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PORT MACQUARIE/HASTINGS NEWSLETTER
JUNE 2015
President: Nicola Herbert
Vice President: Keith Reichenbach
Treasurer: Erica De Carlo
Secretary: Sandra Banks
Public Officer: Erica De Carlo
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Committee Members:
Wanda Bainbrigge 6584 2337
John Banks
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Teresa Iwinska
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Joye Lavis
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Trevor Read
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John Urquhart
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Website: www.portmacquarieseniors.com
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NEXT MEETING: 9TH JUNE
Our speaker this month is a "surprise". A surprise for you and a surprise for us......................
Our "Getting to Know You" segment will feature Anne Jackson.
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NATIONAL SENIORS HOLDS INAUGURAL POLICY CONGRESS MEETING
National Seniors’ new Policy Congress, comprised of representatives from around Australia, has
convened in Brisbane for the first time. "Our own" John Urquhart was one of those representatives.
A key activity of the policy congress is to provide advice to the National Seniors’ board on issues
affecting the over 50s.
Participants included National Seniors directors, volunteer state/territory Policy Advisory Group chairs
and metropolitan and regional members drawn through an expression of interest process.
The congress discussed policy principles and debated the organisation’s position on key issues such as
pensions, the GST, superannuation concessions, negative gearing and health funding.
The National Seniors Board will further discuss the policy principles at its next meeting. We are
extremely fortunate to have a very strong voice from our own club involved at such a high level.
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THANK YOU
A big thank you to John Banks and Andrew Moll who have been updating the website
(www.portmacquarieseniors.com). Believe me, it is a complex operation and we need computer gurus to
keep up to date! Our thanks also go to Marlene Davar and Joan Lundstrom who have agreed to help with
our "Getting to Know You" segment and to secure future victims! Our club would not operate so
smoothly, or be so effective, if it were not for our volunteers who give of their time so freely! Thank you
all.
HUNTER VALLEY TRIP
Seventeen members took off from Port Macquarie on Wednesday 27th May - destination The Hunter
Valley. We all met up in Maitland at the Art Gallery and enjoyed lunch followed by a leisurely walk
around the gallery. We then proceeded to Morpeth and wandered through this beautiful, historical town,
sightseeing and shopping before re-uniting at the Tuscany Estate Resort where we were to spend the
night. We assembled in the bar at 6am for pre- dinner drinks and then moved across to the restaurant,
where we were served a brilliant dinner. The menu is well worth reviewing:
http://www.tuscanywineestate.com.au/the_mill/the_mill_restaurant_menu.pdf
The unfortunate/fortunate timing of the State of Origin game saw everyone back in the bar - some to
watch the game, some to drink affogatos (affogati?) - the small wager by participants making the game
slightly more interesting - the winner of this bet being Ken Bainbrigge. The main aim of this wager was
to ensure the winner bought the next round of drinks, but by this time, everyone, well nearly everyone,
had had enough and we retired to bed. You owe us one, Ken!
The next morning saw most of us, bright eyed and bushy tailed, tucking into a magnificent breakfast at
8am - poor Teresa had unfortunately caught a "lurgy" and was unable to join us. We then set off for the
Hunter Valley Gardens, in the most perfect weather conditions, and strolled around the stunning
horticultural wonderland for a few hours before more shopping in the gift shop and a return to base in
order to catch the bus for the afternoon wine tour.
We visited four wineries where the noise generated by the group was directly proportional to the amount
of wine consumed. At day’s end there was almost unanimous accolades for the Scarborough Winery as
the best, not just in terms of the wine, but for the sheer entertainment value of wine expert Alexandra, a
delightful, young Polish woman. For a ‘cheaper’ dinner option we traversed the main road to enjoy pizza
and beer at the local Hunter brewery. Andrew was the sole sampler of the ‘beer paddle’: a great selection
of six different beers.
Day three commenced with a casual breakfast and re-arrangement of our wine supplies in various car
boots, prior to booking out. For some of us it was back to Scarborough Winery for more supplies, while
others sampled cheese and wine at different venues. Our final stop was Sabor dessert bar where one
could imagine being in Paris (or at the very least in St Kilda) where desserts abound. Wow! What an
array of tempting morsels and what a great way to finish our trip. Thank you John, for all your hard work
on arranging this trip. Roll on the next one! I have added some more photos at the end of the Newsletter
for your enjoyment......... if anyone would like copies, please let me know. I will bring my computer to
the meeting and you will be able to view others too.................
MURDER MYSTERY - RETURN TO DRAGABAGALONG
A wonderful afternoon's entertainment was provided on 9th May at the Tacking Point Tavern. Over
thirty members enjoyed lunch prior to the commencement of the play, and then settled down to detective
work. A complicated murder mystery, with many twists and turns was carefully dissected and solved by
Judith Clegg, Keith Reichenbach, Joan and Graeme Lundstrom and Ann and Max Cross, pictured below,
the prize being a huge tray of fruit and veggies. The cast is shown on the right.
TRIP TO
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
I cook with wine, sometimes I even add it to the food. W.C.Fields
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JOKE OF THE MONTH - an inspiration to us all!
As we get older we sometimes begin to doubt our ability to "make a difference" in the world.
It is at these times that our hopes are boosted by the remarkable achievements of other "seniors" who
have found the courage to take on challenges that would make many of us wither.
Harold Schlumberg is such a person:
Harold says "I've often been asked, 'What do you do now that you're retired? 'Well...I'm fortunate to have
a chemical engineering background and one of the things I enjoy most is converting beer, wine and
whiskey into urine. It's rewarding, uplifting, satisfying and fulfilling. I do it every day and I really enjoy
it."
Well done Harold!
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GROAN OF THE MONTH
Answering machine message, "I am not available right now, but thank you for caring enough to call. I am
making some changes in my life. Please leave a message after the beep. If I do not return your call, you
are one of the changes."
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AGM JULY 2015
Please remember that we will be having our AGM in July and would love to welcome new members to
the Committee. Any member will need to be nominated and seconded to a position - we NEED you.
Please raise your hand and volunteer - we would love your participation and truly - it is not that onerous!
WHO IS THIS?
Here are two more pictures from the archives! I am now actively seeking more photos - please send them
to me asap, before you get press-ganged too!
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If you know of any member who may be unwell, please let anyone on the Committee know. It is
important that we offer support if one of our members is unwell and let them know we are thinking of
them. If anyone is in need of a helping hand to do a small job, again, let a Committee member know. We
can also arrange for transport to and from meetings if anyone is unable to make their own arrangements.
And if anyone is celebrating a big "0" birthday - again, please let a Committee member know.
We are now accepting advertisements for the July Newsletter. Anyone interested should send their advert
to me at [email protected] - the cost is $5 for 40 words and $10 if accompanied by a photograph.
This cost covers one issue only.
Nicola Herbert - Editor/President
The above two pictures may need some explanation - John's soufflé dessert was so appetising that there
were two badly behaved individuals who threatened to share! Good fun was had by all!