Our New Drinks Refrigerator

Have you visited us yet? Fridays from 5 pm at Tanunda Recreational Park. Visitors are welcome. 

We had a refrigerator in our bar that was so old that none of our members could recall when it was purchased and when it was installed. And some of our members have been with our sub-branch for a very long time. 

On a good day, the old fridge sounded like a train rolling through a desert town and seemed to get louder when anyone was nearby and trying to listen to a call on their mobile phone. On a bad day, determined by the air conditioning unit itself, it even sounded worse.

Now, without telling stories out of school, some of our members wear hearing aids (no names, no pack drill) and found it exceptionally difficult to hear members ordering drinks because of the racket coming from the almost dead fridge. When we rely on drinks sales as our only regular source of income, we can’t afford not to be delivering the goods.

An airconditioning and refrigeration tradie told us months ago it was a miracle that it was still going and that we shouldn't be suprised if we opened our doors one Friday evening ready for a coldie only to find it had died several days earlier. Can you imagine, 37 degrees Celsius, it's ANZAC Day and hundreds of thirsty marchers and supporters turn up and there's not a cold drink to be found anywhere. I can't imagine anything worse happening to a veteran than finding their parachute didn't work on a training exercise.  

Fortunately, while we were talking about replacement options, one of our committee members, Peter A said he’d donate a fridge to us. Thanks mate, that’s exceedingly generous.

Remarkably, the fridge arrived almost in an instant and today was installed by a team of our hard working, devoted, and highly intelligent members. From left above Malcolm, David, John, Clive, and Elliott. Somewhere out of view of the image is Dawn who also assisted.

What’s happening to the old fridge? In what is an excellent idea it’s being downgraded to a wine storage fridge in a location where it won’t annoy anyone. When it eventually dies, nobody will miss out on a cold wine as there will be a few bottles in the new, you-beaut, quiet, better looking new acquisition.

How good is that?

Feedback: Management Committee Meeting

Have you visited us yet? Fridays from 5 pm at Tanunda Recreational Park. Visitors are welcome. No military connection required. See our Tab above for more information. Our meeting on Tuesday, 3 February 26 took about half an hour longer than 2025 meetings because we now have a larger number of committee members. However, it was all new to several members and my guess is when they begin to interact more, the meetings will go longer.

Most topics are fairly routine eg, our monthly income and expenses report produced by Treasurer, Craig.

ANZAC Day: We're well advanced in preparations for this special day with just a few items to fine tune that will be done well before 25th April.

New Bar Refrigerator: Our current bar refrigerator is close to the end of its life and needs to be replaced before it breaks down at the most inconvenient time (think ANZAC Day!). Our enquiries reveal it's too old to be repaired with original parts, so the committee endorsed a motion to purchase another for up to $3,500.

Initially it was intended that we would lease it for 12 months and at the end of the 12 months pay out the residual amount. However, one of our committee members has generously offered to donate the amount required. The donation is still being discussed, so I don't want to mention the member's name before it's a done deal. It's an extremely generous offer.

Avoiding Friday Happy Hour During Show Weekend: The Tanunda Show is on Saturday, 14th March 26 and the show organisers will be busy with show-related activities from Thursday through Sunday of that week, so the committee decided last year that we would avoid any RSL activities during that time that might interfere with the show organisation and inconvenience our members. 

Our Hut will be open from 5 pm Wednesday, 11th March in lieu of Friday, 13th March.

Completely avoiding the relevant days seemed the most sensible thing to do for both of our organisations. Having said that, the committee is determining whether we could open the Hut as a commercial venture during the show. More about that later.

Review of Major Meals, Snacks, and Bar Costs: 

Several committee members are reviewing both the amount of food we are providing, the costs, and how to recover costs from members. This was brought about by the financial losses we realised last year and also the fact that some members didn't appear to be paying for their snacks.

The aim is not to price the meals or bar prices out of existence, but to have a better balance between what we invest and how we can break even or preferably make a small profit. For example, a carton of Guiness Draught is more expensive and has a greater quantity than a carton of say Great Northern beer but we charge the same price for each product. This doesn't make good business sense.

You will no doubt be advised of the outcome of this review when it's finalised.

Help Lists: President David has produced lists for a number of volunteering opportunities we need filled and we ask members to choose something they'd like to help with. I've asked for the lists to be emailed to members since not everyone attends the Hut.

We really need help with numerous tasks that have been done by a small cohort to-date and the burden needs to be spread among as many other members as possible so everyone does a little and nobody is left to do everything.

Temporary Secretary: Malcolm Harvey has taken over the secretary role in Robin's absence and I ask that you give him every support as he adjusts and takes up the role.

That's all for this post.

Life on the Line Podcast

Have you visited us yet? Fridays from 5 pm at Tanunda Recreational Park. Visitors are always welcome. Do you prefer listening to stories rather than reading them? Sometimes I feel the same. 

You can be doing something else while listening so this post I want to introduce you to the "Life on the Line Podcast". (The term podcast comes from the iPod of yesteryear where you could store audio files and listen to them any time)

This podcast by Angus Hordern hosts a panel discussion of three significant battles where Australians overcame the odds, with David Buckwalter, Michael Kelly and Peter Slack-Smith.

This panel conversation is on three significant battles in Australian military history where our forces overcame overwhelming odds, moderated by Angus Hordern.

The guests include: David Buckwalter, a Vietnam War veteran, speaks on the Battle of Wau from World War II; Michael Kelly, Australian War Memorial historian and army veteran, speaks on the Battle of Kapyong from the Korean War; and, Peter Slack-Smith, a Vietnam veteran, speaks about the Battle of Long Tan, from his perspective as a Delta Company soldier in that bloody engagement.

To hear the podcast, click on the image:

If you like this series and wish to hear more podcasts, please go to the Contact Site.

Acknowledgement: Contact Magzine.