New Bannockburn social club open to all

AFTER a day of helping his daughter renovate her block of land, Adam McLean went home feeling sick and sore.

Later that night, doctors from the Alfred Hospital told him he had an epidural abscess underneath his spine.

“I can’t feel anything,” Mr McLean told his wife, Sue, over the phone. “I’m paralysed. I can’t feel anything from my waist down.”

Mr McLean was in hospital for a year and has now spent the past five years in a wheelchair and Mrs McClean said coming out of hospital in a wheelchair was a very “isolating” experience for her husband.

“It’s such a shock at first, your whole life is changed,” she said. “It can be so lonely and depressing at times, just sitting around all day.”

To help combat some of that loneliness, the McLean’s have founded a new social club in Bannockburn, dubbed Bannockburn Inclusive.

The group aims to bring all members of the community together, including seniors, disabled people, those that live alone, and anyone else who fancies a cup of tea and a chat.

Having only been created a few weeks ago, Mrs McLean said the club is starting off small.

“We meet every week on a Thursday to have some morning tea,” she said. “It can be such a great thing for some people, it just gives them that social outlet.”

Helpers, carers, parents, and friends are encouraged to attend, which is now over 20 members strong.

Ms McLean said Bannockburn Inclusive has applied for some Shire grants, which would provide “countless opportunities” for the club.

“If we can access these funds, it would just open so many doors for us,” she said. “We could hire a bus and take a day trip somewhere, or have a chef come in and offer us some fun cooking lessons.”

The group meets every Thursday from 10am at the Cultural Centre and to find out more search for Bannockburn Inclusive page on Facebook.