[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A02F2F;”] C [/dropcap]hristmas is a wonderful excuse, if you need one, to enjoy some timeless children’s Christmas books.

As Michaelie Clark, from Warrnambool Books, says, Christmas stories make the festive season special, whether they are told through Christmas carols, films or (most importantly!) books.

From the plethora of children’s Christmas books available, Warrnambool Books has chosen their top five, which they adore for their traditional or unique splendour and sense of magic.

And if you don’t have a child young enough to share them with, perhaps consider buying and donating a children’s Christmas book to a charity such as Bethany.

The Warrnambool Books’ top five:

The Jolly Christmas Postman, by Allan and Janet Ahlberg

A Christmas twist on the classic picture book which follows the Jolly Postman’s journey as he delivers Christmas correspondence to favourite nursery rhyme and fairy tale characters. The book includes real post items for children to open, such as a jigsaw puzzle for Humpty Dumpty and a Christmas card for Baby Bear.

 

 

 

Christmas Wombat, by Jackie French and Bruce Whatley

A great Aussie Christmas story in board book format, perfect for toddlers. Mothball the wombat gets into mischief and provides a unique view of the silly season from the perspective of a very special creature.

 

 

 

Gingerbread Friends, by Jan Brett

The star of this year’s iconic Myer window display in Melbourne, this sweet story sees the Gingerbread Baby take his rooster-drawn sleigh into town in a quest to find friends. Includes a large, pop-out illustration at the end of the book.

 

 

 

Aussie Jingle Bells, by Colin Buchanan and Nick Bland

The ultimate Aussie Christmas song in book format with accompanying CD. Join the family in the rusty Holden ute as they head off to spend the day swimming and playing cricket with the rellies.

 

 

 

A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens and Lee Krutop

This beautifully illustrated abridged pop-up version of the classic Christmas tale by Dickens would make the perfect bedtime story during the festive season.

 

 

 

[box] You can keep up with new releases and classics from Warrnambool Books via their Facebook page.[/box]

 Catch up on our other Bookmarks…

 

New book on the faces of Warrnambool

The many faces of Nikki Gemmell

Buy a book for a child this Christmas: Bethany appeal

A long way from suet pudding

The Dressmaker still winning fans

Preserving Indigenous stories: Fiona Clarke

 

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A5CECD;”] I [/dropcap]n October, we brought you the story of Susie Alexander, from Warrnambool, who we nominated as one of our first quiet heroes for her inspirational approach to her fight against breast cancer.

At that time, Susie hoped she would be well enough after her series of often debilitating treatments to participate in the annual Sussan Women’s Fun Run held in Melbourne on December 8 to raise funds for the Breast Cancer Network Australia.

Unfortunately Susie couldn’t make it to Melbourne, because the health of her mother, who is also battling cancer, is deteriorating*. But she was determined to still do the 5km walk to fulfil the promise that she made to herself and to her dozens of supporters who had donated funds to the cause.

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A5CECD;”] S [/dropcap]o Susie held her own version of the Sussan Women’s Fun Run down at the Warrnambool waterfront and invited her friends, family and supporters to join her. They came on foot and on bicycles, with children, and with dogs and, by 9am, about 100 people were ready to walk for Susie, for her Mum and for everyone else who is facing the challenge of cancer.

It was one of those uplifting moments when people gather for a common cause and, in this case, to celebrate all that makes life so precious.

Thankyou, Susie, for reminding us of how even taking a simple walk by the sea is such a gift.

* (Susie’s mother, Jan, passed away peacefully on Dec 18, 2013).

[box] As of this weekend, Susie had raised $3500 toward the Breast Cancer Network Australia and donations were still coming in. She had set herself a target of $1000. [/box]

 If you enjoyed this story, you might enjoy…

 

On the road with the Schoolies

Tackling a hidden terror: Pat McLaren

A life-changing adventure: Schoolies with a Cause 

A winner for Woodford

United we stand – Wbool Uniting Church

Kylie Thulborn – pushing boundaries

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #8F9F59;”] G [/dropcap]iven it is almost Christmas, we thought we would highlight some of the wonderful creators around South-West Victoria who have featured so far in Bluestone Magazine and who will be appearing at either a market or a gallery over Summer.

Bluestone Magazine is a strong believer in art and creativity as a vital ingredient in any community and we have really enjoyed bringing you the stories behind some of the region’s best known artists who exhibit widely, but also the stories of those who are just starting out and, in some cases, working from a tiny studio or their kitchen table.

This includes people like Alesha Carter and Narelle Smith, sisters from Warrnambool, who this year started 2bird Designs. They create affordable jewellery using largely scrapbooking materials and carefully selected fabrics and have been delighted by the response to their work.

“We only started in March, but the markets have been going really well. I think it’s because we aim for everyone between 16 and 80,” Alesha said, laughing.

Rather than spend your hard-earned dollars on a mass produced product for Christmas, please think about purchasing a piece of locally made art or craft: there is nothing quite like it. For inspiration, see some of our creators below.

[box type=”bio”] Some of the artists and creators featured below will be at The Artery Christmas Market, this Sunday December 15, 224 Timor St, Warrnambool.[/box]

Rachel Peters is a well-established artist in South-West Victoria, with her most recent exhibition at Scope Galleries featuring works inspired by a ‘Healing Walk’ along the Fiery Creek. (You can catch up on that story here). Rachel, however, also creates cards and jewellery inspired by the landscape, that are for sale through The Artery markets.

 

 

 

Merran Koren creates large-scale sculptures from Mt Gambier stone that she bends to her will with the  help of some fairly industrial-strength tools. One of her most significant works, Nurture, is displayed at the entrance to Lyndoch Residential Care, Hopkins Rd, Warrnambool. She also has a studio space at The Artery. Read our full story on Merran here.

 

 

 

 

Helen Bunyon has been a part of the South-West Victorian arts scene for more than 20 years, since relocating from Melbourne. Apart from running the Customs House Gallery in Hawkesdale (formerly in Warrnambool) with her husband Des, and being heavily involved in The Artery, Helen also creates her own jewellery from recycled watches and found objects known as the Time Flies series.

 

 

 

Surrealist photographer Berit Hampel is part of an artists’ collective who exhibit and sell their work through the Whale Bone Gallery, Bank St, Port Fairy. Her work is evocative, yet often playful, and it is her manipulation of the images that creates their engrossing stories. You can catch up on Berit’s full story here.

 

 

 

 

 Jon Hayes is a heavy metal man. The Timboon sculptor takes rusty old farm tools or discarded hunks of metal and transforms them into one-off garden ornaments or  industrial-size braziers. You’ll find Jon, who works under the name Tomrtoe Designs, at local markets most weekends including Port Fairy, Trentham, Daylesford, Birregurra, and Port Campbell. Visit his Facebook page here or website here.

 

 

 

 Yambuk artist Sarah Gubby recently held her first solo exhibition at Blarney Books & Art that featured photography, textiles and intricate baskets. (You can catch up on that story here). Sarah, who has a studio space at The Artery, also sells her photographic works at The Artery markets.

 

 

 

 

Meg Finnegan is a Port Fairy sculptor who works with ceramics, copper and limestone to create works from the very large to the intricate. Meg also runs the beautiful Limestone Gallery in Port Fairy, that is open to visitors. You can read our story on Meg here and visit the gallery Facebook here.

 

 

 

 

 

Rosebrook artist Clare Fennessy creates ceramics under the name Claybody and her unique way of combining the rustic and the delicate make her work instantly recognisable. You can usually find Clare at the local art markets, but her work is also available to view online.

 

 

 

 

Ella Webb is becoming something of a phenomenon around South-West Victoria with her intricate drawings of the natural world. Since picking up a pencil several years ago, she has not looked back and now sells her work through gift shops, markets and online. Read our story here and find her on the web here.

 

 

 

 

Johanna Glennen is part of a major shift in how young mothers balance parenthood with making a living from their craft, and that is to sell online. Johanna creates infant and children wear under the joeyjellybean label and incorporates many of her own designs that are screenprinted onto the fabrics. You can often find her at local markets, including The Artery, and via her Facebook page. You can find our full story on Johanna here.

 

 

 

[box] * Next week we will feature a wrap up of local food producers that we have profiled this year in Bluestone Magazine.[/box]

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A02F2F;”] T [/dropcap]his is Brian Mills and he works nights, or very early mornings, depending on how you measure 4am starts.

Brian is one of a team of people at the Timor St Newsagency in Warrnambool who ensure that the morning newspapers are delivered each day to the doorsteps and businesses of Warrnambool for people who still enjoy reading a physical copy of a newspaper.

It is a job Brian has been doing for more than 25 years and this is why he – as a newspaper delivery man – has been chosen to appear in a photographic book due to be published in the first half of next year that will feature 30 of the iconic people and places of the Warrnambool community.

It is not a history book, nor does it include every well-known Warrnambool identity, but rather it is a personal selection of people and places that meant something to me – Carol – when I was growing up in Warrnambool in the 1970s and which are still a part of the community today, even if only a shadow of their former selves.

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A02F2F;”] T [/dropcap]here is a deep nostalgia and an inter-connectedness that binds the people of Warrnambool, perhaps more so than most other regional cities, or maybe that is just because other regional cities don’t have a Kermonds, or a Politis fish and chip shop, or a Fletcher Jones gardens, or a Chitticks….you get the picture.

These are the names that have become a part of Warrnambool’s cultural identity and trigger such strong stories and memories – especially if you are sharing them in a bar with another Warrnamboolian you have bumped into somewhere across the world.

There is also a growing awareness, however, that such icons do not last forever (the demolition of the Criterion Hotel, in Kepler St, was a stark reminder of this truth) and this is what inspired me to race around with my camera and do the best job I could to capture the faces – and some of the places – while we still have the chance.

The book is yet to be titled, but it will be limited to just 500 copies, so we will keep you up to date on when it is due to hit the shelves.

In the meantime, if you are a nostalgic Warrnambool person or ex-pat, you can join more than 2500 people just like you at the Lost Warrnambool Facebook page and share memories and some terrific old images. Be sure to let them know Bluestone Magazine sent you!

[box] Our regular Bookmarks by Warrnambool Books will return for our final edition of the year next week, with a list of great Christmas books that add a sparkle to the festive season.[/box]

 

 

 

It says a lot about the importance of the Fletcher Jones gardens to Warrnambool that even though the Raglan Parade factory has fallen silent and into disrepair, the gardens continue to hold on.

“Pleasant Hill” was once a major tourist attraction for the city, with busloads of visitors pulling up to the kerb and pouring out to take photographs, while locals all have their favourite memories of the beautifully landscaped gardens: the fish pond, the stepping stones, the wishing well, the sun-warmed cement turtle, the archways, the mosaic ‘basket’ garden bed, the tall man in the white trousers who advertised Fletcher Jones menswear.

The gardens were established over a period of years after Fletcher Jones first selected the site – a disused quarry – for his factory in 1948. And while they are a shadow of what they were in their prime, when up to eight full-time gardeners were employed, the fact they are maintained at all is quite incredible.

 

 

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A02F2F;”] F [/dropcap]or this we can thank our Quiet Heroes for the week: Lex Caldwell, who oversees the gardens in exchange for living in a cottage on site, and a small, rotating team of volunteers who turn up each Tuesday morning to weed, mulch, mow or do whatever else needs to be done.

When we visited, the volunteer crew included Don McLean, Lester Campbell and Philomena Headen who were hard at work weeding one of the garden beds and picking up bits of broken glass.

Imagine how the place would look without them?

[box]The FJ gardens crew will receive a coffee and cake voucher from Lozzar’s Lounge Cafe, 52a Kepler St Warrnambool. Thankyou to owners Loretta and Phil for supporting this week’s Quiet Heroes.[/box]

 

 

 Meet some of our other quiet heroes…

 

Tackling a hidden terror: Pat McLaren

A life-changing adventure: Schoolies with a Cause 

A winner for Woodford: Tania Ferris

United we stand – Wbool Uniting Church

Kylie Thulborn – pushing boundaries