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1
Third Thoughts
Castlemaine Inc (Est. 1988)
Volume 26 No 9
OCTOBER 2014
Reg. A0017409G
Course Leaders
“Thank You”
Breakfast
At Buda
2
U3A Castlemaine’s information Website:
www.u3acastlemaine.com
President
Vice-President
Secretary
Treasurer
Newsletter Editor
Course Co-Ordinator
Course Administrator
Past President
Committee Member
Committee Member
Committee member
Office Manager
Network Representative
Membership
Cake Roster/Raffle
Celebrations/Tributes
Computer Manager
Property
Trading Table:
Website Manager
Office
Win Jodell
Dick Mack
Jeanette Johnston
Brian Richardson
Veronica Hurley
Robyn Yeoman
Deidre McDougall
Peter Stephens
Bev Orgill
Colleen Smith
George Gray
George Gray
Sally Kaptein
Judy Sime
Beryl Leavesley
Barbara Bunton
David Sime
Hans van Gemert
Audrey Richardson
Bev Orgill
Harvey Jacka
Bruce Carruthers
P.O. Box 792
5472 3792
0411 244 103
5470 6079
5423 2526
5472 1383
0412 565 559
5447 9487
5472 3904
5474 3050
0409084620
5472 5334
5472 5334
5470 6340
5472 3756
5472 3182
5472 3186
5472 3756
5472 1082
5472 3867
5474 3050
5470 5079
5472 3900
5472 2249
U3A OFFICE DETAILS
The Office is located at the “Octopus”,
opposite the Castle Motel in Duke Street,
Castlemaine
Office Hours are:
Monday to Thursday 1.30 pm – 3.30 pm
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
Friday Coffee Morning
Coffee Mornings are held on the first Friday of the month
at 10.00 am In the Uniting Church Hall..
The guest speaker at the
October Coffee Morning will be
Mayor, Michael Redden
Hosts for the day will be Petanque .
Website: www.u3acastlemaine.com
Current 2014 Subscription Fee $50.00
$10.00 for mailing of Newsletter if required.
New Members joining after June 30
pay 50% of the subscription fee.
THIRD THOUGHTS
is available at

Coffee Mornings

The Information Centre @ Marketplace

The Citizens Information Centre

The Neighbourhood House

The Manse Classroom

The Office (Octopus)
or viewed on the web.www.u3acastlemaine.com
The Guest Speaker for November will be .
David Stretch and David Lloyd
Hosts will be the Mah-Jong groups
Many thanks to all those groups
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
FRIDAY Coffee Morning
OCTOBER 3rd
Newsletter
Any contributions to the Newsletter should be emailed to
[email protected] or left at the office.
Deadline for the November 2014 Newsletter is Monday 27th October
3
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Win Jodell 5472 3792
“Longer lives are the most positive
development in the last century of
human history. They represent the
product of greater prosperity,
better diet, disease eradication and
healthier lifestyles. They offer each of us in the
western world, on average, 25 extra years of
high quality living with new opportunities for
productive work, unprecedented leisure,
teaching and learning, and fulfilling relationships with family and friends.”1
This surely means, among other things, a growing
role for U3As in local communities.
It has been a privilege to be President of U3A Castlemaine for the past two years. I hope it can be said of
me and my Committee of Management that we are
leaving the organisation in a strong and optimistic
position.
2014 has been a highly successful year. Much has
been achieved: excellent courses, activities and
programmes have been presented. I thank all our
members from the Mount Alexander Shire and beyond for their continuing support.
U3A Castlemaine is fortunate in having a community of generous retirees who so willingly contribute to
the many courses offered, and who volunteer for the
many duties that keep the system chugging along.
Thank you all.
During my term as President I have always felt supported by the Committee of Management and would
like to thank each of you. Some will not be nominating for a place on the next committee, having now
served their term.
Brian Richardson, our hard working treasurer and
occasional sleuth, has been a consistent worker,
presenting excellent reports to monthly meetings and ensuring that proper procedures are
followed with every financial transaction. He
undoubtedly needs a rest now his three years
in post are complete.
I do regret that Jeanette Johnson our secretary for the
past year will be standing down. We will be
very sorry to see you go Jeanette, you did a
splendid job. I thank you most sincerely and
wish you improved health in the future.
Peter Stephens stepped down as the Immediate Past
President a few weeks ago. He was a very respected and essential member of the team.
George Gray, our office manager with energy and
enthusiasm, has been on the committee for two
years and will not renominate.
Dick Mack, Vice President, was an excellent support
for me. Thank you. Dick will nominate for
President and I will recommend him for the
job at the AGM.
Veronica Hurley, our wonderful newsletter editor,
will continue with the newsletter but not be a
committee member. Eleven newsletters have
been produced since last AGM and the extended online version always looks good in colour.
This year the committee worked for many hours
preparing reports and attending many extra
meetings as members of various Working
Groups.
Thanks especially to Bev Orgill for organising volunteers into many areas of work. The monthly
Coffee Mornings with an elaborate morning
tea have been a great success; attendances are
up and members are lingering longer after the
speaker. Recruiting Volunteer Class Reps is
another new initiative, which will be streamlined next year. Recruiting volunteers is
challenging these days and Bev has made a
great success of her brief.
It’s all good and I thank you all.
This year my very special thanks go to Robyn Yeoman and Deidre McDougall who were responsible
for timetabling more classes into our main venue/
classroom in the Manse building. There was a great
deal of work involved and that work will continue
into 2015 in a concerted effort to have that room
used to an even greater extent, thus avoiding rental
costs for alternative room hire. The rental cost savings have been considerable in 2014. That said, our
rental of the Manse room is a monthly agreement
with the Uniting Church. There is no security of
tenure. If the worst were to happen there could be
further sales of Uniting Church assets and we could
find ourselves without this room. At present we are
sole users of the room and it contains all our equipment. For this reason I hope the next committee will
find itself able to increase the amount of reserves to
be held in our bank accounts so we are prepared
and able to move should that be necessary in the
future.
Continued page 4
4
President’s Report Continued.
The establishment of Working Groups has continued
this year and the management structure has been
streamlined.
Working Groups:
have been given more responsibility and now make essential recommendations to committee;
have attracted new members;
have been a source of many fresh ideas; and
have encouraged Working Group members to volunteer
for the new CoM.
So clearly, being a member of a working group is a
wonderful way for new members to learn about the
many areas of management that are vital to the smooth
running of our U3A.
There are of course many other volunteers who work
consistently to keep the “show on the road”. Judy Sime,
our membership Officer, has a very responsible position,
much appreciated by us all. And Brenda Envall, our
auditor, is another professional whose services we
acknowledge and value. We all recognise the great contributions of Bruce Carruthers, our website manager,
and David Sime, our IT consultant.
Sally Kaptein, our Network representative, always
gave Committee a full report after attending city
meetings. My report could not be concluded without
noting the much valued contribution made by
recently joined members Colleen and Allan Smith.
Colleen is a new member of Committee this year
and together they have regularly cleaned the Manse
Classroom and both are silent workers behind the
scenes. . Thank you all.
And the very good news is there will be no increase
in membership fees for the coming year 2015. The
fee will remain $50 for the third consecutive year.
Immediately after this AGM work will begin on the
programme of courses for next year. I wish all the
volunteers and members well and I am sure your
work and the resulting programme will be enjoyed
by an ever increasing U3A Castlemaine membership
in 2015.
Every day is a gift, that’s why it is called “the present”.
1 Per Capita Australia Ltd., Blueprint for an Ageing
Australia, 2014
A STRONGER VOICE FOR U3A CASTLEMAINE
U3A needs to demonstrate the extent to which our members are valued members of the community – and that
U3A is a key component in our health and wellbeing.
We intend to ask members at enrolment to fill in a short questionnaire about the role of U3A in their lives, and
which will also collect information on income, health and transport to show the kind of people who are benefiting from U3A activities. We’ll do that anonymously, of course, but we think these data will support our arguments for premises and resources.
We know our U3A membership has grown in the last few years both in the number of members and the courses
offered, but U3A needs to demonstrate that what we do, contributes to the wellbeing of older residents of Mount
Alexander Shire.
One in five of the nearly 18,000 residents of Mount Alexander shire is over 65. That is significantly more than the
proportion of over 65s in Victoria as a whole. Our shire is also increasing its population year by year, and each
age group over 45 has a larger percentage than the state average.
Household incomes are generally lower in our Shire than in Victoria as a whole, though that may be related to
the particular age and household structure here. Nearly ten per cent of the Shire’s residents are on Disability
Support Pensions, when the state average is closer to 3 per cent. The Shire’s Community Profile points out that
Mount Alexander residents are more likely to engage in community activities and artistic and cultural activities
than residents of Victoria as a whole. Half the Shire’s residents do some volunteering – the state average is a
third.
We believe U3A Castlemaine offers something for all our older residents, including some who are older and frailer, and those on limited incomes – and that our members are active and participating in the community. However we need to lift our profile and ensure that our courses are relevant to the entire Mount Alexander community.
The membership survey is step towards achieving this aim.
Bridget Leach
Course Coordination Working Group
Accommodation Lobby Group
5
Course Coordination Report
Robyn Yeoman and Deidre McDougall
Course Coordinator Course Administrator
We shared another delightful “Thank You” Breakfast for Course Leaders and Committee members at Buda
Garden Room on Saturday 13th September. Deidre advised Course Leaders that next year we plan to use the
Manse room even more effectively than this year. This means fitting all courses into the room and allowing a
15 minute break between classes. This will allow for a smoother transition between each class.
Working group members have redesigned the application form for courses in 2015. This year’s Course
Leaders will be sent an email with a copy of their 2014 Prospectus entry. They will be able to confirm the
entry for 2015 or make alterations if necessary. Regarding timing of classes, Course Leaders will once again
be asked to specify the days and times when they are not available to conduct their course.
The working group agreed to develop a policy on choice and use of venues. The policy will be in place in
time to be included in the 2015 Prospectus.
The next Working Group meeting is scheduled for Friday 10th October 2014 @1030am.
Who do you know that has expertise or skills?
Members have expressed an interest in these courses
All we need is someone to run them!
How about –
Cooking - for men, for women, for one, for two
Cooking techniques - eg how to make a sensational stir-fry
Cycling group – similar to bush walking or bush rambling
Finance – how to set up and run an investment group
Drawing lessons
Musical Theory for Dummies - basic explanation of terms used, not to learn to read music. Aimed at popular and jazz rather than classical music
A hint at courses that may be run next year Garden Design, including feng shui principles
World War I – personal reflections
The French Revolution
Mathematics – Barry Thompson has offered to run a course on mathematics next year, and
would like to know if there are any topics of particular interest to members.
Repeats of –
Genealogy Online, Mah-Jong, Gibraltar, On Poetry
And a question
Would you travel to Maldon to attend a course?
Please respond to Robyn Yeoman, Course Coordinator [email protected] with offers
6
“NOT ONLY” but “ALSO”
A Performance Not To Be Missed
Monday 6th of October.
On Sunday 21st September, eight members of our U3A choir went to Melbourne for a rehearsal of the upcoming U3A combined choirs concert which is to be held in the Melbourne Town Hall on Monday 6th of October.
The rehearsal was held in the heritage listed Drill Hall in A’Beckett Street, with conductor Andrew Wailes
guiding us through the proposed program.
Andrew is an Australian conductor, a Music Director and winner of the Australian International Choral
Conducting Competition held in Brisbane in 1999. He is currently Music Director and Chief Conductor of
the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra, Artistic Director of the Australian Children’s
Choir, Principal Conductor of the Melbourne University Choral Society, Music Director and Conductor of
the Box Hill Chorale, Director of the Australian Catholic University Melbourne Campus Choir, and a former
President of the Australian University Choral Societies Association.
We know and appreciate how very lucky we are to have this vibrant and busy man, who has conducted
many times in Europe, Britain and China, giving of his time to U3A for this free concert in Senior’s Week.
Not only that, but we are to have world renowned accompanist, Welsh born pianist Rhodri Clarke. He too
has performed all over the world. He graduated with first class honours from the Royal College of Music,
London and now he performs internationally as a piano soloist, accompanist and chamber musician.
There will be world famous organist Christopher Cook who will accompany us at times on that wonderful
Melbourne Town Hall organ, then make the hall zing with his solo piece. This ornate Grand Organ,
originally built in 1929 and lovingly restored in 2001, features some 10,000 pipes capable of pumping 90,000
cubic feet of air per minute. It’s the largest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, and when Christopher
lets it rip, the sound, like thunder, will vibrate and thrill you from your feet right up into your very being.
Wonderful stuff.
We will also have the talents of Flautist Julie Melbourne from U3A Melbourne City Choir to accompany us
in some of our songs.
As well as all that, our soloist is to be operatic diva Liane Keegan, whose Wagner “Ring Cycle” has been
acclaimed and recorded. She has given a number of recitals throughout the UK, Austria, France, and
Australia including a Crush Bar Recital at the Royal Opera House, Lieder recitals at the prestigious
Festpiele, Mecklenberg, the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival and the Sydney Opera House. In 1997 she
won a Bayreuth Bursary from the Wagner Society of Great Britain. Yet for our concert Liane will be singing
a medley of Ivor Novello songs which will showcase her varied repertoire.
The program will start at 2pm, opened by our patron the Governor of Victoria the Honourable Alex
Chernov AO QC and his wife Mrs Elizabeth Chernov, after being welcomed by U3A Network President,
Mrs Elsie Mutton.
It’s going to be wonderful afternoon of music and free entertainment. Certainly not to be missed, so come
along and enjoy this showcase of U3A talents.
Barbara Bunton 5472 3186
7
Governance Working Group Report
The Governance WG has just a busy and successful year. Charged with the task of reviewing management and
volunteer positions within the organisation it came up with a revised management structure, clearer position
descriptions for Committee positions, and statements of purpose for most of the Working Groups.
I would like to thank my fellow WG members - Peter Batten, Max Clarke, George Gray, Win Jodell, and Jeanette
Johnston, Sylvia Phillips, and Peter Stephens for their contributions throughout the year.
Among the changes introduced to reflect the revised management structure were:
providing a diagrammatic representation of the structure of the Committee, Working Groups, and nonCommittee support roles;
the creation of the position of Communications Co-ordinator to oversee the functions of both the Newsletter Editor and the Publicity Officer. This position brings together the functions of both internal communication with members and external communication with the broader community;
the inclusion in the Committee of an Events Co-ordinator, giving the Events WG a direct and clear voice on
the Committee for the first time;
the closer linking of important support roles in the organisation with the Committee members who each
take on responsibility for overseeing several support functions;
the expansion of Working Groups and their formalisation with written role descriptions, thus reducing the
extent to which the Committee needs to discuss details, allowing it to focus on its role of overseeing the
operation of the organisation.
I look forward to handing over the role of Convenor to the incoming Vice President, and assisting the Working
Group as it reviews U3A Castlemaine’s policies in 2015.
Dick Mack : Vice-President, Governance Working Group Convenor
8
DON’T MISS
THE SUMMER
HOLIDAY PROGRAMME
U3A in January 2015
Ann Lodge and Bridget Leach
Would you like to organise something – a social
event or outing – that members can enjoy together
in January when there are no regular U3A classes?
There will be a summer holiday programme advertised in the December newsletter so please let us
know before Friday 14 November if interested.
You will need to provide a phone and/or email
contact – there will be no central booking. Small
groups could use the manse room if it’s available,
but we cannot book any other spaces.
We know there are members who really appreciate
informal get-togethers at this time of year, so please
let us know if you could contribute to the
programme.
If you have an idea for something you could
organise, please phone Ann Lodge, 5470 5915, or
Bridget Leach, 0434 971 451, or email
[email protected] or [email protected]
Royal Botanic Gardens,
Cranbourne.
Thursday 30 October.
This is a chance to see stage two of the development of these marvellous gardens and we
have chosen the 'peak' time for viewing . There
will be a talk on 'plants for your place' given
by one of the staff. There is also the opportunity on the day to join the explorer 'train' that
takes you in comfort to other parts of the
Gardens. (Extra cost of $6.00)
Cost: $30.00 which covers the bus and entry.
Lunch at the cafe will be extra. (Please note no
refunds available ).
Travel Arrangements: : The bus will leave
from the Market Building at 8am sharp and
return by 5.30pm approx.
AUSTRALIAN RED CROSS
IN THE GREAT WAR
EXHIBITION
The Red Cross was born out of the
Great War and provided essential
comforts for those at the front as well as important
FRYERS HISTORY WALK
Wednesday 29th October
10am-11am
This walk will be led by local historian,
Margaret Callister, followed by morning tea.
Meet at Fryerstown School on Camp Street.
Cost: $1.00 donation.
For more information contact Castlemaine
District Community Health on 5479 1000
connections between the home and war fronts.
From these terrible and small beginnings it has become one of the great humanitarian organisations
of the modern world.
The exhibition conveys the atmosphere of the of
the period, the nerve centre of the Australian Red
Cross in Melbourne, the remarkable fund-raising
in Victoria, and compassionate projects at home
and abroad.
14th August, 2014 – 12th December, 2014
Royal Historical Society of Victoria
239 a'Beckett St
Melbourne VIC 3000
More information at www.historyvictoria.org.au
U3A members may wish to contact Dot
Henshall on 5472 5108
9
CIRCLE DANCING
On 26th of August, twelve U3A dancers and I stepped and twirled on the lovely wooden floor of the Uniting Church Hall. We moved through a range of dances – some slow and reverent, some lively and some
that tested mental as well as physical agility! That said, there are no ‘mistakes’ in circle dance. Pleasure and
enjoyment are at its heart. No experience of dance is necessary and you pace yourself.
Two more days will be held on Tuesday 14th October & Tuesday 25th November from 10am – 2.30pm.
BYO lunch. Tea and coffee provided.
Wear comfortable clothes and shoes (barefoot works for some, too) and
layers. Dancing can be ‘warm’ work!
Circle Dance has developed from traditional folk dance from around the
world and emphasises relationships, group belonging and emotional and
physical aspects of well-being.
All the dances are done in a circle, usually holding hands.
Dances from the Circle Dance repertoire are selected and adapted to form accessible movement (depending
on the group) and for their musicality. The feeling of being in a group and learning the energetic patterns
of the dances, can touch the mind and body in unexpected and joyous ways and the cultural range of
dances can often re-link people with their culture of origin.
I look forward to dancing with you. If you’d like further information about these days, I’d be happy to chat
with you.
Judi Appleby, 0431 180 105
The U3A Castlemaine Inc
There is a vacancy on the Committee of
Management for the position
of
Secretary.
If you would like to be part of a
great team guiding the organisation then
CENTRAL VICTORIAN APPLE USERS
7.00pm at the
Salvation Army Hall,
Kennedy Street
Thursday Oct. 23rd.
“New Operating Systems for iMac, iPad. and iPhone”
Thursday Nov. 27th
“Editing and Managing Photos on the iMac and iPad”
All Welcome.
put up your hand and nominate.
We need you !
Castlemaine Library
Interview with author, brooke davis
Wednesday 8th October 6pm
Followed by Q&A and book signing
Free event, bookings essential
GOLDFIELDS
QUILTERS INC. 11TH BI-ENNIAL
EXHIBITION
Saturday 18th & Sunday 19th
October, 2014
St Mary's Hall
Hargreaves St. Castlemaine
10
CLASS NOTES
ABORIGINAL HISTORY OUR SHARED HISTORY
Felicity Say 5472 1841
The next two sessions will focus on the changing
world of the Yolngu in North East Arnhem Land
with the establishment of the Nabalco Bauxite
Mine. Some of the impacts were foretold by the
senior men but other worrying impacts, quite
unimagined, are coming to the surface.
The films we're continuing to watch, made by Ian
Dunlop in the 1970s and 80s also follow the development of the Homelands Movement, a movement
to leave the Mission at Yirrkala and establish communities in the original clan homelands.
Magical Mystery
Musical Tour
THIRD FRIDAY
Garden GROUP
Bronwen Stephens 5472 3904
Janet Waldie 5472 5411.
In September we visited the garden of St Earth at
Blackwood to see spring bulbs. Although we worried
about cold weather spoiling our first trip out for
eight weeks we didn’t need our raincoats or umbrellas ! A warming cup of something hot to set us up for
a wander amongst the garden delights and then the
fun of finding plants to take home from the nursery.
We stopped off for a counter lunch at Trentham , just
to top off the day, before heading home again.
Next month , the 17th of October we’re off to see
another spring garden at Elphinstone ….. a bit closer
to home ,so less travelling time. This time we’re
hoping for a display of iris and early roses.
Peter Stephens 5472 3904
By the time you read this we will have listened to
the last of our September classes and the groups
who specialised in vocal harmony such as the
Mamas & Papas and the epitome of 60s perfection
Simon & Garfunkle. In October we move on to
listen to songbirds like Carole King, Joni Mitchell
and Linda Ronstadt, the music of Neil Young and
Steve Stills and then songwriters like James Taylor
and Leonard Cohen. We may have a change of
venue after 2 October so if you want to join us ring
me for confirmation of the venue. I have been
asked if people can join the class at this stage of the
year and the answer is yes. Each class is complete
in itself and does not require any prior
knowledge. New people are always welcome.
Peter
80s Luncheon Group
Eileen Park
5472 5213
The Over Eighties luncheon will be held at the Naam Pla
Thai restaurant, next door to the Theatre Royal , Hargraves Street at 12.30pm on October 8 th.
If not attending please ring Betty Henchman on 5472
2139. By. Monday October 6th.
SINGING TOGETHER
Angela Sye 0434 201 701
October 6th is just around the corner and we are
practicing with great enthusiasm for the Mass Choir
Concert in the Melbourne Town Hall. We will be
travelling by bus, leaving Castlemaine early morning, practice with the other choirs, then break for
lunch, and sing in full voice at 2pm. The event will
end at 4pm, when we will return home on the bus,
probably with no voice, but will have enjoyed a
wonderful day of music in song.
We hope to see members of Castlemaine U3A at the
concert to enjoy the beautiful singing and solo artists.
If anyone needs transport on that day, contact
Barbara Bunton on 5472 3186 to arrange a seat on the
bus.
After the concert, we shall be putting together a selection of festive Christmas songs. If you feel you
would like to join us for the last term of this year and
sing along in the Christmas spirit, contact me or just
come along on Tuesday afternoon at 3.30pm at the
Salvation Army Hall near the station.
SOLO GROUP
Eva Haarburger 5472 3391
Our next gathering will be on October 18th at the home of
Margaret Hynam-Smith 5472 4945 at 12..30pm
11
CLASS NOTES
ISSUES OF CONCERN
Carol Dorman 5472 4429
There are not many inspiring, optimistic stories in
the media these days so it's uplifting to come across
one which involves the Exeter Soccer Club. Exeter is
in the NSW southern highlands and is close to an
area where a Korean mining company wants to establish a new coal mine. The majority in the Exeter
population is against the proposal. The Soccer Club
needed funds to subsidise junior membership because of the low numbers of young members. The
management accepted $7,500 offered by the mining
company but there was such an outcry against the
acceptance of this money that the Soccer Club returned the money. The Club decided to try crowdfunding through their website and were so successful that they raised more than their target amount.
The production of counterfeit medications is a $75
billion industry and kills thousands each year.
Drugs involved include anaesthetics, antibiotics and
blood thinners but are not confined to these few examples. Interpol is investigating the production and
distribution of these drugs but is up against organised crime groups who are attracted to the huge
amounts of money to be made. Needless to say developing countries are most vulnerable and are targeted by these crime gangs.
The subject of Cambodian orphanages was raised
and the way in which tourists , Cambodian children
and their families are exploited by criminals. It is
claimed that 75% of "orphans" in Cambodia do, in
fact, have families. Tourist itineraries often include
visiting orphanages and money is often given by the
tourists. Volunteers also pay to work in the orphanages. Very little of this money benefits the children
as it goes into the pockets of the orphanage owners.
The Scottish independence referendum is now over.
While the Yes and No campaigns were being fought
the Issues group asked had those who were in favour of independence given sufficient thought to
the economic consequences? Mr. Salmond was planning to run an independent Scotland on oil revenue.
How long would that last? Did he have a plan B for
when oil revenue dropped or ceased?
Wagner's Ring Cycle VIc Say 5472 1841
We will continue with last month's session .
HISTORY of THE ENGLISH
LANGUAGE
Diana Collier Tel 5443 0137
The spread of English has been mainly through revolutions , wars, trade, explorations, and with earlier
England through developments such as steam
engines, the cotton industry, medicine and
health research. With this have come changes in
phonology, spelling, increases in words, phrases
adopted and adapted into the English language. Change is a natural part of language, not in
any way a destructive force; study, we find,
implies a re-thinking of a received format. Does it
matter if you say “ I am good” or “I am
well”, or talk about dating as a game, or treating disease as a war? Why do we have so many
words for “drunk” but only one for ”spicy
hot”? Are young people or, is the Internet ruining
the language? And the curse words which
we write as #$@%^! The study of language is
about understanding the power of words, and
in new ways of ‘harnessing that power’ To make
use of an acronym FOMO ( meaning ‘fear of missing
out’) we may well miss out in seeing or experiencing what English words will do next - which
could happen if we don’t listen attentively to
the language that surrounds us .
Visitors are welcome, specially with varying
perspectives.
Thursdays, 11.30 – 1.00pm in The Manse room.
TATTING
Rae Hawkins 5472 3446
We are a small group which meets each Thursday from
1.30 - 3.30pm.
We now have space for another beginner so if you’d like
to try please phone Rae.
12
CLASS NOTES
Opera -
Requiem & thEN. . .
Vic Say 5472 1841
Vic Say 5472 1841 :
1st & 3rd Fridays at 1-30
an occasional evening series
Oct 3rd, 7pm
Berlioz' The Trojans:
A Paris production from the Chatelet Theatre with
John Eliot Gardiner conducting; this performance
was considered a galvanising experience for
participants and audience alike.
The work balances beautifully, as opera sometimes
can, the big issues with the intensely personal - epic
historical contexts with deep human emotions monumental public issues with
very private ones.
The work has the energy, the
sensuality, the solemn grandeur
and the tragic vision suggested in
Berlioz' earlier works in various
genre. Perhaps the culmination of
a life's work, it has echoes of his
'Damnation of Faust', which is to be given a concert
performance in Melbourne next year by the
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra with Bryn Terfel
singing.
Based on Virgil's Aeneid, the mythical epic tale of
the fall of Troy and the founding of Rome, part 1 in
2 acts focuses on the fall. We will decide at our next
meeting whether we want to go on with part 2 or
defer the pleasure 'til our November session.
AUSTRALIAN HISTORY
Geoff Walker
5470 6652
In September Betty Renn gave us an illstrated insight into the origin and growth of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne, and Geoff Walker introduced us to the Australian Artist, Tom Roberts who
is featured in the Castlemaine Art Gallery.
There will be two sessions in October. On Monday 14th Robyn Weeden will trace the life and
journeys of Burke and Wills; this will be at the
home of Geoff and Beth and on Monday
28th. Clive Carmichael will reveal something of
the secrets of Conscription -- this will be at Clive
and Bev's home Yes, you will be most welcome to
join us at 2.00pm both days
Oct 3rd Elenka: Requiem in D Minor of 1721:
Having enjoyed Zelenk's two Requiem: in C Minor
and in D Major in 2013, we will now listen to his
Requiem in D Minor. It was probably written for
the tenth anniversary of Austrian Emperor Joseph
I's death in 1711.
Six years older than Bach, Zelenka died 5 years
before him and is sometimes considered his
Catholic counterpart. They had friendly relations;
Zelenka stayed in Bach's home in Leipzig and they
shared the role of church music composer in
Dresden in 1735 when both applied for the job.
Oct. 17th von Suppe: Requiem in D Minor of
1855:
Born in Belgium in 1819, von Suppe's interest in
music was opposed by his father until his father's
death, after which the son resolved to become a
professional musician having successively abandoned law, engineering and medicine. Written to
commemorate the death of a personal friend and
patron, Pokorny, he dedicated the work to Pope
Pius IX who accepted the dedication.
Vale: Angela Shannon
We are shocked and saddened
to learn of the death of Angela
Shannon, one of our newer
members.
Angela together with her husband Bryan
was a regular helper on the Trading Table
at Coffee Mornings. Recently from
Geelong and born in Scotland, Angela’s
bubbly personality endeared her to all those
with whom she came in contact.
Angela’s funeral was in Geelong on
September 25th
Our thoughts are with Bryan and
his family.
October 2014
Monday
Tuesday
9.30am French II
9.30am Italian I
9.30am Tai Chi
10.30am Art Workshop
10.30am Movies of
10.30am Intuitive
Development
1.30pm Bridge
3.30pm Choral
U3A Castlemaine
Wednesday
Thursday
9.30am German l
10am Table Tennis
11am German ll
12.15pm Italian ll
4pm German Intermediate
9.30am Italian 111
10am Mindfulness Meditation
10am Magical Mystery
Tour
11.30am History of
English Language
1.30pm Photography &
digital Imaging
1.30pm Mah-Jong Group
Merit
11am French III
2pm French l
13
Friday
(except Coffee Morning)
10am Tai Chi seated
1.30pm Issues that
Concern
2pm Petanque
(Every week)
Classes listed above are conducted EVERY week.
Classes listed below are conducted on the day stated
1
2
9.30am Music Apprecia- 4.30pm Solo Whist
tion
10am Bush rambling
1.30pm Write On
1.30pm Bridge Problem
Solving
6
11.30am Photography Basics
2pm French Language &
Literature
3.30pm History of India
13
10am Let’s Read a Play
11.30am Photography
Basics
1.30pm Latin l
2pm Australian History
8
9am Bush Walking
9.30am & 11.15am Mah
10am Bush Rambling
– Jong
10am Abo12.30 Over Eighties
riginal History
Luncheon
1.30pm Book Discussion 2pm American Revolugroup
tion
2pm Understanding
Opera
7
14
9.30am & 11.15am
Mah –Jong
10am Circle Dance
10am China – A Giant
Awakens
15
1.30pm Write On
1.30pm Ballet Appreciation
2pm American Revolution
9
10am
3
10am Coffee Morning
1.30pm Requiem
2pm Petanque
7pm Opera – an
occasional evening
series
10
10am English Literature
Arts & Craft Movement
10.30am Latin lll
11.30am Latin ll
16
10am
Arts &Craft Movement
17
9.30am Good, Bad &
Excellent
4.30pm Solo Whist
10am Friday Morning
Garden Group
1.3opm Requiem
Saturday18th
Solo Group
20
11.30am Photography
Basics
2pm French Language &
Literature
3pm History of India
21
9.30am & 11.15am Mah
– Jong
10am Aboriginal History
10am
Arts & Crafts Movement
22
9am Bush Walking
10am Bush Rambling
2pm American Revolution
23
10.30am Latin lll
11.30am Latin ll
24
9.30am Good, Bad,
Excellent … Films
27
11.30am Photography
Basics
2pm Australian History
28
9.30am & 11.15am Mah
– Jong
10am China a Giant Awakens
3pm Publisher/
Microsoft
29
30
10am Arts & Crafts
Movement.
10.30am Latin lll
11.30am Latin ll
4.30pm Solo Whist
31
1.30pm Write On
2pm American Revolution
9.30am Good, Bad and
Excellent