Whilst we are still not able to participate in Singing for Fun, various members of the group have been walking around Benalla doing their shopping or exercising. It has been fun to say hello to Rae and Len who were out riding their bikes, Deidre who was shopping, Keiran walking through the park and Patsy and Hamish who were looking for a book.

Then there have also been the phone calls with lots of people saying hello to each other.

Keiran reminded me (with social distancing) that choirs have been recognised for projecting their voices and possibly spreading droplets as a result. We are so lucky in Benalla that apart from three cases of COVID from returned travellers, we have not had a single case in the last eight weeks.

Let’s hope that this fact will be used in the assessment of when we can return to the Senior’s Facility in Fawckner Drive.

In the meantime stay safe and look after yourselves.
​
Margaret Jenkins
 

We are beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel with the return of children to schools and five people allowed to meet inside. We need to get to the stage of 50 people being able to meet inside before the Benalla Rural City Council are likely to re-open the Seniors Building and Singing for Fun can resume.

What are we going to look like post COVID-19 restrictions? Undoubtedly Singing for Fun will need to remain in the main auditorium as over 25 people are not going to be able to social distance in the current U3A room.

With social distancing still in place morning tea will be difficult to manage. Perhaps it will mean that when we come back, we bring our own small bottle of water so that we can have a break and mingle with social distancing. More on this when available. 

In the meantime, I am sure that we are all be looking forward to the time when we are back in the building and enjoying Singing for Fun, Harmony and Community Singing again.

For now, look after yourselves and stay safe. 
​
Margaret Jenkins

Not much to report for the month of April apart from an experience from a Melbourne friend of mine. She is part of the Open Door Gospel Singers and they are continuing their singing on a Monday evening at 7.30pm in a closed Facebook Group.

You need to apply to join this Group. However, approval seems to happen very quickly. The Leader is Shaun who I am told is a professional conductor. The words appear on the upper portion of the screen whilst the conductor is in the lower section. Shaun seems to handle the accompaniment and the words and keeps the session moving quite well. He also has a very positive attitude.

So if you would enjoy a singing outlet I suggest you have a look at this.  The songs are different to what we are used to. But the session is still enjoyable.

Hope you are all well and keeping yourselves happy and occupied.
​
Margaret Jenkins

We have seen some changes to Singing during the month of March.

During the first week our pianist Gwen Barnes was not able to play for us due to ill health. We saw Faith Hicks playing the piano for Kieran Smith who did a great job introducing us to a medley of Australiana songs. Faith also played for Margaret Merriman, whilst Brian Greed organised and played for his section of the program.

Harmony saw Gwen Barnes back playing the piano which was great.

The second Singing for Fun session for the month saw Faith away and Gwen playing for Kieran. As it was two days after St. Patrick’s Day and Kieran coming from Ireland, we all enjoyed his session of Irish songs, most of which we knew quite well.  Brian Greed and Margaret Merriman chose some old favourite songs for their sections of the program which were also enjoyed. 

We are sorry to learn that one of our long-time members, Gwen Cheetham has been unwell and has been in Wangaratta hospital. We all signed a card for Gwen and hope to see her back with us soon.

During the latter part of March we observed increased spacing of our choir due to the appearance of COVID-19 in Victoria.

On Saturday 21 March 2020 U3A Benalla suspended all groups until the end of the first Semester. Hence there will be no Singing for Fun, Harmony or Community Singing until we receive notification that groups such as ours may recommence.

Our Singing for Fun and Harmony members have been telling us that they would prefer to start at 9.45am instead of 9.30am. This will happen when we recommence in Semester 2.

Margaret Jenkins

February 2020 saw us meeting in the main auditorium of the Senior’s Centre as a trial to see if we were more comfortable in the larger space. We have had a few small problems. However, at the end of the third week we held a vote and there was a two thirds majority of Singing for Fun members in favour of continuing to meet in the main auditorium at 9.30am for both Singing for Fun and Harmony. There have been a variety of comments including that the sound is much better, that we feel less constrained and more relaxed in the larger space.

We have been fortunate to have our three conductors offering to lead the group again this year. A big thank you to Faith Hicks, Brian Greed and Margaret Merriman for their preparation before the group meets each week in choosing songs, and then giving a list of what they want the group to sing to our pianist Gwen Barnes. Our thanks also to Gwen for her continued valued assistance on the piano.

We would also like to thank Gwen who over the holidays increased the size of the cover to fit the piano which was purchased eighteen months ago.

Due to illness Faith Hicks was unable to attend our last two sessions for February. In the last Singing for Fun session we welcomed Kieran Smith as a conductor to the group. Kieran was the soloist at our performances last year and brings a great deal of singing experience to our choir. We hope that he will be able to assist again in the future if needed.

On the fourth Thursday of each month this year we are having a Community Singing session starting at 10am organised by Brian Greed.   Brian ran three very successful Community Singing sessions during January, and we thank him for offering to continue these relaxed sessions once a month during 2020.

Looking forward to seeing you all at 9.30am in the Main Auditorium for the first three Thursdays of the month.
​
Margaret Jenkins 

A reminder that when we resume we will be meeting in the Main Auditorium instead of the U3A Room for our three sessions in February. This is a trial arrangement to see if we are more comfortable in less cramped conditions than in our U3A room. Our sessions on Thursday 6th, 13th and 20th February will commence at 9.30am and run until 11.30am. This time change is to work with the senior’s group who have their Thursday lunch starting at 11.45am.
​
Convenor:     Margaret Jenkins

Congratulations to members of the choir on two great performances at Freemason’s Homes and
Cooinda in the early part of December. Your efforts were warmly appreciated by residents and
visitors and staff of both establishments.

The U3A Singing for Fun group is organised by our three conductors, Faith Hicks, Brian Greed and Margaret Merriman. They do a marvellous job selecting suitable songs for the choir to try, and also for providing guidance to the choir to improve the quality of performances. On behalf of our members I would like to thank the conductors and also Gwen Barnes for her piano accompaniment during the year. Gwen puts in a great deal of practice behind the scenes, and your efforts are really appreciated.

I would also like to thank Trish Roe and her team who do a great job with morning tea each time we meet. Also thank you to Margaret Howard for putting the books away most weeks, and to Ian Grace for opening and closing the room each time we meet, and arranging the chairs for us to sing.  Without these people our group would not run as efficiently as it does.

In January 2020 due to a kind offer by Brian Greed we are running three Community Singing
mornings. These are on Friday 10th, 17th and 24th January 2020 at 10.30am. All Singing for Fun members and also other members of U3A are invited to attend. Each session will have a break for morning tea, and is expected to finish about 11.45am. Please note these Community Singing mornings are scheduled for Friday’s, not Thursday’s as Patchwork is using the U3A room on the Thursday’s.

When we resume Singing for Fun in February 2020 we will be meeting in the Main Auditorium
instead of the U3A Room for our three sessions in February. This is a trial arrangement to see if we are more comfortable in less cramped conditions than in our U3A room. Our sessions on Thursday 6th, 13th and 20th February will commence at 9.30am and run until 11.30am. This time change is to work with the senior’s group who have their Thursday lunch starting at 11.45am.

May I take this opportunity to wish all Singing for Fun members a happy, healthy and enjoyable
2020. Hope to see you all again next year.

Margaret

​Early November was spent refining the songs selected to be sung in the three performances at the end of November and early December.

Meet and Mingle, on November 20th, was the first performance.  Our three leaders, Faith Hicks, Brian Greed and Margaret Merriman led the group through a varied group of numbers with the expert accompaniment of Gwen Barnes.  The songs ranged from bright, breezy numbers such as “Mexican Hat” and “I’m Gonna Knock on Your Door”, to quirky numbers such as the “Flick Jingle” and “High Hopes”.  Others such as “Irish Lullaby” and “The Holy City” were sung with emotion and feeling.

A bonus, which was a surprise for the audience, was to hear our newest member Kieran Smith perform “Exodus” superbly.  He was so well received that he was persuaded to do an encore - a moving performance of “Danny Boy” much to everyone’s delight.

​The next performance is on Thursday 5th December at the Royal Freemasons 107 Thomas Street at 10.00am.

The final performance will be on Thursday 12th December at Cooinda at 10.30am.  This performance will be followed by lunch at Benalla Golf Club at 12.00 for those who have put their names in.
​
Rae Jeffers