Apr 21, 2015

    Poppy Planting Day in Merredin Today was the day that a whole community had worked towards for the last few months and WOW! Merredin…you still have it! Knitters, crochet, wooden, plastic, recycled, tin foil and paper mache, whatever we could make a poppy out of…we did. Today was planting day and the sun was shining, temperature was perfect and lots of people came out to plant a poppy. This is going to be an awesome ANZAC weekend, if you have never made it to an ANZAC march, then make sure you attend this...

Apr 13, 2015

Twilight Food Festival           England, Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, Italy, South Africa, China, India and New Zealand were all very well represented at the Twilight food festival on a beautiful Friday evening in March. As people finished work they headed on over to the front of the visitor centre where tables were set, BBQ’s were hot and tasters were plenty. They all cooked up a storm with their countries traditional dishes and the community was ready to try them. The first stop was Sweden, where Barbao Ricci presented us with some delicious Swedish meatballs and she followed up with chocolate balls with coconut and oats.   Then on to Paul Marks who had made a traditional English dish called Toad-in–the-Hole served with mushy peas atop…oh yum! Jomon Joseph & Ajith Iype clearly knew how to make South Indian beef fry and South Indian chicken curry, they served it on white rice and told me they had made it not so spicy, but they certainly were beautiful dishes. New Zealand was next with Sue Clark. Sue shared some amazing secret recipe cheese rolls and pavlova with cream dressed with kiwi fruit for dessert. This is a tough assignment but I soldiered on to the next stall which was Sal Marais and John McKane who made South Africa proud with their Boerewors rolls with chutney. Sal told me the translation is “Farmers sausage”. These were really tasty. Even though it’s Friday night, Jimmy managed to represent China famously with everyone’s favorite, Cantonese noodles.   Ireland had Irish Lamb stew and Irish soda bread with Brid Fitzsimmons. Carina Macdonald from the visitor centre made fudge for Scotland and the last stop was Julie Nicoletti with her delicious and scrumptious Tiramisu. Julie tells me Tiramisu means ‘a pick me up’. This is not just a dish, this is an adventure to the tastebuds, needless to say, I went back for seconds. Jim and Bev Flockart showed us a can from the Northern Territory dated back to 1992, a 23 year old witchetty soup. At the time it cost $7.50 per can. View more images of the twilight food...

Apr 12, 2015

#putyourdressout Merredin ladies put out their wedding dresses on Saturday in tribute to Stephanie Scott whose family should have been celebrating her wedding day rather than preparing her funeral. It’s also a reminder of the tragedy of violence against women in our country, 30 Australian women have already been murdered this year… mostly by men already known to them. Rest in Peace Stephanie...

Apr 6, 2015

Saturday 25th April ANZAC Day Centenary All welcome / War memorial, Cummins Theatre / 5.45am, 10.30am, 2pm / Free  ANZAC Day is a special one this year, commemorating the centenary of Gallipoli as well as being the day when we generally remember Australians who served in all wars. As you know, we’ve put some work into the war memorial, more than doubling the size of the garden and planting special edition “Gallipoli Centenary” roses, which will provide a beautiful centrepiece to the dawn service. 5.45am: Dawn march departs from Post Office The dawn service will take place at the war memorial. After the service, everyone is welcome to enjoy some hot drinks and breakfast at the Tivoli Room. 10.30am: Morning march departs from the Post Office The morning service will take place at the Cummins Theatre, and there will be a free community morning tea that everyone present at the service will be invited to. 2pm: “Entertaining the Troops” variety show This year there will also be a special “Entertaining the Troops” variety show at the Cummins Theatre. The variety show will be comprised of local singers, dancers, musicians, actors and more, and will also be free to attend. There will also be a free community afternoon tea afterwards in the Tivoli Room. For more information contact The Shire on 9041 1611 This post is brought to you courtesy of Sheree Lowe Media & Communications Officer of The Shire of...

Apr 4, 2015

Bikers Against Child Abuse B.A.C.A.® I met these bikers at the local community show where they had come to spread their message. I was so impressed by their commitment and determination that I wanted to write about them and tell as many people as possible because if this webpage can reach even one child that needs these guys then it is a job well done. When I was talking to the biker in charge I asked him what he wanted me to write, he said “This bit here, nothing more, nothing less” as he pointed to the Mission Statement on the flyer he handed me. So that is what I will write…nothing more and nothing less. B.A.C.A.® Mission Statement (B.A.C.A.) exists with the intent to create a safer environment for abused children. We exist as a body of bikers to empower children to not feel afraid of the world in which they live. We stand ready to lend support to our wounded friends by involving them with an established, united organisation. We work in conjunction with local and state officials who are already in place to protect children. We desire to send a clear message to all involved with the abused child that this child is part of our organisation, and that we are prepared to lend our physical and emotional support to them by affiliation, and our physical presence. We stand at the ready to shield these children from further abuse. We do not condone the use of violence or physical force in any manner, however, if circumstances arise such that we are the only obstacle preventing a child from further abuse, we stand ready to be that obstacle. B.A.C.A.® W.A. Chapter. Email: perth@bacaaust.com Helpline: 1800 OZ BACA 1800 69...