Hi everyone,

We had a particularly gardeny productive week last week with Community Lunch (where we cooked a yummy Thai meal with vegetables from our garden) and Preserves Group … we made cumquat marmalade, lime marmalade AND tomato relish. Big thanks to Margaret for donating the cumquats and to Megan for donating the limes. Pop in and buy some of our excellent (not bragging - it is good!) marmalade if you like.

We are going to have our Annual General Meeting next Monday the 31st of August. Anyone who is interested is welcome to come along. It’s free, but you need to RSVP by booking in online at this link.

Also coming up in our calendar we are going to be running another of our Op-Shop Adventures on Thursday the 10th of September. These events are $10 and include lunch after a fun day out shopping. Book in online here.

And this week, we look forward to seeing you all at:

• Heart-Centred Breathwork with John on Tuesday from 7.30-8.30am (book in here).

• Line Dancing at Alphington Scout Hall on Wednesday at 10am-12pm.

• Alphington Playgroup here at ACC on Wednesday at 10am-12pm.

• U3A Armchair Theatre on Wednesday from 12-2pm.

• Cardboard Playgroup on Thursday at 10am-12pm.

• Cook by the Book on Thursday from 11.30am-1pm (book in here).

• CRUNCH on Thursday from 12.30-2pm (book in here).

• Embracing Life and Death on Thursday from 1-3pm (contact eoldoulasinmelb@gmail.com).

• Community Morning on Friday from 10am-1pm.

Lastly, here’s another link to the Yarra Council website - this time featuring Rob in the video. Thanks Rob, for talking about why you come along to ACC and why neighbourhood houses are great places for social connection.

Cheers Leanne

Last year (or was it the year before …) Thomas came along to Gardening Group with a fresh chilli, and asked Clare to teach him how to grow his own chilli plant from it. So Clare and Thomas started the process - drying the chilli pod, saving the seeds, planting the seeds, nurturing the seedlings … planting and growing the plants, harvesting the chillies, drying them … and saving the seeds … AND NOW … if you pop past our little seed library out the front you can pick up some of Thomas’s seeds to plant in your own garden! And Thomas is an expert in growing chilli plants.

Also … we’ve got some dried chillies (that we put in the dehydrator) in the kitchen for our community cooking too!

If you would like to learn more about the processes and practicalities of gardening and growing food at home, join Clare on Friday mornings in the garden from 10.30am-12pm … spring is a great time to get going so you have a wonderful summer vegetable garden to admire (and eat!).

Our Semester 2 schedule for the Embracing Life and Death Discussion Series is here! Join us over afternoon tea on the last Thursday of each month at the Alphington Community Centre as End-of-Life Doulas facilitate conversations focussing on a different theme each month  — in a space that's warm, welcoming, and open to wherever the conversation takes us.

27 August: Voluntary Assisted Dying: Dignity and Choice

24 September: Funerals and body disposal: Options  and new approaches

29 October: Bereavement: Living with grief and loss

26 November: Dementia: Your voice, your wishes, your future

📅 Last Thursday of each month
🕡 1:00 - 2:30 pm
📍 Alphington Community Centre, 2 Kelvin Rd Alphington 3078

🎟 Free, but registration is essential via e-mail to eoldoulasinmelb@gmail.com

Hi everyone,

We are running the first sessions of some of our new programs this week, including Heart-Centred Breathwork with John from the Men’s Breakfast on Tuesday morning at 7.30am - should be a lovely way to start the day! … and Cook by the Book on Thursday morning from 11.30am-1pm. Feeling super excited about these programs and seeing both fresh and familiar faces … if you haven’t yet, don’t forget to book in online here at our website!

On Thursday from 12.30pm-2pm we will also have our first session of CRUNCH for the term, and at 1pm-3pm we will have our monthly session of Embracing Life and Death.

Our novel writing workshop The Momentum to Write has been pushed back a week, so it will now be starting on the evening of Monday 10th of August - giving you an extra week to book in.

Looking ahead, we have an event with Dementia Australia coming up in August (read on for more…) and some events for Senior’s Month happening in October (info coming soon…). And we are getting ready for our Winter Arts Salon weekend running from the 14th to the 16th of August. Save the date! And encourage your arty friends to join in.

So we are busy, busy, busy - in a good way!

Cheers Leanne

We were recently contacted by Dementia Australia to see if anyone in our community would be interested in more information about memory loss, what’s normal and what can be signs of early dementia. And … we though that perhaps some people in our community would be interested in this topic, whether they are the children of older parents, older people themselves, people experiencing memory loss, worried about memory loss and/or partners of people who are experiencing memory problems etc. etc. So …

Join us for afternoon tea and a conversation on Thursday, 17th September at 1.30pm.

'Worried About Your Memory?' with Leigh Mankey from Dementia Australia

This interactive information session provides an overview of:

• Understanding the brain and how memory works

• Common memory changes and the difference between normal ageing and dementia

• Factors that can affect memory

• Looking after your brain and maintaining brain health

• Practical tips to support memory

• When to seek help

• Where to access support and services

Leigh is a Dementia Support Specialist with Dementia Australia, who provides individual and group education, information and support for people living with dementia, their families and carers.

This is a free activity - but we do need you to book. Please book in here.