Put the date in your diary…..On Saturday night the 18th March, Paluma will celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a Social at the Community Hall commencing at 6.30 pm.
St. Patrick’s Day actually falls on Friday 17th March, but we will hold off on celebrating until Saturday evening.
Please bring a plate of food to share – Irish inspired if you wish – the more tatties the better as far as I am concerned!
The Bar will be open for low cost beverages.
And don’t forget to embrace the theme and wear emerald GREEN.
The Paluma Community Hall was bathed in red on Saturday night for the Lunar New Year with a large crowd gathering to mark the event. Where else but Paluma could you spend your Saturday evening commemorating Chinese New Year, Water Rabbits, four birthdays and a Scottish poet. But celebrate we did!
There was a banquet of the most amazing food, many Chinese inspired dishes plus an array of other sumptuous treats. My vote for the dish of the night was Tony and Julie’s contribution of roast pork – cooked to perfection and a very generous contribution to the community dinner. Many were heard to comment that the pork crackling was the ‘best they have ever tasted’. Quite a few people tried to ply Tony for his secret in creating the perfect pork crackling, but I don’t think anyone was successful in extracting the secret recipe.
January is filled with Paluma birthdays and so we celebrated with black forest cake and other desserts. Don’s birthday was yesterday (Sunday) and Colwyn’s birthday was last week. Whilst Colwyn couldn’t join us on Saturday night she is ever-present in our thoughts. Mark and Leonie celebrate their birthday mid week – on the same day. A rowdy chorus of ‘Happy Birthday’ echoed from the Hall.
Speaking of singing, Leslie paid tribute to Scottish poet Robert Burns with a rendition of his own favourite Burns poem in song. He belted out a tune, helped along the way by Beth. Burns Night is this Wednesday evening, so a good excuse for a wee dram.
Lynda took over the duty of bar person for the event and ran everything like clockwork. Leslie was able to relax for a change and enjoy his dinner and conversation. Many thanks to Les for all his years of dedicated service as resident Barman at PDCA Socials, a role he has reluctantly decided to pass on to others due to his hearing difficulty. Lynn provided information on ‘Year of the Water Rabbit’ and it turned out there were a few ‘bunnies’ amongst the crowd. No one got rich on the Lucky Scratchies hidden under selected chairs, but that didn’t seem to matter on the night.
Paluma Socials are about fun, laughter, good spirit and community – and this one was no exception.
A reminder to Paluma residents that the first PDCA Social of 2023 will take place this coming Saturday at the Community Hall. Chinese New Year celebrations will kick off at 6.30 pm. Come along to mark the lunar new year and to catch up with your neighbours after what has been a soggy start to January.
The Bar will be open and please bring a dish to share. Red is the lucky colour to wear for Chinese New Year.
Rumour has it that quite a few people are celebrating birthdays at this time of year. Colwyn had a birthday last week, Don has a birthday this week (on Sunday) and Mark and Leonie both celebrate their birthdays next week (on Wednesday). There are no secrets in Paluma….. A little bird told me that there will be cake….!
Keeping with the multi-cultural theme, for those of us of Scottish ancestry it is an important time of the year in celebrating Rabbie Burns Night on 25th January. Without any bias, Rabbie Burns was the greatest poet that ever lived. I mention this just in case some people want to wear tartan in honour of Rabbie Burns birthday.
Whatever you wish to celebrate, come along and join in. It costs nothing to relax and enjoy the company of good friends. And the weather forecast is for sunshine on Saturday! Bring it on.
The first PDCA Social for 2023 will be held at the Paluma Community Hall on Saturday night, 21 January at 6.30 pm when we celebrate Chinese New Year.
Chinese New Year actually falls on Sunday 22 January, but we will celebrate early the night before. 2023 is the ‘Year of the Water Rabbit’, symbolising longevity, peace and prosperity.
Wearing red is considered lucky at this time, so please raid your cupboards for your most resplendent red attire.
Please bring a dish to share – you can embrace the Chinese theme of the night if you wish. The Bar will be open for drinks as usual.
In case you were wondering just what are the personality traits of someone born in the year of the ‘Water Rabbit’, Google says……
They are very precise and like to do everything thoroughly. They also have a wonderful memory. The Water Rabbit tends to be quiet, calm, and sometimes keeps aloof. Water Rabbits have good ideas and are very respected and successful in many aspects of their lives by all their family, friends and colleagues.
The 2022 rainfall figures for Paluma Village and Paluma Dam have kindly been provided by Tracy Cooper. Here are the figures ……
Paluma Village
December Rainfall – 296. 7 mm with 18 rain days
Total Rainfall for 2022 – 2,377.1 mm
Paluma Dam
December Rainfall – 204 mm with 17 rain days
Total Rainfall for 2022 – 1,972 mm
Many thanks to all the summer rainfall readers who have diligently collected the rainfall data EVERY day over December and the holiday period – Tracy Cooper, Rick Roveda and Peter Cooke. Well done – the villagers thank you for your efforts!
Yesterday’s working bee to refurbish the steps at the far end of the “Rainforest Walk” attracted a great turnout. There was a total of 10 people, 3 wheelbarrows, a generator and a cement mixer all working solidly for a couple of hours to fill in the new step frames and drainage channels that Wilfred and Colin had previously set up. The final result looked very impressive. Even the existing wooden bridges and platforms along the track got a major cleanup. We finished the effort back at the Community Centre congratulating ourselves with some well-earned drinks.
It was agreed that we should aim for a regular working bee on the first Saturday of every month to carry out various maintenance and improvement projects around the city. Look out for announcements on Paluma.org
Wilfred is again calling for keen volunteers to join him at a Working Bee this coming Saturday 7th January at the Rainforest Walking Track at Paluma Village.
Please meet at the Paluma Community Hall at 2 pm (opposite the Rainforest Walking Track). Please bring your wheelbarrow, shovel, spade, pick, rake, other garden tools and plenty of elbow grease and enthusiasm.
Further repair and refurbishment works is required along the Rainforest Walking Track including the installation of some more steps, drainage works, erosion control and filling-in the washouts.
Wilfred said he might even find some refreshments for the volunteers after the event! If you can spare an hour or two next Saturday afternoon please come along. For any inquiries, please contact Wilfred.
The talk in the village over the past week or so has been about the large rooster lurking about on the Range Road round the area of the saddle. In fact, I don’t think there is anyone travelling the Range Road that hasn’t caught sight of this rather handsome bird who mysteriously appeared along the roadside just prior to Christmas.
Exactly where the rooster has come from is the burning question. My own theory is that some very irresponsible person has dumped the bird because they no longer wanted him. A sad and cruel state of affairs if this is the case.
Word around the village is that quite a few people have attempted to catch the slippery chook without success. I made a valiant attempt myself last Monday at 6.30 am to catch the bird. Armed with some toast and vegemite (my breakfast) and a large blanket I nearly had him. Alas, he was too quick for me and before I could get a good grip on him he escaped my snare, leaving me holding two tail feathers. He crowed heartily from a distance to announce his victory. Roy the Kelpie was very keen to round him up, but I wasn’t sure that process was going to end well. I did make a call-out to several of the local and state authorities during the past week whose response to assist with the welfare of this ‘stray animal’ was extremely under-whelming.
Here’s hoping that one of the ongoing attempts by local residents to catch ‘Road Runner the Rooster’ (as I have named him) are successful. Ultimately, its hoped he can be caught and re-homed in some happy hen house on one of the outer village blocks or a local farm. A much better fate than that which might await him if the local dingoes discover him. He’s a very handsome chap and deserves a much better life than being abandoned by the roadside.
It’s not every day that a new commercial enterprise opens in Paluma, especially one that offers accommodation and meals in a beautiful rainforest setting. Mark and Leonie Crennan have been working tirelessly over the last year to refurbish the old Paluma Dreaming (and Heaven’s Kitchen) café at 1 Loop Road.
The new name, Djindal Bayanyu, was the result of many hours of research and consultation by Leonie, who wanted to acknowledge the original inhabitants of Paluma. The name means Singing Waterfalls in Nywaigi, which is the language group of the traditional owners who thrived for centuries in the abundant rainforest and pristine creeks of our spectacular mountain range.
Djindal Bayanyu will be open from 10:30am to 3pm Thursday – Sunday (and Wednesday this week) for excellent coffee, tea and sweet and savoury treats. Accommodation is also available with ensuite bathroom and kitchenette, or you can access shared facilities.
In addition to the refurbished interiors of the rooms and café, the garden has received a range of new plantings of native and ornamental trees and shrubs and artful landscaping. Their gardening efforts were recently recognised with an award in this year’s Paluma Garden Competition.
Ring or text 0490397650 to book accommodation or check cafe opening times.
Graham and Julie invite all Paluma residents to New Years Eve celebrations at the Pope residence on the hill. Everyone is welcome to come along and join in the party.
The event will kick off about 6.30 pm on New Years Eve, Saturday 31 December.
Please bring a plate of food to share and BYO drinks.
This is always a fun event for the Paluma community.
