Welcome to the first ‘Special Online Edition’ of Along The Grapevine!

By Kendrea Rhodes

In April this year, Kalyra Communities purchased the retirement village on Tolmer Road in Woodside. An exciting time was expected because community get-togethers and information nights usually result in pleasant hospitality, new friendships and entertainment! But we all know how April panned out this year with the advent of COVID-19. The scheduled social gatherings and extra benefits that Kalyra brings to Woodside were rethought, repackaged and redelivered—much like everything else, world-wide.

We have not been immune to the Covid-19 virus, so our next performance, ‘LOVE! LOVE? LOVE…’, will go on show in November this year instead of the mid-year time-slot.

Story by Kendrea Rhodes

Pictured here are The Artificial Hipsters (Iain Ross & Bob Molloy) performing on Club Night with Club Acoustica at the Olive Branch Café in Balhannah, 2015. Photo courtesy of Martin Photographics.

The lyrical twang of harmonic voices and acoustic guitars echoes through the diners, musicians and the very walls of the Olive Branch Café in Balhannah. It’s the first Sunday of the month and, at 5:30pm, Club Acoustica kicks off its club night with over three hours of live music and wholesome, homemade food and drink at the Café.   

By Kendrea Rhodes

This heritage-listed nature reserve — beloved by many as a place to escape and enjoy nature — suffered an enormous blow as the Cudlee Creek Bushfire tore through in December last year. In what was considered a ‘hot’ burn, the Park endured a 95% loss of vegetation, with the remaining 5% canopy spared due to a controlled ‘cold’ burn completed by the Adelaide Hills Council in September 2018.

The Park is now partially open due to the efforts of the Adelaide Hills Council, the Australian Defence Force, Conservation Volunteers Australia, Team Rubicon and other volunteers. The Council have stated that a ‘full reopening [of the Park] will take up to three months … and Council urge visitors to remain vigilant about safety and stay on the trails.’ 

The Gumeracha Fifth Sunday Market is back and the FUN Dog Show—hosted by the Lions Club of Torrens Valley—is on again at the market in March. A huge drawcard last year, the Dog Show features a range of lighthearted categories that generate a lot of enjoyment.

Pictured here are two 2019 Dog Show entrants and their owners, including (left) the Mayor of the Adelaide Hills Council, Jan-Claire Wisdom.

By Kendrea Rhodes

As the weeks and months pass since the Cudlee Creek fires, people are learning to live with grief, stress, relief, pain, loss and gain. Feelings of anxiety feed into a kind of homesickness when community, home and identity are disturbed — this distress, caused by environmental change, is also called solastalgia.

In the township of Lobethal, the old Woollen Mill is responding to many of the community needs in practical and creative ways through Fabrik Arts + Heritage, the Adelaide Hills Council, and the State and Federal Governments.  

By Kendrea Rhodes

About 18 months ago, this old bus-shelter was termite ridden, slowly disintegrating and very much overlooked. But in its hey-day, from 1942 to 1970, the shed was regularly full of people waiting for the green and brown Graeber bus to take them to school, local towns, or into Adelaide. It was an important community meeting point and, while waiting for a bus, what else was there to do but talk or read a book?

Thanks to two local ladies, Alison Cranwell and Kate King, that community meeting point vibe at the bus shelter is in full swing again in the form of a ‘sharing shed’. Alison, Kate and committed community members renovated the shelter to create a place where people can “Take what you need — Give what you can”. At the Basket Range Sharing Shed you may meet others dropping off produce, tidying and sorting, or picking up produce, a book or magazine — all for free. This is actual sharing: no obligation, no bartering and no money. The only valuation is increased social capital within the community from a system based on trust, cooperation and understanding — essential elements for a well-adjusted society.