What a wonderful morning and lunch we had on Wednesday 18th October. Fiona Kleinitz, on behalf of the Stroke Foundation, was our guest speaker at Meet and Mingle. Fiona had lived experience of stroke, and was a very passionate speaker. Then we were fortunate to have Leading Senior Constable Lisa Atkinson from the Benalla Police who gave a comprehensive talk about Scams, which unfortunately are becoming all too frequent.
This was part of our Get Online Week program, held as part of the Be Connected program and supported by the Good Things Foundation. After Lisa’s talk, we followed with a great BBQ cooked by the Benalla Lions Club, and enjoyed music provided by the U3A Ukulele Group. Robyn Lukey and Jenny Sawyer who use the Be Connected program were on hand to answer questions during and after lunch.
This was part of our Get Online Week program, held as part of the Be Connected program and supported by the Good Things Foundation. After Lisa’s talk, we followed with a great BBQ cooked by the Benalla Lions Club, and enjoyed music provided by the U3A Ukulele Group. Robyn Lukey and Jenny Sawyer who use the Be Connected program were on hand to answer questions during and after lunch.
U3A Benalla were invited to have a table at the Carer’s Day which was celebrated at the Community Centre in Coster Street on Tuesday 17th October. My thanks to Geraldine and Corrie who sat at the table for three hours, and provided copies of our Newsletter and Timetable for those that attended. The Patchwork and Craft Group had made 44 material bags for the Carer’s, which was a great effort by the group.
On Monday 16th October Geraldine and I had a tour of the Town Hall with Elise Wood from BRCC. This tour had been suggested by the Councillors when U3A Benalla did our presentation to Council on 30 August.
The Town Hall Supper room, which the Councillors had strongly suggested to be a suitable larger meeting room, is currently used as a storage facility. To access it there is a steep, narrow set of stairs unsuitable for our age group. There is also a four-person lift which has to have a finger on the up key permanently for it to operate between floors.
Parking for 40 people would also be a problem at the Town Hall. In the adjacent car park, I counted three empty car spaces mid-morning, and we were told that this car park is normally full Monday to Friday, when our programs operate. Car parking in Nunn Street was also fully utilised.
On October 11th I met with Elise Wood and Chris Greentree, both from the Benalla Rural City Council. Chris is the Ageing Well Officer for BRCC, and has developed a spreadsheet which can be utilised by the older community to find activities, clubs, health providers and many other aspects of life in Benalla. The plan is to make this information available not only to U3A members, but also members of the Benalla public two half days a month from February 2024. We looked at safety and other aspects of our Meeting room 2 which will be used for this project. The Men’s Shed are providing a rack for brochures which will be located in the foyer of the Seniors Centre.
On Monday 16th October Geraldine and I had a tour of the Town Hall with Elise Wood from BRCC. This tour had been suggested by the Councillors when U3A Benalla did our presentation to Council on 30 August.
The Town Hall Supper room, which the Councillors had strongly suggested to be a suitable larger meeting room, is currently used as a storage facility. To access it there is a steep, narrow set of stairs unsuitable for our age group. There is also a four-person lift which has to have a finger on the up key permanently for it to operate between floors.
Parking for 40 people would also be a problem at the Town Hall. In the adjacent car park, I counted three empty car spaces mid-morning, and we were told that this car park is normally full Monday to Friday, when our programs operate. Car parking in Nunn Street was also fully utilised.
On October 11th I met with Elise Wood and Chris Greentree, both from the Benalla Rural City Council. Chris is the Ageing Well Officer for BRCC, and has developed a spreadsheet which can be utilised by the older community to find activities, clubs, health providers and many other aspects of life in Benalla. The plan is to make this information available not only to U3A members, but also members of the Benalla public two half days a month from February 2024. We looked at safety and other aspects of our Meeting room 2 which will be used for this project. The Men’s Shed are providing a rack for brochures which will be located in the foyer of the Seniors Centre.
There are two important dates in November for your calendars. The first is Meet and Mingle on Wednesday 15th November when we will have our concert and Patchwork display. This year we are having items by the Recorder Group, the Ukulele Group and the Singing for Fun Group. Please come and enjoy the musical entertainment as well as the Patchwork display.
The second date is Friday 17th November which is our Christmas Lunch at the Red Stag at Eurobin. A bus will leave at 10.30am from Benalla Bus Lines for those who do not wish to drive. Cost of the lunch is $50 per head, and an extra $10 if going by bus. The Christmas lunch is open to all U3A Benalla members, not only the Wine Appreciation Group members. A Registration form was in last month’s Newsletter. Registrations close on Wednesday 8th November. Hope to see you there.
Margaret Jenkins
The second date is Friday 17th November which is our Christmas Lunch at the Red Stag at Eurobin. A bus will leave at 10.30am from Benalla Bus Lines for those who do not wish to drive. Cost of the lunch is $50 per head, and an extra $10 if going by bus. The Christmas lunch is open to all U3A Benalla members, not only the Wine Appreciation Group members. A Registration form was in last month’s Newsletter. Registrations close on Wednesday 8th November. Hope to see you there.
Margaret Jenkins
