body itself was constructed from an assortment of gumtree branches all held together with strong wire. A sheet of scrap chicken wire was rolled and sculpted to form the upper body and the whole thing filled out with scrunched-up rags. The head was a long-forgotten rubber ball. A star picket running up through a trouser leg provides the support.

I’m sure you will have no trouble finding the materials to build yours - you’ll obviously have plenty of time.

And I would love to see the result of your efforts. Email a photo to glenzgarden@ gmail.com and we'll publish the best.

Reverse tattoo

Last issue I promised a reverse tattoo project based on plants' need for sunlight to produce chlorophyll - the stuff that makes leaves green. If any part of a plant’s foliage is masked from the light that part will fade - the longer the blockage, the paler it will become. As a young lad, I had great fun creating pale designs on the leaves of our plants by attaching multi-shaped cardboard templates to the leaves of various plants in our nursery garden.

I used paperclips (in the pre-sellotape age) to keep them in place and after about a month I would remove them to reveal a pale “reverse tattoo”. Soft-leafed plants work best and the bigger the leaf the better. Plants such as broad-leafed beans, hydrangeas and rhubarb work well. My templates were mostly geometric shapes, but I’m sure that present-day imaginations can run to greater images than that.

Going to pot

It could be considered fortunate that this agonising time of home confinement coincides with a time of great reproductive activity in your garden - and what better time than when you have all hands on deck, desperately seeking things to keep them gainfully occupied - to get potting.

For a start, it’s still Spring flowering bulb time and if your bulb beds aren’t yet old enough to have bulblets to lift and plant there are still plenty on offer from your local garden supplier.

Or, if like me, you don’t feel inclined to venture out, there are plenty of online offers going at the moment.

Most flowering bulbs do extremely well as temporary indoor pot plants. Place them in a sheltered spot in the garden until the flower buds have almost opened, then bring them indoors to flower on a well-lit windowsill.

These can be a ready-made supply for potting up as gifts or produce for a market stall and are robust enough to survive less than practised handling. Pot them out into either a normal commercial potting mix or prepare your own by mixing well-rotted compost, sand and non-clay soil from your garden beds - all in equal amounts.

Next week, strike it lucky with cuttings and more.

Got a question for Glen? Email glenzgarden@gmail.com

Design

with Indre (www.iokdesign.com.au)

Idle hands

“The devil finds work for idle hands” or “idle hands make fretful minds”.

Whichever saying you are drawn to may inspire you to appreciate this time of self-isolation to learn new hobbies or crafts. Get busy with tasks you have been meaning to do and haven’t had time for. Read the books you meant to get around to or paint the house. This is your time.

Self-isolation, the new buzz word, can mean different things to many of us. For some it is a fearful, life-threatening time where loneliness and depression will wreak havoc. For others, you may be settling into working from home, possibly have no more work or are learning to be with family members full-time. Regardless of your personal circumstances, it can become an introspective, rewarding time if the less hectic days are taken advantage of.

This is the time folks, and I never thought I'd say this, for crafting. Perhaps also cooking, knitting, fabric art, sculpting, costume making, gardening, painting and learning new skills from YouTube.

Easter is fast approaching and it happens to be my favourite time of year. The days are calm, mild and sunny. Families come together and for us, we have some traditions that you too could embrace.

We paint and dye boiled eggs. On Easter morning we hand out 20 cents' worth of 5-cent pieces and roll the painted eggs in turn down a tube or piece of guttering in an attempt to smash into our opponent's egg. If successful we get 5 cents. In the end our egg is either smashed to bits or someone has no more coins. The person with the most coins, or matchsticks if you prefer, is the winner.

The intact eggs are then held securely in the hand with an end poking out and smashed end to end with another. The egg that stays intact is the winner. In days gone by the winner took the eggs. Food was less plentiful in those days. Now, the peeled boiled egg is part of your Easter breakfast feast.

Chocolate Easter egg hunts are not to be missed. I learned to put the eggs out quite close to the hunt time, and inside. Ants were the first to find the chocolate otherwise.

Easter decorations can occupy you and the kids for days. Craft shops, bargain stores, hardware and op shops are still thankfully open. Think wreaths, homemade candles and chocolates. Painted tablecloths or napkins. Chick rocks, which are stones painted yellow with eyes and beaks that look like baby chickens, make a great outside hunt item. Make bunny rabbit plastic spoons. If there are some floating around in the bottom of a drawer, draw a face on the back of the spoon, glue on ears and whiskers and get the kids to hold a puppet show. Before computers we as kids used to hold puppet shows, read out terrible poetry or sing and dance with our family members.

Bake an Easter cake and wear homemade hats for your Easter feast. It will be an Easter worth remembering.

Get creative and learn to interact with your family members again. Self-imposed down time may be more productive and more fun than you originally thought. Enjoy the change of pace, the fine weather and make your Easter one to remember for the fun you had rather than the reason you were all stuck inside.

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House.Land.Home.

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.

Contact us for all your water garden requirements or come and see our nursery at 1 Campion Rd, Newlyn.

0418 567 195

Stock market down but gold goes gangbusters

G

OLD prospectors are raking it in with the gold price at an all-time high. Trading of the precious metal has been increasing over the past few months as the gold price has climbed higher and higher, due to the stock market having a meltdown.

Leanne and Darren Kamp of Gold and Relics Gold Prospecting Adventures, who commenced their business in the Old State Bank at Clunes 10 years ago, are in the thick of it.

They were originally attracted to Clunes due to its gold mining history. Leanne and Darren moved to Geelong three years ago after being offered Minelab and Garrett dealerships to set up a retail gold prospecting outlet, Lucky Strike Gold. They borrowed the name “Lucky Strike” from a Clunes café and thought it was a very fitting name for their new venture.

They still run their gold prospecting tours from Creswick.

"Creswick is our favourite place to metal detect and run tours as there is so much history in the goldfields here," Darren said. “We love bringing people to this area of the world to educate them on the history of gold and teach them how to still find gold here. It is a healthy pastime, there is the opportunity to make money out of it and it is a heap of fun."

Gold prospecting has gained a lot of popularity due to several television shows and large gold nugget finds in the last few years. "Prospectors are coming into our shop, Lucky Strike Gold in Geelong, in droves to sell us gold at the moment because the price is so good," Leanne said. "They come from all over Victoria to sell or trade their gold for prospecting gear".

There is a large community of gold prospectors in Australia with Victoria and Western Australia being the most popular states to prospect for alluvial gold. Many prospectors from the eastern states migrate to Western Australia in Winter to prospect there. Some have their own leases whilst others apply for permits to gold prospect or try their luck on pending leases.

Gold and Relics have been taking gold prospecting tours to Western Australia during the Winter months for the past ten years. “These are very popular with international clients from England, Germany, New Zealand and USA in particular,” Leanne said.

“We’ve made very good friends all over the world. Sadly though, this year Gold & Relics Western Australian tours have been cancelled due to COVID-19."

Top, Darren with his off-road vehicle, centre the couple's daughter Taleesha with some of their finds, bottom, a gold nugget Words & images: Contributed

16 COVID-19

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Free sanitiser on offer Zoom goes viral

H

ERBAL Lore Liqueurs/Terra Australis Distillery founder Roger McLean is handing out a potential life saver, offering the gift of free sanitiser to the community.

The Daylesford distillery has for the past two weeks been making 80 per cent proof sanitiser to World Health Organisation standards and started distribution on the weekend.

Roger said with no bottles available in Australia, he was starting with offering the sanitiser in bulk to those who brought their own bottles to be filled “as a gift”.

“It means there will be no people home with young kids, or the elderly, or anyone that really needs a sanitiser and just can’t get it or can’t afford it.”

Roger said his companies had a foundation, Medicines of the Earth, which was all about humanity and this was one of its projects.

“When we thought about it a few weeks ago and realised there were no bottles and no glycerine and lots of obstacles, we decided if we worked with refills we could really crank up our still and get the most beautiful alcohol to make a really crackingly good sanitiser.

“I have driven 5000km in the past three weeks to get what we needed, some from the back blocks of Queensland.”

Roger said people were welcome to come to Lot 2 Railway Crescent and take up the offer between 10am and 5pm every day.

“We will have a filling station set up with proper queuing and if they love me, they might bring a coffee. I don’t know if we will get queues, or a constant dribble or no-one at all. But I think it’s just great that if they turn up they are going to get sanitiser.”

Roger said he believed the pandemic was this generation’s World War II. “I have never in my time seen anything like this. I have seen stock markets collapse but that doesn’t hurt everybody. But there is a rule book for it all. It’s called morality and decency. Trouble is, some people have thrown that book away.”

A

CROSS the world people are Zooming like crazy. And the Central Highlands is no exception. Zoom, the world’s new favourite video-

conferencing tool, has 20 times more users than four months ago and is feeling the strain.

Spa Country Events found it handy for its annual general meeting, while a record 15 Trentham Tuesday Sketchers, plus a guest granddaughter from Melbourne, used it to pursue their art. Each member came up with a take on the theme of framed views.

The sketchers were more successful than Britain’s Prime Minister, who inadvertently shared the ID number for a cabinet meeting held via Zoom, opening the door to anyone seeking to log on.

And a manager at an American progressive advocacy group accidentally ran a meeting as a potato, which would have gone down well in Trentham.

Among the many uses for Zoom was a fortnightly get-together of a local writers’ group, where a member temporarily in Germany was able to join writers round the Central Highlands and beyond.

A video hook-up was used for a virtual book launch in Woodend, where local author Dee Smith saw her gripping story of a child’s escape from Nazis in Paris, Beyond Belief, successfully celebrated.

Meanwhile, stories accumulate about adaptation to the pandemic. Passing Clouds winery chef Christian Reuther is picking grapes, others are on the home stretch in self-isolation after returning home from overseas, while corona refugees are being housed in a quarantined caravan.

Hepburn’s popular Surly Goat morphed into the Socially Isolated Goat with a daily takeaway service, serving dishes the writer can recommend, such as roast duck.

Wednesdays is vegie day and on other days there’s even pig’s ear and a tripe course.

Also learning to do things differently are the folk at Woodend’s Fox in the Chamber. They’ve turned their café kitchen into a soup kitchen, offering take-home soups and stews. Part of this is offering pay for meal care packages to some of the more vulnerable people in the community who may be in isolation.

Words: Kevin Childs

Words: Donna Kelly

Letters and musings...

Only in Daylesford...

The Divine in Nature

During this time of the virus we continue to go to the supermarket, local butcher or fruiterer and handle packaged goods and unpackaged fruit that may have been picked up, examined and put back onto the shelf by others.

Oh God, it has been glorious here! Heady, heady days of heavenly sunshine. The countryside is green and sparkling, and the cows are contentedly chewing their cud and gently mooing in the distance.

I used the self-checkout used by hundreds if not thousands of people. I drive my car home, having filled it with diesel.

I was at the Daylesford recycling yard/tip yesterday.

I went to buy a couple of old wooden chairs I had my eyes on. They had been there for weeks. The guys there are good. Their management and procedures are stupid beyond comprehension.

“Where’s all the furniture gone?” I asked “Coronavirus,” came the reply “What?”

“We were told to get rid of everything. To protect the public from catching coronavirus.”

“Are you serious ?”

“Even if we had something here – you couldn’t get it – because we don’t want you to be infected. That’s what we have been told to say.”

If we followed the policies of some middle-order (or lower level) manager – no food would exchange, no fuel would be sold, no mail delivered, no coffee or wine sold.

Nothing from the hardware or chemist.

The truth is – the management of the recycling yard found the tip-shop to be inconvenient, and in doing so trashed valuable assets.

Only in Daylesford. Dumb-ass.

- Richard Butler, Hepburn

I have remembered why I wanted to come and live in the country – it is unbelievably beautiful and peaceful here in the autumnal weather.

Nature is alive all around us – flowers of gorgeous hues waft in the gentle breezes, moths and butterflies flit around, the perfume of the roses and lavender is sublime, and the bees are busy with their work.

Henriette, our large ginger and white fluffy cat, is enjoying prancing around outside and playing hide and seek among the bushes. She comes home from her adventures satisfied, tired and covered in leaves.

There is the sound of humming from machinery in the distance as a farmer goes about his work. This sound is reassuring to me during this time of crisis – it means there will be food growing in those paddocks.

Carrying out gentle gardening work in these conditions has made me feel supremely content – I am contributing to making the garden look more lovely, while divine nature dances all around me.

I feel still, centred and really alive – I want to sing with happiness. I am so lucky to be here in the midst of such beauty, and to have that beauty fill my soul. Nature is precious and glorious, and I am amazed at the wonder of it.

- Anne-Marie Pedeau, East Trentham

Letters and now musings are always welcome.

Email donna@tlnews.com.au Please keep them shortish and interesting or, even better, uplifting.

Any addressed Dear Sir will be deleted.

ON THE BANKS OF LAKE DAYLESFORD

G’Day All,

We have free delivery for all orders over $50 within a 10km radius.

We can make some exceptions if you are outside that zone for a small fee.

Delivery times are Monday to Saturday between 10am and 4pm.

We accept credit cards over the phone or we have an onboard EFT 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.

Exquisite water views from any vantage point, The Boathouse Restaurant offers a sophisticated dining venue for lunch and dinner. You can take in the beautiful views from our warm and cosy indoor dining area for winter catch ups and our outdoor deck and seating area during the warmer months.

The Boathouse Restaurant provides year-round comfort with stylish food and a relaxed yet professional style of service, making it the perfect place to enjoy a glass of wine over a meal with family and friends.

Boathouse Restaurant is now

closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Claire and Susanne would like to thank all of their patrons over the past years for their unwavering support and friendship.

"We look forward to returning to business as usual, and sharing food and laughs with our customers, once the situation has returned to normal.

"We wish everyone the best during these testing times and hope everyone stays healthy, safe and sane. Missing you all!"

2 Leggatt Street, Daylesford | 03 5348 2199

18 About Us

www.tlnews.com.au

Front cover: In times of adversity people step up to the plate, and Todd Dales and Adele Stevens have done just that. That's their story by Donna Kelly on page 3.

April 6, 2020 Issue 174 Our amazing community

The Local is a weekly community publication covering the Central Highlands. The next edition is out on Monday, April 13, 2020.

Or online on Sunday, April 12 at www.tlnews.com.au Space bookings: Wednesday, April 8 Copy deadline: Thursday, April 9 Editorial deadline: Thursday, April 9

Image: Kyle Barnes

Managing editor | Donna Kelly General manager | Kyle Barnes Sub-editors | Nick Bunning and Lindsay Smith Writers | Kevin Childs, Kate Taylor, Peter Young and Donna Kelly The Local - The Heart of the Highlands

Photographers | Kyle Barnes and David White Graphic designer & HLH coordinator | Dianne Caithness The Local is a registered trademark of The Local Publishing Group Pty Ltd.

Contributors: Glen Heyne (gardening), Indre Kisonas (design), Tanya Loos (nature), Glenn Robinson (cartoons), and Matthew Richardson (money)

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

Business Development | Charl Parris Accounts | Julie Hanson

Delivery | Anthony Sawrey

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

The content expressed within this publication does not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of The Local Publishing Group Pty Ltd.

Local Lines Bananas and Blow Sancho brought a message from the Fat Man "Sorry, boy, you have to self-isolate As the coronavirus is on the rise, And I left a little something to help the time go by, Just a little something to help to keep you high" Bananas & Blow Stuck in my room Living on Bananas & Blow Now the rainy season reminds me of Maria The way she danced, the colour of her hair Now I'm locked inside my house in suburbia Screaming kids, no toilet paper Looking for a vaccine to take me away from here Bananas & Blow Stuck in my room Living on Bananas & Blow - Original lyrics by Dean Ween adapted by Van Andrew Van Andrew is a Daylesford local writer, art jigger, and advocate.

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

Life in lockdown

D

OES anyone have a farm I can borrow? It’s just that if I don’t get some space, someone is going to die.

It’s 9.10am on the second day that my husband is working from home.

Already his noises are destroying my soul. It’s my soul that’s going to be the first casualty of our corona war.

It’s so annoying that I can’t even write about how annoying it is without being annoyed. Every. Little. Sound. The click-clack of his typing. His sighing. His coffee cup being picked up and thudded back down again. And again. And again. His breathing. His heartbeat. Okay I can’t really hear his heartbeat from here, I’m just trying to paint the picture of how bleak it all is.

I’ve never been able to handle small repetitive sounds. Especially eating ones.

And now I have to share my own workspace, which I’ve happily had all to myself for nearly 10 years now, with the loudest person in the history of sound. And to make it worse? He’s wearing headphones, so he has no idea how many decibels he’s achieving over there.

I know that this is a world-wide crisis that will impact people in awful ways well above and beyond my little whingeings. But one thing sticks in my mind. When I was a kid, I loved watching daytime war movies. Loved them. And in one, there was a ship’s commander who ordered all of his sailors to make him a personal sailing boat with red sails.

His officers were not happy – they all got together and complained to each other, they hated on him as they painstakingly dyed the sails and made the boat with scrounged materials as they were already at sea and they were angry about how they wouldn’t even be allowed to sail the little boat.

And that was the whole idea. The commander didn’t want his own private sailing boat. He wanted something that would bring his men together in a wartime crisis, something for them to focus on as they waited to be engaged in battle; he gave them a way to vent all of their frustration and anger.

So now, my home office is my little private sailing boat. And it’s going to get me through this war.

Words: Kate Taylor

www.tlnews.com.au

News 19

Local spreads global warning on coronavirus cause

A

S THE world struggles to cope with the coronavirus pandemic, a local scientist is spearheading a campaign to stop this happening again.

Dr Lynn Johnson of Mount Franklin was this week interviewed by The New York Times about her work on understanding the global trade in endangered creatures. The pandemic spread from a Chinese market where rare species were openly sold.

“For two decades some of the world’s leading scientists have been expecting a pandemic,” she says. “They knew that humans are vulnerable because the line between us and exotic animals had long been breached, as shown by the origins of coronavirus in China.”

And in spite of a regular outcry over the illegal global wildlife trade, which can involve the killing of rare rhinos and tigers, the legal trade goes unquestioned. “This trade is clinically sidestepped by the leading international conservation organisations.

“The result is that out of sight and without any real check a trillion-dollar trade in birds, animals and plants flourishes. According to the United Nations, even before the pandemic, this trade was growing at two to three times the rate of the global economy.”

Charged with overseeing the international trade in animal parts is the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES. It regulates the trade in nearly 36,000 species.

“Tragically, years of study shows that not only does CITES lack any power over national approaches to regulating commercial breeding, it suffers from a threepronged deficiency: lax regulations, poor monitoring and a lack of enforcement.”

Dr Johnson, whose PhD is in particle physics, says that bizarre as it may seem, Oxford University, working with top Chinese scientists knew in 2002 that a disease like coronavirus was going to have a global impact. “No one wanted to join the dots and begin to measure the size of the world’s legal trade in endangered species.”

A shocking oversight that can be traced directly to today’s lost lives and wrecked economies.

“Even more worrying, the massive stepping over the line in the market of endangered species has been parallel with a highly successful campaign to convince society that any regulation is inherently bad. Few people could have known before the pandemic of China’s 22,000 captive breeding facilities, let alone the thriving market for threatened species in many other countries.”

She said that a relatively inexpensive system of tracking endangered species from source to destination would serve as a type of tsunami warning. “Without this system, there can be no red alert about potential dire consequences of the trade, such as the one that is blamed for the origins of the pandemic.”

China is far from alone in this trade. A 2016 European Parliament Report says: “The wildlife trade is one of the most lucrative trades in the world. The legal trade into the EU alone is worth US$112 billion annually.” But that is a mere estimate.

Similarly, with little fanfare, South Africa reclassified lions, which often carry TB, as farm animals because of the country’s massive scale of commercial breeding of lions.

Students adapting to technology and lessons online

D

Another 32 wild species, including giraffes and cheetahs have also been reclassified to make commercial breeding and selling to international buyers easier. Lion skeletons are exported to Asia, often to be put immersed in wine in massive tanks in posh restaurants for diners to display their status by ordering this drink.

CITES has an annual core budget of less than $11million to monitor a $500 billion global trade. “Its paper permit system has not been updated since the 1970s and doesn’t integrate with customs across the globe. It collects data only once a year, but this is of such poor quality that, in effect, there has been no proper analysis of the trade for 45 years.”

Modernising the CITES legal trade permit and management system will make supply chains more transparent and will help to address the biosecurity risks inherent in any trade in exotic wildlife, Dr Johnson said. “In a world where big data rules, this lack of regulation puts everyone at risk, sending them blindfolded into a minefield.”

Words: Kevin Childs | Image: Contributed

Even woodwork, which would seem a hands-on AYLESFORD College’s 500 students went course was taught online as students learnt about online as the coronavirus forced a closedesigning a product from scratch. down.

And if, as seems likely, the pandemic continues, e-learning will be the rule next term.

“We went from zero to 100 in five days,” says principal Steve MacPhail of the take-up.

Mr MacPhail, who has a maths and IT background before teaching, said students and staff were “phenomenal”. “My IT guys probably didn’t sleep for a few days.

“Kids are adaptable with technology and we’re modifying as we go. We’re probably a fair bit more advanced than many other high schools.”

All teachers worked from home for the last two days of the term.

Other aspects of the school such as the youth worker, well-being team, Headspace clinician and youth worker also went online.

And while the students had the pandemic explained to them, learning remained the focus.

Tuesdays were set aside as health and well-being days, with no teaching.

Mr MacPhail said struggling students who may be isolated, were contacted.

As he said, in a phrase that echoes across the world, it’s not easy being confined to four walls.

Words: Kevin Childs

20 News

www.tlnews.com.au

Vale Michael Cheshire #InThisTogether

M

ACEDON Ranges Shire Council has launched #InThisTogether – a campaign to support residents and businesses during the current coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.

Chief executive officer Margot Stork said the new financial support measures would take effect immediately and would assist the community, residents, businesses, staff and sporting clubs.

“These are unprecendented times for council, our community and businesses,” Ms Stork said. “We are all in this together, supporting each other at this very challenging time.”

New support measures by council include: • Debt collection activities on 2019/20 unpaid rates and outstanding amounts ceased on March 17 and will remained ceased until September 30, 2020; • Interest will not be charged for overdue rates or other payments through to September 30, 2020 • Penalties for late payment of 2020/21 animal registrations due April 10, 2020 will not be applied until September 30, 2020.

Other existing measures to help residents, businesses, staff and sporting clubs include: • A process to allow suppliers to request earlier payment than Council’s 30-day standard terms to assist cashflow. Requests can be made by emailing mrsc@mrsc.vic. gov.au • Groups which hold facility leases with council are able to request a waiver of their lease fee/rent as a result of the pandemic impacting their sporting, community and hospitality venue operations.

Michael Cheshire – 2.2.1945 – 28.3.2020

C

LUNES and the wider community of Hepburn Shire are mourning the loss of a great family man, community leader, prior councillor, Justice of the Peace and friend to many.

In 2000, with his wife Joy, Michael permanently moved to Clunes.

Michael, who had a career in tourism advocacy and development, became involved with the Clunes Tourist and Development Association and held positions of vice president and president.

Within these roles he represented Clunes on a number of committees including the Hepburn Shire Tourism Board and chaired the Clunes Community Interpretive Centre Reference Group which oversaw the planning and building of the Clunes Warehouse.

His community interests spread wider and Michael held several positions in the community including as lay minister and church warden at St Paul’s Anglican Church, Clunes; secretary and treasurer for the Clunes Masonic Lodge; vice president of the Clunes Cemetery Trust and secretary of the Clunes Ceramics Award.

In 2003 Michael was elected to the Hepburn Shire Council, represented Cameron Ward, and served until 2005 including as a term of mayor for Hepburn Shire.

Michael became a Justice of the Peace in 1981 and served his community in this capacity for over 30 years and was made an Honorary Life Member receiving both the Merit Award and the Centenary Award for his services.

Michael Cheshire was named 2015 Clunes Male Citizen of the Year and the 2016 Hepburn Shire Australia Day Citizen of the Year.

On Saturday, March 28, surrounded by his family, Michael passed away peacefully in hospital. He is survived by his wife Joy, son James, daughter Elizabeth and families.

Words: Jane Lesock & Tess Brady | Image: by Gary Sharp

Ms Stork said there were a range of options available for those facing financial hardship, and this included the ability to enable flexible payments and defer payments.

“We know many businesses are facing cash flow challenges. We have the option to pay our suppliers' invoices promptly to support the businesses that assist us deliver services to the community.

“We will also review our current budget to redirect funding to assist small business and our community groups in recovery. This will be an ongoing project – we are in this together, and for as long as necessary.”

Ms Stork encouraged any residents experiencing financial difficulties to reach out and contact council by calling 5422 0333 or emailing mrsc@mrsc.vic.gov.au To view the Financial Hardship Policy, visit mrsc.vic.gov.au/financialhardship#InThisTogether The #InThisTogether initiative looks at supporting the wellbeing of the community at this time and finding innovative ways to deliver services and programs while council-run centres are closed.

“Already our fitness staff at the Kyneton Toyota Sports & Aquatic Centre are sharing videos to encourage people at home to keep moving and exercising. We encourage you to join the conversation by using the #InThisTogether on social media and help us spread the positive stories of residents, groups and businesses doing great things.”

Link: mrsc.vic.gov.au

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Joy as poetry speaks to the inarticulate

C

HERYL Howard, the Newham-based creator of the nationally distributed Poetry Matters, says many in the creative fields have emerged from cocoons provisioned with educated parents and abundant books. She told her story to Donna Kelly.

"Often they began to develop their talents in childhood. This is not me. I am not one of that many, but the many other. We share some treacherous memories that can haunt us.

In Grade 1, after our first – and only – venture into the improvised art shed fitted out with easels and paints, our teacher created a spectacular show, furiously shoving all our productions into the bin, while screaming at us, that we are destined for work in factories, and had no right to waste her time messing about with paint.

As a class of seven-year-olds, another teacher thought she needed to inform us with all the authority she could marshall that the only future waiting for us was that of a sticky mess in the gutter.

But the thing about human beings, even very young ones, is that while circumstances may be hammering and shaping, there is also something else in us that will fight for its freedom and for its truth.

Often people talk about how school turned them against poetry.

But I was grateful to any teacher who wanted to torture the class with poetry. It was like being handed, no matter how, a little lamp for carrying through to where I had to go.

Poetry gives me joy because it speaks to the inarticulate; it reaches into that part of myself that cannot find any other way to express what it feels.

When we speak and write in prose we stay within what is known. Poetry bypasses grammatical rules and the fixed meaning of words. It lowers a line into the deeper, inaccessible regions of our being.

For instance, the grief and the love I feel for my father who was a thinker, an inventor and very resourceful - a man who suffered awful neglect and disrespect – lies out of reach and forever unmended. But then I might come across a poem by Yehuda Amichai titled My father, in a white space suit and the poem talks to me and to my father. It begins 'My father, in a white space suit,/walks around with the light, heavy steps of the dead/over the surface of my life that doesn't/hold onto a thing.' It ends with 'And he floats, how he floats, into the grief/of his endless white death.' Does it give comfort, does it provide solace? Not really. But it does change something in the texture of what I feel.

I began Poetry Matters in the spring of 2006. I woke up one morning and the concept presented itself as something I had to do. It is a great surprise to me that I have kept on with it. But, of course, the idea didn't come from nowhere. There is a poetry journal called Studio. The editor, Paul Grover, helped me to refine a poem or two that I had submitted. When someone does some good, it is natural to want to pass on the same to others.

It is not a project that involves ambition. As the names suggests, it is the poetry that matters. It seems to me that egos and poetry don't get along well together. Poetry wants to be loved for what it is, and not for what it can lend to your name or your bank balance.

The concept evolves as I develop an understanding of what is needed. At first I reached out to a friend for poems and had a few contacts to help with getting its existence known. Nevertheless even after all these years it is still quite small in circulation – less than a hundred.

I reach out to people who may not get acceptance in mainstream publications. I have reprinted and paid for a number of poems written by vendors of The Big Issue. I have encouraged people who struggle with various difficulties to contribute. All states and territories are either currently involved or have been at some time.

It is something that is open to whoever is interested. Sometimes I leave copies around for whoever may find them. I am happy to send out a copy to anybody who requests one: poetry.clh@gmail.com

The Local is something that I look out for. I always read Donna and Kyle's columns, being very curious about people, I appreciate their ability to write honestly without pretension. Of course I don't always agree with everything, which is what makes their writing all the more interesting.

I was really happy when poems began to be a regular feature, especially as poems are rapidly disappearing from most other publications. When Tom Perfect's poem The day you gave us, Lord … appeared, I was envious, thinking that is the kind of poem I want to publish. So I asked Tom if I could publish it and he agreed. It is a masterful, vivid work, that addresses one of those truths about our lives; how they can creep past us without us noticing. Saying that in prose has little effect, but a poem delivering the message is a different matter. It can enter the brain and alter something there.

The first time I drove through Newham was sometime in the 80s and we were living in Melbourne. I had a thought that it was peaceful and maybe it would be a good place to end up. And in the strange way in which events and circumstances come together to give us what we wish for, so it came to be.

Early in the new year before this current crisis hit I was thinking of starting some kind of informal poetry club. Informal, as in, turn up whenever you want, and that I would be there every day putting in my time on my own work and that people could come and bring whatever they wanted to share. So, when we get to the other side of this, that is something I would be interested in; expanding the local input of poetry close to home."

Image: Contributed

Recipes for lockdown...

Cornish pasties Pampas shortcrust pastry (5 sheets which make 10 pasties) Filling ½ kg rump steak cut into small pieces 1 large potato cut into small slivers 1 medium swede turnip (grated or put into food processor) 1 onion chopped Salt and pepper 1 egg lightly beaten Method Roll out pastry sheets to make 10 circles (I use a bread and butter plate).

Mix steak, potato, turnip and onion together in bowl and add salt and pepper. Place equal quantities on each pastry circle, placing the mixture to one side of the pastry. Using water, moisten the edge of the pastry and then fold it over to make the pasty shape. Crimp the edge and do a couple of fork marks on the top.

Use a pastry brush to coat with egg mixture. Cook in oven for about 20 minutes. I usually start off at 200 degrees C for 10 minutes and then reduce the heat to about 180. It's usually two trays, so I swap the trays around after 10 minutes. They freeze well, so if you are planning to do this, don't over-brown them.

- Carolyn Menadue, Eganstown

Next week: Anzac Biscuits, then Irish Stew Do you have a recipe to share?

Email donna@tlnews.com.au #keepingthecommunityconnected

Cl ick th on e l th ate is st pic ed tu iti re on fo r

The Local - weekly in print and @ www.tlnews.com.au Cl ic othk he er re f ed or iti all on th s! e April 6, 2020 Issue 174 Our amazing community

The Local - The Heart of the Highlands

24 Opinion

www.tlnews.com.au

Just sayin’...

Pick me, pick me!

By Donna Kelly

H

MMM. I keep reading about people with projects to keep them busy. I have never been busier. And that's just great.

We made the decision to go weekly because we felt the community needed to keep up with current local news and just lots of good news as well.

So it means we pretty much finish up on Sunday, hit the print button, and social media buttons, have a celebratory drink, maybe two, go to sleep and start again. Yes, in the old days, and it is funny how quickly days become old, we had a few days off mid-week before we started the cycle up again.

But I feel like we are very lucky to have meaningful employment and while, as you can see, advertising is way down, people are doing what they can to support their local journalists. A big shout out to Mark Ward, owner of the Amazing Mill Markets, who rang to say he didn't need his advert any more, the markets are shut, but he wanted to keep paying us anyway. Wow. We thanked him, accepted and then changed his advert so it can keep running, and be ready to hit the ground when all this madness is over.

We had to let our talented and wonderful editorial team go, but they have all said they will continue to write for us, and you, and Nick and Lindsay are still poring over every edition, twice as often now, making sure we are typo-free. That has been a very humbling experience. The Local has always been free and there is no paywall on our website but if things get tougher, we may ask if anyone feels like shouting them a bottle of wine on occasion - as in the cost of. We will do the same, whenever we can.

So, despite it being a very tough time, there are some great news stories out there. And then there are just the ongoing good news stories that we keep finding. Two more women on the Hepburn Shire Women's Honour Roll, Herbal Lore handing out free sanitiser, Lynn Johnson weighing in on the endangered animal debate, our front page couple Todd and Adele founding a community assistance fund to help with the cost of medicine and a lovely farewell to the wonderful Michael Cheshire.

We will keep bringing you all the news and we hope you keep reading. And don't forget while a pet is not just for Christmas or COVID-19, there are still plenty, like Abby opposite, who are after forever homes and happy to make a contribution to your sanity.

I fear that is the next tsunami we are going to battle, so along with doing your bit with social distancing and isolation and washing hands and generally just not being a dick on Facebook, please think of those who might need a phone call or an email or a Skype.

There are plenty of already isolated people in the world for whom a little chat might make all the difference. I have a long list already and am making my way through it two calls a day at a time. Just sayin'...

'

Hi there, I am Abby, a pretty young lady looking for a forever home and happy to provide lots of comfort during these strange times.

M/C 956000012189889 BR100938 Please note the shelter is closed and currently open by appointment only. Please call the shelter for further information.

Mount Alexander Animal Welfare is at 24 Langslow Street, Castlemaine. Phone 5472 5277.

(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 five 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 non-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 25

Immunisation times

Kyle’s Rant

W

ELL, April Fool’s day has passed. I thought that maybe the big elaborate joke would be revealed and the pandemic was just a bit of a giggle back at Parliament House.

I had run through a scenario in my head that maybe Scomo, at 12.01am on April 1, would stumble onto the podium get in front of the cameras, shout out “Andrew, you don’t run the press conference, I’m happy to return to you, I’m going with Catherine" and then say gotcha. He would continue by espousing “now we have your attention please don’t litter" or some other civil pre-wartime message.

But no, here we are in the middle of World War C, an unfolding ugly situation that not only affects our worlds, it turns our worlds upside down, rocking us with uncertainty and fear of something we can’t even see.

But that is the last you will hear from me about the disaster of the situation.

Instead I am continuing this column with the absurdity, ingenuity and resourcefulness that folks from the Central Highlands are coming up with.

Firstly, if you are not on Instagram, get on it. There are some hilarious skits going on there and it is a much friendlier experience than Facebook, where the community prefer to rip each other’s eyes out over the smallest of comments.

Honestly, as Molly would say, do yourself a favour and get on it. And if you’re a technophobe, get on the phone and ask a young person to walk you through the setup, it's easy as.

Some of the stuff you should look for on the 'gram include The Cottage Herbalist, where Leon from Blackwood-way and formerly Radio Springs Hotel, hosts the Quarantini hour with his cohort of alter egos mixing up the finest boozy concoctions.

Over at The Myo Studio, if you need to stretch out your cooped-upness, Erin is doing online pilates classes. If you’re up for a bit of herbal relaxation and the use of essential oils, Fiona from Daylesford Aromatherapy has all the lockdown tips and tricks on how to get through a pandemic. You can even catch-up on what’s going on at TL HQ where we have a slightly more unconventional answers to life and the lowdown on lockdown.

On the TV front, there are myriad choices of what to watch – too many really, so if you come across some doozies - old, new, bordering on inappropriate - drop me a line and I will highlight them in my next column.

My choice for the moment is a series on Netflix called Pandemic. Yes, I know, it’s probably inappropriate and I can hear you all collectively gasp, "What’s the crackpot on about now?"

However, this series was filmed around the SARS and MERS potential pandemics with references right back to the Spanish flu. It is amazingly informative and correct about their predictions of what we face today, and for the person who is trying to figure out what’s going on with all this news floating past, it gives you a great anchor point.

Anyway, let me know what’s caught your attention on the small screen with an email to kyle@tlnews.com.au Not so ranty rant, over…

M

ACEDON Ranges Shire Council's immunisation session hours have been extended in order to ensure children can continue to be protected from infectious disease.

Assets and Operations director Shane Walden said keeping up with immunisations was always important, but was now vital due to the current coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.

“We understand some people may not want to take their children to a clinic at this time, but following through with timely childhood immunisation is important.

As a result, our immunisation service is adapting to ensure this can still happen,” Mr Walden said.

As well as extending session times, additional precautions have been put in place to ensure the safety of residents, immunisation nurses and staff. Only one parent or caregiver should attend a session with any child requiring immunisation. Anyone who feels unwell or has a temperature should not attend these sessions.

The new session times are first Thursday of the month at Kyneton, noon-1pm, Woodend, 2.30pm-3.30pm and Gisborne 9am-10.30am, and third Tuesday of the month at Riddells Creek, 9am-10.15am and Romsey, 11.30am-12.45pm.

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