Breaking the rules one nest at a time

Lance Nash knew he had arrived home the moment that Myrtle the Turtle Dove chose to nest in his parsley planter on the balcony of his Leith Park apartment.

“As a long-term anarchist, I was thrilled…I had broken the ‘no pet’ rules through no making of my own, and of course she really is not a pet” he said.

Lance moved into the Correa Apartments last September, and has built up quite a menagerie on his balcony. There’s Myrtle and her mate and then there are the Mynahs which he spends a great deal of time shooing away.

“Myrtle’s attraction to Leith Park appeals to me; she was looking for a home and found it in quite an unlikely place for a turtle dove,” Lance said.

“In a way, she is like many of us living here, and in the other villages managed by the Old Colonists’ Association of Victoria. Many of us didn’t have a home of our own or we needed to find a new home, and we were attracted to the place because of its strong values and its deep roots within the community around us.”

A former supervisor at the Victorian Arts Centre and an Occupational Health and Safety consultant, Lance had been living in Romsey since his retirement in 2016. There he had spent much of his time cutting firewood, gardening, walking dogs, looking after chickens and ducks.

“My lifestyle has changed but the move to Leith Park has given me a great feeling of well-being,” Lance said.

He first heard of the Old Colonists 40 years ago and was intrigued. More recently, when looking for somewhere to retire to, the organisation and its villages became his go-to destination.

“The obvious strong and welcoming community kept drawing me back, the well-credentialed Liscombe House is an obvious drawcard, and the new developments at Leith Park and Rushall Park are models which I believe should be looked at seriously by the broader community,” he said.

Shortly after hearing about the new architecturally designed apartments at Leith Park, Lance put his name down to become a resident. He was delighted to be accepted and to be able to move in shortly after the apartments opened.

“My apartment is spacious and well-designed with a low carbon footprint. It is both a part of the community and a place of quiet refuge, and that is appealing,” Lance said.

What also appeals are the support services and the facilities in and around the village, not least the village’s Men’s Shed. He was part of the steering committee to set up the Romsey Men’s Shed and has visited different sheds in the Macedon Ranges. Before it was closed due to COVID-19, he was welcomed at the Leith Park Men’s Shed and enjoyed barbecues and a meal at the Greensborough RSL.

Lance has been no slouch since the start of the year and the advent of the coronavirus. He is a keen photographer. He reads a lot, and would like to be part of a book club, virtual or otherwise. He enjoys choir and acting, and has picked up his guitar again.

His real ambition, however, is to get used to walking up and down the hills around the village and in the area.

“This remains an ambition although I am convinced that it is good for me.”