February - U3A Castlemaine

Third Thoughts
Castlemaine Inc (Est. 1988)
Volume 25 No 1
February 2013
Reg. A0017409G
Registration and Enrolment Day
January 15/16 2013
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
Office Manager
Network Representative
Membership
Win Jodell
Beryl Leavesley
Betty Johnson
Brian Richardson
Veronica Hurley
Dick Mack
Robyn Yeoman
Peter Stephens
Bev Orgill
George Gray
George Gray
Sally Kaptein
Veronica Hurley
5472 3792
5472 3182
5472 3834
5423 2526
5472 1383
0411 244 103
0412 565 559
5472 3904
5474 3050
5472 5334
5472 5334
5470 6340
5472 1383
u3acastlemainepresident@gmail.com
berylleavesley@hotmail.com
u3acastlemainesecretary@gmail.com
bprbob@gmail.com
u3acastlemainenews@gmail.com
u3acastlemainecourses@gmail.com
robyn.yeoman@gmail.com
pb.stephens@bigpond.com
philandbev@hotmail.com
gngray43@sctelco.net.au
u3acastlemaine@gmail.com
walmer@castlemaine.net.au
vkhurley@bigpond.com
ACMI Representative
Cake Roster/Raffle
Caterer
Coffee Supplies
Celebrations/Tributes
Property
Trading Table:
5472 1841
5474 2739
0402 776 194
5472 2316
5474 2121
5472 1082
5474 2739
5472 3867
5470 5079
5472 3900
sayvf@castlemaine.net
mltwyford@gmail.com
Website Manager
Felicity Say
Marie Twyford
Jenni Rutherford
Lyn Hall
Barbara Robinson
Hans van Gemert
Marie Twyford/
Audrey Richardson/
Harvey Jacka
Bruce Carruthers
Office
Octopus
P.O. Box 792
Castlemaine
5472 2249
5472 1147
u3acastlemaine@gmail.com
octopus@mmnet.com.
U3A OFFICE DETAILS
The Office is at the Uniting Church Complex,
Lyttleton Street, Castlemaine
Office Hours are:
Monday to Thursday 1.30 pm – 3.30 pm
Phone: 5472 2249
Website: www.u3acastlemaine.com
Current 2013 Subscription Fee
$50.00 + $10.00 for mailing of newsletter if
required.
New Members joining after June 30 pay 50% of the
subscription fee.
lynypoodle@gmail.com
arob@mmnet.com.au
elouera3@bigpond.com
mltwyford@gmail.com
keithaud@chewton.vicmail.net
marionandharvey@gmail.com
bruce@keepingitsimple.com.au
Friday Coffee Morning
Coffee Mornings are held on the first Friday of the
month at 10.00 am in the Uniting Church Hall.
Committee Meetings
are held on the third Thursday in the month at
9.30 am in the U3A Office, at the Uniting Church
Complex.
Any contributions to the Newsletter can be
emailed to u3acastlemainenews@gmail.com or
left at the office.
Deadline for the March 2013 Newsletter is 3pm Monday 18th February
3
From the President
Happy New Year and welcome to all, most
by
especially new members. It was noted on
programmes very helpful.
enrolment days that there are a lot of you,
more than 50 in fact, and this is very pleasing.
It is a clear indication that our organization is
performing well and continues to attract
interest.
The U3A Christmas and end of year party was
a delight. There were certainly lots of smiles
and much laughter. Having the women from
Tarangower help with the lunch was a great
idea; we were doing something for them
who
find
these
January
Regarding our thoughts about a different use
for the Octopus, we are now awaiting a new
lease from council and that seems to be slow. I
will keep you informed.
For your diary: because of Easter and the
Castlemaine Festival our welcome to new
members will be in the lovely Buda Garden
Room on Tuesday April 30th. I do look
forward to meeting you all.
while they were helping us. Thank you Tom,
Our office is now open each Monday to
Sally and Special Events for helping make this
Thursday from 1.30 to 3.30pm and with
a success. The Christmas Tree collection for
George at the helm things will run smoothly.
Salvation Army was $400, thank you to all
Thank you to all the volunteers who perform
who so generously donated. We have had a
this essential service.
letter of appreciation from them.
So here's wishing you all an engaging,
Enrolment
days
the
challenging and rewarding 2013 with U3A
atmosphere lively. Dick Mack and Robyn
Castlemaine. It is a place where, while
Yeoman
pursuing
have
were
certainly
busy
put
and
together
a
marvellous Prospectus and without a home of
your
interests,
rewarding
friendships are often made.
our own it is miraculous that venues have
been found for all the 78 classes and activities
offered. Congratulations to you both. Dick
and Robyn are now hard at work again
getting enrolments onto the new Data Base so
as to make class lists for Course Leaders.
U3A to attend a briefing of MAS councillors
On 5th February at 2pm both Peter Stephens and I
will attend a council meeting where we have been
allocated 30 minutes to advise councillors about
our range of activities and the benefits our
Course Leaders will be able to collect their
voluntary organization provides our community.
class lists at Buda at 9.30am 30th January. This
After briefly outlining our activities, having given
will be an information morning with time to
each a copy of our Prospectus, we will make it
ask questions and meet each other. Morning
quite clear that our biggest challenge is finding
tea/coffee will be provided. Many committee
suitable accommodation.
members will attend.
Any outcomes from this meeting will take time
I would like to thank Anne Lodge and John
and I will keep members informed.
Waldie for providing entertainment and
Win Jodell
activities for members during the summer
break. There are those without families close
President
4
Enjoy Being Part of a U3A Working Group
With a membership of more than 400, and
offering so many different classes and activities,
our U3A Castlemaine is busy and active. For an
organisation of this size and variety of classes, the
Committee of Management’s administrative tasks
are many. To try to share this heavy workload
more fairly between the Committee and
members, Working Groups with particular roles
were set up, to work on particular aspects of the
organisation, for which they would make
recommendations to the Committee of
Management.
The Working Groups each have a convenor, and
meet only as necessary and independently of the
Committee of Management meetings. Working
Groups were set up for:
*Special Events to organise wonderful outings
for us, guest speakers, and such events as the 25th
Anniversary Celebration next year.
*Accommodation to investigate accommodation
for our numerous classes and office space.
*Finance to support the treasurer and complete
funding submissions when necessary.
*Communication which includes publicity,
keeping an eye on good communication within
our organisation and with other non-profit
groups in the Shire, and the newsletter and
website.
*Governance to regularly review our brilliant
Operations Manual. The Manual contains
position descriptions, our constitution and
policies and procedures.
We met for about an hour and half, four or five
times over the year. We designed a new U3A
publicity brochure, carried out a communication
survey, and reviewed our Communication
Guidelines.
With all the members we have in U3A, we should
be able to draw on a wealth of experience and
talent. It’s not too onerous to contribute what you
can on a working group. Talk to our president,
Win Jodell, if you can give some time to U3A in
return for what it offers you. Sign up for a
Working Group. You’ll find it an enjoyable way
to participate.
Elizabeth Rider 5470 5681
History of U3A Castlemaine
CAN YOU HELP ? ? ? ?
The working group compiling the history of our
first 25 years has been beavering away quietly for
several months.
Thanks to many contributors we have about 20 or
so documents - none are more than a page or two
- which have been through a first editing process
but now need to be put together as a single
document. We are looking for a volunteer with
good word processing skills to do this.
If you can help could you please contact
Jenny Craig on 0400 990 146 or
jennifer.craig3@bigpond.com
I strongly believe that good communication is a
key to having a harmonious and participatory
organisation, so I have enjoyed working on the
Communication Working Group.
My role as Community Rep – was to liaise with,
and work towards program partnerships, with
other local organisations where appropriate, e.g.
Community Health and International Women’s
Day and Lifeball, and with the Shire Council for
Seniors Week.
Sue Turner and Peter Stephens
“beavering”
5
COURSE CO-ORDINATOR
2.
Any person who enrols in the course but who fails to
attend this initial meeting, will be considered to have
withdrawn.
With over 300 people already enrolled in courses,
totalling around 970 enrolments it has been a busy
time for your Course Co-ordination team, entering
all members on the database, and sending lists of
participants to course leaders.
3.
Participants will be encouraged to assess their own
level of commitment to the course, e.g., ability to
attend every class, willingness to complete work set
between classes.
4.
At that point some participants may choose to
withdraw from the course.
5.
If the number of participants still exceeds the
maximum limit, a ballot will be conducted by U3A
Course Co-ordinator to reduce the number to the
maximum limit.
Italian I (Beginners) and Table Tennis
For various reasons, no information was received
before the printing of the Prospectus for these two
courses. The issues have now been resolved and
both courses will be offered this year. The U3A
grapevine seems to be hard at work and a number
of people have already enrolled in these courses. If
you would like to enrol in either course, contact
either Dick or Robyn as soon as possible. Italian I
commences Monday 4 Feb, 10am to 11am weekly in
the Fellowship Room, and will be led by Jill
Kromkamp. Table Tennis commences Wed 8 Feb,
10am to 12pm weekly at Camp Reserve Table
Tennis Pavilion, Forest Street entrance, and will be
led by Bernadette Fraser.
French I (Beginners)
This course has been moved to the Fellowship
Room on Mondays 1pm to 2.15pm, commencing 4
February with Ros Coffey..
French Conversation
This course has been cancelled, as Graeme and Jane
Quinn have sold their property and will be leaving
the district shortly. We wish them a peaceful life in
their new seaside retreat. Those who have enrolled
will be notified.
Over-filled Courses
In a very few courses, the number of people
enrolling may exceed the capacity of either the
venue, or the need for specialised tuition. In these
cases, we will advise the course leaders to take the
following steps:
1.
At the first class meeting, or a special meeting called
by the course leader, the participants will be fully
informed about the situation by the course leader and
the U3A Course Co-ordinator.
Any member balloted out of a course will be placed on
a waiting list and offered a place if a vacancy does
occur later in the life of the course.
Balloting is a painful process and every effort will be
made to ensure that, if it is required in any class, it is
conducted in a completely open and transparent way.
Course Leaders’ Briefing
By now, the course leaders will have attended a
briefing session on their roles and expectations,
and received a list of participants in their courses.
You can expect them to contact you, by phone or
email, approximately a week before the start of
the course, to introduce themselves and to answer
any questions you may have about the course.
Please let them know as soon as possible if you
are likely to miss any classes.
Class Rolls, Absences, Withdrawals and
Additions
We are required to maintain class rolls for
statistical purposes. You will be asked to sign a
roll at each session you attend. If you are unable
to attend a session, or need to withdraw from a
course, please let the course leader know as soon
as possible. If you wish to attend a course for
which you have not yet enrolled, please let Dick
or Robyn know.
We wish you an enjoyable and learning filled
year in the subjects you have chosen.
Dick Mack, Course Co-ordinator
Robyn Yeoman, Course Administrator
6
GREETINGDS FROM THE EDITOR
Having published my first two Newsletters, I
have to admit that I’m actually enjoying the task.
HOWEVER, I have much to learn and trust you
will bear with me as I battle on. To come close to
the standard of my predecessors I’ll need to work
at it.
There are a couple of things which members can
do to assist; Get your articles in on time and
where possible give us a taste of what’s to come
rather than what has gone.
If you send photos please do not send them as
compressed files; I’d rather have the original if
possible. And if you want me to include the
names, please supply them with the photo.
Copy may be sent to
castlemainenews@gmail.com
Veronica Hurley 5472 1383
December Committee meeting
Reports from all office bearers were circulated
before the meeting. Work resulting was listed in
Action Items to be checked at the February
meeting.
Special attention will be given to our finances this
coming year. Other decisions such as frequency
of Newsletter and format for monthly meetings
and charging for photocopies will be discussed
further.
General business included: Octopus history and
present usage; newsletter; special events; Public
officer; Founders; survey results and grants.
Lyle Freedman, a Founding Member.
Many U3A Castlemaine members will have fond
memories of Lyle Freedman who moved up to
Canberra some time ago. Lyle is now in a
Nursing home but this note from his daughter,
Jenny, will gladden the hearts of his friends.
Dad (Lyle Freedman) moved in to low care
in the same facility, (in Canberra) after
having had a rough patch last year with
time in hospital and rehab. He is
ridiculously fit as a fiddle and enjoying life
as much if not more than he ever did, now
not having to worry about meals, washing
and everyday caring for himself. His room
has a lot of his personal belongings in it and
a small bar fridge so he's still able to have
his gin and tonic!! There's a very nice
lounge nearby and he isn't too far from the
dining room. Knowing dad as you do, now
having a routine of b'fast lunch and dinner
with morning a'noon tea and supper, he's a
very happy chap!!!! He's using his walker
pretty much all the time, but still gets out
and about and I was there for Xmas with
my youngest and my eldest came down later
in the week, so we did something each day.
As you can imagine he's getting more
forgetful, which is fair enough as I keep
telling him, but still has his great sense of
humour and what's happening in the world.
The joke is he's now hanging around for his
telegram from the Queen!!! (he is currently
96).
Lyle can be contacted at
28 Selwyn St
Hackett ACT 2602
Next meeting February 21st at 9.30 in Kinder room
Those who do not know Lyle can check him out
UCC.
in Narelle Stock’s Publication,
“As if it were Yesterday”, Page 92.
7
COLLECTING. SAVING. RECYCLING
Are you a compulsive recycler? No? Perhaps you
could become one.
Here are a few projects for you. The following can
be given to Marie Twyford at Coffee Morning.
STAMPS go to "Sammy Stamp",a Uniting Church
initiative. They are trimmed and sorted and
sold to collectors.
The money raised is
distributed as grants to purchase items needed
for Community Meals Programs, to overseas
Emergency Relief Appeals, food relief throughout
Victoria, emergency accommodation for families.
As at October, Sammy Stamp had raised an
amazing $35,000. . Please do not soak off the
stamps; leave a good 1/2" paper around the
stamp. The best and easiest way to ensure there
is sufficient paper around the stamp is to tear the
envelope in half and save the stamped half.
Sometimes there are distinct postmarks on the
stamps; there are collectors for these as well. My
thanks to U3A members who contributed to this
scheme
USED POSTCARDS There is a need for used
postcards. If you have any unneeded stamped
postcards without personal messages, please pass
them onto me. I will black out the receiver's
name and address. These are sold to collectors.
PHONECARDS IF you have
phonecards, they are also in demand.
any
old
CORKS can be collected to raise money for the
Elephant Enclosure at Melbourne Zoo. The corks
are sorted and sold to a cork tile manufacturer. It
takes a lot of corks to weigh one kg! Small
numbers of corks can be given to me. I am
happy to pass them on to another local person
who has access to the elephants!. Large amounts
of corks can be taken to Dan Murphy's store in
Bendigo. Enter the front door, turn left and along
near the window are two large recycle bins ready
to be filled.
If you know of anyone who collects for charity,
let us know. u3acastlemainenews@gmail.com
Recycle your old mobile
phone
20th Dec 2012
On average Australians replace their mobile
handsets every 18-24 months. Over 80 per cent of
mobile phone users either keep or pass on their
old phones and there are an estimated 22 million
unwanted mobile phones sitting in homes around
Australia. Over 90 per cent of the material in
those phones is recyclable.
Mobile phones may be left in the box at Top End
Technology in Barker Street.
THE DOOR
Ever walk into a room
with some purpose in
mind, only to completely
forget what that purpose
was?
Turns out, doors
themselves are to blame
for these strange memory lapses.
Psychologists at the University of Notre Dame
have discovered that passing through a doorway
triggers what's known as an event boundary in
the mind, separating one set of thoughts and
memories from the next.
Your brain files away the thoughts you had in the
previous room and prepares a blank slate for the
new locale.
It's not aging, it's the door! Thank goodness for
studies like this.
Thank you Janice Cook. Ballarat U3A Newsletter
Please wear your name badges at all U3A
events and classes so that we can all get to
know each other as well as having your I.C.E.
details on hand should they be needed in an
emergency.
8
A good turn out for end -of -year meeting and party
A good turn out for U3A end of year party
Robyn and Dick launch the 2013 Prospectus
Members enjoying lunch
Peter and Win
(past president and
president)
Betty Henchman cutting Founder's cake
Tony Moreton
reciting “The
Lion and Albert”
9
SINGING TOGETHER
GOLF CROQUET
Rae Hawkins 5472 3446
Frank Pederick 5472 1017
Another year is well on
Consider playing Golf Croquet in 2013.
In conjunction with the Castlemaine Croquet
Club, Golf Croquet is again being offered as a
short course.
the way. This will be our
seventh. We began in 2006
with six female singers and no accompanist. What
progress we have made since then.
We ended last year with twenty six singers, male
and female, and our accompanist, John Tungyep.
What a busy time we had in 2012 with all the
extra rehearsals for the massed U3A choir concert
in the Melbourne Town Hall; A wonderful
experience but very tiring.
This year we shall be paying special attention to
what we shall be singing for the U3A Castlemaine
Golf Croquet is the fastest growing sport in
Australia. It is a social game played outdoors
which has been likened to a combination of chess
and billiards. It certainly exercises your memory
and judgement and helps to maintain hand-eye
coordination. I have played the game with a 93
year-old lady who had abundantly retained these
abilities.
You could play the game with like minded people
at over 640 locations throughout Australia. There
are plenty of opportunities for social or
competitive games for individuals or pairs.
25th Birthday celebrations. I’m quite sure there
will be a lot of discussion concerning the choice of
songs for the occasion.
For the addicted, membership of the Castlemaine
club is available, which gives access to all
affiliated clubs in Australia.
"HOW TO RUN A HOOP"
Table Tennis - All year
Come and play table tennis in a friendly noncompetitive spirit. Great fun, good exercise and
great for hand-eye co-ordination.
Entry Criterion
None. Donation of $1 per week.
Meeting Time
10 am to 12 noon, every
Wednesday, commencing
Jan 16 th
Venue
Table-tennis pavilion, Camp Reserve - Forest
Street entrance.
Trevor Wheeler,54762286, trevorpots@gmail.com,
Bernadette Fraser 5472 2634
Wednesday April 17th .
Please note the date

AUSTRALIAN HISTORY
Geoff Walker 5470 6652
10
The February meetings will be at the home of
Geoff and Beth, 9 Lyttleton Street, at 2.00pm on
Monday 11th and Monday 25th. At the first
meeting enrolments and communication details
will be checked, and some discussion about the
course outline will be held ready for the real start
to the year at the second gathering. A happy
New Year to all of our members from last year
who are prepared to receive more punishment,
and a warm welcome to new members joining
our group! One thing is guaranteed -- you will
never suffer from boredom in the Australian
History group!
stated. I personally won't be there, but alternative
presentations are being organised. The only
scheduled break throughout the whole year will
be on Monday 18 March, due to the Castlemaine
State Festival - although David Stretch may want
a long weekend break at some point, and we'll
give you plenty of notice should this eventuate.
FRIDAY MORNING GARDEN GROUP
Shirley Curnow 5472 1729
We are delighted that Remi, a new
resident in Castlemaine will cook his speciality,
crepes, for your enjoyment. Remi is a trained
engineer from Brittany who has always loved the
crepes from his region and decided to start a
business in Castlemaine.The crepes are made on a
creperie imported from Brittany and Remi is
travelling to local Markets making these
delectable taste sensations. The crepes are
gossamer light with crispy edges and he offers a
variety of fillings around which to roll them.
The first gathering for the Friday
Morning Garden Group will be at
10am, on Friday 15th February,
in one of the rooms in the Uniting
Church complex.
We are looking
forward to meeting the folk in our group -- those
who were in the group last year, and the new
ones who will be joining us this year. Some
ideas and suggestions have been noted but it will
be great to have some from you all at our first
meeting. Please bring pen and paper with you!

I look forward to seeing you shortly.
John
A delicious taste of France at our
February Coffee Morning.
The special cost to our members will be $3.00 and
you will find that just one will be perfect as an
early lunch or brunch.
Movies of Merit
Have a chat to Remi in either English or French!!
John Waldie 5472 5411
Sally Kaptein 5470 6340
The Holiday Program continues to be successful;
so far, we have collectively enjoyed "Fanny and
Alexander", "Amadeus" and "An Angel at my
Table". There is one more showing on the 28th
January at 10.00am at the Theatre Royal.
On February 4, the 2013 course commences at
10.30am, also at the Theatre Royal. This is open
only to those who have enrolled in the course,
and enrolments close on January 25th.
Please note that there some changes to the
information shown in the prospectus. There will
NOT be a break between June 5 and July 24 as
DID YOU KNOW???????
Did you know that you can go to the Airport by
train from Castlemaine and then bus from
Sunbury, followed by a short walk to the
terminal?
Timetable available from the Railway station
~~~~~~~~~~~~
And did you know you can go to Adelaide by
bus from Bendigo Railway Station. Approx $19.
You can also use your Seniors free ticket to go
by train from Southern Cross. You pay a small
amount to cover the distance from the
boarder.
11
Welcome to New Members
Peter Batten
Marlene Bell
Max Clarke
Ian Edwards
Craig Gough
Valda Campbell
Richard Hollis
Desmond Lavery
Helen Leyshon
Deidre McDougall
Robert Murdoch
Cynthia Noble
Susan Porter
Mary Rossi-Murphy
Janetta Stones
Robyn Weeden
Rob Murdoch
Annie Batten
Bernard Boulton
Jill Collier
Anne Forden
Jan Gower
Marion Heathfield
Merle Johnston
Barbara Lay
Wendie Llewellyn
Alex Miller
Robert Murphy
Pat Pearson
Glenda Richardson
Jo Sedunary
Kevin Tobin
Andrew Wenn
Susan Albert
Ann Baxter
Cloe Cameron
Ronda Demaine
Carol Foster
James Grant
Vicki Holland
Erin Kelly
Pat Lee
Stephanie Miller
Graham Murphy
Carole Peoples
Glen Rieschiek
Ken Simpson
Margaret Walker
Wendy Wright
Members of Peggy Munro’s Drawing Group, Dorothy Bessant and
Sandra Allender, enjoy an early evening class during the Holiday
Program.
Australian Poetry in the Botanic
Gardens.
Eileen Parkes
Penny Garnett
Dot Henshall
Peggy Munro
Val Cash
Wilma Ellery
12
Members relax at the “Royal “during John Waldie’s
“Movies of Merit”.
Members of the Solo Group enjoyed
catching up with a former member,
Jeanette Hutcheson, in Bendigo over
the summer break.
Marie Anderson, Jean Hutcheson,
Dorothy Bessant, Fran Scutt, peggy
Munro, Anne Lodge, Eva
Haarburger,Vera Richmon and
Betty Henchman.
Photos by Peggy Munro.
13
Members of the Bridge Group
enjoy a peaceful atmosphere in
the Auditorium at Mount
Alexander Hospital during the
Summer Holiday program.
U3A CALENDAR 2013
TERMS 2013
29th.Jan to 28th.Mar. 15th. Apr to 28th. June
15th. July to 20th. Sept
7th. Oct to 20th. Dec.
CASTLEMAINE STATE FESTIVAL 2013 15th. to 24th. MARCH
ACTIVITIES
Jan
Mon 14th.
Office reopens
Wed 30th.
Class leaders information session
(at Buda Garden Room 10 to 12 noon)
Feb
March
April
May
June
July
Fri 1st.
Coffee morning –and crepes
Mon 4th.
Classes commence
Mon 18th.
Newsletter deadline
Thur 21st.
Committee Mtg
Fri 1st.
Coffee morning
Mon 11th.
Labour Day holiday – Office closed
Thur 21st.
Committee Mtg
Mon 25th.
Newsletter deadline
Fri 29th
Good Friday Office closed
Mon 1st.
Easter Monday Office closed.
Fri 5th.
Coffee morning
Wed 17th.
Car Trail
Thur 18th.
Committee Mtg
Mon 22nd.
Newsletter deadline
Thur 25th.
ANZAC DAY - Office closed
Fri 26th.
Notification to non-financial members
Tue 30th.
New Members Welcome Day
Fri 3rd.
Coffee morning
Thur 16th.
Committee Mtg
Mon 27th.
Newsletter deadline
Fri 7th.
Coffee morning
Mon 10th.
Queens Birthday - Office closed
Thur 20th.
Committee Mtg
Mon 24th.
Newsletter deadline
Fri 5th.
Coffee morning
Thur 18th.
Committee Mtg