This is the Mandatory Induction, known as the Yellow Dot Induction, for all new members to the Shed which provides a brief introduction to the Shed facilities and procedures. The Induction is required even if the new member has already booked a Red Dot or Blue Dot induction for the Woodwork group at teh Shed.

Join everyone in our warm and cosy meeting room  for fresh baked scones, jam and cream with friendly companionship. All existing members as well as any prospective members are welcome.

Forestry and WA's South West Jack Barrett The South Wests’ timber industry was a major endeavour that assisted the development of that part of Australia during the colonial development phase. By the late 1890’s it had become the second highest source of Western Australian exports, gold mining then being the main component. The region was and still is environmentally critical so that both its history and maintaining its natural setting are very important. The area is recognised as one of the world‘s major biodiversity hotspots, and with climate change now present, its future is even more critical and difficult to protect. This talk initially outlines the steps undertaken in its development, from the mid 1800’s through the last century until current times. The stage that it is at now and the factors effecting its uncertain future are then outlined. A bit about Jack Jack initially had a focus on civil engineering at the U of M and then trended into geotechnical projects. After a short period with Victoria water supply group he did  a PhD in Rapid Drawdown of Earth Dams. A new design and testing approach was found to be needed and after a subsequent year consulting with the early Coffey group, MIM put him in their mining research team to develop a mine fill for better extraction of their 1100 underground orebody. Jack spent a period on a post-doc designing roads for repetitive large wheel loads. He spent 4 years of research at CSIRO in underground mining, mainly in mine fill and in undersea post pillar mining through a King Island project. Subsequent consulting led to experiences in local and off-shore protects in a range of communities, mainly in Africa, South-East Asia incl New Guinea, Canada and the Pacific. Clients ranged from project developers, mine operators, resource seekers, and banks. His final work steps were in WA after being in charge of Mine Tech for a few years at MIM. Initially there was a stint at Western Mining’s nickel operations to improve safety, followed by more consulting, drafting a Mining Degree course for UWA, and looking a R&D needs there. His current endeavour is to develop an approach to Australia’s history with an orientation to its development, that gets more people to think about it when looking ahead.    

This month - a very special trip to Hungary ! For the August monthly members lunch, our own member Zoltan Kalotas will lead the Kitchen Team in preparing traditional Hungarian beef goulash (just the thing to warm you up on a cold Perth winter's day). The goulash will be served with plenty of sourdough bread to mop up the juices ! Dessert will be a classic Hungarian cherry slice with fresh whipped cream.  So sign up, come along and enjoy a great meal with your mates! Cost for food will be $20 with beer and wine at standard prices.   As usual, we need pre-payment with your registration.  You will be able to get a credit towards a future event if you cancel at least 24 hours before the event. Should you need to cancel, please send an email to wernerribul@mac.com. No-shows on the day will forfeit their ticket fee. Both of us hope you will be able to join us. Best regards, Werner and Michael

To maintain your Blue Dot Woodworking Accreditation you will need to, you will need to undertake a Verification of Competency (VOC) Assessment as follows. Woodworking members aged under 75 years will be assessed every 24 months Woodworking members aged 75 to 84 years will be assessed every 18 months Woodworking members older than 85 years  will be assessed every 12 months You will be assigned a simple task which shouldn’t take more than about 30 minutes. This is not a test of your craftsmanship; it is simply a demonstration that you can competently use the machinery unsupervised without endangering yourself or others.  You can book your VOC Assessment by clicking on your preferred VOC Assessment date below. The Rostered Supervisor for the day will oversee your assessment and he will either deem you "competent" or refer you to a Trainer for further assessment or training. If you choose not to do the VOC Assessment,  you will no longer be able to use the Machine Room equipment unsupervised.

Last Friday afternoon a brave team of Sheddies travelled to...Pebble Beach!   It was fine day on this storied, century-old course which had humbled Arnold Palmer on more than one occasion back in the 1960’s.  Crowds lined the figure-of-eight layout, restless with anticipation.  In the distance we could hear Pacific breakers crashing against the cliffs just beyond the 7th. With clear skies and no detectable breeze, we limbered up at the driving range before our host Peter Telford escorted us to the first tee.   A competent golfer himself, Peter expressed surprise that none of us could drive more than 200 meters, but we assured him we must surely be the best golfers the Shed had to offer, given that no other Sheddies had heeded the call.  The first hole looked an easy entry as a simple dog-leg-right par 4.  The pristine fairway stretched out ahead of us as wild deer, no doubt aware of our stature, scurried off the course.  Bunkers loomed ominously at the bend.   Mark “Straight Shooter” Hands teed off first like shooting a rifle, deftly demonstrating what millions of dollars in professional coaching can do for your game.  David “Dark Horse” Beard followed his lead, viciously driving the ball toward the pin all the while denying that he was a professional golfer.  Hopes were high as Curt “The Sprayer” McDonald stepped up next, launching the ball forward with evidently far more power than actual direction.  Japp “Wedgy” Poll, fresh from the surgeon's knife, brought up the rear, putting on a master class on how to storm your way up the fairway with a pitching wedge.    As the dust settled, remarkably, not a man among us had approached the dreaded "stop-counting-at-9” abyss. On the second hole we communed with nature, exploring forests and deep grass with equal vigour.   We learned that trees are still hard, even in cyberspace.  Some of us even took time to visit the small beaches conveniently provided all around the green.  Although it was touch and go, we can confirm that no cars beyond the fairway were actually damaged.  Mercifully,  the Trackman overlords delivered gimme’ puts to anyone coming reasonably close to the pin.   One or three mulligans also managed to slip through the scorers fingers… Exhausted and out of time, the real world beckoned.  In an instant we were transported from Sourthern California back to stormy Perth as our excellent host Peter Telford offered a congratulatory beverage.    We all agreed it was a great time and fun and resolved to return.  Not having destroyed any of his clubs or equipment, Peter Telford said Sheddies would be welcome again, . Would you like to join us?  Where would you like to golf?  We have every course in the known universe at our fingertips…  And you can bring your own clubs or use the ones there. We will have another crack on Friday, August 8 at 12:30 and would love to have you along.  Book in now using the link below.

Join everyone in our warm and cosy meeting room  for fresh baked scones, jam and cream with friendly companionship. All existing members as well as any prospective members are welcome.

All members are welcome to join our Art Group and explore their own artistic talents, try a new medium, have a go or just watch, chat and learn a little as other members experiment and create. No previous experience is necessary. We are a very informal group with a range of talents and abilities but just having a go - absolute beginners to "old" masters!

We still have a few places available for next week's wine event.  If you have forgotten to enrol do so quickly.  If you have a guest you would like to bring please buy them a ticket while there are spare places available.   Way back in November 2023, John Bolto treated us to an array of Italian grape varieties sourced mainly from vineyards in Italy.  For this August wine meeting, he will return to a similar theme and treat us to some of the same grape varieties but this time sourced mainly from Australia.  In 2023, we consistently rated the Italian wine as superior to their Australian cousins with one of the wines (an Aglianico) in the top 5 of all the wines we have tasted (of almost 350).  So he has a hard act to follow but John likes a challenge. As usual please purchase your ticket quickly so you don’t miss out Stephen

All Members who intend to be part of the Woodworking Group will need to complete this Power Tools Induction Training. There is a once off Cost of $10 for this Training Course, which can be paid when you purchase a ticket. Note: Members are required to complete the 'Yellow Dot' Shed Introduction session before taking part in a Red Dot training session. There will be a maximum of 3 persons for each Training Session.  If after booking, for some reason you cannot attend the training, please advise the Red Dot coordinator, Jeremy Wallace, on 0406927650 (SMS please), or email (jeremywallace5@outlook.com) as soon as possible, so we can arrange another session for you.  If you have trouble booking please contact Jeremy by SMS. The successful completion of the Red Dot Training is a pre-requisite to booking the Blue Dot Woodwork Machinery Course. Once you have completed this Training, your Membership Badge will updated to show a Red Dot and enable you to undertake any projects in the Main Workshop that utilise only Power Tools. 

Hello Cooking Class Sheddies I hope you will join me for the next cooking class on Tuesday 5 August at 9am. We will eat what we cook and lunch will be at about 12.30pm. You don't need me to tell you that it has been a bit chilly !  To combat the cold, this month we will make 2 hearty Italian dishes. The main course will be Italian sausages with borlotti and cannellini beans in a rich tomato sauce.  Special guest presenter Mario Properzi will lead us in the dessert which will be warm chocolate risotto with raspberries and almonds (yum !).  A fixed cost of $20 per person will apply to each class to cover ingredients. Beer and wine will be available for purchase on the day. Please purchase your ticket in advance. As always, I look forward to seeing you on the day. All the best Michael Henderson

To maintain your Blue Dot Woodworking Accreditation you will need to, you will need to undertake a Verification of Competency (VOC) Assessment as follows. Woodworking members aged under 75 years will be assessed every 24 months Woodworking members aged 75 to 84 years will be assessed every 18 months Woodworking members older than 85 years  will be assessed every 12 months You will be assigned a simple task which shouldn’t take more than about 30 minutes. This is not a test of your craftsmanship; it is simply a demonstration that you can competently use the machinery unsupervised without endangering yourself or others.  You can book your VOC Assessment by clicking on your preferred VOC Assessment date below. The Rostered Supervisor for the day will oversee your assessment and he will either deem you "competent" or refer you to a Trainer for further assessment or training. If you choose not to do the VOC Assessment,  you will no longer be able to use the Machine Room equipment unsupervised.