Rowville Library
The library will be closed for Cup Day on Tuesday November 1st and the after hours book chute will be open for returns. Our New Books Day will be on Friday 11th November from 10.00am.
This month the Rowville Library is participating in a “Read around the Region” progressive read-a-thon across all ERL branches. The project is designed to draw attention to the importance of reading and literacy. We will be hosting an hour of reading from 12.00 noon on Tuesday 15th November with a mix of library users and “celebrity” readers.
All overdue charges for the day will also be capped at $2.00 per item and all charges for the day will go towards literacy programs. We welcome volunteers to join us in reading aloud for a few minutes and encourage you to drop in any overdue items on the day!
We are also pleased to offer a free session on finding your World War 1 & 2 military ancestors on Thursday 17th November from 1.00 – 3.00pm. Alan Bennet will talk about the resources available to research your military ancestors from WW1 and WW2. Bring along your own World War memorabilia for identification.
For anyone preparing to become a learner driver we will have a free Vicroads “Keys Please” session at the library on Thursday 24th from 7.00 – 8.30pm. Keys Please is the first step into the driver’s seat. It’s an informative and interactive forum for kids and parents that introduces the different skills you will need when learning to drive, including some valuable tips to help get that all-important licence. For bookings and information please call 9294 1300.
Sue Walters
9294 1300
Rowville Senior Citizens Club
On Tuesday 20th September, members took lunch at the Wantirna Club. I was unable to attend, but I have it from some of those who did, that the veggies were garden fresh, in fact, so fresh that they must have bypassed the kitchen, straight onto the plate!!!
All those who took the day trip to Phillip Island agreed that it was perfect, including the weather. It is interesting to note that the driver of the coach, of Russian descent, was also the accordionist in the resident band at “The Cuckoo” restaurant.
The overnight visit to Ballarat covering 16/17th October was a resounding success. The “Sound and Light” show “Blood on the Southern Cross” was both entertaining and informative. The tour of Ballarat, brilliantly conducted by a knowledgeable guide. What he did not know about the city and its history was not worth knowing! Accommodation and meals were good. These were complimented by the excellence of “John” our coach captain of Rowville Coaches and the commitment of our own Sandra Goodwin, whose organisation was faultless, were the ‘icing on the cake’. We must also congratulate June and her committee for scheduling the trip.
Two other events from the outing are worth mentioning. We are still trying to discover the identity of the white clad stranger who suddenly appeared then disappeared from a certain motel room in the early hours of Monday morning. The puzzling thing is the door was locked!! The second was, a member of Scottish descent is still in a state of shock, having paid five dollars for a small lemon tart. He worked it out as $1.25 a bite!
Forthcoming events, other than our weekly Wednesday and Friday sessions of indoor bowls, cards, Scrabble and Bingo are:-
Tuesday 22nd November a indulgence tour with ‘Alfie Boys’ when we visit three tavern venues, Highpoint, Bundoora and Skyway…..should be interesting.
Friday 9th December Christmas Luncheon including entertainment provided by Charlie Griffin.
John Watkins
9764-4509
Knox Garden Club
Have you done the necessary work at ground level in your garden?! If not, then this is your last chance. As mentioned in last month’s edition, work in plenty of composted soil and some water granule crystals. Coir is a good soil conditioner as well; it has moisture retention properties. Now is a good time in readiness for summer, while the soil is still workable, to install either a drip irrigation system, soaker hoses or better still, under ground piping made of recycled rubber. They are porous, and under water pressure the rubber pipes squirt out a fine spray of water, delivering water directly into the soil and around the plants at root level. Major nursery, and hardware outlets supply them.
Recycling grey water is good for most plants that are biodegradable, and low in phosphorus and toxic chemicals, but I would avoid watering edible, leafy plants and root veggies with grey water. October and November is in Peter Cundall’s words “blooming marvelous”, with late flowering cherries, roses in bloom, clematis, and bevies of spring annuals and perennials. Your plants will love you for giving them a liquid feed, to give them a final boost before the summer. Powerfeed, Seasol, or home made liquid compost, will stimulate longer lasting blooms for your spring annuals, encourage flowering for tomatoes, lettuces will mature quicker and taste sweeter. >From November, the days are longer, the soils are warmer, the plants have access to more light, and therefore a proliferation or an explosion in plant growth. A daisy that you planted from a 3” tube pot back in June, has now tripled in growth. Liquid feeding helps stimulate microbial activity, breaking down of organic material, and supplying the necessary nutrients to the roots, for foliage growth, and for flowering/ fruiting. Mulching suppresses weeds, keeps the soil cooler in summer, warmer in winter, encourages worm life, and retains moisture.
In November plant; basil, cucumber, pumpkin, zucchini, capsicum, tomatoes, lettuces, beans and peas, chillies, broccoli and cauliflower, salvias, zinnias, portulacas, dahlias, petunias, cosmos up the back for height, cornflowers.
“The Knox Home Garden Club” meets on the 3rd Monday of every month at 8pm, at the Knoxfield Church of Christ, Scoresby Road.
All welcome!
Lonni Holland