By Alesha Capone
Wyndham residents have been getting creative and spreading the message of hope during the coronavirus lockdown.
On our Facebook page, Star Weekly last week asked readers to submit photos of what they have been doing during the pandemic, and we were overwhelmed by the responses.
-Liz Ellis, who calls herself an “amateur photographer” snapped this gorgeous photo of rainbow nature-strip art in Vaughan Chase, Wyndham Vale. See @LizEllisPhotography54 on Facebook or lizellisphotos to see some more of her photos.
-Kathy MacKendrick, who lives in Northey Crescent, Hoppers Crossing, has set up a LED multi-coloured snowball tree and some signs in her front windows.
“I run a succulent business and a recycle project from home, and have plenty of admin to do, but of course my Gumtree ads are paused and there are no customers coming to my door,” Kathy said.
“But I wanted to find some way I could catch the attention and cheer my neighbours and passersby.
“I racked my brains and realised that as I had two large full length windows in the front of my house, I could do something there.
“As daylight fades, I turn the tree on and it twinkles away until I go to bed.
“I often wake before daylight, so I switch it on again until it’s light, for the many workers who leave home early and drive past.”
Kathy has encouraged other residents to decorate their windows and doors with messages of hope.
-The Stewart Family from Point Cook created this window art.
“Many people have been stopping by to see the window, especially at night. We have loved seeing people taking photos and sharing the colourful picture around social media,” the family said.
– Radhika Handa Duggal submitted these photos of some lawn art, created by her husband Sohil Duggal and daughter Gauhar.
– Jo Brown, of Hoppers Crossing, sent us these snaps of her daughters, 12 year-old Ella and nine year-old Lily, who gave their father Mick a haircut. The girls gave Mick a handlebar moustache, trimmed his hair and even shaved his legs.
– Manor Lakes cutie, three year-old Harper, drew some rainbows on the path near her family’s home for people to enjoy when they walk past.
-In Seabrook, several residents have drawn chalk illustrations around the local park and estate. The trail has been dubbed the “walk of positivity”. Nas, who sent in the images, said: “We have had many cases where people say it brought them smiles.
“The community have gone out and purchased chalks and wrote on the footpath.
“Each time the rain washes it away, we go and write again. This is our contribution.
“As a community, we ran competitions to keep our sanity intact – we had bin isolation day competitions, colouring competition and few more organised in the next few weeks.”
-Renee, of Werribee, snapped this picture of Cooper, aged seven, and Lucas, aged four, who have made their own McDonalds drive-through. What a fantastic effort!
-Caitlin sent this photo of Mia and James staying warm in their Truganina garden.
-Shaz sent in these colourful chalk artworks done by her children in Montpellier Drive, Werribee.
Please email photos of your lockdown activities, along with your name, suburb and phone number (that’s not for publication, that’s just so we can contact you if we need to), to acapone@starweekly.com.au or submit them to www.facebook.com/wyndhamstarweekly/
