U3A Benalla and District Inc.
  • Home
  • Benalla
    • Benalla
    • Benalla District
    • Who, What and Where? - Benalla Rural City
  • About
    • Our U3A
    • President's Page
    • Executive Committee
    • Convenors >
      • Convenors
      • Convenors A - Z 2022
    • Program Suggestions
    • Newsletter
    • Website
  • Groups
    • Groups A - Z
    • Recent Groups >
      • Armchair History
      • German - Beginners
      • Meditation
      • Russian Literature
      • Hot Topics/The News - Fact or Fiction?
    • Archived Groups >
      • A - M >
        • A Different View Of German History
        • Armchair Traveller
        • Booker Reading Group
        • Bushwalking - Mid-week Walks
        • Comparative Religion
        • Facebook for Mentors
        • Google Apps/TS Plus
        • History - An Introduction to Western Civilization
        • History - Moments in Australian History
        • Investment I (1996 -2015)
        • Legal Matters (Short Course)
        • Making the Most of the Internet
      • O - Z >
        • On Target - Learning to Shop Online
        • Opera
        • 'Over There'
        • Rail and Tourism
        • Tech Savvy Apple Devices - Intermediate
        • Tech Savvy Community Projects
        • Travel Group
        • Zoom Short Course
  • A-Col
    • A - COL
    • 'A Taste of Art'
    • Art Appreciation
    • Australian History
    • 'As Time Goes By' >
      • Home
      • Our Stories - by topic
    • 'Be Connected'
    • Birdwatching
    • Brain Games
    • Bushwalking - Easy Walks
    • Cards '500'
    • Chat n' Chew
    • Coin Collectors
    • Collectors
  • Col-G
    • COM - G
    • Community Singing
    • Creative Writing
    • Demystifying Psychology
    • Enjoying the Internet
    • Exercises for Fun
    • Exploring the Universe
    • Family Research - Advanced >
      • Home
      • Family Stories
    • Family Research - Beginners
    • Film Discussion Group
    • Garden Appreciation
    • Garden Team
    • German
  • I - R
    • I - R
    • 'In the Lap of the Gods'
    • Investment
    • Jane Austen Book Club
    • Let's Talk Books
    • Lifeball
    • Meet and Mingle
    • Music Appreciation
    • Page Turners
    • Patchwork and Craft
    • Photography
    • Play Reading
    • Politics & Current Affairs
    • Recorder Group
  • S - Z
    • S -Z
    • Singing for Fun
    • Sky's the Limit
    • Stock and Land
    • Sustainability
    • Tech Advice
    • Tech Savvy Apple - 'Pages'
    • Tech Savvy Beginners - Android
    • Tech Talks
    • Ukes4Fun
    • Wine Appreciation
    • Wise Guys Book Group
  • Join
    • Join Us
    • Membership Application/Renewal Form
    • Program Guide 2023
    • Timetable - Month Overview
    • Full Timetable with Dates
    • New Courses 2023
    • Venues and Maps
  • News
    • News - General
    • February Newsletter
    • Calendar 2022
    • Monthly Calendar
    • Website & Facebook
  • FB
  • Gallery
    • Gallery 2022
    • Gallery 2021
    • Gallery 2020
    • Gallery 2019
    • Gallery 2018
    • Gallery 2017
    • Gallery 2016 >
      • + Christmas Lunch 2016
    • Gallery 2015 >
      • Christmas Lunch 2015
    • Gallery 2014
    • Lifeball Video
  • Links
    • Resources and References
    • U3A Network Victoria
    • Seniors Online Victoria
    • U3A Albury Wodonga
    • U3A Beechworth (Indigo U3A)
    • U3A Bright
    • U3A Wangaratta
    • U3A Goulburn Valley
  • Contact

'New in Town'

28/4/2021

0 Comments

 
“I’m a bird! “I'm a bird!’ My friend is screaming in delight and frantically flapping his arms as high as they can reach. He is spinning around and I’m afraid he will fall, but no--the young do have better balance than I give them credit for.  

My young friend is new in town. New in the world in fact. He is two and a half years old and was born in Africa. He’s lived in Benalla for one and a half of those years so he is still very new in town. One of those years was lived almost totally in lockdown for the Covid-19 pandemic and we didn’t get to explore much of his brave new world but we did get to know each other. Now we are making up for the time lost. 

Yesterday our adventure was to the Grandstand at the Benalla Showgrounds. This imposing old red and white structure with a curved roof was built in 1918 and seats around 800 people. The Grandstand is ‘architecturally important to the State of Victoria as a rare example of a surviving timber- framed grandstand, with a barrel roof and ornate timber cast iron lace frieze’ and it is Heritage listed. (quote -- the Victorian Heritage Database).

After a climb--well sort of a laboured scramble on both our parts-- up the dozen or so steps to the front of the building  an area juts out and this was used as a bandstand in times past. Here my young friend just stood in total absorption and gazed, entranced, at the view from between the railings. Then, several times, he slowly thrust out his arms sideways then brought them back in to try and encompass what must have seemed a view of vast perspective to him and capture another dimension.  And the first time ever he had stood at such a height above ground. He clapped. The cockies flew overhead, some landed on the oval and he was thrilled ---flapping and clapping and dancing around yelling “bird bird--- I am a bird”.

My heart truly leapt with joy to share his moments of revelation and wonder. How great that a tiny person at the start of his life and a building of such an age can come together to provide such an epiphany for us both.

Too often it seems we forget those first precious moments of a child.
Picture
​    

Judy Perry
​April 2021
0 Comments
    Our Stories

    Judy's page

    Picture

    Archives

    July 2021
    April 2021
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020

    Categories

    All
    'A Childhood Memory'
    'A Day For Annie'
    August 2020
    'Hairwashing Day'
    In The Garden'
    'New In Town'
    'Out In The Blue
    'Right Here
    Right Now'
    'Triggers'
    'Upper Hawthorn'

    RSS Feed

We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we meet and pay our respects to their elders - past, present and emerging.
Picture
News
​Newsletter
Facebook Page
​
Program Suggestions
​CO-VID Safety

U3A Benalla & District Flier 2023
​Membership Application/Renewal Form 
​
Program Guide 2023
Semester 1 Timetable with Dates 2023
Semester 1 Timetable Month Overview 2023
Developed and maintained by members, this website showcases U3A Benalla & District. 
​Photographs - U3A members; Benalla Art Gallery website; ​Weebly 'Free' images;Travel Victoria and State Library of Victoria