A NEW group has formed in Bannockburn and while coffee might be the reason, it\u2019s not the focus for the gatherings.<\/p>\n
The group meets every Monday morning at 10am at the Red Dog Cafe and was established by Bill Ritchie, whose been a local for about five years.<\/p>\n
Mr Ritchie said aside from the Men\u2019s Shed and bingo at Bannockburn Library, he hasn\u2019t found many opportunities for social groups in the area.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d joined a neighbours\u2019 group and meetup group but there was no real response there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI asked myself a couple months ago what is going on in Bannockburn, so I asked around if there were any coffee groups around here.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople just suggested I start one myself so I thought I might as well have a go. No one else is really doing it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s not much in Bannockburn; there\u2019s only three cafes here. But the response has been unbelievable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since promoting the idea on social media, Mr Ritchie said he received more than 30 responses from people, with about 24 attending the inaugural meetup.<\/p>\n
Although the group\u2019s chosen venue and time may change depending on members, he said the first meeting highlighted a need for coffee group in Bannockburn.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a variety of different ages there, and they seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves. Sue, the owner, cut up a load of cakes for us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s definitely a need for this, anything social. You\u2019ve got no pokies. You\u2019ve got no pub. What other outlets are there here?<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of the people who are attended are really looking forward to it continuing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were a few that were really keen because they\u2019ve only been here a short period and just want to make friends.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A NEW group has formed in Bannockburn and while coffee might be the reason, it\u2019s not the focus for the gatherings. The group meets every Monday morning at 10am at the Red Dog Cafe and was established by Bill Ritchie, whose been a local for about five years. Mr Ritchie said aside from the Men\u2019s […]<\/p>\n