Saturday 6 January 2018

Love your town: Sunday markets (and staying cool)

Hello!


Summer is in full swing here in Wodonga and we're currently having a burst of 40c-plus weather. Despite the heat, most of the landscape is still relatively green due to recent rain so everything is looking pretty idyllic (until you step out into the sun and get crispy-fried). Apologies to those in the northern hemisphere who are hunkered down in a record-cold winter - pretty soon we will be fed-up with the relentless heat and be feeling snow-envy, I'm sure!



It got me thinking that I've been tagging posts here and on social media with #sunnynortheast and #wodonga, but I haven't really explained the virtues of living in this part of the world. I've decided to make an effort to dedicate some posts to why living in the north-east of Victoria, Australia, is pretty darned good. It's also a reason to get to know my community better myself, being a relative new-comer to this regional city.


This morning I decided to get the kids organised and make our first visit to the local On The Border Community Market in Wodonga, which has only been running for a few months. This is no mean feat when the forecast is about 40c. The only way to tackle days like this is to expend your energy early and get home early.


After bribing treating the kids to a café breakfast we wandered around the market, which currently runs first Sundays monthly at Junction Square in the heart of Wodonga. The crowd was modest given the school holidays and the heat, with most people melting into the shade with cold drinks where they could.


The market occupies a new community space created where the old Wodonga train station was located. The rail heritage is maintained by the conversion of the station buildings into bars and cafes and the use of overhead gantries and rail-like paving.


The market itself is dominated by craft stalls, selling candles, woodwork, soaps and lots of baby and kids gifts and clothes. One stall which caught my eye was Tiny Warrior Design, selling sophisticated baby and kids items sourced from by Australian makers, some of them local. It's moments like these when you wish you had a baby to buy for!


So we made it home a little after 10am when the temperature had risen to 40c. The kids are now parked in the lounge watching a movie in the cool, with the dogs having sneaked in to find a cool spot as well. The only noise in the neighbourhood is the drone of evaporative air conditioners. The activity will begin around 6.30pm when the temperature begins to dip and people can get out for a walk and the neighbourhood kids will get out on their bikes until bedtime.


It's not a bad life. Not bad at all.

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