Get on board

It’s been busy – I’m trying hard to minimise the amount of things our family is doing but it’s been hard. My brain reached saturation point yesterday and my body is obviously not coping as for the first time in my life, I’ve managed to pull my neck and shoulder and have now seen a physiotherapist at Alphington Sports Medicine Clinic not once but twice in the past week. They are very good there and I do feel like I’m in safe hands. I did want to do a special shout out for The Shoulder workshop that my trainer Nikki Ellis is holding at her studio Cinch Training in Heidelberg Heights on Saturday 30 March in partnership with Perform Physio+Pilates. As someone who has long believed in the preventative power of exercise, this one would be a great one to go to and I wish it had been held before now!

I saw Nikki today at the Banyule Women in Business lunch which was a more intimate affair this year held at the Rosanna Golf Club in Lower Plenty. If you’ve never been it’s worth the more scenic drive inland from Banyule Road past the silos and the horses – it’s incredibly beautiful and was spectacular today with a sea of green everywhere you looked. The lunch will return to the Ivanhoe Centre next year once renovations are complete but for the uninitiated Lower Plenty really is a hidden secret in Banyule – country meets city. I also wanted to do a shout out for the #ShopToItinBanyule Facebook and Instagram competition currently being run by Banyule Business until 30th April giving you the chance to win a $500 gift card.

The keynote speaker at today’s event was KeepCup founder and former lawyer Abigail Forsyth who was charmingly natural and real as a speaker – she’s a very relatable and likeable person and her story is an inspiring one. I had a quick chat with her at the end as we have people in common and her brother and KeepCup co-founder Jamie has moved on from their business to tackle the scourge that is plastic containers with his BeetBox lunchbox company. I look forward to the Banyule Women in Business event every year, it’s been fantastic for me from a networking perspective (as long as you do follow up) and become an annual thing I do with some fabulous local business women who have become good friends.

A few things to mention today – John Gollings: Spirit of Place opens at Heide Museum of Modern Art in Bulleen tomorrow and I’ve been a fan of his photography for a number of years now. The Darebin Community and Kite Festival is also being held on Sunday. Speaking of things that move, I took a few quick and dirty snaps of this mystery vintage yellow bus (below) that I’ve seen being driven locally on Waiora Road and parked on Lower Plenty Road – bigger than a Combi Van but smaller than a normal bus. I’d love to know its story!

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The guilty feminist

It’s the hugely popular comedy podcast that a number of my friends and colleagues listen to and it’s being recorded live at The Thornbury Theatre on Saturday night if you’re interested in going. They’ve had some big names in the past and for a media and marketing person like me – it’s been interesting to witness the exponential rise of podcasts in Australia and globally over the past few years. In many ways, I think they’ve taken the place of live radio and are a more intimate channel for communication given it’s voices you are listening to.

Speaking of women, tickets are on sale for the Banyule Women in Business lunch (above) with KeepCup co-founder Abigail Forsyth at the Rosanna Golf Club on Friday 22 March and they were down to their last 24 tickets when I booked yesterday! There are still tables of 10 available if you’re interested in hosting a group and it’s a great networking opportunity if you are a local business owner. Mr Rosanna and I both know Abigail’s brother and co-owner Jamie whom we last ran into, of all places, at the airport on our return flight home from Athens last year. I believe they are now looking into takeaway plastic containers with a similar eye and I applaud them for tackling the issue from an environmental perspective – single use plastic items are a scourge.

If you are a home-based business, Banyule Council is actually running a business networking survey if you’ve got a spare 5 – 10 minutes to submit your response (and go into the draw to win a gift voucher or iPad mini). It can get lonely working on your own and as a past freelancer, I used to look forward to my client visits for that very reason as well as the opportunity to meet other like-minded people in small businesses who are often the lifeblood of local communities like ours.

A few other things to mention today – Mr Rosanna and I are now on the hunt for a mid-century armchair and if you’ve got a piece you’re interested in re-upholstering, then Carlo’s Upholstery in Thornbury was recommended to us by Philip Syber from Contemporary Vintage. I’ve not bought any clothes for a while but I’ve been enjoying looking at some of Kloke’s new season arrivals (images pictured above and below from Kloke website) and they are having a studio sample sale tomorrow in Collingwood.

Finally, This is not a drill sustainable furniture show featuring pieces from some of the Banyule Art Collection opened at Hatch Contemporary Art Space yesterday and would be a good one to visit if you’re in Ivanhoe. I did take my new team in for lunch at Pinkie on Tuesday but didn’t get a chance to pop my head in.