Shed Program Held During 2017 - 2027

Shed Program Held During 2020 & 2021 (2019, 2018 & 2017 are below)

 
                                                                                                The following is a list of the past program this year and last year
 
 
Date 2020/2021DescriptionAttendedPictures/ Presentation
11 Jun 2021The Shed visited the National Archives of Australia (NAA) to hear a presentation by the Director-General, Mr David Fricker on the Archives’ work & to explore the extensive collection of documents & articles associated with Australia’s history. With more than 40 million items, the collection includes records about military service, immigration, First Australians & more. David spoke about the digitising of WWI (completed) & WWII (nearly completed) military records which can be obtained free of charge from the NAA website.25
4 Jun 2021Gavin Smith Professor Sociology ANU & Alex Borg, forensic scientist, both specialising in the capture & tracking of snakes, talked to us about their experiences in the Canberra area as well as their work in the tracking of snakes movements46
28 May 2021Short Talks & Pizzas42
21 May 2021Prof Will Steffen, Emeritus Professor, ANU, Councillor, Climate Council of Australia & Senior Fellow, Stockholm Resilience Centre talked on Climate Change43
14 May 2021Due to a funeral held in the Church Hall the originally planned talk will occur on 4th June. Some members met informally at the Raiders Club20
7 May 2021Peter McArdle talked about Brazil. Peter & wife Collette were members of a Rotary Friendship Exchange to Brasil in March 2020. Peter is a member of the Shed & the Ginninderra Rotary Club which was instrumental in getting our Shed established & supported since 2008. The story of the trip began some years ago during a “Recreational Vehicles Fellowship of Rotarians” caravan trip to Nelligen. These guys get involved in all sorts of community support & aid projects including Blaze Aid & flood relief assistance so a Rotary Friendship trip to Brazil in 2020 seemed like a good idea. There were four on the trip – Peter & Collette plus a couple from Brisbane.45
30 Apr 2021Ken Kemp organised an opportunity for members to have three minutes to talk on one of six subjects. Everyone was encouraged to have a say. The six subjects were: Life is much harder for young people especially finding work when we were young; Electric cars, yes or no; Sporting people are paid too much money; Marriage, the good and the bad; Covid injections, the dangers; The future of Canberra. After Geoff Grimmett & Paul Taylor organised a Sausage Sizzle.34
23 Apr 2021Frank O’Rourke will present on the coastal war of the NSW coast during WW1 & WWII. Harry Redfern Harry will present a poem by Jim Brown: ‘Anzac on the wall’38
16 Apr 2021Coffee and Chat Session at Raiders Kippax29
9 Apr 2021Alex Marriott Mob 0420 204 329 talked to us about maintaining strength & flexibility as we grow older. He works with EmPower Exercise Physiology who provide hands on courses in strength building for us oldies. They are starting a new session the week starting 19th Apr. Each session is 1hr & costs $18.50 at the ESSA clinic at Scullin, 5 Ross Smith Crescent. Janet Werner from the Stroke Foundation gave a good talk on strokes, how to recognise them and respond & how to reduce your chances of having one. Remember FAST – stands for Face Arms, Speech, Time.36
2 Apr 2021No Meeting – Good Friday
26 Mar 2021Visit to the Belconnen Bowling Club to play bowls & have a BBQ lunch17
19 Mar 2021Peter White gave the Shed a talk about “Contact on the Frontier” where he told stories about the meetings & experiences of Europeans & Aboriginal people as European settlers moved into different parts of Australia in the late eighteenth century & through the nineteenth & early twentieth centuries, particularly the conflicts that arose on these “frontiers”.43
12 Mar 2021The Shed enjoyed an interesting presentation by Trevor Lee, Architect & Secretary of the Canberra Chapter of the Walter Burley Griffin Society. Trevor’s talk was titled ‘Mystical Marion Mahony Griffin’, the wife of Walter Burley Griffin, the designer of the plan for Canberra38
5 Mar 2021A PowerPoint presentation by Roger Amos on the Shed’s visit to the National Gallery’s Outdoor Sculpture Garden on 19 February. Videos shown by Ray Osmotherly on Macquarie Lighthouse on South Head, & another “Telling the Time” by Dave Allen & background of Douglas Jardine the English cricket captain during the notorious bodyline series in 1932-1933.34
26 Feb 2021Bruce McAslan (Chief Training Officer for the Bermagui Surf Life Saving Club & the Senior Examiner for the Royal Life Saving Society ACT) gave a demonstration on how to administer CPR & use a defibrillator followed by BBQ & Sausage Sizzle46
19 Feb 2021Luke Wensing organised a guided tour of the ANG’s outdoors sculpture gardens. The Shed members split into two groups, led by our very knowledgeable guides Carol & Keith. The grounds between the National Gallery of Australia & Lake Burley Griffin display the Gallery’s extensive collection of sculpture.23
12 Feb 2021Short Talks. Mike Dwyer referred to the honours handed out on Australia Day. He noted that many had been awarded to people who were simply doing their paid job. Peter Herbert spoke about his recent heart problems. He said that he had always been fit, never smoked, is a non-drinker. His symptoms were not severe, just a feeling of not being spot on and very high blood pressure. Harry Redfern gave an impromptu rendition of Banjo Patterson’s 1896 poem “Mulga Bill’s Bicycle”. Two videos were shown; the first was about the impact of the drought in outback Qld (titled “Running on Empty”) while the second showed some of Leonardo Da Vinci’s inventions & described how some of them still have an impact today.36
5 Feb 2021Cheryl McCarthy talked about the Far south coast bushfires and aftermath. Cheryl is the Director of Lifesaving for Far South Coast of Surf Life Saving NSW which takes in 7 surf clubs between Batemans Bay and the Victorian border40
29 Jan 2021Shed stalwarts Ken Kemp, Ray Osmotherly and Harry Redfern provided a well received Australian history background presentation, some iconic Aussie music, a quiz & a poem. Following the presentations we enjoyed a Sausage Sizzle courtesy of Geoff Grimmett, Paul Taylor & Ron Thomson29
22 Jan 2021Drew McDonald provided a DVD about Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu an Indigenous Australian musician36
15 Jan 2021Peter Davis Air Attack Supervisor with the NSW RFS gave a talk about his role and his experience with the fires from 2019/20 plus other occasions. He lives and is based near Cooma.43
8 Jan 2021Social coffee & Chat at Raiders Club Kippax26
1 Jan 2021Christmas/New Year Closedown – No Shed meeting
25 Dec 2020Christmas/New Year Closedown – No Shed meeting
18 Dec 2020Ken Kemp organised Christmas Celebrations with Ray Osmotherly presenting ‘Our Christmas celebrations and how they developed from pre-Christian beliefs’. Ray told how our celebration of Christmas is based on the combination of pagan celebrations with the Christian celebrations in the early days of Christianity. Ken also ran the Christmas Quiz which focussed on religious questions, which, since we were meeting in a church, was quite appropriate. Ray then screened an amusing Christmas video “Charlie Brown’s Christmas”. Finally a BBQ and Sausage sizzle was held.38Pictures of the Event
11 Dec 2020Ian Irwin on the history of vintage vehicles. Ian was introduced by Bob Greeney. Ian was the president of the Charnwood /Dunlop Probus Club, but was speaking today on the beginning of motoring in New South Wales. Ian has previously spoken to the Shed about the restoration of a very early Rolls Royce.40 (Read the previous report here)
4 Dec 2020Martin van der Hoek gave a talk on Marcus Agrippa, one of the least known heroes of the 80 tumultuous years between the roman legions becoming a professional, full time army and Octavian becoming the first emperor of Rome37
27 Nov 2020Graham Waite of TADACT which is Technology for Ageing and Disability (ACT). It is a not for profit organisation which specialises in creating or modifying equipment for people with a disability or for the elderly. TADACT has about 50 volunteers (including Brian Wells from our Shed) who undertake the design and manufacture of aids in their own home workshops37
20 Nov 2020AGM Reports. The President and Treasurer presented their annual reports. A motion was passed not vote on a new committee until things return closer to normal (i.e. when we can move back into the Shed’s meeting room). Roger went on to say that he thought it would be appropriate to nominate Phil Laird & Paul McCarthy as Joint Shedders of the Year for the work they had done in producing the newsletter each week during the Shed’s shutdown. The meeting agreed to this proposal.
Following the AGM, there were some member’s short presentations. Ray Osmotherly gave a presentation on the early years of photography, focussing particularly on Australian photographer H. Walter Barnett (1862-1934). Tony Rogers is a keen amateur pilot & provided some interesting insights into the controls on an aircraft & how they affect flight, including the frightening spins & stalls that can be hard to recover from.		38
13 Nov 2020John Feehan, the dung beetle man, was our guest speaker. He talked to us previously in August 2016, and it was a fascinating topic. John gave us a presentation on dung beetles that he also gave to parliamentarians as well as educating us on the meaning of “sustainable”. He recently succeded in getting the Feds to allocate $23M for dung beetle research through a CSU project to put dung beetles to work40More Information
6 Nov 2020The church was unavailable so 34 Shedders met in the area outside the Shed’s usual meeting room. Fortunately, it was a lovely day, unlike the wind and rain we experienced the previous day. The first BBQ since the Shed reopened in October after the lengthy Covid-19 shutdown was welcomed by all who were there. It was an ideal opportunity to catch up in person and have a chat.34
30 Oct 2020Luke Wensing gave a talk about Gothic Church Design and “How to Read a Church”. 46Luke’s presentation
23 Oct 2020The Shed reopened with Rob Greeney leading members talking about their experiences during the pandemic. John Arundel made a request for any members with small or medium plant pots to donate unused items to him so he can grow some more native plants for his voluntary body51Picture of the Meeting
Shed Closed Due to COVID-19 Corona Virus
20 Mar 2020Paul Fennell gave a talk with pictures and audio sounds about Birds of Canberra29
13 Mar 2020David Headon gave a talk about Canberra as a Canberra Day Presentation, BBQ & Sausage Sizzle51
6 Mar 2020Bruno Forronato from the Ginninderra Catchment Group gave a Water Watch Presentation44
28 Feb 2020Jeff Brown talked about the construction of the Pyramids of Egypt and explained why he believed they were made from ancient cement56
21 Feb 2020Jeff Brown talked about his Ancient Oil Lamps as well as other collectable items, Pam & Stan Bennet displayed their Tesla Electric car & BBQ & Sausage Sizzle was held52
14 Feb 2020Alison Ware played some of her harps and her Husband talked on Harp Construction 43
07 Feb 2020Geoff Cameron talked about the 1968 London to Sydney Marathon, the world’s greatest road race52
31 Jan 2020The Shed went on an excursion to the National Archives to view the Spy Espionage in Australia display32
24 Jan 2020We had an Australia Day Quiz managed by Ken Kemp with poems, singing plus the quizz56
17 Jan 2020Frank O’Rourke talked about German and Luftwaffe POWs in Australia during WWII56
10 Jan 2020Farewell to Tim Jensen, video of HMS Queen Elizabeth, (no BBQ & Sausage Sizzle but selection of cheese, cakes and cheesecake)52
03 Jan 2020Christmas/New Year Closedown – No Shed meeting
 

Shed Program Held During 2019 (2018 & 2017 are below)

 

The following is a list of the past program this year

 

Date 2019DescriptionAttended  
2019-12-27Christmas/New Year Closedown – No Shed meeting
2019-12-20Christmas Activities including a visit by Santa, Harry Redfern with Johnny his ventrillogist doll, we also experienced The Old Time Melodrama ’Pay the Mortgage or Out You Go’ written by Shed member Ray Osmotherly, Harry again saying the poem The Man from Ironbark, finishing with Pizzas and cheesecakes.51
2019-12-13Ed Peek talked about visiting Iran which he and his wife did in Oct 2019. We also had a visit from Nathan D’Cunha from the Uni Canberra who is seeking older male volunteers to take part in a study of the dietary patterns of over 55 year old Canberrans.48
2019-12-06Sophie Bullock, an exercise physiologist from the Arthritis Foundation (ACT), told us about what they can do & about restarting the Friday morning exercises probably on Fri 17th Jan. They will costs $10 per person. Harry Redfern created two photo display to remember the great air race that Ross and Keith Smith won in 1919. Luke gave a photo presentation about this years Sculpture by the Sea in Sydney held last Oct 2019. 51
2019-11-29Dave Rogers talked about his time with the F-111 in the RAAF63
2019-11-22Excursion to remodelled National Portrait Gallery (29) & Coffee & Chat at Raiders club (15)44
2019-11-15AGM was held followed by a BBQ & Sausage Sizzle59
2019-11-08Martin van der Hoek stepped up and gave a general talk on “The History of the Roman Empire”50
2019-11-01Ray Osmotherly continued with his History of Cinema including showing some old silent films and earlier Australian films47
2019-10-25Excursion to Australian War Memorial to view The Courage for Peace’ Exhibition31
2019-10-18Talk by Frank O’Rourke on Archduke Franz Ferdinand followed by a BBQ & Sausage Sizzle46
2019-10-11Martin Van der Hoek talked about Hannibal Barca. Ana Luteru from Hearing Australia, conducted hearing checks for twelve members. If you’d like to contact Ana, her number is 6232 320049
2019-10-04Mal Gibson Returns to follow up on his February presentation – Mental Health Issues54
2019-09-27Excursion to Tidbinbilla Space Tracking Station. 10 cars went carrying 25 members. Google Photos https://photos.app.goo.gl/1kQVvWx1bjZWHQcTA25
2019-09-20Bob Miller talked again with a powerpoint & video presentation of a newer trips to Jordan & the Australian dig site at Pella, Jordan. He also described the various periods of ancient civilisations that occupied the Jordan valley and its surroundsapprox 50
2019-09-13Richard Almond gave an enlightened talk about his career since graduation from the Uni of Edinburgh, working initially in Nigeria, then migrating to Australia & working for Bureau of Mineral Resources & working in Antarctica in the fields of geomagnetism and seismology, before moving to Rabaul in 1976, where he worked as a volcanologist for 5 years until 1981approx 50
2019-09-06We had various short talks including Steve’s display of how a bike wheel reacted to gravity & other laws of physics. Roger showed slides of an autumn vintage car meet in the central west at Carcoar. Tony Rogers suggested that we set up a register of who has access to useful things such as trailer, chainsaw, jackhammer, etc. We also had our successful Pizza Day thanks to Ron Thomson & Dominos49
2019-08-30Luke Wensing one of our epic adventurers, talked about some of his travels to Ireland and Scotland, especially Orkney Islands and the bronze age sites he visited45
2019-08-23Victor Isaacs talked about Australia’s strange borders and thus border disputes between the States. He had cases covering all Australian States & Territories, Antarctica, Timor Sea57
2019-08-16Prof Rod Jory gave a talke about the Early Explorers, entitled “How did they ever find their way home?”51
2019-08-09David Pope, Canberra Times Cartoonist, talked about his career as a cartoonist & his philosophy on what was acceptable & showed how he created cartoons51
2019-08-05(Mon) – Annual Dinner at the Southern Cross Club at Jamison. 25 members & guests attended
2019-08-02Rev Tim Jensen from North Belconnen Uniting Church talked to the Shed about his career and the future of the church, also a Soup & Curry Day44
2019-07-26Michael Milton, Australian Paralympian talked to the Shed about his history as a paralympian & high speed skier. He is also is a runner, cyclist, trekker & triathlete. He is world and Australian record holder for speed skiing for both able-bodied and disabled skiers. Michael and his wife have opened a store (Quizzic Alley) containing “everything Harry Potter” in Fyshwick. (https://www.quizzicalley.com/)44
2019-07-19Vickie Hingston-Jones talked about End of Life Planning. Vickie specifically spoke about the taboo topic – death and dying. We all need to have and look at everything from the fear of death to planning our own legacy. Vickie is an End of Life Doula; she educates and supports people who will eventually die, kick the bucket, fall off the twig. She also described herself as a ‘spiritual mid walker or ‘death walker.’ She also talked about the need to have a ‘living will’. She recommended we consider Barry from William Cole or other suitable independant Funeral companies. She is getting involved with Tender Funerals (http://tenderfunerals.org/) who plan to setup in ACT soon. She her website (http://www.hingston-jones.com/)46
2019-07-12Anthony Hill, Multi-Award-Winning Author talked to us. Tony Hill is a Canberra-based author of 19 books for young readers and adults. He moved to Canberra in 1972 to work in the parliamentary press gallery, initially for the Melbourne Herald then for the Australian Financial Review. After about 5 years, the press gallery had lost some of its attraction so Tony moved to Bowning where he opened an antique shop. Living in a small country town gave Tony the incentive (& time) to write books. He wrote articles about drought, shop keeping & some of the less pleasant aspects of village life. He wrote the book “The Bunburyists”, about running an antique shop in a fictional village but most of the locals recognised themselves. Half the village’s population were outraged about the things Tony wrote but the other half were upset they had been left out of the book.37
2019-07-05BBQ & Sausage Sizzle & Susan Antcliff gave as short overview on a UC study she is starting on Assessing falls risk and the impact of interventions. Also short talks with Ray & Harry with a poem about his morning ride & Terry talked about his daughter Andi, who has been involved with Gulargambone’s (100kms north of Dubbo) water tower mural painting project, along with artist Jenny McCracken49
2019-06-2830 Members car pooled to park at Gungahlin Town Centre then took a trip in the light rail the City & back. They stopped in the City for coffee and once back at Gungahlin most went to the Gungahlin Raiders Club for lunch.30
2019-06-21Ray Osmotherly gave us an interesting account of the early life of his grandfather, Walter Hubert Hume Lucas during the 1870-80’s. Rick Causebrook showed us a Science DVD “Making Stuff Cleaner” (NOVA Series), which focused on new technologies to increase recycling, reduce pollution & make manufacturing simpler & more efficient.33
2019-06-14Bruce McAslan talked & demonstrated First aid & CPR (https://accessrt.edu.au/instructors/bruce-mcaslan/)50
2019-06-07Ian Erwin talked about Restoration of an interesting Rolls Royce. Ian first discovered the remains of a very significant Rolls Royce (Chassis number 1404) in south western NSW in 1975. At that time the car was 65 years & had been dismembered with various parts used for a trailer & other purposes. It has been in Ian’s possession & under restoration since 198157
2019-05-31Matthew Andronicus of Niagara visited to discuss their Cycloid Vibration Therapy (CVT) offering. Niagara Therapy. Their website (https://www.niagara.com.au/) If you are interested, contact Matthew on 0408.778.599 or EMAIL mailto:andron66@tpg.com.au him – We had an unexpected visit from Mark of the National Folk Festival seeking volunteers for the 2020 Festival to be held in Canberra next Easter (9-13 April 2020) See https://www.folkfestival.org.au/apply/volunteers/ – We also had our monthly BBQ & Sausage Sizzle.48
2019-05-24The Shed visited Geosciences Australia’s mineral & fossil collection at Symonston – a collection of fossils and some 15,000 minerals and 90 meteorite specimens. Photos of the Visit (https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNYbw86ETmTuTr2iC6DVGCcjhjTAQa9-_9obs3RDK-hxkuYRMgsswn7Pp8dz0ZV0Q?key=dEZHTkJxRGxQWEE5WmkxSzEzUkNqWV92MjNtM1pB)34
2019-05-17Kate Molony from Dementia Australia (https://www.dementia.org.au/) provided information about Dementia and what options are there to help people. Also Michael Dwyer displayed, with Harry Redfern’s help, a number of books, CDs, magazines etc on ‘Around the Boree Log’ by John O’Brien (whose real name was P.J. Hartigan). One of the poems by John O’Brien is ‘Said Hanrahan’ which was played to members from a CD.47
2019-05-10Tony Weir talked about Climate Change51
2019-05-03Fitness Assessment Day morning before the Shed meeting followed by a presentation by Phil Laird & Kaitlyn Axelby about his USA Trip & Kaitlyn’s time at Disney World in Orlando Florida48
2019-04-26Excursion to Mulligan’s Flat especially the Old Woolshed with a Picnic Barbeque after in Forde35
2019-04-19Good Friday – No meeting
2019-04-12The Shed went on a 10AM visit to the Recycling Discovery Hub which is located at the ACT’s Materials Recovery Facility at John Cory Rd, Off Mugga lane, Hume29
2019-04-05Frank O’Rourke provided us with a unique insight into the Australian visit of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, who landed on our shores in 1893. Frank’s extensively researched presentation is sure to be of fascinating interest to all Shed members, with many of his included photographs never before seen in Australia51
2018-03-29Martin van der Hoek gave an interesting talk on The Roman Empire & all its great achievements. Kobus de Meyer talked about South Africa, its great wildlife & about his family history & their move to Australia. Evan Tully also spoke about his recent medical episode & his recent two-day hospitalisation, where he had a heart pacemaker inserted. There was also a BBQ & Sausage Sizzle49
2019-03-22Amy Nussio, an occupational therapist, involved in the Living with Dementia & Driving Study, spoke to members on various aspects associated with “Driving in Later Life”, including various alternative means of transport and ACT Govt support options for those who can no longer drive. Refer to Newsletter #46859
2019-03-15Toss Gascoigne worked in the Pacific Islands (PIs) for the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization. He travelled to several of the 22 PI countries, with Tonga & Samoa being the most prominent, assisting to arrange community-based fishing programs.He talked to the Shed about his experiences in The Pacific Islands & in particular about many of the health & management issues facing these communities51
2019-03-08A normal meeting was held plus the naming of The Don Gruber Room with Betty Gruber unveiling the plaque & several ex Shed Presidents talking about the Shed’s history. Rotary Club of Ginninderra Officials & North Belconnen Uniting Church Officials also attended. Catering was provided (58 attended including visitors)51
2019-03-01Claire Fisher & Amy Allpress from the ACT Branch of Royal Life Saving Australia (RLSA) talked to the Shed about RLSA’s Grey Medallion Program. Anyone who is interested in the Grey Medallion program should contact Amy (phone 6113 1994 or email aallpress@rlssa.org.au) to join the program or for more details.55
2018-02-22Ray Osmotherley tracked down several very humorous videos which he showed. Several years ago, David Brand discovered that he had Fuchs Dystrophy, which is an eye disease caused by losing control of the volume of fluid in the cornea. He described the issues & the process he went through. Then we had a BBQ & Sausage Sizzle47
2019-02-15Visit to the CSIRO at Black Mountain (26 members attended & 12 had a chat at the Shed)38
2018-02-08Mal Gibson Psychologist talked about mental health issues and the involvement of the brain60
2018-02-01John Edge gave a talk entitled The Operation of the Snowy Mountains Scheme. Terry also read out some letters from his father who wrote some 64 letters to his father back in Finland as he jumped ship in Melbourne and worked in Victoria56
2018-01-25Aust Day Celebration with a Sausage Sizzle. Screen video preso from Dr Michelle Simmons 2018 Australian of the year on quantum computing. Luke Wensing talked about his family migrating from Holland after WWII.45
2018-01-18Warwick Fulton from St Vincent de Paul talked to us about how they try to help people in the ACT and SE NSW region. He also highlighted the massive homeless situation that seems to be getting worse & some strategies to address it48
2018-01-11Coffee morning at the Shed with a trial of David Ruthven’s Coffee Machine – Various updates & announcements39
2018-01-04Christmas/New Year Closedown – No Shed meeting

.

Shed Program Held During 2018 (2017 is below)

 

The following is a list of the past program this year

Date 2018DescriptionAttended  
2018-12-28Christmas/New Year Closedown – No Shed meeting
2018-12-21The Shed held its annual Christmas Party including a visit by the Shed Santa, followed by a BBQ & Sausage Sizzle50
2018-12-14Excursion to the Cook & the Pacific Exhibition at National Library. We met at the Shed by 9.15AM and drove in multiple cars to the NLA where we started a viewing of the Cook exhibition at 10AM. The exhibition was a large collection of photos & drawings collected from all over showing the work of Cook & his colleagues over his 3 momentous voyages to the Pacific area. Some of us did not get home until 12.45PM32
2018-12-07Stuart Allan talked about the History of the America’s Cup from its early days in 1844 with the NY Yacht Club right through to the next America’s Cup Challenge in Auckland in 202157
2018-11-30Mick O’Donnell Author of 4 Historical Novels talked to us. He studied creative writing at the University of Canberra, with his writing genre being Historical Fiction and his hobby researching war history and the incredible stories of men and women who become involved in these conflicts? Mick served in the AFP & was also a pastor. His 4th book “Angel Eyes” was available to members after his presentation. (http://www.mickodonnellonline.com/)56
2018-11-23Prof John Williams talked on Water Reform48
2018-11-16The AGM was held at which a new committee was elected including a new treasurer and one new committee member, and a Pizza lunch was also held56
2018-11-09Ray Osmotherly talked about the cause of WWI through some old pictures of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Harry Redfern read out a poem about Flanders Fields & Paul Keatings speech to the Remembrance Day 1993 (it was written by his speech write Don Watson) Andrew Geraghty arrived late but talked on the ‘The Aftermath of World War I’.(Andrew previously spoke to us in June 2017 about ‘15 things we didn’t know about in World War II’ & in February 2017 on ‘Toastmasters & PowerPoint presentations’). 51
2018-11-02The Shed visited a Garden at “The Farm”. Ray Osmotherly organised a special visit to a private garden along Lady Denman Dr past from Scrivener Dam. 37 members attended & 6 wifes/partners attended and were afforded a fantastic experience in Ann’s 5 Acre display. This garden is not open to the public and is broadly based on the Monet Gardens in Paris. 37
2018-10-26Rod Jory gave a talk titled “Glaciers, Icebergs & Fresh Water”, BBQ & Sausage Sizzle50
2018-10-19Heather Hart talked about the Stroke Safe Program. Heather described a stroke as a “brain attack” – the brain’s equivalent of a heart attack. She talked about the reasons for a stroke and how you can ascertain if people are having a stroke. She provided guides to define a persons risk of getting a stroke and measures that can be taken to help those having a stroke50
2018-10-12Visit to the Aust War Memorial to see “After The War” Exhibition and view the Poppy Display30
2018-10-05Frank O’Rourke presented some of his research findings on the NSW War Service Land Settlement Scheme (1946-1960) – which involved the allocation of 3,057 farming & grazing blocks to suitably qualified ex-servicemen (and at least four ex-servicewomen) after WWII. Details (https://melbashed.com.au.au/activity-groups-sigs/activities-2015-2020/#frank3)48
2018-09-28Firstly we had a talk by Sister Kim Hoa from the Congregation of Mary Queen of Peace at Bonner who provide help to communities in Vietnam. See HeartsBeatingTogether (https://heartsbeatingtogether.weebly.com/). Then Ray Osmotherly gave a photo & video talk on his holiday in Moorea, Tahiti; Ian de Plater also showed us another photo & video talk on his recent walk with AusWalk on the Larapinta Trail, one of Australia’s most spectacular bushwalking experiences; & Steve Mawer showed us his new drone plus we had a BBQ & Sausage Sizzle57
2018-09-21Shed member Victor has again given us a tremendous talk – this time on ‘Canberra Newspapers’. His talk was mainly about the Canberra Times but he covered other Canberra newspapers including The Australian (both Canberra & National editions) the Chronicle, Canberra News & Canberra Weekly as well as the Sydney & Melbourne papers which were well read by Canberrans.47
2018-09-14Alex Ritchie presented his Antarctic Film of Discoveries from mid-November 1970 & end-January 1971 as part of the Victoria University of Wellington Antarctic Expedition, recently screened at the Film & Sound Archives53
2018-09-07About 40 participated in the excursion to the ACT Model Railway Society’s Shed in Evatt in the grounds of the North Belconnen Baptist Church on Copeland Drive. Their location has been running for about two years and currently has 36 members. Their Shed is covered from one end to the other in model railway tracks. Construction was well-advanced on a permanent multi-level HO-scale club layout.40
2018-08-31Talks by Members, Greg demonstrated some of the SIX NSW maps features & a little of the Shed web site, Alex Ritchie gave a short preso with slides on his Antartica research trip, 10th Anniversary of Melba Shed with pizza & cheesecake luncheon & birthday cake54
2018-08-27(Mon) The Shed’s 10th Anniversary Dinner was held on Monday 27 August, at the Southern Cross Club, Jamison, with some 34 members & partners attending. Annie & Michael provided entertainment
2018-08-24Billy Williams talked about his official time in Ghana & his recent stint volunteering at the Orthopedic Training Clinic (OTC) in Accra and his experiences in Ghana & the region47
2018-08-17Jenny Higgins gave us an interesting talk on how to use TROVE to search for information especially on searching for people and information one needs to do when researching someone’s family history. Jenny gave us both a powerpoint presentation and a live demonstration of TROVE using our Telstra mobile modem52
2018-08-1021 members went on a 1 hour AIS tour. Bob Greeney hosted a coffee & chat session at the Shed where another 12 members attended33
2018-08-03 Bob Miller talked about his ‘Ride Across Australia’ in 2014. Leaving Perth on 22 March Bob arrived in Canberra (via Bondi) on the 24th May having cycled 5,000 kms42
2018-07-27Emma Turner from the Red Cross described the functions performed by the Red Cross in Canberra including Meals on Wheels, Telecross. Emergency Pendants, Keysafes, TeleChat, Welfare Check Calls plus we held a BBQ & Sausage Sizzle40
2018-07-20The Shed (around 20 members) visited the Canberra Museum & Gallery exhibit on the history of Parliament, leaving the Shed at 10AM. Highlights were a special display commemorating the 30th anniversary of the “new” Parliament House, and an exhibition of Nolan paintings and some three-dimensional portraits. Some members (approx 12) including one new member John, stayed behind for a chat at the Shed 32
2018-07-13Talk by Mike Smith on the United Nations43
2018-07-06Roger read out his final letter from his great uncle Stan from WW1 in France. Then Ray Osmotherly provided some details of the excursion on 20 July to the Canberra Museum & Gallery. Ray also mentioned that he is organising the dinner to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Shed.45
2018-06-29Mike Dwyer gave a slide talk on life in the 1960s on Glenrock, a sheep & cattle station of 68,000 acres in the Scone region. The property is now owned by the AAAW Group. (http://aaaw.com.au/) Mike was the first teacher at the Glenrock Station School which catered for 9-18 students of the farm workers. Harry helped out by running quizz on what we heard. Afterwards we had a Soup, Curries & Rice luncheon organised by Ron Thomson. Station Manager Dick Clarke writes about the foundation stallion Glenrock Glenrego (http://abri.une.edu.au/online/images/ashs/16428_1.pdf)58
2018-06-22Marie Sinstead-Reid from the Australian Electoral Commission talked about the ACT’s Hare-Clark electoral system. Voting & counting votes is a time consuming & involved process as we learned when Marie ran a mock election involving 3 vacancies with 12 candidates. She prepared a special ballot paper which we all used to cast our votes.44
2018-06-15Members will be asked to talk about their first job in 10 mins. Frank O’Rourke, Ron Thomson & Paul McCarthy spoke about their early careers. Paul also spoke about how to measure various economies & how exchange rates can play havoc with such comparisons45
2018-06-08Brian McKay talked about his “Canadian Adventures” with The Hudson Bay Company in the years immediately after the Second World War. He also told us about his cycling exploits across Canada, parts of Europe, the bottom of South America, North Island NZ and Australia. And he only started these when he was 7551
2018-06-01Erik Boddeus, Executive Manager of Retirement at Goodwin gave a presentation of the attributes of Retirement Villages versus Residential Aged Care facilities. He was also assisted by Liz Ley, Independent Living Unit Sales Officer & Laura Reading, Marketing Coordinator47
2018-05-25Four firemen, Graeme, Paul, Daniel & Chris from the ACT Fire & Rescue Ainslie depot talked about their operations & fire safety especially BBQ safety. Plus we had a BBQ & Sausage Sizzle46
2018-05-18Brian Butler-Kemp, Regional Manager for ACT and Southern NSW of Conservation Volunteers Australia gave us a short introductory talk about what CVA does. Typically they undertake projects such as erosion control, improving walking tracks, planting trees, building & locating nesting boxes. They are happy to take volunteers of any age. (http://conservationvolunteers.com.au/) Contact: 6247 7770 Email: canberra@cva.org.au
Also Harry Redfern entertained members with some poetry, including one of his own compositions from schooldays – a few years back now called “Learning Australian”		45
2018-05-11Ian Peters from Diabetes Australia NSW&ACT talked about Diabetes & the massive impact it is having on the health of Australians. Sugar is the new health monster causing diabetes. Ian handed out numerous NDSS Information Fact Sheets. These can all be accessed by clicking on this link (https://diabetesnsw.com.au/useful-tools/information-sheets/)51
2018-05-04David Traylen & Penny Taylor, Stakeholder Engagement & Training Officers for Digital Health, gave a talk on “My Health Records” which is an online summary of your health information. It can be accessed at any time by you & your healthcare providers (e.g. GP or the Emergency room at a hospital), which helps to ensure you get the appropriate treatment. Click HERE to view or download the My Health Record PowerPoint presentation (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1K2qQNywVqfZH3frdkkt3P_FhLARhWDqG/view )45
2018-04-27ANZAC presentation by Peter Kain volunteer guide at the War Memorial. Peter talked about the myths versus realities of the Gallipoli campaign and about General Sir John Monash50
2018-04-20The Shed held an extended Morning Tea, followed by some 10 minute talks and a farewell to Richard Poon over a Pizza Lunch53
2018-04-13Sixteen Melba shed members joined the excursion to Towrang, just north of Goulburn, to visit the historic Convict Stockade and the associated Powder Magazine, Soldiers Quarters, Cemetery, and Convict-built Culverts and Bridges. We were very ably led by John Jervis, a local expert on the history of this area and a former Shed Speaker on this subject. The group left Melba at approximately 9.00am, meeting up initially at the French VC Rest Area before heading to the Towrang Parking Area just north of Goulburn. Refer also Towrang Convict Stockade, Associated Sites & Road Formations | More information on the trip (http://melbashed.com/activity-groups-sigs/activities-2015-2020/#towrang) | Ron Thomson opened the Shed as usual for those 14 members that remained30
2018-04-06Cris Kennedy, Manager, Engagement & Education spoke about his background & how he came to the National Film and Sound Archive as well as the tasks & functions of the organisation. He also shared some very early films from their collection about the 1896 Melb Cup & the 2nd Aust film about the Ned Kelly gang54
2018-03-30Good Friday – No meeting
2018-03-23Excursion to Yass Men’s Shed. We met at the Shed by 9AM to organise vehicles for the trip to Yass where we arrived early and some of us checked out the Banjo Patterson statue in the local Memorial park. We then visited the Yass Valley Mens Shed, which is at 1428 Yass Valley Way, North Yass. Quite a few Shed members welcomed us and showed us the facilities they have. Later on the way home President, Bob Nash showed us ‘The Lovat Chapel’, in Mehan St, Yass. This chapel was the original St Augustine Catholic Church built between 1840-44 being replaced by a new building across the Road in 1956. It has being installed a 1200 pipes organ that Trevor Bunning of Canberra had acquired from the Wesley Church in Ashfield. It is planned to finish the organ commissioning in time for a recital in July 2018. Adjacent they are refurbishing part of the old Convent as the Hartigan Centre of Yass and plan to have the the ACT Academy of Music use 11 teaching rooms on their top level.25
2018-03-16Ray Osmotherly gave a presentation on the Story of Australian Cinema 49
2018-03-09Frank O’Rourke again entertained us with the stories of Dick Eve & Boy Charlton, Australia’s Olympic gold medallists in swimming & diving events at the Paris 1924 Games. Details (http://melbashed.com/activity-groups-sigs/activities-2015-2020/#frank2)39
2018-03-02Frank O’Rourke entertained us with the story of Nick Winter, Australia’s first gold medallist in an athletic field event at the Olympics. Details (http://melbashed.com/activity-groups-sigs/activities-2015-2020/#frank1)54
2018-02-23Greg talked about issues with getting the NBN in Belconnen, & Stuart Allan proved that his talents extend beyond sport (sailing & cycling) by presenting a session on William Shakespeare followed by BBQ & Sausage Sizzle54
2017-02-16The Shed went on an excursion to the National Portrait Gallery to see the Starstruck Exhibition . Coffee & Chat was at the Shed for those who did not go. 26 members went 15 stayed behind41
2018-02-09Dr Brendan Nelson was our Guest Speaker talking about his career and especially his time with the War Memorial. Brendan could only visit from 9.30am until 10.30am, so members arrived from 9.15am to receive Dr Nelson at 9.30am. Morning tea was held later and a short video on Poland was also shown. It was also Arend Bleyerveen’s 90th birthday. A cake was produced & Arend blew out the candle after a harmonious rendition of Happy Birthday.63
2018-02-02As a follow-up to last meeting’s video about Tom Kruse, we listened to a humorous recorded talk by Len Beadell who addressed the Annual Conference of Rotary District 982 at Shepparton Civil Centre on 2 March 199152
2017-01-26Australia Day Public Holiday – No Shed meeting
2018-01-19Video of ‘The Back of Beyond’- the story of Tom Kruze a former mail carrier on the Birdsville Track in the border area between South Australia and Queensland during the period 1936-1963 was shown50
2018-01-12Coffee morning at Raiders Club in Kippax42
2017-01-05New Year / break – no Shed meeting

 

Shed Program Held During 2017

 

The following is a list of the past program this year

Date 2017DescriptionAttended
2017-12-29Christmas / break – no Shed meeting
2017-12-22Christmas Closedown Function – Ray ran an Old Time Melodrama, with a visit by Santa Claus (Harry) followed by BBQ & Sausage Sizzle60
2017-12-15Shed members visited Brian O’Donnell’s phone museum which has taken over his home in Mawson. Brian has one of the most extensive collections of phones in the country. His interest was sparked after he joined the PMG in the 1960s before moving to Telstra. Together with his Telstra mate, Stuart, Brian showed us through his collection which has phones dating back to 188224
2017-12-08The Canberra Men’s Minstrels is a sub-group of the Canberra Men’s Choir. They entertained an enthusiastic lot of Shedders who were in fine voice (well, some of them, anyway) as they sang along to some well-known favourites: in North Belconnen Uniting Church. After back in the Shed, Aoife (pronounced Eefa) Berenger, who is the, Community Development and Education Officer from Care Inc (i.e. Care Financial Counselling Service), told us about the eligibility requirements for ACTEWAGL’s Energy Support Voucher Scheme, which provides households on low to moderate incomes $100 credit towards their electricity or gas bill. Aoife said that everyone whose energy supplier is ACTEWAGL and who applies via Care Inc, can have their ACTEWAGL account credited $100 under this scheme. ACTEWAGL site says (https://www.actewagl.com.au/Help-and-advice/Rebates/Rebate-form.aspx) Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holders are not eligible43
2017-12-01Rod Jory gave a talk about Volcanoes, Tsunamis and Earthquakes54
2017-11-24Greg tried to show how to navigate on the Shed web pages but the font & window size on the display simumlated tablet mode so it didnt happen, Greg then showed a video on Balikpapan in WW2, Luke Wensing talked about & showed slides about “Sculptures by the Sea” and John Canning read a poem “Old Sam’s Christmas Pudding” by Marriott Edgar (1939) about the Peninsular War in Spain at Badajoz (http://www.seiyaku.com/lit/monologues/019.html)51
2017-11-17Jenny Higgins talked about Genealogy and what methods were available to research a family’s past including Ancestry.com & Trove58
2017-11-10The 2017 Annual General Meeting was held with the existing committee being re-elected followed by Pizzas being provided to members51
2017-11-03Presentation on Antarctica & Antarctica drilling by Dr Howard Brady. Good information & photos on Antartica (http://www.antarcticglaciers.org/.) This is Howard latest book which criticises a lot of the work on climate change & gives us some background on the Dr (http://www.mirrorsandmazes.com.au/)52
2017-10-27Presentation by Riverview’s Stephen Harding on Ginninderry; its design, planning, environment trust plans & current status. Don Gruber also gave an overview on Lifeline with emphasis on the bookfairs and the infrastructure supporting it45
2017-10-20The Shed met at the Belconnen Bowling Club in Beetaloo Street Hawker for a morning of bowls organised by Harry Redfern. This was not the first time the Shed has gone bowling with Harry. In May 2011 we had a bowls morning followed in Jun 2011 by a Sat morning coaching session. In Jun 2012 we had another bowls day. In May 2013 we participated once more followed by a Sausage Sizzle at the Club & on 25 Nov 2016 we again graced the green at Beetaloo St. The morning’s play involved 3 Bowls Pairs played to 11 ends (or a time limit of 90 minutes). Four players with 3 bowls each & the leads playing their bowls alternatively, followed by each pair of players in order. Some members stayed at the Shed26
2017-10-13Mike Dwyer provided an Anzac Presentation. He presented the story of Sgt Pat Donnelly 2nd Pioneer Battalion Brigade, Second Aust Div, 1st Anzac Corps. Mike talked about the war on the Western Front & how it affected the soldiers involved51
2017-10-06Excursion to the Tulip Top Gardens with 16 members attending. A further 12 members were at the Shed with Roger Amos28
2017-09-29The Shed had two member talks by Stuart Allan & Roger Amos. Stuart talked about model sailing canoes of the Marshall Islands, a group of some 1,225 islands and inlets to the north east of Australia. The canoe tradition is one of the foundations of Marshallese culture & has been the key to survival of the islanders. Roger talked about his 15 year project building a Farrier designed Trailer-tri 680, a 6.8 metre long, 5 metre wide, 1140Kg trimaran. Also there was a BBQ & Sausage Sizzle58
2017-09-22Excursion to Cowra Japanese Gardens. Cars departed around 8AM went to Cowra with 16 members in perfect weather. They stopped for coffee at coffee house next to information centre, & then in the Cowra Information centre they watched a holograph of a young woman, moving around the stage, telling the story about the Japanese break out. They then continued to the Japanese gardens, camp & Cemetery. Overall they had an excellent time. The Shed was be open as usual for a coffee & chat session for those who didn’t go with 12 members attending (https://www.cowragarden.com.au/)31
2017-09-15John Jervis gave an interesting talk about Towrang Convict Stockade, its history, the life of convicts & some background the roads from Sydney to Goulburn (http://www.goulburnpost.com.au/story/1243692/stockade-hits-the-list/)56
2017-09-08Victor Isaacs talked about Australian Railways51
2017-09-01Luke Wenzing talked about travelling around Spain & some of the interesting architecture he saw. John Belcher talked about S44 & Dual Citizenship48
2017-08-28(Mon) Shed’s 9th Birthday Dinner with 30 members & guests attending with entertainment by Annie of the Armadillos & Tony Haley
2017-08-25Shed’s 9th Birthday for 28 August 2017 celebrations with cake & BBQ & sausage sizzle. Don Gruber acquired 2 large cakes & helped provide everyone with a piece42
2017-08-18Dannielle Bate from Canberra City Care (https://www.canberracitycare.org/) talked briefly about her organisation & the people they assist. They have a food pantry, Tech shed that refurbishes PCs, an Op shop, Gardens for growing vegetables. Their space is provided by the Life Unlimited Church at Charnwood who bought the old Charnwood High School. We also had a travel video around Madrid40
2017-08-11Ray Osmotherley talked about Popular Entertainment from Early Times to the Beginning of the Cinema followed by a video “The Story of Cinema in Australia”49
2017-08-04Jenny Higgins was sick so Roger gave more information on his great uncle Stan Willis & read more of his letters from UK & France in 1917. Peter Harvey from Calvary Care visited & sought volunteers to help at the Haydon Retirement Village. Bob showed a short video on how they disposed of some F111’s. A NOVA video was shown titled “Making Stuff Safe”46
2017-07-28Kellie Toohey UC Faculty of Health talked about the work shed has done done in recent years assessing the impact of High Intensity & Continuous Moderate Exercises programs on Cancer survivors. She believes exercise has a positive impact on the health outcomes of cancer suffers & all of us in general. Also Mike Dywer gave a short talk on “Super Sleuthing the Burghers of Blayney” which was about the authors’ names of Letters to the Editor were partly or wholly the same as settlement names. The names which continually appeared were Barry, Neville, Blayney, Cowra & Sutton47
2017-07-21Tracy Harris talked about “Behind the scenes of life as an Australian diplomat”. Luke Wensing then gave a presentation about modern architecture, & screened pictures of many unorthodox buildings. His interest was stimulated by the Frank Gehry designed Guggenheim Museum of modern art in Bilbao Spain51
2017-07-14Bev Lewis talked about Southern Africa & gave a video presentation of his life in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) & Southern Africa before migrating to Australia plus further views about his trips in South Africa & Serengeti NP in Tanzania more recently. Martin van der Hoek talked about The Terracotta Warriors in China using slides57
2017-07-07Lindy Hou, Paralympian cyclist talked about her life and dreams of being an Olympian champion. In 2004 at the Athens Paralympic Games that dream became a reality when she won a gold, two silver & one bronze medal. More about Lindy (http://www.lindyhou.com/)41
2017-06-30Short talks by several members then we enjoyed a curry & soup day with rice and crusty bread55
2017-06-23Dr Howard Thomas Brady, an Australian, who once worked as an Antarctic scientist gave a talk titled “The Climate Debate is a Mess”. He gave numerable examples where the IPCC models are not being borne out by real world data. He also gave a lot of information from his book “Mirrors & Mazes” (www.mirrorsandmazes.com.au/)63
2017-06-16Andrew Geraghty from Toastmasters talked about 15 things you didn’t know about WWII49
2017-06-09Lina Webber, AFP Seniors Liaison Officer talked about Internet & Email Scams49
2017-06-02John Edge talked about Survivability Issues with the National Electricity Grid54
2017-05-26Aoife (pronounced Efa) Berenger from Gambling Counselling & Support Service (AGCSS) talked about Gambling Harm Awareness. AGCSS was established in 2011 & is managed by Relationships Australia, in partnership with Care Inc.Care Financial Services. For advice see http://www.racr.relationships.org.au/services/act-gambling-counselling-and-support-service-144
2017-05-19The Shed went on a tour of the National Gallery of A guide took members through the indigenous art section then on to some modern art. Those who didn’t go had coffee & chat at the Shed. In addition Jeff Brown gave an animated talk about his time on the first Australian Survivor and how he survived & some of the good that came from it supporting some disadvantaged villages in India & Thailand32
2017-05-12Abuse Awareness Information Session with Karl Schaffarczyk from the ACT Disability, Aged and Carer Advocacy Service (ADACAS). This mainly concentrated on the impacts & issues associated with an EPoA (Enduring Power of Attorney). Karl also described how ADACAS provides an advocacy service for any disabled or elder persons who have been mistreated in some way51
2017-05-05Ray Osmotherly gave an interesting slide talk about his life running a one Teacher School at Crooble near Moree48
2017-04-28Anzac Day talk by Kevin Kirk (2nd cousin of Roger Amos) about his trip to Gallipoli in 2015 for the 100th anniversary of the ANZAC landing + BBQ & Sausage Sizzle42
2016-04-21Uni Canberra Health Students presented members with the results of their 4 week exercises sessions. No formal Shed due to funeral of Lynette Williams at 11AM in the next door church
2017-04-14Good Friday – no Shed meeting
2017-04-07The Shed visited the National Arboretum where we were met by Meryl Causebrook (Rick’s wife) who took us for a guided tour & talk on the Arboretum planning & vision. 31 members attended the Aboretum. At 8.30AM members were reassessed by the Uni Canberra Health Students to see how they improved after 4 weeks of exercises35
2017-05-31Presentation from three key members of the National Health Co-op (NHC); Adrian Watts (CEO), Dr Joe Oguns (Medical Director) & Lennon Wicks (Exercise Physiologist)49
2017-03-23Mike Dwyer presented on Polio with input from other members on their experiences, plus a visit by “Dr Parkinson” who gave a short account of himself, plus a BBQ & Sausage Sizzle48
2017-03-17Great talk from David Royds, a retired forensic chemist whose roles before retirement was as Team Leader of the Australian Forensic Police & principal reporting officer for the Bali bombings (2002)54
2016-03-10Guest Speaker Margaret Wade author of “Canberra Secrets” talked about her passion for Canberra & wrote two very successful editions of Canberra’s Secrets in 1999 & 2003 – a great guide book that highlights a local’s perspective of Canberra (http://www.canberrasecrets.com.au/our-history/#more-1257). She told us about her walking & cafe tours around some area of the City50
2017-03-03Excursion to Uriarra Crossing for BBQ & Sausage Sizzle. UC Health students did their initial assessment of around 20 member who attended before the Shed meeting. Also 4 members met at the Shed30
2016-02-24Kellie Toohey – UC Faculty of Health introduced 5 students who will be working on assessing the health of members over the next 6 weeks43
2016-02-17Rod Jory gave a talk titled – ‘This Paradise Earth’56
2016-02-10Andrew Geraghty talked about Toastmasters and Power Point Presentations and how one should design such a presentation for maximum effect and readability40
2016-02-03Phil Laird gave a talk about ‘Disruptive Technologies’ with discussion by Shed members48
2016-01-27Australia Day commemoration with several members showing slides compilations of their favourite photos & spots in Australia followed by BBQ & Sausage Sizzle51
2016-01-20There was an excursion and tour of the National Archives. Also back at the Shed there was Coffee & Chat hosted by Bob Greeney with around 12 members.43
2016-01-13Nova video, courtesy of Rick Causebrook, titled ‘Making Stuff Smaller’49
2017-01-06New Year break – no Shed meeting