THE 38-metre tall figure of Christ the Redeemer towers over Rio de Janeiro. Now the Central Highlands has its own, much smaller, version, not in stone but in that great Australian basic, corrugated iron.

Standing on the horizon as a constant attraction to visitors at Lavandula in Shepherds Flat, the four-metre figure is the work of sculptor Peter Laszlo and his artist wife Rosie. Welsh and Belgian respectively, they show a passion for spirituality, demonstrated by living off-grid and renouncing distractions such as TV, while finding both politics and religion unnecessary.

At Lavandula, Peter, 61, has a small blacksmith’s shop where he makes metal sculpture. He shows photos of wonderfully elegant fire dogs and produces a 30mm thick iron bar wrought into the elegant shape of a knot.

He plans to specialise in marvellously wrought gates and garden furniture. “I try to make it look as though it’s moving,” he says showing an example of an elegant gate in France decorated with moving objects.

The reward he gets from his highly tactile art is when people smile at it. “That’s the best appreciation.”

Ebullient Rosie, 54, joins in what they call the joy of bartering by painting portraits to swap, something that can take from five minutes to three days. Or they may barter manure from their 25 goats for strawberries.

 They met in Rosie’s homeland where Peter was showing his art at an African restaurant called The Rainy Season, which she was decorating. Having studied at a private painting school, she worked as a decorator for five years.

Everything changed when she found a book by Frenchman Michel Potay who, when living in a small fishing town in 1974, said he received 40 night visits from Jesus. His book tells of how to be sin-free and without “the misguidance of religious and political dogmas”.

After living in New Zealand, the Laszlos moved from Melbourne to the Central Highlands, a place says Peter, of “special energy”.

“We aim to create a small community to regain our sovereignty. Our society is unbalanced and materialistic.”

A time such as now presents an opportunity for people to think about their death. “Our body dies, but the spirit lives on if you are good…” This, he says, comes from Potay’s book.

Their utopian outlook has led them to set up what they call the Good Path Foundation, where people will be invited to learn skills such as cheesemaking and gardening.

“It will be a haven for free spirituality and true sustainability.”

Their four-hectare block at Basalt is a place where their tree planting follows the practice of the region’s original Djub Wurrung people, keeping seven to 10 paces between trees to allow grass to grow.

“We have to focus on a bright future and change, not go back to the way we were,” Peter says. “If we are freer, then goodness comes out of us. Love and freedom go together.”

“We aim to create a small community to regain our sovereignty. Our society is unbalanced and materialistic.”

Words: Kevin Childs | Image: Contributed

THE Victorian Government is extending the $20,000 First Home Owner Grant for people buying or building a new home in regional Victoria for an extra 12 months, in another measure to support Victorians through the coronavirus pandemic.

Treasurer Tim Pallas recently announced that the regional grant – which had been due to end in June – would be extended until the middle of 2021.

It gives more Victorians the opportunity to live in regional Victoria and enter the market for the first time, while also providing certainty to the regional construction industry as the state deals with the impacts of coronavirus.

In 2017, the Victorian Government doubled the regional First Home Owner Grant from $10,000 to $20,000 to tackle housing affordability and help Victorians realise their real estate dreams.

Since then, more than 8800 regional First Home Owner Grants have been provided, saving Victorian families $176 million.

To be eligible for the grant, the purchaser or purchasers must be first home buyers buying or building a property valued at $750,000 or less, and it must be used as the principal place of residence for 12 continuous months following settlement.

The grant is available for first home purchases across 48 councils with Greater Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Wodonga and Shepparton among the most popular.

The regional grant is part of the Victorian Government’s Homes for Victorians package, which also offers a $10,000 First Home Owner Grant for eligible purchases in metropolitan Melbourne and offers stamp duty exemptions and discounts for new homes up to $750,000.

Treasurer Pallas said the coronavirus pandemic was making it even tougher for young people to achieve their dreams of homeownership – and that was why the government was extending the grant which had helped so many regional Victorians.

“Owning your own home shouldn’t be a pipe dream – we’re helping out with the financial kick-start they need to make it a reality,” he said.

In your desire to protect your plants from the many pest attacks, it’s easy to overlook the many other inhabitants of your garden, some quite inconspicuous, but mostly on your side.

Since the mid 1950s when the world’s major chemical companies turned their resources towards producing domestic products, it has been all too easy to flood our gardens with  “harmless to humans” of all kinds to keep the garden bug- and disease-free…and what a catastrophic mistake in many ways that was.

Throughout my teen years working in the family nursery I would think nothing of spreading a knapsack sprayer full of whatever was the latest concoction through the glasshouses and outdoor beds, dressed for Summer in shorts and singlet, to keep the plants pest-free in blissful ignorance of the consequences that were to come. 

Which included in my case persistent rashes, heightened bronchial asthma and a crap immune system. We were later to discover the far-reaching effects of systemic sprays – those designed to stay in the system for long-lasting effectiveness.

The truth of it all hit home in 1962 when I read Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, which exposed the destruction of wildlife through the widespread use of pesticides. Despite the attempts of the worldwide chemical industry to ban her book, she succeeded in creating a public awareness, leading to changes in government policy and inspiring the modern ecological movement.

It certainly changed my whole perception of the horticultural industry. Especially when I discovered that many of the products stocking our garden outlet’s shelves had been long-banned from sale or use in the US.

Fortunately we now have a great range of organic and natural gardening remedies at our disposal if we wish, as a last resort, to spray. But remember there are more inhabitants in our gardens than those out to damage our plants and I’m not just thinking of the bees and other flying insects they rely on for pollination.

If, like me, you prefer not to risk harming the useful garden predators, there are alternatives like low-toxicity sprays based on extracts from plants such as pyrethrum, garlic, even rhubarb, and detergent-based insecticides building on the old country soapy water remedy. There are also biological sprays such as dipel which causes grubs to be attacked by a bacterial disease, harmless to anything else.

The good news is that it is possible to make quite satisfactory sprays at home from readily available materials. I will feature a list of them, with their recipes, in next week’s column.

Build a bug hotel

One way to attract and keep useful predatory insects in your garden is to provide them with  secure accommodation and one way is to provide shelter in the form of a bug hotel hanging close to the plants you wish to protect most. And why not build one yourself as a garden ornament/craft project? One of my several rustic hotels is pictured, with a couple of likely visitors, the south-east Australian hover fly and a praying mantis, orthodera ministralis.

And some stunning spuds are being unearthed.

The Denis and Alison Walsh family, one of the local families who have been growing Trentham potatoes since the gold rush, dubbed this nicola spud, pictured right, and below left, as “Pota-toes” when they dug it up this week.

The giant spud is destined to become gnocchi.

Trentham Spudfest was due to be held on Saturday, May 2. The annual event draws more than 3000 visitors to the town.

Words: Peter Young | Images: Alison Walsh

Moon Magic

Since the dawn of man,

The moon in all her stealth and glory,

Fills our darkened skies,

No envy, no malice,

Just a penitent sadness for our frailty and humanity,

So often seething with pain and strife,

That darkens our days and nights and lives,

Yes, COVID-19 or coronavirus,

And many other pestilences before this,

Have stifled and snuffed out lives,

Some in their prime,

North, South, East and West

– In the far-flung corners of the Earth,

She sees it all,

Her misty teardrops,

Fall upon our fevered brows,

Her light like a calming mantle,

Helps us through our darkened nights,

Her peace cannot be shaken,

Nor her glory taken,

For the Creator has planned it thus.

Silently she rotates in her orbit,

Bringing us seasons of plenty and seasons of lack of poverty and pain,

Yet she brightens our paths through life and death,

Till time stands still.

– Vanessa Craven

Vanessa Craven is a musician with a fascination for the supermoon, which occurs when then earth and moon are in closest proximity to each other. Vanessa says the ‘man in the moon’ is always so sad and brooding. She took the above photo of the latest supermoon – a few weeks ago.

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

JUST talking to Dallas Kinnear is inspiring. So, if you put together all of the amazing work she has done towards creating a better environment for not just Australia but the world, it is no wonder she has been inducted into the Hepburn Shire’s Heather Mutimer Women’s Honour Roll.

But to do all she has done, Dallas had to dramatically change the life she was handed.

She was born into a very successful entrepreneurial business family in Geelong where she had a free-ranging childhood reared by staff with a live-in cook and cleaner. But at the age of just seven she was sent to an elite private school as a weekly boarder. She felt unwanted by her parents so worked hard to please her teachers instead – and became a high achiever.

As she grew up, she attended charity balls, had a coming out dance, was given a car and even presented at court. She taught for a while, back at the same school, and then married a successful television producer and had four children.

“And we had enough status and money to live in a grand, beautiful house right on the banks of the Yarra. I had it all! And that was when my personal shockwave hit me.

“I was in hospital having our fourth child and my husband met a young woman and dumped me. It was devastating.”

But after wearing sunglasses for a week, Dallas finally picked her shattered ego and pride off the floor and decided she could now live the lifestyle she wanted – with values and beliefs that had always resonated in her heart, but that she had been unable to act on.

While at the family’s holiday house at Metung, she had met a returned services pilot who was a passionate environmentalist, grew his own vegies, had a mudbrick house and a very happy family with four children.

“Everything he told me resonated with me, it just made so much sense. When I was dumped I knew I didn’t have to live in the stuff-rich, energy-gobbling life I had been living.

“So, I went around Australia for six months camping with swags on the ground with the kids and that taught me how much you don’t need for a rich and full life. I soon met my partner Murray and went to live in his house in St Andrews which was a really forward-thinking alternative community – and suddenly I had found my tribe.”

The couple and their combined six children then moved to a farm at Yea. There Dallas went on the local school’s Mothers’ Club and quickly turned it into a Parents’ Club. She also trained with the CFA. Sadly, when a fire did come through, she was in Melbourne and they lost 220 sheep just about to lamb. Another fire took out 1400 trees but using compensation from the State Electricity Commission, they just went and planted another 3500 trees. Surrounding farmers thought they were mad but when they sold the property, they got the top price for the region.

Among her many achievements are a literacy program for disadvantaged school children, she fought for funding to ensure an addition to the curriculum of secondary schools, TAFEs and universities so students could see the importance about CFCs, after a Democrat bill to move that all fridges were recycled of their CFCs before going to the tip was voted down. She also made a film with SBS called It’s Not All Rubbish about the importance of recycling in schools.

When the Montreal protocol on limiting CFCs was being renegotiated in London, she took a student from each state with her to create a lobby group. The flight was courtesy of Qantas and when they arrived, they bought a sheet from an op shop, painted a huge Save Ozone banner and hung it on Westminster Bridge. The photo went viral and Dallas was awarded a United Nations citation and gold medallion in recognition of her commitment to youth and the environment.

Dallas has worked and volunteered with the Australian Conservation Foundation in a number of roles and since moving to Hepburn Shire 25 years ago has taken a number of unsightly developments to VCAT – and won.

At 83 she is still going strong, creating media for last year’s student strikes raising awareness of climate change and she runs the café side of the Repair Café – and has done so since its inception. She is quite proud of a friend’s description of her as “a council botherer”.

She loves where she lives. “It’s been 25 years up here and I have had a wonderful time, I can’t tell you how rich and full my life has been. Much richer than that vacuous rich life I lived in the city. I have made wonderful friends and think that this shire is a vibrant and interesting place to live with lots of people with big hearts who value family and friends.

“And I love being old. I have lost the knowledge and quickness of mind and I am allowed to be slow and forgetful, unreliable, irresponsible, incompetent and inefficient – and I love it. No-one asks me to do anything anymore so I am time-rich to be with friends and family and to read.”

In finishing our chat, Dallas asks that I include the things which have given her the most inspiration. And who am I to say no?

The books, All Men are Brothers: Life and Thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi as Told in His Own Words and Deschooling Society by Ivan Illich, the philosophy of the Dalai Lama and a TEDx talk by Shani Graham, Take a Street and Build a Community.

Words: Donna Kelly | Image: Contributed

Pictured: Dallas Kinnear

IT’S Loretta Little’s big contributions to her community that have seen her inducted into Hepburn Shire’s Heather Mutimer Women’s Honour Roll.

Her history of volunteering began a long time ago in Melbourne, where she lived before moving to Daylesford about 12 years ago.

Back in 2000 Loretta helped set up a group called Welcome, to take care of Afghan refugees coming into Australia, then she went on to help set up a group with a base in Afghanistan assisting women and children among others.

“It’s the sort of thing I like to do,” Loretta explained. “I’m not an activist, I’m just a person who likes things to happen and to make sense. All you need to do is find a group of people to work with you. Then you can achieve what you set out to do.”

And that’s exactly what happened when Loretta moved to Daylesford.

“The first thing I thought was it astounded me that Daylesford didn’t have a cinema – so I got a really good group, a really wonderful group of volunteers together, got the locals involved, and we literally built a 100-seat cinema and that ran for four or five years as purely volunteer and became a necessary part of the community.”

Then came The 5000 Club.

“I was running The 5000 Club for nine years, and the volunteers were what actually made it. I was the organiser, but they were absolutely wonderful.”

The 5000 Club – which gets its name from when Jesus gave out the loaves and the fishes, although the club isn’t a religious  one – was held every Friday for people who otherwise wouldn’t be sitting with good food and great company.

“There’s a lot of organisation below the surface and it just appears to happen, but that’s how we want it to look.”

Loretta has always had a good association with cooking and providing food for people – one of her daughters is a trained chef and Loretta also used to volunteer in the kitchen and dining area at Sacred Heart Mission.

“We were feeding about 350 people every day so to come up here and set up a group that catered for about 40 people was very simple really.”

It’s one of the reasons she’s such a worthy recipient of the honour – even if Loretta herself wasn’t so sure when she found out.

“I just said thank you very much, really. My reaction was – I was very honoured to be chosen in that way. But there are so many people in this area that do so many good things for people.

“It’s all about volunteering and what you gain from it – I say to people about volunteering that it’s a selfish occupation because you get a lot more from it than you give to it.”

Sadly, at the last committee meeting, the volunteers decided that the risk of continuing this year was too great and The 5000 Club has been closed due to Covid-19.

But Loretta herself isn’t exactly taking time out.

“I’m just looking around now and thinking ‘what else needs to be done?’”

“I was running The 5000 Club for nine years, and the volunteers were what actually made it. I was the organiser, but they were absolutely wonderful.”

– Loretta Little

Words: Kate Taylor | Image: Kyle Barnes (Stock photo)

Try to maintain perspective

While it is reasonable for people to be concerned about the outbreak of coronavirus, try to remember that medical, scientific and public health experts around the world are working hard to contain the virus, treat those affected and develop a vaccine as quickly as possible.

Find a healthy balance in relation to media coverage

Being exposed to large volumes of negative information can heighten feelings of anxiety. While it’s important to stay informed, you may find it useful to limit your media intake if it is upsetting you or your family.

Access good quality information

It’s important to get accurate information from credible sources such as those listed below. This will also help you maintain perspective and feel more in control.

•      Australian Government coronavirus (COVID-19) health alert

•      Health Direct – Coronavirus (COVID-19)

•      smartraveller.gov.au – travel information for Australian citizens

•      World Health Organization – coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak

Try to maintain a practical and calm approach

Widespread panic can complicate efforts to manage the outbreak effectively. Do your best to stay calm and follow official advice, particularly around observing good hygiene habits.

The Australian Psychological Society has advice about maintaining positive mental health during the outbreak.

Try not to make assumptions

To contribute to a sense of community wellbeing, try to remember that the coronavirus can affect anyone regardless of their nationality or ethnicity and remember that those with the disease have not done anything wrong.

Managing your mental health while in self-isolation or quarantine

There are a number of ways to support your mental health during periods of self-isolation or quarantine.

•      Remind yourself that this is a temporary period of isolation to slow the spread of the virus.

•      Remember that your effort is helping others in the community avoid contracting the virus.

•      Stay connected with friends, family and colleagues via email, social media, video conferencing or telephone.

•      Connect with others via the Beyond Blue forums thread: Coping during the coronavirus outbreak.

•      Engage in healthy activities that you enjoy and find relaxing.

•      Keep regular sleep routines and eat healthy foods.

•      Try to maintain physical activity.

•      Establish routines as best possible and try to view this period as a new experience that can bring health benefits.

•      For those working from home, try to maintain a healthy balance by allocating specific work hours, taking regular breaks and, if possible, establishing a dedicated work space.

•      Avoid news and social media if you find it distressing.

Seek support

It’s normal to feel overwhelmed or stressed by news of the outbreak. We encourage people who have experienced mental health issues in the past to:

•      activate your support network

•      acknowledge feelings of distress

•      seek professional support early if you’re having difficulties.

Beyond Blue has fact sheets about anxiety and offers other practical advice and resources at beyondblue.org.au.

The Beyond Blue Support Service offers short term counselling and referrals by phone and webchat on 1300 22 4636.

Last issue I gave you some clues for putting this current free time into enhancing your garden. Now, here are some projects and activities that should keep young (and not so young) hands and minds occupied and, hopefully, awaken an interest in all things botanic.

Once upon a time…well, it was about three decades ago, soon after we moved here, I was invited to run a weekly garden club for the senior students at Daylesford Primary School, most of whom were volunteers maintaining the beautiful school gardens.

It ran for several school terms and we had a great time, although perhaps except for one tiny moment when, at the end of the first session, one lad expressed a little disappointment. “I thought you were going to be Kevin Heinze!” Fortunately he soon forgave me and we became good pals. My old compatriot Kevin later thought it was hilarious.

Apart from the few seeds and seedlings I initially took with me, all the activities were created from recycled bits and pieces my eager crew brought from home. That situation is pretty much the same now.

The first and basic project was to grow vegetables from seeds sown in an empty egg carton. After slicing off the lid (to be kept as a drip tray under the plants), make a small drain hole with a knitting needle or large nail in the bottom of each compartment then fill each with some potting soil and insert a seed just under the surface.

Place the “garden” on a well-lit windowsill or some other warm spot, watering lightly every few days until the first leaves appear. For little hands, large seeds of fast-emerging plants are best. Dried beans from the pantry, or pumpkin and watermelon are great once dried. These can later be planted out in a “special place” in the garden.

The next project involves a large, empty, plastic drink bottle. This can be used in two different ways. Either cut in halves horizontally to use the bottom half as a “cloche” or bell jar to place over a pot plant, or cut in halves lengthwise to become a mini glasshouse when placed over the egg carton tray.

Another simple project, sure to please, is a hanging bird feeder made from either a lidded clear plastic bottle which, pictured top, has several wooden dowels (or chopsticks) poked through it as perches and small holes located just above each for the birds to peck out the seeds.

An alternative, undercover feeder can be made from one of the rectangular detergent-type containers, usually with an offset top handle. For this you cut out a section from the handle side large enough to make a “porch” with a reasonable space beneath to fill with seed. This will enable the birds to actually fly inside the container to feed. Hang them out of reach of predators (both two- and four-legged) in a shady tree or shrub. Make sure it’s located within viewing from a window, where the birds can been seen unmolested.

New plants from waste

You have no doubt seen, or even grown, flowering bulbs such as hyacinths or tulips in a glass jar or vase. This is also a bullet-proof way to grow other bulbous or big seeded plants such as sweet potatoes, avocados, tuberous iris, etc. It isn’t necessary to use the specially shaped bulb vase, pictured centre, you can simply suspend them at the correct height above the water – just deep enough to keep the bottom wet and encourage root growth – by inserting three or four toothpicks at a strategic height around them. Place them on a warm, sunny windowsill. Simply top up the water as it recedes.

Once their roots fill the base of the container they can be potted up or planted out in the garden. Or in the case of flowering bulbs, once they die back, store them for the next season.

You can recycle leaf vegetables such as celery or bok choy, by leaving 4 or 5 cm of stem on the base to revegetate in water, pictured bottom. Place the plant base in a glass vase or jar with 3cm or 4cm of water-filled gravel or stones at the bottom.

Most root vegetables such as beetroot, carrots and parsnips can be reborn in water, in their case, when you take their tops off leave at least one centimetre of “flesh” below the leaf base circle to generate root growth.

The brightly coloured beetroot leaves and ferny fronds of the carrots make their resurrection worthwhile. Grow them in a shallow dish or saucer sitting on a constantly moistened pad of paper tissue or a circle of kitchen washing sponge, again, in a warm, well-lit place.

Well, that should start your creative juices flowing and get your offspring gainfully occupied.

More next week, including how to give your plants a “reverse tattoo”.

MANTEAU Noir in Daylesford has been shortlisted as a finalist for a national design awards – The Dulux Colour Award in the Commercial Interior: Workplace and Retail category.

Manteau Noir was opened by Victoria Varrasso, inset, on March 2, 2014.

The awards program, now in its 34th year, recognises Australian and New Zealand practitioners who are using colour as the hero and a strategic feature in innovative design.

The 2020 Dulux Colour Awards received more than 450 entries with 107 finalists across Australia and New Zealand.

Designer Carole Whiting said the key was to “not to try too hard…don’t let the design dominate the space”. “Producing an elegant retail design that allows the product to hero without receding into a bland background is the fine balance sought. Navy blue is striking and ubiquitous but still allows the product to shine.

“Vintage storage pieces, hand blown glass lighting and crisp signage sit comfortably with aged and patina-ed mirror and steel surfaces which provide interest and detail when examined but these touches do not dominate and allow the diminutive retail space to breathe.”

AS DOORS close at some of our most renowned restaurants and luxury getaways, some cafes and venues are coming up with ingenious ideas to stay open.

So, as we observe the stay in, stay safe maxim, it comes as a relief to know so many enterprising places now offer takeaway and delivery.

Lake House and Annie Smithers’ Du Fermier in Trentham may be shut, but an offshoot of Lake House, Wombat Hill House in the Wombat Hill Botanic Gardens, is now Wombat Staples and Takeaway, offering vegies, sourdough loaves and baguettes from Thursday to Monday.

Another prized establishment, Sault at Musk Vale, the setting for many weddings, has become one of the more stylish drive-through takeaways. As well as three-course meals, frozen meals, partly-baked bread and gourmet fish ‘n’ chips, Sault is offering paid delivery on Friday and Saturday and a basic market of fresh produce.

Like Sault, Bistro Terroir in Howe Street, Daylesford, will be selling takeaway alcohol as well as offering takeaway meals and delivery. Dinners, mainly of braised dishes and salads, will be available Thursday to Sunday and lunch Saturday and Sunday.

Up the hill, newbie Beppe Kitchen + Bar trattoria offers lunch and dinner takeaway, while its better-known sibling Cliffy’s is shut.

Yardbird in Howe Street offers takeaway pastries, curries, burgers, wraps and milkshakes. Nearby, Sakana Japanese restaurant is not taking bookings until April 17.

The Farmers Arms Hotel offers home delivery by one of their staff, 12.30pm to 8.30pm daily, they’ll fetch pork belly, lamb shanks and more.

Only the bottle shop is open, 4pm to 7.30pm at the Daylesford Hotel. The bistro and bar at the adjacent Royal Hotel are closed, but there is accommodation.

Down in Vincent Street, Jen Latta has moved her Wine and the Country alcohol sales next door into her Dos Deli and is offering takeaway, with free local delivery of meals such as sandwiches or a hamper with a bottle of wine.

Nearby Pancho is locked, but Jackie’s on Vincent has lunch and dinner collect or deliver, with those dumplings available every day.

Across the road  Frangos & Frangos is offering home delivery in Daylesford and Hepburn, operating from 7.30am to 6pm Sunday to Thursday and to 8pm Friday and Saturday. It’s also takeaway only further down the street at Betel Boy, running from 5pm Friday and Saturday.

Larder is serving coffee and goodies in the adjacent lane, while the Food Gallery is closed but there’s takeaway ready at Sweet Decadence.

Across the street a four-customers-at-once rule reigns at both Daylesford Chargrilled Chicken and the pizza place next door, while it’s two at a time in the Seafood Bar. Daily takeaway is available from the neighbouring Daylesford Steakhouse.

Back in Albert Street, the coffees come through a window at Muffins and More, and over the road Red Ginger Thai is takeaway only.

Both the Boathouse and Splinters Café are closed at Lake Daylesford.

East Street’s Dele Food and Wine has Monday to Saturday gourmet food takeaway, while Spade to Blade has meals for the microwave or freezer, with both collection and delivery

In Hepburn, Frank and Connie’s takeaway dinners are on offer from its recent acquisition, the former Blue Bean Love Cafe, now Harry’s Eatery and Bar. There’s “no contact” coffee and brunch 8am to 3pm and then pick-up or delivery from 5.30pm to 8pm. Further afield, the newly expanded La Peche Gourmand in Creswick is doing takeaway only.

In Kyneton, Piper Street Food Co showcases its Friday night pizza, expanded pick-up and delivery for locals. 2Eat At Home by Colenso runs a meal subscription service. Trentham’s Aterics Café Bar has takeaway food and coffee at the weekend and coffee 9am to 2.30pm Monday to Friday. Chaplins is closed but Trentham General is there for morning coffee, but best to check for any changes.

Atelier Chocolat is closed to customers but taking orders as Easter looms.

The popular Cosmopolitan Hotel has a takeaway dinner menu 5pm to 7.30pm. You call to order, pay and arrange where to collect your meal.

*All correct at press time but subject to updates.

**Image: Piper Street Food Co.

ELEVEN agribusinesses in Hepburn and Macedon Ranges shires have received grants through the State Government’s Small-Scale and Craft Program to support business growth, create jobs and attract more visitors to enjoy our locally made food, beer and spirits.

The four Hepburn Shire agribusinesses awarded grants of up to $25,000 include:

Adsum Farmhouse at Glenlyon which will use the money to buy a range of supplies and infrastructure to open a farmgate shop and to conduct tours and classes;

Daylesford Brewing Company which will use its grant for brand development and a marketing strategy to allow the business to expand its customer base;

Morningswood Farm at Eganstown who will use the money to create a farm shop and the facilities for customers to pick their own berries from the farm; and Terra Australis Distillery at Daylesford which will use the grant to purchase a glass still and associated equipment to produce finer and purer alcohol and to increase production.

Pictured:  from left, Roger McLean and Sue Herringslake from Terra Australis Distillery

The seven Macedon Ranges agribusinesses were:

Animus Distillery which will use its grant to support their increasing production and the development of two new gins; Piper Street Food Company which will use its grant to purchase a display fridge and freezer, allowing them to increase their product range and reduce waste; and  Dreaming Goat Dairy, Hand to Ground, Big Tree Distillery, Olive’s Olive and Wondermazing Honeybees.

A total of 131 agribusinesses across the state have been awarded a Small-Scale and Craft Program Stream One grant as part of the $10.2 million program.

Who cares

whether you keep washing your hands

keep corpse length distance from your fellows

whether you stay at home

Covid does

Covid cares

It’s ready

and will travel

It’s the holiday

you don’t want to have

All summer you’ve been primed

to be proactive

when things look crook

Bushfire weather coming

Go early

Get out

Now it’s all

Stay home

Lap it up

– Bill Wootton, who lives in Hepburn Springs and has gone to ground.

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

President Jason Dooley said the club had decided on the action at an emergency committee meeting a few weeks ago after hearing that training would end due to social distancing rules.

The move is being implemented by Peter Pedretti, the club’s under 12s football coach and club treasurer.

Peter asked the juniors to contact him directly and let him know if they want to take up the offer, and so far about 90 per cent had taken up the offer with Peter buying about 60 netballs and 100 footballs and personally delivering them.

Jason said the club felt it had to devise a plan because one of the main concerns was mental health and specifically the mental health of the kids.

“So we decided that we would buy all our kids and oz-kickers a new football or netball each, so as in self isolation they could keep a ball in their hands and keep sharpening up their skills and to make them feel the love from the club and let them know how special they are.

“Our hands are tied as to what we can do for the kids, but this is a small thing we can do, and it might lift their spirits a bit. That has certainly been the reaction we are getting. The parents and kids alike have been thankful, over the moon, appreciative and even emotional.”

Any juniors who are yet to receive a football or netball can contact Peter on 0419 320 961.

Words: Kyle Barnes | Image: Contributed

From left, Paige, Chad and Heidi Torrance are very happy with their football and netballs

Even though the season ended early, the club was lucky to get the junior club championships played on a beautiful sunny day made for tennis. The results of the nine sections played were:

Singles:

Girls Under 10 – Winner Lola Santurini, runner-up Eve Righetti

Girls Under 12 – Winner Maddie Lane, runner-up Lola Santurini

Boys Under 12 – Winner Oscar Stone, runner-up Logan Koleski

Boys Under 14 – Winner Adam Leonard, runner-up Oscar Stone

Under 18 – Winner Dom Dennis, runner-up Josh Liversidge

Doubles:

Girls Under 12 – Winner Maddie Lane and Lola Santurini, runners-up Olivia Righetti & Grace Hetherington

Boys Under 12 – Winners Oscar Stone and Logan Koleski, runners-up Ari Scheltema and Manu Scheltema

Under 14 – Winners Oscar Stone and Adam Leonard, runners-up Giselle Stewart and Maddie Lane

Boys Under 18 – Winners Dom Dennis and Josh Liversidge, runners-up Ryan Coleiro and Adam Leonard

Anna Santurini did a great job in leading a group of keen Hot Shot beginners on Saturdays. Unfortunately the presentation morning was cancelled so many thanks here to Anna, junior tennis organisers, parent helpers, barbeque chefs and Albert Street Butchery for their part in a successful junior season.

A new Tennis Victoria initiative on Monday evenings, Open Court Tennis, for adult beginners or people who haven’t played for years, generated lots of interest. As one participant said: “I haven’t used a tennis racket for 25 years and this has been the most fantastic opportunity to reconnect with a game I really love to play. “

The club thanks all the event organisers and volunteers led by Pete Risstrom who keep the courts in fantastic condition.