Goulburn Valley GOULBURN VALLEY University of The Third Age INC. REG. No. AOO1695Y (For active semi-retired or retired persons of mature age) WE’RE ON THE WEB - www.gvu3a.com.au CONTACT DETAILS GV U3A Hall Esson Street Shepparton Tel: 5821 3333 POSTAL ADDRESS: P.O. Box 14 Shepparton 3632 ♦PRESIDENT OCTOBER 2014 MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT At our last committee meeting Gail presented us with a cheque from the Fairleys loyalty program. $395 is a very nice donation courtesy of some of our members doing their shopping and nominating U3A as their favoured beneficiary. Seems to me an easy way of bolstering club funds. Let's all shop at Fairleys IGA ! John Hammond 5821 5020 [email protected] ♦VICE PRESIDENT Greg Barnes 0438 569 611 [email protected] ♦SECRETARY Candy Carter 5821 4433 [email protected] ♦TREASURER Carole Trotter 5823 1348 [email protected] ♦TRIP TREASURER Greg Barnes 0438 569 611 [email protected] ♦COURSE CO-ORDINATOR Jan Maude 58290210 [email protected] ♦CATERING Thurlie Pierce 5831 4305 [email protected] ♦HALL COORDINATOR Claire Blake 0402 308 858 [email protected] EMAIL ADDRESS: [email protected] NEWSLETTER EMAIL: [email protected] ACKNOWLEDGEMENT We sincerely thank the Office of Jeanette Powell for the printing of this newsletter. Our guest speaker at October 2nd Social Morning is Jan Pearce from Merritt Funeral Services. This topic is one many of us have not thought much about, but must be considered by everyone sooner or later. I'm looking forward to her presentation. Speaking of the social morning, this meeting will also be a reporting morning when members are updated with our administration and financials details. At 9 am on that day it would be appreciated if a few willing helpers could assist with the set up of the hall. With extra helpers the task is completed quickly. Please help if you can. Claire and Michael Blake have very generously offered a weekend at their holiday home in Jan Juc as a raffle prize. Ticket sales, at $1 each, commence soon and the winner will be drawn at our Christmas luncheon in December. Thank you so much Claire and Michael. Another of our enjoyable social occasions is the Melbourne Cup Day lunch at the club rooms. A booking sheet for tables is up on the bifold doors. Come along and enjoy some fun and good company. On Friday last I joined John Dainton and the Natural Resources group for a luncheon with a visiting group from U3A Nillumbik. I welcomed the visitors and then a very informative speaker set the scene for the meeting and farm visits to follow. Congratulations John on the efforts you make on our behalf to keep people informed and also for promoting inter group visits! Finally a reminder to all .... please make sure all lights and heating are turned off when you leave the hall. Recently we have had lights left on over weekends. Remember you all share the bill ! See you on Tuesday October 2nd. SANDRA'S KEEPSAKES On Tuesday 21st of October, members have the option to make a decorated Christmas bon-bon. For $14 members will receive the craft wood. the paper, the ribbon and the embellishments. People need to ring Sandra on 58210231 by Tuesday the 14th of October to let her know they will be attending the class and then she can order the necessary supplies. THE WALK AND TALK GROUP On October 8 we will make our annual pilgrimage to Dookie. We will meet at U3A car park at 8.45 for car sharing and a prompt departure at 9am. First stop will be Dookie Town Gardens where we will have morning tea then break into 2 groups, one walking along the flat but picturesque rail trail and the other group tackling Mount Major. Lunch will be at Jordans’ shed. Bring your own chair, morning tea and lunch, water, sunscreen and hat and good walking shoes. There will be a special trip to MOUNT BUFFALO ON OCTOBER 29TH (NOTE THAT THE DATE HAS BEEN CHANGED). We will share the travelling by using private cars. Walkers will need all the usual things we take on our walks plus very good shoes for a gravelly surface, a good hiking stick and warm jacket in case of changed weather conditions. Please book with me by Monday 27th October so we can plan which cars should be ready for the trip. Then will meet at 7.45 am at the U3A car park for 8am departure on Wednesday 29th October. We plan to return by 6pm. The September Walk and Talk wildflower walk in the Killawarra forest was most enjoyable, as Maria’s photo shows. Christine Wilson 5822 1474 0428 399 648 Big Issues From Science – Monday October 20, 3pm: The Periodic Table of the Elements is the cornerstone of learning about Chemistry. In October we will begin an exploration of this table. We will begin with its first exponent Dmitri Mendeleev. Then we will use it to explain some elementary chemistry, and end sometime next year with current issues about its structure. By the end you should be able to converse with your Year 11/12 grandchildren about the topic. No prior knowledge needed. Allan Wilson 5822 1474 2 NATURAL RESOURCES Friday October 3; Guest Speaker, Frances Darmanin, Major Customers Coordinator Goulburn Valley Water Subject; “The Northern Brine Project” Friday October10, Bus Trip Departs Ford’s Bus Depot Telford Drive Shepparton 9am, returns approx. 5.30pm Trip includes visit to Dookie College Robotic Dairy, Winton Wetlands, Turquoise parrot project in the Warby’s and Wandin Valley Farms cherry orchard, Boweya Lunch & Afternoon tea provided by Thoona CWA. Cost $30, limited to 48 attendees Money required by October Friday 3 Natural Resources Meeting John Dainton 58213881 CATERING Wendy Gannon, Inez Raleigh and Di Courtie have offered to help with morning tea for October social morning which is the last one for this year. I ask helpers to be at the hall by 9.30 that day. November is Cup Day celebrations so there is no social morning. Thurlie Pearce 58314305 Thank you. Thurlie 58314305 Safe Food Handling Terri Wyatt has agreed to take this course on Friday, 31st October, commencing at 10am. Terri is highly qualified in this area and was formally the instructor at TAFE for the accreditation course. While this course is not accredited, it will give anyone involved in food handling at U3A, or indeed elsewhere, the knowledge to have the confidence to handle food in the public arena appropriately. If you are interested in joining this course, Please contact Thurlie Pearce on 58314305. Les Miserables Everything is on track for a perfect day out with our bus trip to Les Miserables. There have been great reviews so it will be well worth the forward planning and early payment. The bus will leave Ford's Telford Drive Depot (off Drummond Street) at 7.45am. Possibly best to aim for 7.30am to get everyone parked, checked off and boarded in time. Morning tea will be provided on the way down. We will arrive in the theatre precinct in time for us to find our own lunch at one of the many cafes or the theatre itself. After the performance we will be picked up close to the theatre and will head home, stopping at a roadhouse for a light meal of our choice before arriving back 7-7.30pm. Should you have any queries please contact Jan Maude, Tel: 58290210 or [email protected] FAIRLEYS IGA COMMUNITY REWARDS SCHEME Our group recently received a cheque for $395. What a nice little bonus from filling in a piece of paper with your contact details, receiving a key card which is shown to the checkout operator every time you shop at IGA and then letting the computer allocates points to our group. A big thank you to the 32 members that used the card over the last 12 months. As soon as I receive the details for the coming year I will pass them on to everyone at a social morning and in the next newsletter. Gail 58211315 3 MELBOURNE CUP DAY All members are invited to come to the hall from 11.30am onwards on Tuesday 4th November to join in Cup Day activities. Members are asked to dress in their Cup finery. We will have a small fashion parade and a small prize will be given to the best dressed lady and the best dressed man. Members are asked to pay $10 on the day. This will cover the cost of the cold chicken and ham and bread and allow a little for gifts for our well dressed members. Members whose surnames are from A-M are asked to bring salad to share with other members on the day. Members whose surnames are from N-Z are asked to bring a dessert to share with members on the day. Feel free to bring along a drink, a glass and a bottle opener if required. Tea, coffee and water will be available on the day. If you feel like any nibbles or pre-lunch eats you can bring them too. We will have some cup sweeps - a $1 sweep and a $2 sweep. Please bring some coins which makes it easier for the organisers. There is a sheet on the folding doors at the hall for members to put their names down so we can prepare the tables the night before the event. If you are asked to volunteer to help in the kitchen on the day please say yes and do your bit to make the day successful. HISTORICAL STUDIES MONDAY 13th October SESSION 1 History of Agriculture - Greg Barnes 10 -11am SESSION 2 Savernake Station CD - courtesy of Walter Lee 11.15 am - 12 noon Contact - John Lawry - [email protected] or 58231704 SOCRATES CAFÉ MONDAY 27th October The topic for open discussion at 10am on Monday 27th October is “In order to succeed we need to understand resilience” in the context of the development of personal identity and the challenges that impact on our lives. Contact - John Lawry - [email protected] or 58231704 BIRDWATCHING The 22 October outing will be to the Australian Botanic Garden Shepparton.Please meet at the U3A Hall at 9am or at the Garden Tip Road Kialla 9.15am. The 24 September outing will be at the Warby Ovens National Park a full day. Please contact Don Roberts 58252404 or Marg Clarke 0429350875 4 SANDRA'S KEEPSAKES (2) – Christmas Cards Advance Notice We are planning a Christmas Card Workshop at our November "Sandra's Keepsakes" class on 18 November, commencing at10am All details for this workdshop will be included in the November Newsletter so keep this date free and look forward to creating your own personalised Christmas cards this coming festive season. Should be fun! WRITING WORKSHOP : Third Thursday 1.00 - 3.30 We have continued to look at the craft of writing, in particular, the essence of paragraphs. Our writing topics in the final months of the year will centre on Family History, with a variety of approaches being used. This is the beginning of a long term project for some people. Starting is the key! Moya Turnbull 5821 1425 0407 680 337 [email protected] SAILING - EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST Last year we made the U3A state newsletter by being the first U3A in Victoria (probably Australia) to offer sail training to members. Three U3A members completed the course and are now helping out with sailability as volunteers on a Tuesday and Thursday. This year we plan to introduce short course sailing, on a Saturday afternoon once or twice a month. Sailing is about to start again in the first week of October, on a Tuesday and Thursday between 9am-3pm at the Victoria Lake. We are seeking expressions of interest from U3A members that are interested to learn to sail. Depending on numbers we can then consider times and course structure. Sailability has 6 very safe dinghys that we use for sail training. Our motto is ‘Sailing for Everyone’. For more information look at the web site http://shepsailing.wix.com/shepsailability, or phone Derek Poulton 58254112. Benalla Workshop – Age Friendly Cities Joan Giuliani, Robert Cook and Derek Poulton attended the Benalla U3A workshop on Age Friendly Cities. The speaker was Dr Kathleen Brasher, representing COTA (Council on the Aging). Kathleen corrected some of the myths about ageing communities. Did you know that far from being a drain on public resources, seniors contribute $A74billon through volunteering and give $A53 billion to their families each year in Australia alone. Kathleen said that this was the first time in world history that five generations are living at the same time and this will transform our society. She talked about the ways we could create age friendly communities and empower older Australians. For further information about COTA and services for seniors in Victoria, see the COTA web site http://cotavic.org.au (Derek Poulton). GV COMMUNITY ENERGY For those that attended the GV Community Energy presentation and would like further information their contact details are: GV Community Energy 03 5826 2513. 5 FILM At the time of writing Janine was in Melbourne to be with Lou, who is recovering from a heart operation. The October film will be screened at the TAFE Harder Auditorium, 10am on Friday 17 October. Details to follow by email, or check the posters in the Hall. MONDAY LUNCH GROUP We meet every Monday at various venues. In October the venues are: 8th Lemon tree Café 13th Victoria hotel 20thGV hotel 27th.MoJos Everybody is welcome. Joy Markey ph.58216387. DIARY DATES Friday 17 October Film - TBA Tuesday 11 November Melbourne Cup BANK ACCOUNT DETAILS If you want to pay your membership fees or trip fees through the internet please use the account numbers below and use your name as the reference. General account; BSB 633 108 Account number 1277 42898 Trip account; BSB 633 108 Account Number 1298 96049 6