Shed TV - September 2012

Mon, 1st October 2012

G'day Shedders....

We'd like to begin by welcoming all the new members who signed up during our recent membership drive.  It's great to have you all on board.  We think you'll find plenty to interest you here on The Shed Online.  Try our new cooking activity, get involved in the discussion and Q&A topics (this month focuses on dementia), stay informed with film and book reviews, blogs, health info, news and much, much more.

The membership drive was an outstanding success. Thanks to every one of you who spread the word about the Shed and helped us exceed our target by reaching over 5,700 members.

We had some great contributions to our Spread the Shed, and Spin us a Yarn promotions. Look out for an announcement about the winners soon.

Activities

Some new activities have just been put up...

• Barbecue bananas: We've posted the final cooking activity in our barbecue series - this one's an unusual dessert.  Keep your eyes peeled for Tom's recipe for barbecue bananas with honey or chocolate.

• Becoming a birdwatcher: Bird watching can be a really enjoyable pastime. Take a look at our tips on how to get started, then grab your binoculars and your birding book.

• Surviving unemployment: Have a look at our "Surviving unemployment" activity. Anyone who's been out of work knows that it can be a tough time.  We've put together some information that can help you cope with unemployment and get you on the road to finding a new job.

• Worried about your memory? There's a special activity courtesy of Alzheimer's Australia - it's a checklist you can work through to see what shape your memory is in.

Health focus - Dementia

• Dementia: Have a look at some info from Alzheimer's Australia. You can find out about special training and community sessions that are available for friends and family of people with dementia.

• Dementia Q&A: And, we're holding a Q&A session with Professor Michael Woodward, director of aged car services at Austin Health, so send in your questions on the subject of dementia and we'll post the answers from our expert next month

• Carers Q&A: On the subject of Q&A sessions, you can read the responses to last month's questions regarding caring for people with an illness, impairment or disability - the answers have been posted on the site.

From the Blog

 Go to the blog for a selection of thought-provoking articles.

• Garry's experience of dementia: Read about one man's experience with younger-onset demetia, written by guest blogger, Gary Lovell.

• Film review - The Big Year (2011): There's a new film review - it's "The Big Year", a comedy about three men pursuing the title of "birdwatcher of the year".

• Depression in Australian Men: We've got the first in a series of blog articles about how depression affects men. Dr. Conrad Newman shares his insights with us.

• The Shed Online Moderation: Also in the blog, read an article about online moderation. You may be aware that comments posted on The Shed Online are subject to moderation to ensure that our community remains inclusive, repectful and supportive.  Some of you have had questions regarding moderation on the site, so we thought this would be a good opportunity to talk about it.

Discussions

Discussions are one of the most popular features of The Shed Online.  Members can have their say on just about anything.   The discussions give Shedders the chance to share their knowledge, offer support or just have a yak.  Take a look, I reckon there will be plenty of topics that will be of interest to you.

One of our newer discussion topics revolves around our Shed Online book club.

• Book review - Daughter of the Forest: Our current book is "Daughter of the Forest", based on an old Brothers Grimm tale. If you've read the book, contribute to our discussion, and hear what our guest book club host, Mick, has to say.

Next month's book will be "He Died with a Felafel in his Hand", by Aussie author, John Birmingham. Grab yourself a copy and get reading. Then have your say in our book club discussion topic.

If you'd like to suggest a book for us all to read as part of our book club, whay not volunteer to be a host? Drop us a line at  webteam@theshedonline.org.au, and introduce yourself.

There's plenty going on this month - make sure you check out our news and events pages, too. It's great to have you all here, in Australia's biggest shed - the Shed Online.

'Til next time, Shedders!