Train Making

Here is a visual update on a bit more of what the school craft club has been making towards the end of term. Peter has prepared a number of different train kits which the kids enjoy assembling and enjoy taking away to play with or give away as a gift.

Waratah Day

We won't be able to be there this year but wish to at least promote the day for others. The Annual Waratah Day is on again at the Gembrook Retreat, Saturday 15 October, from 11 am. It is always a very popular time for adults and children: fun, food, frolicking and plenty of flowers to take home with you. Click here for leaflet

Oh yes, it is not all about Waratahs. There are plenty of Protea varieties to pick from and Banksias to admire. Come and celebrate with the retreat community on one of its special days in the year.

Coloured Clay Day

Peter is always interested in strange things. He joined with other people, including children, at the recent Gembrook working bee to help with digging out an embankment of clay to create a space for a new water tank. He would occasionally stop to admire the colour in the clay. The children would occasionally play with it. The ground had a life of its own.

Though the task looked simple it took most of the day because the guys had to move the ground to another place to build an area up. That wasn't so easy. Nice to finish something but. Well done Peter A, Peter M, Adam, Esther, Ben, Sarah, Rebecca, Ian and Steve for having a hand in the dig. And soon the Hut will have its own water.

Funks on Tramp

The trampoline has proved a boon for the grandkids. Yes, they always bounce on it but not in the aggressive gymnastic way. The trampoline mat has become a world where creative role play imagination happens. When there is a break from that  it serves as a place to lounge and think, or maybe make full body letter and number patterns. There seems to be no end to what you can do on a tramp if you've got company.

Funk Angels

Do angels climb trees? Yes. Here's proof. Not all angels have wings and so trees help to give the necessary elevation that angels enjoy, as they serve God and care for people. These thoughts come to mind as we watch  our grandkids climb the cherry trees.

They are such good mates. They are so different yet they have learned to play well together even when there is three years between them.

Funk Fun

We have been remiss by not posting these pictures now about 10 days old. They tell of a visit on Sunday for morning tea and following that an activity involving model making of a train (Piper) and a plane (Jaz).

The last picture Bec sent to us a day later showing how Piper added pipe cleaner people to her train. We are very glad to have the facilities to make up model making kits that the kids like.

Gembrook Yard Art

Last weekend we stayed in the Hut again. It was nice to reacquaint with the place. No power. Just a gas burner stove top to cook with. A comfortable enough bed. Sounds outside in the night. No mosquitoes for a change. In the morning, Peter started to notice how interesting the accidental yard art looked. There were places where metal and other commercial materials had been left to find their place with the surrounding nature. This will be worth following up in more detail on some later occasion.

Community Night

We were indeed privileged to be included at the second community night of the Gembrook Retreat. There were more children than adults and it seemed just so normal and natural to celebrate such a multigenerational event... to be together... to find meaning and fun together.

Into the Light

We recently joined members of the Whittlesea community to remember Black Saturday (and acknowledge the beginning of Spring 2011) in a “walk through” exhibition. There were images of the surrounding bush, a fractured heart, a choice of pathways, presented as a journey for groups and individuals. There were many creative pieces of group or individual works to contemplate over while on the walk. The occasion was called “Into the Light” and was quite religious from a universal/community perspective.  It was very much a collaborative effort from many parts of the local community and supported financially by a number of local and state institutions. This seemed the next right step in the process of healing out of Black Saturday and accepting a forever changed life ahead.

The Whittlesea mayor Councilor Rex Griffin opened the exhibition and the Whittlesea Singing Group sang a number of songs (very engaging harmonies) as a way of calling us, who were present, to get up and do the reflective walk. 

Whittlesea Primary School kids carried lanterns into the exhibition at dusk as part of the official opening of this three day exhibition in the Cattle Shed of the Whittlesea Showgrounds (10 - 12 September). A humble place to birth new life.