Due to the COVID lockdown we have been unable to hold our Singing for Fun or Harmony Sessions in June 2021.

Singing for Fun will resume on Thursday 1st July and Harmony will start on Thursday 8th July at 10am in The Hub at Cooinda.

We look forward to seeing you all again.
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Margaret Jenkins

The Singing for Fun Group has been enjoying their meetings in the Hub during May with a variety of songs chosen by our three conductors.

Brian Greed introduced us to the song “The Changing of the Guard”.  The group has adapted to the rhythm of the song very well, and seem to be enjoying it.  Margaret Merriman included “The Oceana Roll” in her list of songs which everyone seemed to get into the swing of. Kieran Smith had a Showbiz theme for one of his sessions which included “The Sound of Music” and “Edelweiss”.

We thank Gwen Barnes who has shown lots of versatility in accompanying these various songs on the piano.

The Singing for Fun group meets on the first and third Thursday morning of the month at 10am in the Hub at Cooinda. The Harmony session is on the second Thursday morning of the month in the same venue.

Margaret Jenkins

April has seen Margaret Merriman introduce us to a new song “Dona Dona” which is in a minor key and slightly different to what we have been used to. No doubt we will enjoy the melody of the song over coming weeks. 

Brian Greed has introduced us to several songs we sang in 2019 including Sweet Caroline. Whilst we haven’t sung these songs for 12 months, they are easily sung and enjoyed.

Kieran Smith has chosen a mix of Irish and Australian songs for some of his sessions. Everyone seems to be enjoying the Irish songs and it is a good balance that Kieran has struck.

Gwen Barnes has been providing great accompaniment on the piano.

Morning tea has been re introduced with everyone bringing their own cup to fit in with the COVID requirements.
 
We were sorry to hear that Marjory Geeson had a fall at home. However we are pleased to report that Marjory is recovering well. We hope to see her back at singing soon.
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Margaret Jenkins
 

March has seen us become more accustomed to seeing our Singing for Fun and Harmony Groups meet at the Hub at Cooinda. The room is working well. My thanks to Doug Williams and the Hub Committee for all their assistance in getting us going this year at the Hub.

We are enjoying our Singing segments with our new Leader Kieran Smith as well as the segments with Brian Greed and Margaret Merriman.

Thank you to Gwen Barnes for her great work on the piano for both the Singing for Fun and Harmony sessions.

Our Harmony group has attracted some new experienced singers with a total of 25 people attending the Harmony session in March. We hope that our new members enjoy their time with us and become regular members of the group. 

We are starting to have morning tea at all our singing sessions. If you could please bring your own cup with you it would be much appreciated. Tea, coffee, milk, sugar and biscuits are provided.

Our former leader Joyce Borschmann has been away sick for a few weeks. We hope it is not too long before we see you again at Singing Joyce.
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Margaret Jenkins 

We started our Singing sessions in early February with about 25 members meeting in the Hub at Cooinda. The Hub is a great location with good visual access to the Leaders and the pianist by all participating, and adequate parking around the back of the Hub and at the side of it. We do hope that the venue encourages more participants from Cooinda to enjoy our sessions.

At our first meeting one of our Leaders Faith Hicks announced she was stepping down as a Leader after 14 years. Thank you Faith for all the time and effort you have put into both the Singing for Fun and also the Harmony group. We have benefitted from the exercises you have introduced at the beginning of each session, and for your meticulous instruction over the years. We are very pleased that you are remaining as one of the singers, and look forward to seeing you at our sessions for many years to come.

In Faith’s place we welcome Kieran Smith as a new Leader. Kieran has only been with us for a couple of years, and that included our COVID shut down time.  Kieran has a magnificent voice, a jocular manner and stage experience and will make a great Leader.

At that same session Brian Greed started the year with a selection of Seeker’s songs, which are always favourites with the group. Margaret Merriman rounded off the session with “Wandering the King’s Highway” which everyone sung with gusto. Gwen Barnes did a great job on the piano even though she has not played for us for 11 months or so.

We would also like to say Thank You to Trish Roe who has looked after morning tea for the Singing and Harmony groups for many years. Trish is still coming to Singing, and at the moment we are not having morning tea. However, we will need a volunteer to look after morning tea when it recommences.

We would also like to send a Get Well message to Gina Behrens who had an accident on Christmas Eve and Joyce Borschmann who has been in hospital recently. Hope to see you both at Singing soon.
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Margaret Jenkins

It was great to see so many enthusiastic members of Singing for Fun at our Enrolment Days in January.

Our first meeting for 2021 will be next Thursday 4th February 2021 at 10am at the Hub at Cooinda. Please note the change of venue. An Email has been sent to all members who have registered so far indicating that parking is available behind and at the side of the Hub, and also near the exit from Cooinda onto Kilfeera Road.

We are asking members to bring their own bottle of water due to the fact that we will not be serving morning tea at the moment. But there will be the usual 20 minute break for people to have a chat and stretch their legs.

There are a few members who have not put in their Enrolment form to date. Please bring your Enrolment form to the first Singing session, and we will forward it to Len Jeffers. Len has done a fantastic job constructing attendance rolls for the various groups within U3A Benalla.

The Singing for Fun Harmony Group and will be held at the Hub at 10am on the second Thursday morning of the month.

Community Singing will be held at the Hub at 10am on the fourth Thursday of each month.

All welcome. 


Margaret Jenkins

​What a great celebration we had at the Golf Club to mark the end of 2020! Of course not everyone could come, but those who did had a very enjoyable time. It was so good to see you all there, and to actually chat and exchange news while enjoying an excellent lunch.

​Thank you to Bev Lee for dropping in and taking photos which showed how happy we all were on the day!

This is the time of year to say thank you to those who have put in extra effort with our group throughout the year. We did not have many actual meetings but thank you to Gwen Barnes for her excellent work on the piano accompanying us. Whilst the Singing for Fun group may not have met many times this year, Gwen has still been practising to keep her repertoire up to date.

Also thank you to our three conductors Faith Hicks, Brian Greed and Margaret Merriman. Their choice of songs encourages us to keep expanding the songs we are familiar with, and we do appreciate the preparation they put into each of their sessions.

Thank you also to Margaret Howard for her help putting out singing books, Trish and helpers for organising morning tea and Ian for regularly opening up and organising the furniture.

There will be an Email regarding our first meeting in 2021.
 
With best wishes to you all for the New Year.
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Margaret Jenkins 

During November we were saddened to learn of the passing of Gwen Cheetham.

Gwen was one of the original 12 members of Singing for Fun which was started by Joyce Borschmann and held their first meetings in the home of the late Helen Mitchell.

Gwen had a beautiful pure soprano voice and a great love for music. She was a valued member of the Sopranos in both the Singing for Fun and Harmony groups.  It was a known fact that other members of the group liked to sit near Gwen because she would always hit the right notes.

Several members of the Singing Group gathered at the Benalla Cemetery on 24th November to say farewell to Gwen. Our sincere condolences to Rupe at this time. 
 
We have also learnt during the month that Patsy Bollard had a fall at home and needed attention in Benalla Health. Whilst Patsy was relatively cheerful when I visited, she obviously had done considerable damage to her knee, and had a lot of bruising as well.   Patsy is now home and progressing well.

We are having a Singing for Fun lunch to celebrate the end of 2020 on Friday 11th December at 12.15pm at the Benalla Golf Club. Could you please let me know by Wednesday 9th December if you would like to come.

May I take this opportunity to wish you all the best for 2021. We hope to see you in the New Year. Please watch the Website for more news about what is happening in the New Year.
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Margaret Jenkins