15th June 2023

We had a great turnout to Alan Castle’s talk last Thursday on the Legal System. Alan described the origins of our legal system and spoke of the differences between the levels of proof required for criminal and civilcases. He gave many examples, and ‘stories’ of the legal system in operation.  Importantly though, Alan talked about how evidence is collected and a recommendation made to the DPP as to whether a case should go forward.

Also, Alan spoke of the role of Magistrates, Solicitors and Barristers, something we all need to be aware of when undertaking legal proceedings. We had many questions and hopefully we will have a follow-up session in the near future.

Thanks Alan.

Report: Warren Jones

1st June 2023

Last Thursday we had a talk by Wayne Simpson the CEO of Rise Above.  Rise Above is a charity supporting cancer patients in the region.  Its main purpose is to ‘make the journey easier’. 

Most of the referrals (about 500 to 600 per year) to the charity come from the Canberra Hospital.  About 40% of the referrals are patients with prostate cancer.  Breast cancer patients also make up another 40% approximately.  Wayne pointed out that more recently there has been an increase in the incidence of brain cancer but could not offer any information as to why this has occurred.

The charity started in 1986 and is based in Queanbeyan.  It provides services to assist patients to set up pharmacy accounts, pay a one-off electricity account, provide food vouchers and dietary supplements.  This is obviously a very good charity and worthwhile supporting.  Personally, I would have liked more info on prostate cancer.  Perhaps that is something we can arrange for the future if there is enough interest from members.

Report : Warren Jones

May 18 2023

Nine WCMS shedders visited the Fire Brigade Museum in Manaka last Thursday, after a delicious pizza lunch organised by Lino. Thanks Lino.

Ron Hourigan from the museum, and a retired ACT fireman, hosted the visit.  

The fire brigade in the ACT was established in 1912 with the Percy Douglas as the first fire chief.  Percy remained with the brigade for 40 years, a real achievement.  Ron spoke about the history of the brigade in the ACT and when it was merged with the NSW Fire Brigade and when it undertook ambulance services for the ACT.  ACT Fire Brigade now operates as a standalone entity.

The museum has a fantastic collection of fire trucks, the oldest being a 1913 Hottchkiss with wooden wheels!  This was not the original that operated in the ACT, but one on loan from a museum. Other vehicles included an Albion which went into service in 1923, and the famous Dennis pumpers (made in the UK) which were in service from 1935 to 1970.  A real problem with the old pumpers was that the crew were exposed to the elements and had to hang on for dear life. Other pumpers on display included the International KB6, Dennis F12 (with a RR engine) and the Dennis Jaguar.

More modern engines incorporated crew cabs but early versions were more than converted commercial trucks with a ‘box’ added for the crew travel in.  Not good for communication between the SO and the crew.

Another interesting feature was a display of old ladder trucks, including one with a wooden ladder (120 feet) mounted on large wheels. The wheels combo were detached from the truck for use.

The display included a collection of uniforms and communication Ron had a lot of interesting stories to tell about ‘false alarms’.

In all, an excellent afternoon and well worth the visit.  Thanks to our host, Ron Hourigan, and to members Alan Castle and Tony Burns for the visit.

Report: Warren Jones

6th May 2023 Tuggeranong ACT

All the signs were there for a dismal failure. Freezing, high likelihood of thick fog, general lack of enthusiasm, even the public seemed to be moving slowly….

However, the sun came out, it didn’t fog or rain, people came out to Bunnings in droves and we worked our behinds off all day selling , cooking, running, sandwiching.

Apart from the number of “sausage, no onion, no bread” orders, which we interpret as “one for the dog please” , and we are happy to oblige, the order of the day was for 10 of everything, but not made into sandwiches, the lady had her own containers and took away the ingredients for the family lunch! Thanks to all our public, we really appreciate your support.

As it was, we put the last snag on the last slice of bread at 3:20 and decided enough was enough. That was our 800+ quota cooked and delivered. Never seen a bunch or tired blokes clean up, pack up and git so fast!

Thanks to all our customers and all the shed men who worked on the project in their own way, and of course thanks to Bunnings for making it possible.

April 27 2023

Last Thursday, 9 of us visited the Police Museum at Hume (after a pizza lunch kindly organised by Lino – thanks Lino).  The visit was organised by Alan Castle.  Terry Browne from the museum gave an excellent talk on the origins and history of policing in the ACT.  Another highlight of the visit was an opportunity to see various models of police cars and vehicles, including the last V8 Commodore for the police to come off the production line.  The vehicles were housed in large plastic bubbles for climate control and to keep sticky fingers off the merchandise !!  And there was a beautifully restored Kawasaki 1100 bike that one of our members (who shall remain anonymous) wanted to take for a spin. 

Author: Warren Jones

If our ability to get into the Museum is any way to guage how hard it would be to get into a police station, then we can conclude that they are as safe as houses. The usual ‘defences’ confronted us when we arrived and included: 3m high fencing, cameras all over the place and finally having to sign our lives away before we could put foot inside the door. From here our guide (Mr Brown) went through the history of the AFP from its inception to today. This proved vey informative and had all intent . That is to say that not person drifted off during this presentation. From there we went through 3 different areas whch contained a kings ransom of ‘toys’ from the police archives.

All of us decided that the Z1000 bike was the thing that we all wanted to take home. Secondly was the different cars and trucks that they have used over the decades. We all had our different idea of what we wanted to take away. The concept of how they keep them in pristine condition was also interesting – imagine huge blow up bags with pumps that switch out air every so often. Finally we were shown the different ‘keepsakes’ that the police keep to show both the public and new officers when they are in Canberra. Unfortunately we were not able to include photos – a big no-no! We were surprised to find that the visit had taken 1.5 hours. Our guide would have gone on for some more but some members had to get back to undertake chores. We thanked our guide and departd, vowing that we would make time to come back.

Thank you goes to Alan Castle for setting up this tour and we hope to go again in the future.

Author: Tony Burns

Thursday 20th April 2023

Health Literacy Officer, C Moore, from the Health Consumers Association presented a step-by-step guide to weaving your way through the intricate health maze that one faces when you are ill or in need of medical attention. Some 17 of us were spellbound by the multitude of different groups that we face when we become ill, starting from the first port of call – the Chemist – all the way up to the port of final call, the Hospital. We learned that each of the agencies has a part to play in the health area but are also constricted in what they can do, what they can dispense and any after care that may be required.

The system appears to be rigid and this leads the patient into a web of referral after referral to get something fixed. During the presentation some members gave first hand accounts of their experience with the health system and these seemed to confirm what nearly all of us thought of the system. The hand out given to all is very comprehensive even down to locations of walk-in places.

At the conclusion of the talk we were enlightened but puzzled by the complexity of the system and why it should be that complex. As for most of us, we did not know that ear wax can be removed by the nurses in the walk in centres. I, for one, have concluded that little piece of information will not be passed onto the ‘cheese and kisses’. That way I can keep up feigning deafness when I find it is required. The group have also concluded that we would like to repeat this speaker in the future. It was felt that a wider audience would be more appreciative of this information. To this end we will engage the same speaker from the Health Care Consumers Association ( if possible ) at a date to be fixed.

Author: Tony Burns.

Stall at Cooleman Court

March 23rd and 24th we has a stall at Coolo both to sell a few trinkets but mostly to put ourselves out into the Community, telling them who we are and what we do. Its was a two day event and though we didn’t sell a lot, there was plenty of interest in our group and what we do

February 16, 2023

A bunch of blokes took the Rapid R7 into town from Cooleman Court where they caught the light rail to Gungahlin. Luncheon was taken at a the Raiders Club, a short walk front Gungahlin terminus.

Then they did the whole ting again in reverse to get back to Coolo!

11 February 2023

There is always a lot of effort and preparation required to run a Bunnings BBQ. The substantial amount of “kit” needs to be brought out of storage, cleaned and checked. The sausages and bread need to be ordered the week before. Other stock items such as drinks and sauce and napkins need to counted and fresh supplies purchased to bring stock levels up to our required levels. The day before the big event, it all starts to happen.

The onion peelers and cutters move in and set to work preparing the ten kilos of onions. The drinks are put on ice in the eskys, the sausages and bread are collected….

Oops. Despite having confirmed our order, something went wrong at Woolies Kambah; no snags! The people at Woolies were magnificent in their efforts to supply our needs and pulled out all stops, raiding all their available supplies and making sure we were “set”. Thank you all so much.

With the snags safely in the pre-chilled freezer and the bread in the tubs, all that was left was to pack the trailer and car ready for an early start on Saturday.

As promised, Saturday was clear and hot, even by 8am when we sold our first sausage sandwich for the day. Fortunately for all the men who came along and worked tirelessly to provide a great service to the public, selling 800 sausages and heaps of cold drinks, there was a light breeze blowing all day which kept the temperature down in our gazebo. 

Highlight of the day was a change of fare for the workers. In their efforts to fill our order, Woolies had given us some mixed packs which contained hamburger patties was well as sausages. As Bunning has strict rules about what we can sell at the BBQ, naturally the patties became lunch for eight of us. What a great idea! We must keep that in mind for next time.

2nd February 2023

We had a pharmacist from Cooleman Court Pharmacy come to visit for one of our guest speaker sessions. Members had been putting together lists of their prescriptions and questions about those medications for a few weeks prior, so we were well prepared for our guest and looking forward to comments and explanations. As it turned out, the principal pharmacist, Brad, who we had been expecting, was called interstate at the last moment and a brand-new pharmacist, Ash, was given an hours notice that he was “on”. Ash came prepared to talk about prostate cancer, always topical, and was a bit surprised to be handed a bundle of medications and questions. 

Ash handled the situation brilliantly, abandoning his plan and taking up the new challenge, answering all and sundry question with clear and helpful answers. It was fantastic to see so many men taking so much interest in their health and the treatments that they had been prescribed.

Ash must haver felt like a doctor at a party!

Our many thanks to Ash, and to Cooleman Court Pharmacy for providing this very worthwhile service to the members of the Weston Creek Men’s Shed.