Christmas Bells

Christmas Bells
Christmas Bells - Blandfordia nobilis
Showing posts with label Chamber_of_Commerce. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chamber_of_Commerce. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Robertson Chamber of Commerce Christmas Party

The R-CoC as I like to call it, had its Christmas Party last night, at Cafe Pirouette.

Bernie, Dorothy, Cate, Robert, Phillip, Caroline and Marion.

The dinner started informally, with a very good array of canapes, including an interesting little glass of blended cucumber, with a dob of crab meat floating on top, and seemingly a small dash of a mysterious liqueur. The details were lost on me, but it was very nice.


After some time for mixing and chatting, we then sat down to a very nice main course and desserts. I took the opportunity to take some "happy snaps", but I need a better flash (or more experience at taking indoor photos).

Alan, Judy, Barry, Annette, Sean, Cindy, Rona and Steve.
Micki, Dion, Carol, Philip, Hilton and Mrs Krone.
Judy and Tony, and Isabella and friends were having a nice time.Allan and Liz, chatting with the Fisk family and friends.
Andrew and Wayne who produced the marvellous food were all enjoyed.
I will take this opportunity to remind readers of the Chamber of Commerce Christmas Hamper, the "goodies" happen to be on display at Cafe Pirouette. There will be three prize winners, each worth approximately $400. Entry tickets in the competition are available at most local shops, and Cafe Pirouette. Certainly Dorothy will sell you tickets at the Old Potato Shed Gallery. Very good value. The prize winners will be announced at the Robertson "Big Potato", on 20 December.

Monday, August 04, 2008

Our New Doctor for Robertson

Ten days ago I reported that I had heard a rumour about a possible new Doctor for Robertson. Tonight I can confirm that it is true.

Tonight I met our new Doctor for Robertson, Dr Steve McGilvray, and his wife Helen, who is an RN, and is the Practice Manager. They are both very personable, and friendly, which is very nice. They are also both pet lovers, (well Helen might even be a bit of an enthusiast, but that's OK too). I feel they will fit in well in Robbo.

Dr Steve McGilvray (centre) and Helen (on right)
We were at the Fountaindale Grand Manor (the former Ranelagh House) for the Annual General Meeting of the Robertson Chamber of Commerce.

It was a good roll up, which is encouraging, for the Chamber has been only just surviving for some time. We even gained a volunteer as Treasurer of the Chamber, which will be a great relief to Dorothy, who has been doing everything for some months now.

Clr Paul Tuddenham came along, which was nice. This was the first time I have had the chance to speak privately with Paul, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised, and impressed by him. We have crossed swords, metaphorically at several public meetings, but there is always an element of role playing in public meetings. Tonight we spoke at some length about Council issues and, in particular, attempts by the State Government to assume control of the water and sewerage functions of Council. Apparently the Government is wanting to assume control of the revenue flow, and Council is trying to fight them off - partly to protect the revenue base, but also to support local employment. Makes sense to me.
Clr Paul Tuddenham,
Deputy Mayor of Wingecarribee Shire Council
Terry Oakes-Ash and his wife were at the meeting, representing the Southern Highlands Business Chamber. Terry made a brief speech supporting the Robertson Chamber of Commerce, and dare I say it, making it clear which groups within Council which he would like to see re-elected, and more importantly, other groups who he would rather not see elected, in the September elections. He also spoke in favour of the Leisure Centre proposal. Dorothy Baker, the President of the Robbo Chamber thanked Terry for his comments, but reminded everybody that the Robertson Chamber of Commerce is a non-partisan body, and is not aligned with any political party or electoral grouping.

Its all right, Dorothy. We expect Terry to speak his mind. Anybody who knows Terry Oakes-Ash understands that he is in favour of investment in the Southern Highlands - for the sake of the future of the highlands, and for job creation for the sake of the younger generation. I for one, would prefer a Council which was more sympathetic to the interests of the environment, and parks and open land, rather than more shopping centres and apartment buildings and endless housing estates. But at least Terry is always clear about what he stands for. So, I am sure nobody was upset by Terry's statements. And he has a droll sense of humour as well, which is good.

For the record, local Robertson resident Councillor, Clr Larry Whipper did not attend tonight's meeting, even though it was held in Robertson, hosted by the Robertson Chamber of Commerce. Enough said.

Robert Goldsack spoke about the forthcoming Springtime in Robertson program of events.Cate Hutchinson, who is now working for the Southern Highlands Business Chamber, but who is also a Robertson resident, spoke about the Horse Expo event which she is organising in conjunction with the Springtime in Robertson Festival. I had been a bit sceptical about the reports of the Horse event which I had heard previously, but now that I know Cate is running it, I am confident that it will all come together.
Cate was previously a Small Business Advisory Officer for the Southern Highlands region, employed by the Federal Government, but the program under which she was employed has folded, following the last election. So it is good to see that Cate is now working with the Business Chamber.
It was a very pleasant evening, and typically Robertsonian in its informality. But that's OK with me.

Saturday, August 02, 2008

The mighty August Winds are on schedule.

Robertson nearly blew away last night.

Regular readers will realise that the occasional references to the "August Winds" are something of an on-going Robertson joke. The "August Winds" can blow any time from May to December. Last night, they blew on schedule. That's pretty unusual - really!

Our winds were classed officially as "gale force" which is pretty exciting. It is a relatively rare event, to be officially described as such. It equates to Force 8 on the Beaufort Scale, with wind speeds between 63 - 75 Km/h or between 34 - 40 Knots.

Fortunately, we survived this, without any power outages.

Macquarie Pass was blocked by a fallen tree overnight, but that's not surprising, given the huge trees which line that famous mountain pass, down the Illawarra Escarpment. The Illawarra suffered considerable power outages, but they are not as used to wind as we are, and so perhaps their trees are less adapted to excessive wind.

Anyway, this afternoon, the weather broke enough to allow Dorothy and Jasmine to take a few minutes off to test out the wonderful new park bench which has been installed by the local community group, beside the Big Potato. Allan Hollis and Paul, our Village Postmaster, had fixed the new table and bench seats into position yesterday. They assured me they are fixed onto several reinforced slabs of concrete which are deeply buried. And anyway, the table itself required the use of Nat Waters's backhoe to move it - it is that heavy. Lets hope it survives the attention of vandals.Talking of which, persons who know me may be shocked to learn that I used the "F... Word" to day, in public, and at full volume. Something like "Hey You ... Get the F... out of there!" was heard to echo up and down Hoddle Street. I did it with deliberate intent, for I was ordering off a car load of what were once known as "callow youths". They had got out of their car, and run around to the back of the "Big Spud", and were proceeding to try to kick in the walls which Allan had put up, just a few weeks ago, to close off the original doorways - which had long since been vandalised.

When the doors at the back of the Big Spud were open, it allowed all sorts of vandalism to occur, and other illegal and illicit activities to occur inside. That was why the whole thing was a concern to the Chamber of Commerce, and many other local residents. That's precisely why the refurbishment of the Big Spud has been undertaken.

But even I (who am not easily shocked) was stunned to see these little idiots trying to kick in the new panels - in full daylight, and in full view of a group of other people. Fortunately Allan appears to have done a good job of reinforcing the concrete and mesh which he used to close off the original doorways.Allan Hollis closing over the original doorways in the Big Potato on 14 July 2008. Fortunately he has applied a number of very thick layers of render, over a solid and reinforced base structure. This wall panel withstood its first attack, today (with a little help from the "F... Word").

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Robbo Spud - make-over starting in earnest.

Today Judy and Allan Hollis and friends turned up with trucks, trees, bobcats and other equipment to commence the landscaping around the "Big Potato".
The first thing I would address your attention to is the red soil - both on the exposed roots of the trees (still on the truck) and also where they trees are about to be planted. That's what real Robertson soil looks like, folks.
No wonder things grow well here!

Allan was here two weeks ago, rendering over the original doorways, if you recall. That work has now been completed, as you can see. Not quite a perfect colour match, but it is pretty good.
Dorothy Baker, President of the Robertson Chamber of Commerce, is saluting the first of the newly transplanted Maples.
Tomorrow (Sunday) we hope that a working bee will take place, with local Girl Guides and others, assisting in planting other shrubs, shovelling mulch and roadbase material for paths, etc.
Here is one of our "secret weapons" for what makes the soil so good - a Giant Earthworm - uncovered by the excavator when digging holes for the trees. This is very likely to be the "Giant Earthworm" first discovered by J.J. Fletcher at Burrawang in 1886 . If I am correct, then this would be Notoscolex grandis. Apologies for the poor quality image. I should have used a flash. Sorry. I forgot to check the image at the time, and I have needed to lighten it somewhat, in post-production. This worm was approx 30 cm (15 inches) long.
This worm is still alive, and in good condition I am pleased to say. I did not touch it, as they have a tendency to break in half- as a defence mechanism - if touched - a process referred to as "autolysis" by the specialist writer R.J. Blakemore, in "Eucryphia" (Vol 54 - July 2001). A quick search on the Internet revealed that word to generally mean "cell death as a result of self-digestion". It is a term much used in wine-making, it seems - with a much more general meaning than the way it is apparently used by earthworm biologists such as Mr Blakemore. Bob Blakemore has published some 90 papers or more on Earthworms, and may indeed be Australia's leading expert in the field, even though he now appears to be working in Japan. I am not about to dispute his use of the word "autolysis".

Regardless of the precise use of the word, the reality of worms splitting in two if handled is not disputed. "Fletcher said “It is somewhat difficult to extract these large worms from the ground without injury to them, hence some of my largest examples are in a fragmentary
condition.” (Fletcher 1886 - as quoted in Eucryphia above)

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Big Potato getting a make-over

Robertson's own - the "Big Potato"
Judy and Allan Hollis are working with the Robertson Chamber of Commerce, and Jim and Roden Mauger, the owners of the "Big Potato", and a number of other volunteers, to tidy up the Big Potato. The Girl Guides from Moss Vale will be involved and a group of local kids who attend the Moss Vale High School, as well.

It has already been "pressure cleaned" to freshen it up, and make it look brighter. That's a start.

Today Allan Hollis was working to close off the two alcoves, which once were doors into the "Big Potato".
Allan is using a "Flicker Box" to achieve the right finish to match the rest of the Big Potato's rendered surface.Closing off these doorways ought make Robertson's own "Big Thing" a safer public place. There will no longer be access to the interior of the structure.Judging by how it had apparently been used, one can only say that is a good thing. When explaining this to someone today, he said: "What, you mean as in.... George Michael? ....... "
In weeks to come, the land around the Big Potato will have paths laid out, and plants planted, to tidy up the whole scene, and make it all much more presentable. Hopefully a fitting attraction for Robertson to be truly proud of.
The daffodils which Jill Keft from the Robertson Village Nursery planted over the last two years are already showing signs of poking through the soil, so they will make a nice Spring display, as before.
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