T Bendigo’s newsletter about positive and active ageing Research

Bendigo’s newsletter about
positive and active ageing
Issue 3, Spring 2012
This issue
ASPREE study
Artist Noela Stratford
Forever young
Creative opportunities
Welcome to our third
Edition of Zoom!
This issue is all about creativity and
the flourishing arts community round
Bendigo. It was Albert Einstein who
said, “Creativity is contagious. Pass
it on.”
This is what we’re hoping to do:
give you a snapshot of some of
the many arts groups and artistic
practitioners who live and work near
us.
As these frosty mornings are
replaced with sunshine and daffodils,
perhaps we can turn off the heater,
venture out and discover a creative
activity that could bring new
enjoyment to our lives.
Action for
happiness
Find three good
things each day
P
eople who are grateful tend to be happier,
healthier and more fulfilled.
Being grateful can help
people cope with stress and
can even have a beneficial
effect on heart rate.
This action is easy to do
yet its benefits have been
scientifically proven.
In tests, people who tried
it each night for just one
week were happier and less
depressed one month, three
months and six months later.
Source: www.actionforhappiness.org
Printed on 100% Recycled Paper using Vegetable Based Ink.
Research
nurse
and avid
knitter
T
here was a time when
local research nurse
Lynn O’Neill’s dream was
to work in a wool shop
and knit all day long. For
20 years her passion for
wool craft took a creative
hiatus while she focused
on her career. Today,
inspired by a local knitting group, the Bendigo
Woollen Mills and craft
events, such as the recent
‘Women of Wool’ show,
she considers herself to
have the best of both
worlds.
“When you live in
central Victoria, crafts
naturally play a big part of
life for people of all ages,”
says the avid knitter and
ASPREE Senior Clinical
Trial nurse.
Lynn is a familiar face
to some of the 380 local
participants enrolled in
the ASPREE (ASPirin in
Reducing Events in the
Elderly) study, a worldfirst trial to determine if
aspirin can keep older
people, aged 70 plus,
healthier for longer.
The Monash University
led study sees her travel
up to 400km per week
undertaking health
assessments in ASPREE
participants who have
been randomly assigned
to take 100mg of aspirin
or a placebo tablet daily.
“The majority of
people enrol in the study
as a way to give back
to the community and
because it’s easy,” says
the former intensive care
and cardiac rehab nurse.
“Most participants
don’t understand why
more people are not
involved.”
Lynn is based at the
Bendigo Clinical Trial
Centre, which is one of
seven ASPREE regional
posts in Victoria. She
loves meeting older
people in the study, who
share their experience
and life stories.
“I am inspired by what
so many older people
have done in their lives
and what they are still
doing.”
It is during study
visits that Lynn often
picks up tips and tricks
of the craft and has
been known to send
her compliments home
to the wife/daughter of
ASPREE participants
wearing especially good
hand knitted jumpers or
MARFS (male scarf)s.
Lynn has recently
mastered 4ply circular
knitted socks, hats
and fingerless gloves,
which she customises to
individual finger lengths.
These are in demand
from family and friends –
something all crafters can
relate to.
“My 20 year old
nephews are always
requesting hand knitted
beanies,” she laughs.
“When they were
10, they wouldn’t have
dreamed of wearing one.”
ASPREE is the largest
GP-based study
ever undertaken in
Australia. It aims to
enrol over 15,000
participants nationally,
with 700 from central
Victoria. Anyone aged
70 and over, who has
not had a heart attack,
or stroke should speak
to their GP about being
involved ASPREE or
ring 1800 728 745 (toll
free from a landline), or
visit www.aspree.org
for more information.
Page 1
Noela Stratford
Out and about
- Profile of an artist
Shuttle, Spin, Ravel
and Roll
shuttle spin ravel and roll
Exhibition showcasing
fleece with flair, living
Arts Space, Bendigo
Visitor Centre.
Photos: Andrew Perryman
Noela Stratford lectured at Deakin
University for a period of ten years and
was awarded her PhD in 1998.
She now concentrates on her
painting and drawing whilst assessing postgraduate students for several
universities.
Noela has held 26 solo exhibitions
and was awarded residencies in Thailand, Spain and Australia. In 2000 she
won the Bendigo Art Gallery Work on
Paper Prize and has works in public
and private collections throughout
Australia and overseas.
Her work focuses on the interpretation of landscape. Noela’s
exhibition, Cataract: A Gorge Revisited,
is presented at Woodbine Gallery
in Malmsbury from the 9th - 30th
September (phone 54232065). Her
website is www.noelastratford.com
The Living Arts Space
was established in 2010
to showcase the talents
of local arts practitioners
from Bendigo and region.
It is located inside the
Bendigo Visitor Centre in
the historic Post Office
Building, Pall Mall.
Shuttle, Spin Ravel and
Roll presents a delightful
and colourful array of
works made from wool
by four local artists and
designers. Bonnie Mitchell,
Michelle Lawler, Helena
Richardson-Collins and
Glenis Beaumont have
each created distinctive
and sensuous items using
different techniques such
as hand-loom weaving,
machine and hand knitting,
dying and felting. The
pieces have sometimes
involved combining wool in
its various forms with other
materials in unique and
creative ways.
Also on display is
furniture made from
Australian timber by local
craftsman, Simon Wilson.
These modern, welldefined and beautifully
crafted timber pieces
complement the textiles on
show.
Exhibition continues
until 14 October 2012.
Opening hours 9am
to 5pm daily, except
Christmas Day.
or 5441 4288.
Strathdale Senior
Citizens Club
Loddon Campaspe
Multicultural
Seniors’ People and
Places Project
The Loddon Campaspe
Multicultural Seniors
(LCMS) is currently
running a Program for
Seniors, sponsored
by the Department of
Health. There are monthly
activities available, visiting
nearby towns to discover
attractive places and enjoy
the time out. Bookings
essential as bus seats are
limited. To find out more
and for bookings, please
call LCMS on 5441 6644
The Strathdale Senior
Citizens Club, located
at 155A Crook Street
Strathdale, provides
a variety of activities
throughout the week craft, cards, indoor bowls,
walking groups, concerts
and many more. New
members are always
welcome. For more
information please phone
5441 1665.
Bendigo
Neighbourhood
House
Yoga: Thursday 10.00am
and 11.15am - $10.00 per
session
Community Meal: 4th
Tuesday of each month,
gold coin donation
Reiki: Tuesday 10am
– 2pm (minimum $5.00
donation, by appointment)
Body Talk: Thursday from
10.30am ($5.00 donation,
by appointment)
21 Neale Street,
Kennington.
Phone 5441 2515. Email
[email protected]
People & Places Project launch
Page 2
?
in the spotlight
Does This Person
Live In Your Street?
by Robyn Warren
T
Forever
young
E
by Ro Marriott
very Thursday morning the joy of living
combines with the love of
singing as a group of choristers gather to rehearse.
Another thing they have in
common is their age – they
are all older people.
The formation of the
choir, aptly named Forever
Young, was something
Laura Dusseljee, Head of
Junior School Music at
Girton Grammar, had been
planning for a long time.
“I’d been thinking about
the project for a decade,”
she said “and I put the idea
to Girton’s Headmaster,
Matthew Maruff, who liked
it. I then visited various
retirement villages and had
friends speak on my behalf
at U3A choir to recruit
choir members. We made
plans and, in February
2011, Forever Young got
under way.”
No auditions were held,
the only requirement for
membership was a desire
to sing.
Laura remembers they
were all a bit nervous at
the beginning but, before
long, the two hours of
strenuous training every
Thursday morning showed
results and everyone
began to relax. The dream
became reality and she
can be justly proud of her
group of 65 Forever Young
singers.
Many choral groups
concentrate on the
classics, but Laura
believes rock songs
deal with love and loss
and longing – strong
emotions important to all
age groups and certainly
demonstrated by members
adding their own brand of
magic.
The Forever Young
Singers stage a concert
annually at the Capital
Theatre. This year it will be
held on Wednesday night
the 3rd October. The choir
has had wonderful support
from the community
and has been invited to
perform at other functions
in the district.
This year choir
the choir in full voice
of the group as they belt
out a range of rock songs
of all genres including ‘It’s
a long way to the top (if
you wanna rock’n’roll’).
The singers are lucky to
have the talents of the
Girton Grammar School
music students available
to accompany them. This
year the String Orchestra
and the band The Pistol
Grips will be on stage
members are being
photographed and
painted by artists from the
community. An Art Show
will be held at Dudley
House in View Street
between the 2nd and 7th
October.
For further information
regarding the choir please
contact Laura Dusseljee at
Girton Grammar School on
5441 3114.
his woman has made significant
contributions to her community
over many years.
During the sixties, near Rabaul,
she taught in one of the few High
Schools that existed for boarders
at that time in New Guinea. She
recounts the story of one of her
students whose father wanted
to marry her off to a much older
man – a common practice then.
After working through various legal
processes, the girl became her legal
daughter, was able to continue her
studies, and later became a doctor.
A teaching career in Accounting
and Taxation followed at Swinburne.
Throughout her adult life
she has volunteered in many
capacities. Highly valued for her
accounting expertise she’s been
a natural choice as Treasurer in
many organizations, including
being the first Treasurer of the
Bendigo Community Bank when it
was established in Elmore. “This,”
she said, “livened up Elmore and
fed much-needed money into the
community.”
As well as being a dedicated
carer for her husband, this tireless
woman still finds time for painting,
quilting, spinning, machine-knitting,
and being an active member of the
Red Hat Society, an international
support group for older women.
Happily living in Bendigo for
the past four years, she declares,
“Bendigo has all the benefits of a
big city – but fewer people.”
Her name is Lesley and she lives
in Kangaroo Flat.
We hope that this community
member profile encourages
you to get to know the people
in your street and celebrate the
contribution of older people in our
community!
Page 3
Creative opportunities
F
or those keen to get
their creative hands dirty
there’s no end of possibilities.
Here’s a selection:
Treat yourself:
drawing workshops
with Anne Tweed
“Where you start isn’t
always where you
finish….”
Three day intensive drawing
workshop. No artistic
experience required, just
a willingness to trust the
process and yourself.
The workshop is
challenging but accessible to
all levels from experienced
artists to people with a desire
to draw.
At the end of the
workshop you will not
only take home a beautiful
drawing created by you,
you will also take home the
knowledge of how to problem
solve through acknowledging
the space around objects and
creating pathways.
Located 15 mins from
Bendigo, soak up the
beautiful vistas of the region.
With no more than 6
people per workshop you
will be assisted through the
drawing process step by
step, gaining confidence
along the way from the
extensive guidance and
critique.
Lunch (using premium
regional produce) and
refreshments are provided,
and at the end of the day
enjoy individual critique and
group discussion over a glass
of local wine.
Red Shed Gallery, Sutton
Grange Road, Sedgwick.
Bookings essential as limited
spaces are available.
The cost is $300.
Workshops run monthly,
email or phone for
expressions of interest: 5439
6060 or [email protected]
Page 4
Bendigo
Neighbourhood
house
Water Colour Painting and
Drawing Mon & Fri mornings
($10.00 per session). 21
Neale Street, Kennington.
Phone 5441 2515. Email
[email protected]
Arthouse Direct
Arthouse Direct are
offering a range of classes
from October through
to December: Tuesdays
Painting with Pastels and
Pencil Drawing with Lee Anne
Trewartha; Wednesdays Oil
Painting with Patrick Verdon;
Thursdays Watercolour with
Hilary Loftus; and Saturdays
Traditional Charcoal Drawing
or Still Life Oil Painting with
Aime Sacrez.
All classes start in the
third week of October, run
for ten weeks and include
materials. Times and fees
vary. To find out more
contact: 5443 9700 or
Bendigo@arthousedirect.
com.au.
Twelve Shed Arts
“One tree isn’t a forest,
one person isn’t a
community. Here at
Twelve Shed Arts we
have a forest made by
the community, for the
community”
Linda Newton (Art
Tutor), 2012.
Exhibition space accessible
to artists in the community,
and art classes and
workshops for everyone,
including mosaic workshops
and adult art workshops.
Contact Mark Polsen on
5446 8813 or 0401 510 470,
or drop in to 14 Sailors Gully
Road Eaglehawk.
twelve shed arts
where to start? Why not
join the Bendigo Art Society
(BAS)?
Members of the BAS
range from beginners to more
professional artists who meet
monthly to exchange ideas
and information. Meetings
usually start off with a guest
speaker and may include a
workshop, planning future
activities and opportunity for
members to show off their
latest paintings or enlist help
with problems they may
be having with unfinished
artwork.
Other activities include
outdoor painting at a quiet
picturesque location, gallery
visits, weekend workshops,
an annual four day “Paint
Away” to a beach area or
the mountains, an annual
exhibition held in Dudley
House, View Street Bendigo
in October, and another
display running for two
months during September
and October at the Bendigo
Pottery.
We meet at the Kangaroo
Flat Gateway Park Centre,
High Street Kangaroo Flat
on the 2nd Tuesday of
Bendigo Art Society
Do you have a desire to take
up painting but don’t know
arthouse direct
each month. Morning and
afternoon tea are provided.
Membership is $30.00 per
single and $50.00 per couple
which includes a monthly
newsletter. Call in and see
us in action, or for more
information contact: Judy
McGrath 5439 7179 or Bruce
Ramage 5443 2550.
Bendigo Pottery:
There’s lots going on!
Recent additions at Bendigo
Pottery include five individual
artist’s studios housing
sculptors, artists, a lampwork
glass bead & jewellery maker
and a printmaker.
And that’s not all: Four
gallery areas; tours; wheel
throwing, hand painting
on plates or hand building
with clay; and a huge new
antiques and collectables
centre with over 30 individual
dealers.
With changing exhibitions
in the Paynter Gallery & local
potters’ work in the Potiche
Gallery, the cafe provides the
opportunity to take time out
and enjoy all the pottery has
to offer.
To get there: Huntly Bus
Route No. 8 will transport you
from Bendigo Railway Station
to the front gate of Bendigo
Pottery.
To find out more:
5448 4404. Email: bpottery@bendigo.
net.au
Website www.bendigopottery.
com.au/
Come in
and find
out...
La Trobe University
Visual Arts Centre
Y
ou may have noticed the
modern glass fronted
building opposite the Capital
Theatre in View Street and
wondered what was behind
the glass facade. It’s the La
Trobe University Visual Arts
Centre (VAC) and you’re very
welcome to come in and
explore.
The VAC is a free public
gallery which presents 23
contemporary exhibitions
a year in its various gallery
spaces. A recent addition
to the exhibition program
is the Facade Project. In
partnership with the City
of Greater Bendigo, the
VAC launched a national
competition in 2011 inviting
artists to submit a proposal
for an artwork to cover
the 14 by 4 metre facade.
An artist’s fee of $3000 is
awarded to the winning artist,
and the work is exhibited
for 12 months. A new image
appeared on the facade just
recently.
The VAC also features
a 90 seat auditorium where
public seminars are hosted,
as well as a meeting room
which seats 12. Both these
facilities are regularly used
for University programs and
hired out for a variety of
community and corporate
functions.
You are invited to join
the VAC’s mailing list to
receive information on new
exhibitions and exhibition
launches. If you register your
email address, you will also
receive a monthly newsletter
providing information on
Connecting with
the visual arts at
Bendigo Gallery
by Leanne Fitzgibbon
Rusty Divas
R
C
onnecting with
the visual arts is a
great way to engage
with your creative
side and delight in
fresh ideas and possibilities. Bendigo Art
Gallery offers a range
of experiences, encouraging interaction
and ongoing learning,
which are designed
to complement its
diverse exhibitions.
Interested in
volunteering?
Volunteers are a vital
part of the Gallery
and there are various
opportunities for
people to become
involved. Perhaps
you’d like to be a
Gallery Guide or join
Friends of the Gallery,
a dedicated group
public events which you are
welcome to attend. Most of
these are free.
The Bendigo Art Gallery
regularly hosts their free
‘Art and Tea’ presentations
in the VAC auditorium, and
many of their volunteer guide
information sessions are also
held there.
You can find information
on current exhibitions at
www.latrobe.edu.au/vac
who provide valuable
support to the staff,
as well as organising
fundraising events.
The Post Office
Gallery also welcomes
volunteers to greet
the public and share
information about its
current displays.
So whether you’d
like to come along
and check out the
latest exhibition,
hear an artist chat
about their work or
get involved through
volunteering, we hope
to see you soon at the
Gallery.
For a full list of
current exhibitions
and programs
please pick up a
copy of What’s
On from reception
or go to www.
bendigoartgallery.
com.au
by Jan MacDonald
usty Divas formed in 2006 when a
request was made by Chum House
Hospice for someone to come and sing
for their clients. At that time, Helen,
Jenny, Maree, Kate and Jan were all
members of a Bendigo choir, good
friends who really enjoy singing and
having fun, and the request seemed like
a great idea. Little did they realise how
popular they would become! Joy and
Jenny have since joined them, lightening
the load a little and having fun too.
The Rusties have sung at weddings,
funerals, memorial services and
corporate gigs.
They’ve travelled out to Serpentine,
Inglewood, Tarnagulla and, in 2010, to
the Festival of Voices in Tassie. Mainly
though, you will find them singing at
one of the many retirement or aged care
homes around Bendigo, or you may even
catch them in the Atrium at St John of
God Hospital, a venue they love.
What do they sing? Country, pop, old
time, folk, musical comedy – you name
it and they probably sing it. This year
2012, they are hoping to cut the longawaited CD - fingers crossed!
Page 5
Support and information
Dementia A-Z:
Free seminar
Wednesday 19th September 2012 10.00am to
4.00pm, Bendigo Club, 22
Park Street, Bendigo.
Morning and afternoon
tea provided. Respite
available for carers to attend (bookings essential).
For further information,
bookings and to arrange
respite: Freecall 1800 200
422 or [email protected] . RSVP: 12th
September 2012.
Seniors ‘hub’:
Oct 8th to 10th
In conjunction with the
Victorian Seniors Festival, the City of Greater
Bendigo is running a 3 day
‘Seniors Hub’ to be held
in the Town Hall and Civic
Gardens in Lyttleton Terrace Bendigo.
It will take place from
Monday 8th to Wednesday
10th October 2012.
This event will offer a
range of activities, and
entertainment for seniors,
their families and the community and will be interactive and engaging. Am I finally a
local?
by Helen Gobbe
R
etiring to Bendigo
in 2004 was a big
decision. We were
leaving our friends
behind, and coming
to a city where we
really only knew one
person. But it was
our tree change and
we became swept
up in the excitement
of a new house,
new scenery, and of
People will be able to
participate in activities,
including dancing, singing, Tai Chi and craft, as
well as gain information
about the large range of
groups, clubs and services
on offer.
Peter Russell Clarke
will be guest presenter
on Monday evening and
Tuesday morning and we
expect lots of fun and entertainment from him. His
presentation will include a
cooking demonstration.
Light refreshments will
also be offered throughout
the program. Celebration of being a senior and
involvement in community
activities are key to this
event so we hope people
will come along and enjoy.
This is a free event and
all seniors and their family
are invited to participate.
For more information
contact Di Parker at City
of Greater Bendigo by
phone 5434 6410 or email
[email protected].
au.
course lots of new
restaurants to try.
However it soon became evident that we
would need ‘more’ so
we looked around to
join things.
Firstly it was
Bendigo Newcomers,
where we were able
to mix with people
just like us who had
only been in town
for a short time. We
went to members’
homes enjoying
barbeques and quiet
Central Vic Stroke
Support Group
The Central Victorian
Stroke Support Group
(CVSSG) is a group of
stroke survivors and carers who come together to
support each other and
share their experiences.
After a stroke people
often feel challenged
beyond their ability to
cope. Family members
find it hard to understand,
friendships can be broken
and often the survivor
and carer feel alone and
isolated.
The advice and encouragement given by other
stroke survivors is of enormous benefit. They have
already lived the journey.
The CVSSG offers
regular get-togethers, a
support network, opportunities to learn from each
others’ experiences and
ways of coping, information about services and
about stroke awareness
and prevention.
For more information,
contact members David
and Nola Dolman on 5443
9241 or Kevin and Heather
Willey on 5491 1830.
dinners. In turn, we
invited some to bring
a dish and join us for
cards.
Then along
came an offer to join
U3A. U3A had lots
to interest us, from
lectures on how
mathematics got
started, to planting
natives in our garden,
cryptic crosswords,
walking groups and a
wonderful library. The
monthly gathering
usually draws about
Zooming ahead
Thanks to our newly energised
Zoom Editorial Group - Robyn, Ro,
Judy, Heather, Ruth and Bill - for all
their work on this bumper Spring
issue.
Spring banner photo: Judy McGrath
Want to come on board?
You could write, do interviews, take
photos, illustrate, join the editorial
group…
Want to become a sponsor? Zoom
has a wide distribution (25,000 copies) throughout the Bendigo area
and a diverse readership. To help
make our publication sustainable,
we invite local businesses to consider sponsoring Zoom, in partnership with the Bendigo Weekly and
the City of Greater Bendigo.
Want to contribute?
Our Summer edition will focus on
“The Techno Age”. Copy deadline is
5 pm November 1st.
For guidelines for contributors, a
schedule of future deadlines and
themes, or to discuss what you’d
like to put in, please contact Kir
Larwill on 5434 6416 or k.larwill@
Bendigo.vic.gov.au (Mon & Wed).
Zoom is proudly supported by:
fifty people, so there
is always someone
interesting to chat
with, and the guest
speaker provides
views on subjects we
just hadn’t thought
about. Good for
the little grey cells
too, was attending
Association of
Independent Retirees
(AIR) meetings and
sharing coffee for just
$2.00.
A new town can
be very lonely at
first, but just the
other week, while out
shopping, I found I
had stopped to chat
to not just one, but
eight different people
as I made my way
from store to store. It
suddenly dawned on
me that I must finally
be almost a local. So
take an interest in
things, join a group
and soon you, too,
will be enjoying all
that Bendigo has to
offer.
Don’t miss our Summer Issue out 1st week of December (deadline Nov 1st)!
Page 6