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NEXT MEETING

Mon Sept 1, 2014

10:30 for 11:00am

Mt Gravatt Show

Grounds

Community Hall

Cost:$6 for meeting

morning tea, lunch and

guest speaker

DATE CLAIMERs:

Tues Sep 16 Tram Museum visit p10

Tues Oct 21 Bus to Caloundra RSL

Evan’s Head mid-October p10

Tues Nov 4 Shed Social- Melbourne Cup

Mon Dec 1 Social Meeting Year End p3

Mon Dec 8 Break Up Dinner p3

ALL Booking sheets @ the Shed Office

P O B O X 2 3 9 , M A N S F I E L D , Q 4 1 2 2

SHED TALK Aug 22, 2014 Volume 5 Number 8

Mt Gravatt Men’s Shed (inc) Extension plan

F ollowing the lodging of the paperwork with the Federal Government, the Shed had a special meeting with its members. The 40 odd mem-

bers had the extension plans detailed to them. The members asked sev-eral questions about financial arrangements and several spoke about the use of the new areas. The “small group” room along with the other changes had a unanimous approval show of hands as to adopting the presented options. The quarterly General Meeting on Monday August 4 was also presented with the same idea. The same approval response was generated from that meeting. The Shed Building Committee is mov-ing forward with obtaining the required quotes and other paperwork. The meeting was informed the Recreation Room may be out of order from 2 days to 2 weeks depending on building progress which the Committee is hopefully looking for a start in September/October. The President out-lined costs with members doing an amount of the internal fitting out work. The commercial cost for the installation of a Fire Hydrant helped the members to become aware of the Shed Extension costs.

Inside

Management …..... 2 Notice Board …..... 3 Life in the 1500's .. 4 Guest Speaker ..... 5 Welfare ………….. 6 Social Visits ...…... 7 Extras: Travel …... 8 Web sites/Social ... 11 Meetings, On Goings & Goings On ...…………...… 12

2

Articles for the

newsletter

Send articles,

jokes, comment,

snippets, recipes,

tips, suggestions,

bouquets,

brickbats, etc. to

editor Neville

O’Brien

newsletter@mtgravattmens

shed.org.au (Shed

Office) 3343 2216 Support Editors: Ian Canham & John Wicks Photos John Wicks

Your Management Committee

PRESIDENT’S CORNER

President- Brian Wheeler Vice President- Keith Samuels

Secretary– Brian Wandel Asst. Sec. Ken Mihill Treasurer– Jim Pollock

Committee: John Wicks Bill Semple Elwyn Jackson

Lance Roberts Ian Young Neville O’Brien

The Management Committee meets monthly.

Email: secretary@mtgravattmensshed.org.au Website: www.mtgravattmensshed.org.au Shed Office Telephone: 3343-2216

Page 2 Vol 5 No 8

President’s Report- August 2014 Hi Mount Gravatt Shedders, - The year seems to be racing on at full steam. This month has been an ex-tremely eventful one. A team of intrepid explorers trekked through Carnar-von Gorge with their partners. A caravan and tent convoy headed west just as the winter rains descended upon the road turning the dust into mud. - You may have seen the TV news last Tuesday 12th August when we wel-comed the Premier Campbell Newman and his entourage as they checked over the HUGE letter “E” which our guys have made as part of the GIANT sign of “BRISBANE” in preparation for the G20 Conference in November. I have no doubt that you will see the sign at Southbank and repeatedly on TV in the future. This is a joint venture between the State govern-ment and the Brisbane City Council. It is rather ironic that, after hours of preparation and significant in-terviews and photos, that the only snippet of TV was as Jim Pollock, accompanied by Jim Anderson on the guitar, led the singing of “Happy Birthday” to the Premier. The Premier was very impressed with what we are doing at Mt Gravatt. He is kept well informed by our local member for Mansfield, Ian Walker MP, who guided the Premier around the Shed. There are eight sheds each making a giant letter for the sign. The project is being coordinated by Grae-me Curnow, President of Queensland Men’s Shed Association. It was a pleasure to welcome Graeme to our shed again. We were also graced by the presence of a few ladies from the CWA and other groups. These groups are going to cover each letter with significant artistic decorations. Our resident chefs provided shed made HOT SCONES for all on the day. I am sure you will be pleased to know that the State President of the QCWA, Robyn McFarlane rated the scones as “20 out of 10”, an excellent result for our “resident cooks”. I am sure you would agree. - After our mid-monthly barbeque on Monday 18th August, our Patron, The Right Reverend Dr. Doug Stevens led a Q & A session on the topic of “values”. This proved to be very thought provoking as much discussion occurred about very relevant issues such as personal worth, suicide and euthanasia. Cubby Thank you morning - A special Thank you morning tea and barbeque for all men who contributed in any way will take place on Monday Sept 8 at 10. If you constructed cubbies, delivered them, took orders, rec-orded sales, loaded trucks, YOU ARE WELCOME. - President’s Cruise Our Travel Group is planning our first overseas trip in July 2015. The P & O cruise will depart from Bris-bane on Sunday 26th July, and travel across the Pacific Ocean to visit Noumea, Vila and Mare and re-turn to Brisbane (seven days). I hope that you and your wife/partner can join in for all the fun and ca-maraderie. I encourage you to book early to secure your preferred cabin. Contact Leo Scanlan 3343 4398 (or me) for more detail. When booking, it is essential that you quote the special (TWID code: AA6). It would be great if 10 to 12 shed couples could sail the high seas together. Happy Shedding Brian Wheeler President

Good News from Mitchell

Page 3 Vol 5 No 8

A mid-year Luncheon was enjoyed by members and wives/partners at Southside Sports and Community Club in July.

Our Vision

To provide a facility where men of all ages can feel comfortable and gather

together to spend time socially, as well as in a practical manner, by partici-

pating in constructive endeavors that develop self esteem .

GOOD NEWS

C hristmas break-ups: The Management Committee plans to hold a Christmas breakup lunch for all members on Monday, 1st December, 2014 in the Community Hall in the Show-

grounds. This will provide a social time of comradery and good cheer for all members. The estimated cost should be less than $10 per member. The traditional Christmas luncheon for members, wives/partners will still be held at the Sunnybank Sports Club Monday Dec 8 @ 11:30 for 12pm cost $25 each.

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L ife in the 1500's

The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature

isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be. Here are some facts about the1500s: - Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and still smelled pret-ty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married. - Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, Don't throw the baby out with the bath water. - Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the ani-mals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the say-ing . It's raining cats and dogs. - There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house.. This posed a real problem in the bed-room where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into ex-istence. - The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had some-thing other than dirt. Hence the saying, Dirt poor. The wealthy had slate floors that would get slip-pery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slip-ping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entranceway. Hence the saying a thresh hold. - In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes the stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme, Peas porridge hot, peas por-ridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old. - Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could 'bring home the bacon'. They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and chew the fat.

St Bart's Anglican Church Mt Gravatt

We gather for worship every Sunday

7am and 9am

Cnr Logan Road and Mountain

Street Phone: 3849 4411

St Bart’s is a Bronze Sponsor of the Shed

- Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poison-ing death. This happened most often with toma-toes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous. - Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the upper crust. - Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a wake. - England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be, saved by the bell or was con-sidered a ...dead ringer. And that's the truth...Now, whoever said History was boring ! ! ! http://www.begent.org/1500s.htm

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NOTICE BOARD

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sent to all members reminding them of activities.

Programme: Lance Roberts reminded members of the following activities

Tues 16 September:- Tramway museum and Men’s Shed (35 last trip)

Tues 21 October:-Caloundra RSL ( Museum open )

Tues 4 November:- Melbourne Cup at the Shed Social room

Guest Speaker for September is Peta Rana from Australian Hearing Other reports:

Office Hours: Office will not open till 8am to allow office men to be ready

Volunteer social room hygienists. Seeking volunteer/s to come in the afternoon to clean floors etc.

Travel group

Tony Giacomantonio spoke about the upcom-ing camping trip to the Carnarvons (18 to 22 August), the Evans Head camp-ing (10 to 14 November) plus planning for the Queen Mary Falls and Rainbow Beach in 2015.

Leo Scanlan spoke about a 7 day cruise from Brisbane commencing 26 July 2015

Guest Speaker:- Peter Dunn Peter had a very interesting slide presentation on Bris-bane during World War II. He spoke about the numer-ous locations that the Amer-ican Army used and the construction of many build-ings, some of which are still used today. General MacArthur and the Americans arrived in 1942. MacArthur set up HQ in Queen St which is now a museum. Many tent cities were erected in Brisbane with Doomben race course having 1271 tents. For more details: http://www.ozatwar.com From Peter Dunn via email: “Many thanks for your kind words. It was a good audience. You have an impressive group.”

Next Social meeting 1 September @ 10:30 for 11:00am start

Brian Wandel (Secretary)

Report of Mt Gravatt Men’s Shed Quarterly Meeting Monday 4 Aug 2014 Apologies: Barry Nicoll, Geoff O’Connor, Mike Coles, Noel Studders, Bob Pope, Murray Rogash, Keith Samuels, John Bettenay, Alan Richardson and Bill Tanner The meeting commenced at 11:05am A Power Point presentation by the President (Brian

Wheeler) of the plan of the shed extension. He ex-plained the details. He answered a couple of ques-tions to clarify some of the detail.

The report from the special meeting (July 28) of 45 members was read by the Secretary (Brian Wan-del). That meeting was called for members to be involved in the discussion of the internal layout of the Recreation room. The members were unani-mous in agreeing to the plan. Management Com-mittee finalised the layout of that plan after that meeting. This meeting accepted the plan as outlined in point 2 above

The Treasurer (Jim Pollock) presented a Power Point Financial Report. He presented the financial posi-tion outlining income and expenditure of the various activities as well as the final financial outcome from the cubbies. A member commented that the presentation was ‘down to earth’ and easily understood. Question was asked if it would be viable to have a

BOQ ATM installed at the eastern end of the Shed. This question has been taken ‘on notice’

General questions: What is happening with the ‘left over parts’ of the cubby project? Brian Wheeler re-plied that a small group will investigate it.

Next special meeting is the AGM on 3 November. The meeting closed at 11:45 Social Meeting

Presidents report: Brian stated the MGMS Founda-tion is under consideration and the outcome will be presented at the AGM

Community Projects: There are currently three pro-jects:- Steps to the local Girl Guide hut, cupboards in the Holland Park girl guide hut and signs being made for the G.R.O.W. organisation

Welfare Elwyn Jackson welcomed the 106 mem-bers and 4 visitors in attendance, plus the five new members: Gregory Dunlop, Steve Jacobson, Graham

Jordan, Ray Pyzik , Leon Rogalevs. He mentioned that a member is now in rehab and another in hospital.

PR: John Wicks stated that the two tours of the ABC are on Tuesday 12 August at 10am and 11:30am. He commented that the City Hopper bus (free) travels around in the city. He stated that there will be a fortnightly bulk email

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M T GRAVATT MEN’S SHED WELFARE REPORT AUGUST 2014

Welfare continues to make contact with Men Shed members each month.

1.Those that have been ill at home. 2.In hospital/rehabilitation 3.Has special needs

Members contacted 15 No answers 6 Return after illness 1 Rehab at home 1 In hospital or nursing home 2 Transport 4

Elwyn Jackson 31626587 (M) 0416021229

Bill Hooper is one of our Platinum Sponsors

M embership fees are now late: But don’t despair. For the same price of

$40 for the 2014/15 year it is still availa-ble until end of August. At that date, any outstanding fees will cause members to be archived and loose all membership privileges.

Credit cards now require a PIN number unless you tap & go. The Management Committee wishes to apology to members who used the EFT detail on the Invoice as the detail was incorrect but caused by a mix-up in the changeover of bank accounts. All is good as it has been sorted out.

C omputer Items: Please, use the computers as you need. They have tutorials on most pro-

grams. Don’t feel nervous about not knowing everything. As a teacher I would always learn from my students so I believe I can learn from you. I have endeavoured to have all the programs we can use; but if there is one that you would like to see on the Desktop ask & I will look into it. I am learning a little more about iPads but still have little knowledge. Now an Android tablet/phone I feel more comfort-able as I use both. If anyone would like to run an iPad session we can fit you in. I have had to disappoint several Shed members when I have been asked to “update” their computers or allow access to the Shed WiFi– sorry but even though our download has been upgraded lately and it is still for Office, Committee and Lab computers and laptop computers on the Shed Wifi are the Shed laptop for the Shed secretary and the database laptop. My laptop has a internal sim card.

W anted for Shed use:

Brisbane City Council Waste dockets for 2014/15 needed to defray the cost of waste disposal. Hand into Shed Office. Thanks.

*Cooking Group: is currently full. Fred has asked if there is an-

other Shed member who has formal cooking training to perhaps start a second Cooking group. See Fred or Sam with your details. Photos that look good enough to eat.

C redit Union Australia is offering $250 to MGMS for every Home Loan for

members, family or friends as long as MGMS is mentioned. Contact Tricia Green on 3343 8400 or patria.green@ca.com.au or http://www.cua.com.au

S cam?: MGMS member reports 90# will give free use of your phone line to an-

other for their free use. Telstra says it is a hoax. Not sure which way to go, just be very careful.

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Rotary Club of Mt Gravatt is a

platinum sponsor of the Shed. Booklets can be purchased from

Graeme Smith for $2 tel: 3343-1697.

These are a very useful ‘thank-you’ gift.

Q ld Premier Campbell Newman visited the MGMS to see the E-Team, to have Happy Birthday sung to him and to eat scones. The Premier was here to introduce the Letter E (which we are constructing)

for the word "Brisbane", which will be displayed at Southbank for the G20 Conference later in the year. The Premier was very suitably impressed with our complex and Ian Walker Member for Mansfield, sup-ported us in explaining what we are doing. Thanks to all members involved in the running of this event.

M GMS members visit-ing the ABC Studios

at South Bank. The tour opened a lot of understand-ing of where and how radio programs and tv news and weather are produced. Spencer Howson even came down to be included in the first group photo. Spen-cer, of course, visited MGMS last year as a Social Meeting speaker and adver-tised the Cubby Houses dur-ing the ABC’s Men’s Shed radio segment.

E-Team

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T ravel Group plans: Evan’s Head camp to be held 13 - 17 October 2014. Actual dates to be confirmed Evans Head is central to the scenic attractions in the Northern Rivers region. Located ap-

proximately two and half hour drive from Bris-bane and only one hour drive from Byron Bay. The variety of attractions and facilities to enjoy are unlimited! North Coast Holiday Parks Silver Sands and Evans Head offer a setting that is un-spoilt and natural, letting you have a break from the hustle and bustle of a busy life.

Evans Head is an old-fashioned beach town sur-

rounded by national parks are a haven for the 4WD enthusiasts and for those who enjoy beach fish-

ing in its purest form, with 6 km of surfing beaches and low-lying country, picturesque headland on

the far side of the Evans River. Located south of Ballina and east

of Woodburn, it's the perfect location for an easy-going short holi-

day where you can swim in the river or at the shallow beaches

along the river estuary. The town has one of the largest caravan

parks in NSW, right by the river with plenty of shade and access

to the town's facilities. Areas of interest are Lismore and Casino, Razorback Lookout with views north to Cape Byron Lighthouse on a clear day. Ex-plore the NSW national parks along the coast to the north and south of Evans Head. Bundjalung National Park has 38 km of beaches to drive upon while Broadwater National Park to the

north has 8 km. There are good bushwalking trails, perfect for enjoying the beautiful wild flowers and birdlife. For additional information please contact Ian Canham on 3849 3081. Note: Future Dates- Woodgate Beach (turtles + Bundaberg) camping 23 – 27 February 2015)- Leo Scan-

lan on 3343 4398

7 day Mt Gravatt Men’s Shed President’s cruise 26th

July 2015- Leo Scanlan on 3343 4398

Queen Mary Falls and the Head of the Condamine River. 15 – 19 September 2015- Ian Canham on 3849 3081

Rainbow Beach 16-20 November 2015- Ian Canham on 3849 3081 Trial Bay (near Kempsey) NSW March 2016 (date to be confirmed)- Leo Scanlan on

3343 4398

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S ausage Sizzle Address Aug 18:

Our guest presenter this day was Bishop Doug Stevens our Paton (Spirit) who volunteered to tackle a Q & A session on Religion. Doug started off by offering some bleak examples of some groups of humans being treated as virtually valueless in the past. He asked participants what they thought about the ‘value’ of individuals today and how a sense of ‘value’ is created and maintained. This led to questions and answers concerning relationships, behaviour, contribution and connection with personal faith. As mentioned in the vote of thanks, Doug certainly did not deliver a sermon.

E goes to Town: The Letter E was collected today and taken to an assem-bly point ready for the G20 confer-ence. Congratulations to the makers. Tony Giacomantonio, Alan Wallace and ‘partners’.

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C arnarvon National Park 18th to 22nd August 2014: If we had been able to travel with the

MGMS tourist group, these are some of the scenes we may have viewed. (Report next newslet-ter).

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W eb Items that are worth a visit:

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has released new data on the time spent caring for others in a free report “Caring in the Community 2012”. More: http://www.abs.gov.au Members are reminded to keep up with the latest Scams doing the rounds shown on the web-site Scam Watch. http://www.scamwatch.gov.au There are some interesting reports at http://www.productiveageing.com.au/ site from the Na-tional Seniors Productive Ageing Centre

The Federal Government has the MyAgedCare gateway that allows the access too many in-teresting items for the elder Australian. As well there is an online search facility for further items. http://www.myagedcare.gov.au or call 1800 200 422. The Qld Government has a website on Abuse issues with links to Community help and exam-ple stories of different abuse types. More: http://www.communities.qld.gov.au/communityservices/violence-prevention/make-the-call

Remember: These websites can be accessed via MGMS members’ computers

Arthur giving out the info, Lance checking on time & Brian writing the minutes

Hope they don’t run out. You guys enjoy the de-sert but you’ll be fin-ished before we are!

You can’t take the boy out of the man!!

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Notice of Meeting

Monday, September 1, 2014

The Community Hall at Mt Gravatt Showgrounds Cost: $6.00

Time: 10.30am for 11.00am- start of the Social Meeting

12 noon Barbeque

1pm Guest speaker: Peta Rana from Australian Hearing Mt Gravatt

Please Note: Any agenda item must be notified to Lance Roberts (3341 8793) no later

than Friday Aug 29, before the meeting. Please do not approach the chairman of the

meeting on the day.

On Goings and Goings On

Workshop, Recreation Room Timings and Meeting Program for

September, 2014

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

1 SOCIAL MEETING 10:30 for 11.00 AM

2 8.00 Basic Woodwork

8.00 Leatherwork

10.30 Guitar

1.00 Painting

3 8.00 Intermediate

Woodwork

12 Bowl/Spindle Turning

4 9 Darts 9 to 12 Laptop/ Computer

5 Maintenance Morning 10.00 – 12.00 Energy Savers Session (Cont)

8 8– Cooking* 8:30 Bowl/Spindle Turning 9.30 Cards 10- Cubby House Morning Tea & Lunch for ALL involved

9 8.00 Basic Woodwork

8.00 Leatherwork

10.30 Guitar

1.00 Painting

10 8.00 Intermediate

Woodwork

12 Bowl/Spindle Turning

1 Management

Meeting

11 9 Darts

12 Maintenance Morning

15 8:30 Bowl/Spindle

Turning

9.30 Cards 11-Saugage Sizzle- Prof Bob Dick “DEALING WITH DIFFERENT PER-SONALITIES”

16 8.00 Basic Woodwork

8.00 Leatherwork

10.30 Guitar

1.00 Painting

Tram Museum visit Bus Trip

17 8.00 Intermediate

Woodwork

12 Bowl/Spindle Turning

18 9 Darts 9 Computer 1– Camera/ Photography

19 Maintenance Morning

22 8– Cooking* 8: INDUCTION 8:30 Bowl/Spindle

Turning

9.30 Cards

23 8.00 Basic Woodwork

8.00 Leatherwork

10.30 Guitar

1.00 Painting

24 8.00 Intermediate

Woodwork

12 Bowl/Spindle Turning

25 9 Darts 1:30– Travel

26 Maintenance Morning

29 8:30 Bowl/Spindle

Turning

9.30 Cards

30 8.00 Basic Woodwork

8.00 Leatherwork

10.30 Guitar

1.00 Painting