May the spirit of Christmas bring you May the spirit of Christmas … · All groups are now winding down before Christmas and will resume in January or February next year. Please

GRAFTON U3A INC. Po Box 688 Grafton NSW 2460

“Sharing our knowledge, skills and experience in a friendly convivial way”

DECEMBER 2019 www.grafton.u3anet.org.au [email protected]

May the spirit of Christmas bring you May the spirit of Christmas bring you May the spirit of Christmas bring you May the spirit of Christmas bring you peacepeacepeacepeace;;;;

The gladness of Christmas give you The gladness of Christmas give you The gladness of Christmas give you The gladness of Christmas give you hopehopehopehope;;;;

And the warmth of Christmas grant you And the warmth of Christmas grant you And the warmth of Christmas grant you And the warmth of Christmas grant you lovelovelovelove;;;;

Wishing you and your family a veryWishing you and your family a veryWishing you and your family a veryWishing you and your family a very

MMMMerry Christmaserry Christmaserry Christmaserry Christmas!!!!

PRESIDENT’S LETTER

Dear Members Good evening everyone. As I sit down to write this letter, I realise that it is just 3 weeks

until Christmas Day. No doubt those weeks will fly by as we get caught up in the various

end of year concerts and celebrations. For me, the start of that hectic time has been marked

for the past 10 years by the U3A Christmas Lunch. I hope those of you who attended this

year’s lunch on Monday enjoyed it as much as I did. I find it is always a great time for

bringing together a wide range of our members from our disparate groups, to demonstrate

the skills and abilities of our musical groups and to generally relax and celebrate the fact

that we’ve made it to the end of another year.

I also hope you enjoyed our November Jabberfest program on Remembrance Day. We

certainly covered a wide range of human emotions, from a brief, but moving,

Remembrance Day celebration to the fabulous poetry of Bill Kearns. His topics ranged

from moving reflections of the tragedy of war, to the laugh out loud silly situations that

only Bill could imagine, sending us out of the meeting with a smile – quite an achievement on such a significant day in history.

All groups are now winding down before Christmas and will resume in January or February next year. Please contact your

group leader if you are unsure when your group will be resuming in 2020.

After four weeks of smoke haze and bushfires in the area up here, now it is the turn of the Shoalhaven area to battle bushfires.

Around Nymboida people are slowly starting to recover from the initial shock of such a catastrophic fire and to begin repairs.

They are coming to terms with their losses and starting to make plans. So many people lost their houses and all/ most of

their livestock. I am well aware that my losses, in comparison, are minor, but they will be reparable. The landscape remains

blackened and desolate, but a little rain has been received and it, too, will recover eventually. So many people throughout

the Clarence Valley have been affected by bush fires over the past few weeks. Your kind donations (at the November

Jabberfest), matched by donation from our Committee, will help some of these people to start getting back on their feet.

Thank you.

Next year will definitely be better! (If we get rain!) I hope you all have an enjoyable, relaxing, Christmas season and holiday

break with friends and loved ones; and I hope that you all return in 2020 brimming with energy and enthusiasm to

participate in the wide range of groups that we will be offering. See you then!

Alysan PenderI

NOVEMBER JABBERFEST WRAP Alysan welcomed members to the final Jabberfest for the year. The first half of the meeting was given over to short messages

on course offerings for next year. Nancye Eggins spoke about a new Local History/Genealogy Course to be run by Nola

Mackey. Nick Reeve will be hoping to commence a course on Climate matters. Fiona Duggan provided an update on Writing

group, now that Dorothy Hillis has left and Magda Mussared spoke on the Armchair Travel group and her desire that more

members join to share their exploits. Fiona also handed out pen and paper and asked everybody to give suggestions for

entertainment at Jabberfests for next year and also suggestions for courses. Fiona will collate the suggestions and the

Committee will see if they can be implemented. If you weren’t at the meeting, please let any member of the Committee know

of your ideas – they are all welcome.

Morning tea was taken early in order to make sure everyone was ready to commemorate Armistice Day on the dot of 11

o’clock. Nick Reeve conducted a short, moving ceremony including “The Ode”, the “Last Post” and one minute’s silence before

our guest speaker Bill Kearns was introduced. In keeping with the solemnity of the day, Bills’ first three poems were war

related – reflecting on its sadness and traumatic effects. Then just to brighten us up, he proceeded to entertain us with his

hilarious take on the antics of various groups of Senior Citizens who seem to somehow get themselves into some very dicey

situations, such as meeting up with Elvis impersonators or getting wires crossed and ending up at the Purple Pussy Cats

Revue instead of a sedate Tea and Scones morning tea! It is such a pleasure to listen to Bill. We are very fortunate to have

such a talented person in our town. Proceedings wound up with the lucky door prize being won by Pauline Cole. Nancye

Eggins

I am delighted to inform you that the donation collection at Jabberfest for the bushfire appeal totalled $587.70. As

a result, Grafton U3A will donate in total $1,200 to Vinnies Bushfire Appeal. Vanda Geremia

I would like to express my thanks to all those who contributed to the Journal throughout this year. The

journal is dependent upon a constant supply of articles of interest and course/group updates to keep

members informed. I am grateful for the support of the members of the committee, course/group leaders,

members and others. Editor

MENS SHED HAPPENINGS Derek made a play kitchen fridge for a home-based play group & then two tables

for a hall and under a window and now some small chairs for the play group

again.

Bob has made another couple of Honour boards & a garden wheel seat for his

wife.

Horsekateers cleaned and repaired an old table, repaired an old garden bench

seat & Bob painted it.

Warren remade an old drawer, fixed a leg of a chaise lounge and wheel on a

chair.

Kevin & Mossy completed an urn box, 3 different signs as requested.

Kevin made a serve & share triangle tower, also two memory boxes. He also

completed some extensions to cooking utensils for a man with limited limbs.

Jim made a metal cover for a BBQ

David made some photo boards for a family.

Kevin, Warren & Chris have made some changes and cleaned up some areas

and made new holders for cramps and other materials. They are now being asked where things are?

Frank is still away but could be home at the end of the month.

Hoping to see Dan Grant at morning tea this Wednesday. Bruce Carle

EDITOR CONTACT Contributions to the Jabber Journal are welcome, however, we reserve the right to edit or refuse material submitted. Closing

date for the February 2020 edition is Monday 27 January 2020. Editor – Dennis Kelly [email protected]

CHRISTMAS LUNCHEON President Alysan welcomed members and guests with a special greeting to Clarence River U3A representatives Laura

O’Brien (President) and Sue Crowley (Assistant Treasurer). During the course of the luncheon, members were entertained

by Kevin Dixon’s Christmas quiz won by Eric Wheeler, Continuing Story A and B, Good Vibes, Guitar and Ukulele groups.

Unfortunately, Janet the Good Vibes accompanist was ill so the group under choirmaster Helen Hearnshaw sang

unaccompanied only the communal numbers – Come All Ye Faithful, Once in Royal David’s City and We Wish You a Merry

Christmas. The Guitar group whilst small in numbers performed Stops Along the Way, The Butcher Boy and Summertime. The

Ukulele group performed enthusiastically Keep a Dream in Your Pocket, Alona Waltz, Deck the Sheds and Somewhere over the

Rainbow. The Guitar and Ukulele groups were ably directed by tutor Leonie Hayes. Our thanks to all who were involved in

entertaining us throughout the luncheon. A series of lucky door prizes were also distributed during the course of

proceedings. A big thank you to Vanda Geremia Social Events coordinator ably assisted by fellow committee members

Alysan, Carole, Fiona and Nancye. A special thank you also to official photographer, Morrie Duggan for the wonderful photos

of the occasion, a selection of which appear on the following page and will also feature in the February 2020 edition.

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