Welcome to the official Bondi Beach Astra blog, detailing events and activities that have been happening this year at the Astra. Read about our day trips, festive occasions and open days...you heard it here first!
A bunch of budding Astra bakers celebrated ‘Bake a Cake Day’ by, you guessed it, baking a cake! It was a group effort with input and ideas from those residents that came. Fun was had by all, and the end result was a vanilla and chocolate layered sponge with fresh cream and strawberries topped with a dusting of icing sugar. Yum! The cake was served at afternoon tea and was so enjoyed that there was none left by the end of the day.
What a delightful day some Astra residents spent at Parramatta Park, admiring the roses of Rumsey Gardens and touring Old Government House. The sun shone and the mood was relaxed and happy.
With the closure of the Rumsey specialist rose nursery at Dural in the late 1980s, two of each variety were gifted to Heritage Roses. The Rumsey Rose Garden, featuring some of the oldest roses in the colony, was opened in 1995. Although not all roses were in full bloom, we were amazed at the age and the international origins of this collection.
Some of us took the opportunity to visit Old Government House, built by convicts, and the country residence of the first ten governors of the colony. Restoration and refurbishment with antique furnishings briefly transported us to that colonial era. All the soft furnishings have been handmade and stitched by a group of volunteers, some of whom we met in their workroom.
While a few availed themselves of lunch at the nearby RSL Club, the remainder opted to dine at the restaurant attached to the Gatekeeper’s Cottage. And what a spread it was! Tables covered with snow white tablecloths were set up in an intimate little room. Tea cups and saucers were laid out for English (or Irish, in deference to the minority among us) tea. The service was impeccable, and the cost modest. Thank you, Ann, for booking our table.
We arrived home safe and sound, with numbers intact, a feat attributable to Kirsty’s organisation and aptitude with numbers.
Thank you to Aaron and Anna, for organising the bus, and to Sam for footing the bill for the transport.
Written by Cleo Lynch
What a beautiful day it was for the race that stops the nation. And here at the Astra we gathered in the lounge amongst the racing-themed decorations for a high tea-style lunch while we waited for the main event to begin. There were hats and fascinators, dresses and suits galore in a variety of fresh spring colours. Aaron made a large variety of sandwiches, Anna took care of the cakes and all the food was arranged to give the feel of a sumptuous high tea.
As the race drew closer, we collected money for sweeps and everyone waited keenly to see which horses they had drawn. And what a race it was! There was only a nose between them at the finishing line, and it had been too close to call right until the end. The winners of the $2 and $5 sweeps were Lillian and Eva, and second and third place got a share of the prize money too. Congratulations to everyone who came away a winner, and thanks to everyone else who came along for the fun and food. “One of the best ever” was the verdict of one resident!
Well, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to go all in for ‘World Food Day’…so we celebrated in style with a veritable feast for the residents! There were cheeses from a variety of different countries, Italian pizza, Japanese sushi and sashimi, and Vietnamese rolls. We also had foods from Mexico, the US, India, Brazil, Spain, Greece, Thailand, as well as the quintessential Aussie meat pie and lamingtons. A great world food day was had by all the residents, with lots of chatting in between mouthfuls of amazing food. Yum!
It was ‘Get Online Week’ from 14th to 20th October and, as we are in partnership with the government’s Be Connected programme we held an extended technology workshop this month. Our theme was ‘The Wonders of the World Wide Web’, which varied topic covered all sorts of issues ranging from cyber safety to technical jargon to online shopping and banking. The presentation went for longer than usual, as Aaron allowed extra time for discussion and Q&A, and then we shared a BBQ lunch together afterwards. We had sausages, salads, fruit and cheeses, and it was a lovely end to an information-packed morning.
At this workshop we also announced our recent acquisition of three new iPads and an iMac for use by the residents. These are exciting times as we upgrade our facilities and help everyone who wants to to get online.
To celebrate 'Train Your Brain Day', and to highlight some of the ways we can all keep our brains active, we held an afternoon tea with games and puzzles galore. It was a good turn out, and much fun was had by everyone undertaking a variety of stimulating activities. We had crosswords and sudokus, brainteasers and jigsaws, as well as doodling pads for the freestylers among us. Aaron ran us through a few of the main ways the professionals suggest we should keep our brains healthy and active, and this gave us plenty of food for thought for the rest of the afternoon.
If you are interested in the ways in which you can keep your brain active, ask at the office and we will be happy to print you a copy of our handy tips and tricks sheet. It’s never too early to train your brain!
Last week we celebrated Oktoberfest in style at the Astra, with food, beer tasting, costumes, decorations and traditional music. It was a really fun, well-attended event. Aaron did a sterling job as ever on the BBQ, cooking sausages, onions and chicken schnitzel. In addition, we had bread rolls, salad, cheeses, and plenty of fruit. For dessert, we enjoyed a sumptuous black forest gateau with lashings of cream and chocolate.
The decorations were Bavarian-themed, and provided a nice back drop to the crucial part of the proceedings; beer tasting! We had a variety of German and Bavarian-style beers, each with their own flavours and stories. And after the beer, with a contentedly full stomach, it seemed appropriate for us to finish with a few sips of butterscotch schnapps. Whether drinking or not, it was great to be able to relax and chat over lunch with the strains of waltzes in our ears. A few of us even managed to dress up for the occasion, with traditional(ish) clothes and scarves…and pinnies galore! Lots of fun and laughter was had by all, and our thanks go to everyone who came and made it such a lovely occasion. Prost!!
Arrrrr me hearties!! In recognition of International Talk Like a Pirate Day, we had a pirate-themed party with afternoon tea, plenty of decorations and a colourful array of costumes. It was a lot of fun to gather together and share some food with the skull and crossbones in the background and the sound of pirate patter in the air! The conversation wound its way round to real life pirates and their bad behaviour, and even to the question “where’s me rum?”! Much enjoyment was had by all and we all felt uplifted by the opportunity to have a chat with friends and neighbours.
What a beautiful Christmas in July celebration we had this year. The lounge was decked out in stars and sparkles, and we all had plenty of good food and drink throughout the evening. The Tratt meal was lovely - huge thanks to Alasdair and his team for organising it for us. Once we had eaten and drunk our fill of dinner, we headed back to the Astra for desserts, music and catching up. The desserts were organised by some of the residents, and they were superb - lots of little cakes and an extremely decadent trifle. The drinks and the raffle prizes were put on by BBARV for the residents. Seven lucky people went away with raffle prizes that night; from wine to jigsaws to beauty gift sets.
After we had called the raffle and everyone had eaten dessert, we danced the night away to the dulcet strains of John Campbell’s guitar and trumpet. We do like a good knees up here at the Astra, and this evening was no exception. A great time was had by all, and this shindig set us up nicely for the events coming up in the latter half of the year.
An enthusiastic attempt at the YMCA dance!
What a week we had here last week, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Moon Landing! We had our space themed decorations up in the lounge all week, and events on every day. Each afternoon we showed a space movie on the big screen, complete with popcorn and cakes to munch on. There was a good turnout to these movie afternoons, and we had fun turning the lounge into a makeshift movie theatre. Before the movie on Monday, we had a short space trivia quiz, which tested our general knowledge (and ability to guess the answers to multiple choice questions). Then on Tuesday we had a special technology workshop that looked in depth at features of websites. In keeping with the theme, we used NASA’s website as an example, and we spent some time looking at all the wonders that NASA has to offer; pictures, videos, blogs, podcasts…to infinity and beyond! Moreover, all week we had space jigsaw puzzles in the lounge to be completed by anyone who wanted to, and more than one or two chats about where people were on that day 50 years ago were had over a cake and a puzzle piece.
Landing the first person on the moon was such an amazing achievement and a global event, and it is only fitting that we should have commemorated it all week. Thanks to those who came and took part in any or all of our gatherings.
We held the first ever Astra table tennis competition this month. And what fun it was! We had two groups and the competitors played their group matches over the course of a week. Once we had finished the group stage, it was on to the main event - one day of semi finals and the grand final.
All the matches were bravely fought and a group of spectators gathered to cheer us on. In the end though, Noni was too good for the rest of us…she became our first table tennis champion! Congratulations to her and to everyone who took part. We will surely include this in our social calendar from now on.
Friday was ‘Devonshire Tea Day’, and we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have a luxurious tea with scones, jam and cream to take us into the weekend! The sun was shining outside and it was a great atmosphere inside the lounge as we enjoyed our decadent afternoon tea. I made the scones (including having a go at gluten-free scones, which I’d never tried before), and Aaron set up the cake stands and made the tables look glamorous. The fancy tablecloths in place, we made sure to put out all of the accoutrements of a good tea - different fruit jams, double cream, butter, a variety of black, fruit and herbal teas, and bowls of fruit.
People arrived all the way through the afternoon and it was lovely to have so many of us gathered together to chat and share in the week’s news. Thanks to everyone who came - it makes such a difference when we have a full lounge and the sound of laughter drifting through to the foyer. Next up…Moon Landing Day 50th Anniversary celebration week. Looking forward to it already!
Yesterday morning we had our usual Technology Workshop, but with an extended presentation and a BBQ lunch at the end. We began with morning tea and biccies as Aaron took us to the important world of staying safe in a technological age. The presentation covered general topics of privacy, security and setting passwords, as well as keeping software up to date and doing regular back ups. Then it went more in depth into fraud, scams and spam; what to do and, more importantly, what not to do! It was a very well-attended event and residents and friends from outside alike learnt some crucial lessons on how to stay safe whilst having fun online and on your phone.
At the end of the workshop, Aaron and I started preparing for our BBQ lunch, with lots of help from residents. Thanks to Patricia and everyone who lent a hand putting food and plates on tables, while Aaron cooked sausages and onions on the BBQ outside. It was a little brisk to eat outside, so once the food was cooked we brought it in and had a toasty warm lunch in the lounge instead. Aaron and I were on hand to chat with people about their technological issues and to take a look at their devices. I got lucky with a question just as the washing up was starting, so I managed to miss out on all of that fun!
Thanks to everyone who came - it was our biggest workshop so far! Remember we are always in the office to answer questions and help with issues, so don’t be shy to come and ask us to flex our technological muscles from time to time. We run our monthly workshops in conjunction with the Government’s Be Connected program. If you’d like to find out more, visit their website for information, tutorials and more.
Today is “Bake a Biscuit Day” and so I did just that! We thought it would be nice to have some home-baked biscuits to welcome people into the Astra for this day, so we set up a stand on the table in the foyer. All day long people have been coming and going and grabbing a biscuit, as well as looking at the fun biscuit trivia that Aaron put together. We had a selection of chocolate chip cookies, shortbread and Anzac biscuits to satisfy any biscuit lover out there - and I’m sure we made a few new friends along the way too!
This morning we joined in the national Biggest Morning Tea raising money for people struggling with cancer. It was an excellent event and very well attended and we all had a great time. We decided to upgrade our plates to cake stands for this event and got out our classiest cups and saucers! The homemade cakes and biscuits (I made some, as did Aaron’s wife and mother-in-law) looked lovely on the stands, and just for good measure we had a fruit platter on the side too. I brought in some different loose leaf teas for people to try and we brewed them in glass teapots, so we could see the colours change as the tea infused into the water.
After we had eaten cake and drunk tea (or coffee, or Pepsi!), we had some games and word puzzles to play. Most people had a go at trying to throw a teabag into a teapot (harder to do than it sounds - believe me, I tried!), and each table completed wordsearches and anagram challenges. We had a raffle too, with prizes for the lucky winners. Marie won our “guess which tea cup the tea is in” game, so congratulations to her for that.
Most importantly, while having fun we were also able to raise money for the Cancer Council. Altogether we raised $407, which was a fantastic result! Thanks to everyone who came and to those who couldn’t come to the tea but who donated to the cause. We couldn’t have done it without you.
It was a beautiful sunny autumn day on Wednesday, and there was excitement in the air as we piled into the bus waiting to take us to the Southern Highlands for the day. We had a full bus of residents and friends, and the atmosphere was cheerful as we headed out. The drive down was smooth going and we made good time, arriving at Moss Vale Macca’s for a pit stop at 11am. Several coffees, cakes and ice creams later and we were back in the bus driving to Throsby Park.
Throsby Park is a beautiful colonial-era rural estate set on around 180 acres of land. Noni, one of our residents was brought up there and it was her paternal relatives that were originally granted the land in 1819. We were fortunate indeed to be shown around the house by someone with such an intimate knowledge of its history and with a personal experience of living there. Noni gave us some general information about the homestead and then showed us each room in turn and filled us in on more details as we went around.
What a trip we all had! Everyone had a great time and really enjoyed looking round the homestead. Although it was nice and warm outside, the house itself was very cold (I wouldn’t have much enjoyed having a bath in winter there!) so some of us went and sat outside to wait for the stragglers when we were done. Then we posed for a group photo before heading to lunch in nearby Berrima.
Lunch was a casual affair, with people going off to different places to eat. Most of us enjoyed a meal at the pub, however, which has the notoriety of being Australia’s oldest continuously licensed inn! The food was tasty and I think more than a few of us were feeling very full and contented by the time we got back on the bus to start the journey home to Bondi. We arrived home just after 4pm, reflecting that it had been a very pleasant day. Thanks to Noni for all her tour guiding and for making sure we didn’t lose anyone along the way!
The sun most definitely had his hat on on Monday…hip hip hip hooray! We had a wonderful festival atmosphere in the Astra as we celebrated May Day (in the sense of a spring fair, not workers’ rights). We started off the festivities with a sausage sizzle in the courtyard, ably cooked by Aaron and enjoyed by all.
Once everyone had had their fill of sausages, salads, cheese and fruit, we moved inside to play games and eat cake. The boules and ping pong cup games were a hit, as were the quoits. Everyone who came along took away a lucky dip prize, and the winners of the games had an extra (sweet) prize to cherish along with the satisfaction of having won! A few brave souls tried out the Wii carnival games, and had fun shooting ducks, bowling and taking part in all sorts of classic fairground amusements. Most people had a guess at the number of chocolates in the jar, and impressively the winning guess was only one off. Well done to Barbara - she got to take away the whole jar as her prize!
I had fun making cakes for the event, and they were enjoyed over a cuppa and a chat. I also brought some craft materials from home and a few people did some crocheting, origami and other crafty things over the course of the afternoon. My partner and I also spent some time at the weekend making a “Beat the Buzzer” game, which was tried by more than a few people. We have yet to find someone who can get the wand from one end to the other without touching the wire and setting off the buzzer at all, but a few people got half way across. With a bit of practice, I’m sure someone will be able to do it in time…
Ann brought down an impressively large stash of flowery headbands, so a number of us were able to wear flowers in our hair in a very festival way! Flowers, fun and fabulous festivities - what more could we want for a May Day celebration?! And what a great way it was to start the month!
Just before ANZAC Day, we turned our lounge area into a gallery of photos and recruitment posters from the First World War. The images we got from the Australian War Memorial, and they are a visual reminder of everything that our brave men and women sacrificed for our future. If you haven’t taken a look yet, do pop in and have a wander around the lounge - we will be taking them down this week.
We hope all residents and their families had a lovely restful Easter break. It was great to be able to come together last week to catch up after the holiday and have lunch. We had some Easter decorations in the lounge and plenty of chocolate eggs to go round! The food was enjoyed by everyone who came and the atmosphere was friendly and fun as we chatted and enjoyed each other’s company.
Thanks to everyone who came along to make this Easter lunch a happy and enjoyable time for all. I firmly believe you can never have too much chocolate, so I was really pleased when all of the eggs and bunnies had disappeared by the end of the day! All in all a good job well done!
In honour of St Patrick’s Day at the weekend, BBARV held an Irish-themed lunch on Friday. We had plenty of decorations and encouraged people to dress up. Lots of us turned up in green, and some went further with their costumes! Aaron and I tried our hands at making a hearty Irish stew with traditional soda bread, along with salads and cheese and cakes for dessert. The food was well received and the atmosphere was joyful. Some traditional Irish tunes played in the background as we ate and chatted away the afternoon.
Thanks to everyone who came along to make it such a fun day, and especially to those who got into the spirit of the theme with elaborate costumes (naming no names…Chris!!) A few of us finished off with coffee in the Tratt, and amazed the unsuspecting customers and locals with our outrageous outfits. I’m pretty sure they were laughing with us not at us…!
The Bondi Beach Astra is a Retirement Village comprised of 55 independent living units, situated in the heart of Sydney's Eastern Suburbs. The Astra is a beautiful art-deco building on Campbell Parade, directly opposite the iconic Bondi Beach. Residents of the Astra have access to a wide range of facilities such as a communal lounge, games room, courtyard with BBQ and indoor pool area with serviced gym equipment. The Bondi Beach Astra is perfect for active, independent and social people over 55 years of age, who value comfort, natural beauty and community. Close to shops, restaurants and parks, the Astra is conveniently situated close to Bondi Junction and the city of Sydney. There are a small number of excellent properties available for sale now - don't miss this once in a lifetime opportunity!
Alternatively, call us now on 02 9365 3344.
34 Campbell Parade, Bondi Beach, NSW 2026
