November 6 was the date for our first BBQ at Bunning for some time. We were blessed with a dry day and plenty of customers happy to buy a snag or two and support our Shed.
We had a good crew turnout for both the morning and afternoon shifts and thanks goto everyone who helped. Members are reminded that these Bunnings BBQ form a huge part of our fundraising for the year and every endeavour must be made to ensure that Bunnings are happy with the way we conduct ourselves and are happy to continue having us back.
Well, finally, Covid related restriction were eased enough for the Weston Creek Men’s Shed to hold its delayed Annual General Meeting.
Our Secretary, Cliff Frost, who would have normally chaired the meeting was unavoidably called down to Melbourne to attend to family matters. Fortunately, John Webster, Member member of the outgoing committee graciously accepted the challenge to act as fill-in chairman, and did a terrific job. Our thanks to John for doing this at such short notice.
As per the agenda various reports were reported on and were well received by the members present, with all being duly moved and passed without question.
Prior to the major business of the day, the Committee elections, the outgoing President, Allan Booth, thanks all the current committee members, and those who had served on the committee at various times during the year, for their services to the well being f the WCMS
The chairman then declared all positions of the committee vacant and an election was held to fill the now vacant positions. As there was only one nomination for each of the positions, and in accordance with the Rules of the Shed, a motion was put from the floor that they all be elected unopposed. The motion was carried unanimously.
These are the results, and thus your new committee for 2021/2022
President
Allan Booth
Vice-President & Public Officer
Brian Black
Secretary
Cliff Frost
Treasurer
Denis Mitchell
Member
Terry Hourigan
Member
John Webster
Member
Allan Simpson
Member
vacant
The vacant member position will be discussed at the first committee meeting and will be filled from the list of volunteers who expressed an interest after the event.
Today, Thursday 28 October, a few of the members helped our Garden Manager, Graham Lacey, shift 2 cubic metres of garden soil from the driveway and into the new raised garden beds.
A bunch of vegetables seedlings, grown from seed by Graham, were then planted and the dripper system reinstalled.
Vegies in the ground this year are : silverbeet, corm, beans, mini Lebanese cucumbers and tomatoes.
Graham says thanks to those that helped and we are looking forward to a bumper crop!
After a couple of false starts due to weather and restrictions, a few of the members were able to meet up near the Shed , in a totally social distanced and health regulation compliant way, of course. The two groups strung out along a socially distanced line and faced off, firing muffins and insults at each other for an hour or so.
What a relief just to be able to see the others and hear their voices, listen up as each one told their tale of survival: jobs done, jobs avoided, the woulda-coulda-shoulda been dones.
We would all like to say that if you’re reading this and doing it tough during this restricted time of our lives, pick up the phone and call someone for a yak just to relieve the tension. You are not alone!
Allan restated that while the Shed itself was closed, members could still arrange through him to access hardware that they might need to finish a project such as screws, nails, timber, paint etc. A Call and Collect service if you like.
Last week, the fourth container in the series of Containers For Good that the Weston Creek Men’s Shed have been filling up with useful workshop and household items, was sealed up and sent to Quaama, where it was gratefully received by the organisers.
They sent us the following email in recognition of WCMS involvement:
Dear Allan and fellow Weston Creek Men’s shed Members,
On behalf of the whole Quaama community, thank you for your continuing efforts to collect and send goods down to us.
A huge thank you from our community for the latest container load of ‘stuff’. The items you send are going to a much wider area than just Quaama. We also have regular attendees from as far afield as Tathra and Yowrie.
News of the arrival of the fourth load drew such an attendance that the majority of the goods were dispersed in a single opening. The Quaama Tennis Club ask me to thank you for their ”new” BBQ and we continue to enjoy our lunches cooked on the new Quaama Hall BBQ. We coincide new openings to occur at the same time as we have our Monthly markets at the hall.
There has been a great cooperative spirit as to who gets what and how they will get things home. Several attendees with utes/trailers have offered to deliver for others. The dispersal committee decided that the very fine aluminium storage box is going to a young man who lost all his business tools of trade in the fires and will be of great use to him on his new ute.
Delivery of your items has catalysed a wider goods exchange with the container partially being refilled with local goods excess to need, thus furthering reuse of otherwise unwanted ‘stuff’. Addition of a fire pit on these colder winter openings has created a new community gathering point.
Sooo.. as long as you fine people have the energy to continue sending us goods we will be glad to distribute them to the wider community here. Many burned out households are only just beginning to be able to return to their properties and so are only now thinking what items they might need.
Big virtual covid safe hugs from all of us at Quaama xxxy
To celebrate Men’s Health Week, members of your Executive Committee demonstrated their cooking skills by serving healthy food to members.
Terry Hourigan cooked up a chicken and vegetable soup and served it in china bowls rescued from Salvos and Vinnies. Our new Secretary, Cliff, cooked up a delicious Zucchini slice and freshly cooked vegetable pikelets topped out with a fruit plate of apple, pear and banana. And not to be outdone your President delegated his contribution to his wife who prepared a platter of delicious sandwiches.
Following the healthy lunch Nutrition Australia made a presentation on nutrition and healthy eating. The presentation by students from Canberra University was informative and well received by members in attendance. For more information about healthy eating see: www.eatforhealth.gov.au
The folks from Hearing Australia gave a presentation to the members and then conducted hearing tests for anyone that was interested. Information and Contact details were distributed to the members, who expressed their appreciation of the presentation and the efforts of Hearing Australia
The call went out recently for members to help with some work on the shed’s garden beds.
Graham Lacey, who organised the days activities has this to report:
The weather gods smiled on the group of 11 enthusiastic Shed members who gathered at the Shed last Friday 7 May for a gardening working bee. This working bee was a follow on from the working bee held a month or so back to fill the new garden beds with soil.
A number of tasks on the garden “to do list” were very successfully completed in the morning. These included: demolition of the concrete block steps (Brian and David discovered how solidly the government built things in the past – over specified?); fixing a storage cupboard to the wall in the gardening shed (Mick W and Duncan S); maintenance and linseed oiling of tools (Alan S, Bruce Mc and John M); construction of a timber base for the compost bin (Warren J) so we can get the compost happening; and refurbishment of garden pots and planting of garlic bulbs (Peter R). Bram B continued working on the garden watering system.
It was great to see these members contributing their ideas and experience as well as their hands to these tasks. Thanks also to the workshop guys, in particular Michael H, for their contribution of advice and assistance on the day. Watch this space for reports on future gardening activities through winter and leading into spring.
Our mural, painted by local artists John Voir, was finished last month. John kindly extended the canvas to include both sides of the shed, and was ready to brighten up the container as well until it was pointed out that it was not WCMS property!
On 6 April he was given an unexpected and pleasant surprised when his artwork was inspected by His Excellency General the Honourable David John Hurley AC DSC (Retd) and his wife, Mrs Linda Hurley, when they paid a private visit to the Weston Creek Men’s Shed.
A big thank you to John from the members of the WCMS for his fine efforts in brightening-up or shed.
