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Winding down after a busy year - lunch at the Golf Club!

1/1/2026

 
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Margaret Jenkins

November - many concerts, presentations and thanks...

24/11/2025

 
​Our participation in the U3A Concert on Wednesday 19th November went really well. Thank you to Carmyl, Ross and Kieran for Leading the Singers and also to Gwen for playing for the U3A Concert. Congratulations to everyone who participated – there were lots of very favourable comments about the performance you gave.
We are looking forward to presenting the Concert songs plus some extra songs at Cooinda on Thursday 4th December, at Estia on Thursday 11th December and at Morrie Evans on the afternoon of Thursday 18th December 2025.

Thank you to Deb who will be playing the piano for us at Cooinda and Morrie Evans, and to Gwen for playing at Estia.

We are also singing at the Memorial Gathering at Benalla Health on the afternoon of Tuesday 25th November 2025.

To celebrate the year, Singing for Fun will be having an end of year lunch at the Golf Club on Thursday 11th December 2025 at 12.15pm. This is after the concert at Estia. Please let me know if you can attend by Thursday 4th December.

Singing for Fun have consistently had over 20 members at our Singing mornings throughout 2025.  I would like to thank the Leaders who have chosen the songs, and improved the quality of our performances. Thank you, Kieran, Carmyl, Ross, Margaret, Wendy and Rhonda. We need to say a special thank you to Gwen and Deb for playing the piano for us each week that we meet. I am sure there have been many hours of practice behind the scenes for each pianist. 
​
There are several members who have contributed is many ways to the smooth running of Singing. My thanks to Brian Colman who has set up the chairs before each Thursday morning, and who often rearranges the chairs after our meetings. Thank you to Sue who helps consistently with Morning Tea, and in many other ways too. Thank you to Wendy and her helpers for sorting the books after each meeting and putting them away. And to Rupe and others for the washing up.

What a cohesive and helping group of people we have who enjoy Singing for Fun.

My best wishes to you all for Christmas and the New Year. I look forward to seeing you all again in 2026 and enjoying Singing for Fun with you.

Margaret Jenkins 

Less than two weeks until the concert!

6/11/2025

 

"October has been an interesting month ... "

26/10/2025

 
​​October has been an interesting month for Singing for Fun.  We have watched the renovations that have happened to the Hub at Cooinda.

​For our second meeting of October, we were transferred to the Activities room in the Rossmore section of Cooinda, which was a great meeting room. Thank you to Cooinda for looking after us there for the morning. We found the acoustics of the room very good, with extremely comfortable chairs and a great electronic piano.
​​A big thank you to Cooinda for the morning tea trolley. Many thanks also to Rae for bringing a delicious chocolate slice for morning tea that day.

During October we have had Carmyl, Kieran, Ross, Rhonda, Wendy and Margaret as Leaders. Thank you to Gwen for playing the piano for the first and second Thursdays, and to Deb for playing the piano on the third Thursday.
Some dates for your diary. The Singing for Fun Group have been invited to sing at the annual U3A Benalla concert which will be held in the Auditorium of the Benalla Seniors and Community Centre, 18 Fawkner Drive Benalla on Wednesday 19th November 2025 at 10am. Please arrive at 9.50 am to take your places.

We have been invited to sing at the yearly Memorial Gathering held by Benalla Health at the Mary Treacy Fountain on Tuesday 25th November 2025 at 3.30pm.

We have also been invited to sing at Cooinda for the residents on Thursday 4th December 2025 at 10.30am. Please arrive at 10.20am and enter by the back door near the pond.

Our concert at Estia Health in Thomas Street, Benalla will be on Thursday 11th December 2025 at 10.30am.  Please arrive at 10.20am and enter by the front door.

This year we have also been invited to sing at Morrie Evans at Benalla Health on Thursday 18th December at 1.30pm. Please arrive at 1.20pm and enter by Samaria Road door.
​The next Singing for Fun will be on Thursday 6th November at 10am at the Hub at Cooinda. All Welcome.
​
Margaret Jenkins

September - "Choosing our favourite songs has been popular"

26/9/2025

 
Choosing your favourite song has been popular by our Singing for Fun group in September. We had a session of people choosing their favourite songs at our first meeting in September, and Kieran followed this up at the second session in September due to it being so popular.

We welcomed Rhonda as a Leader at our first session for the month, and she did a great job choosing her favourite songs which everyone seemed to enjoy. Thank you to Kieran, Carmyl, Ross, Rhonda and Margaret for Leading us during the month. Also, many thanks to Gwen for playing the piano for the first two sessions, and to Deb for playing for the third session in September.

Some dates for your diary. The Singing for Fun Group have been invited to sing at the annual U3A Benalla concert which will be held in the Auditorium of the Benalla Seniors and Community Centre, 18 Fawkner Drive Benalla on Wednesday 19th November 2025 at 10am. Please arrive at 9.50am to take your places.

We have been invited to sing at the yearly Memorial Gathering held by Benalla Health at the Mary Treacy Fountain on Tuesday 25th November 2025 at 3.30pm.

We have also been invited to sing at Cooinda for the residents on Thursday 4th December 2025 at 10.30am. Please arrive at 10.20am and enter by the back door near the pond.

Our concert at Estia Health in Thomas Street, Benalla will be on Thursday 11th December 2025 at 10.30am.  Please arrive at 10.20am and enter by the front door.

This year we have also been invited to sing at Morrie Evans at Benalla Health on Thursday 18th December at 1.30pm. Please arrive at 1.20pm and enter by Samaria Road door.

Our next Singing for Fun will be on Thursday 2nd October 2025 at the Hub at Cooinda at 10am. All welcome.


Margaret Jenkins

"August has seen many happy faces at Singing for Fun"

27/8/2025

 
August has seen many happy faces at Singing. Our Leaders do a great job filling in for one another as required.  This month Margaret has been unavailable. However, Wendy has suitably filled in together with Kieran, Carmyl and Ross.

Themes have also been chosen this month. Ross had a “Classical” morning, whilst Wendy has a session “From the Shows”.

Thank you to Gwen for playing for the second session and to Deb for playing for the third session. The first session we changed to Community Singing due to neither pianist being available that day.

Sometimes you get “delightful moments” at Singing. One such moment was when Carmyl wanted to have the song “Christopher Robin is Saying his Prayers”, but it had been removed from the book. So Carmyl recalled that she had sung it as a solo when she was five years old, and was encouraged to give a repeat performance at Singing. Well done, Carmyl!

We welcomed some residents of Cooinda to our third session and they really helped fill the room at The Hub. It is so good to see them regularly coming to join in with us.

The next Singing for Fun will be on Thursday 4th September 2025 at 10am at the Hub at Cooinda. All welcome.


Margaret Jenkins

July - 'A session without a pianist!'

25/7/2025

 
In July we had a session without a pianist. Gwen was indisposed with influenza and Deb was unavailable. However, we managed very well.

Carmyl was used to conducting sessions “a capella” or without a pianist so ran her session very well, even getting us to sing the companion songs “Go Tell It on the Mountain” and “He’s got the Whole World in His Hands”. Kieran was able to play the piano for the songs he chose, and also did very well. Ross had an excellent technique of getting us to hum the first note of the song, and then we started singing. Margaret divided the singers into two groups and chose alternating Nursery Rhymes.

Thank you everyone for the extra effort that morning.

In our third session for the month Kieran chose a group of Irish songs, whilst Ross chose Anthems which included “Advance Australia Fair”, “Jerusalem” and “God Save the King”.

Sue took a great photo of Ross enthusiastically conducting one of these anthems. 

Thanks to Gwen for playing the piano for the first and third sessions of the month.

​Thank you also to both Wendys for bringing slices for the first session. Everyone always enjoys home cooking.

Our next Singing for Fun will be on Thursday 31st July at 10am at the Hub at Cooinda. We are moving this Singing for Fun session to the 31st July due to Gwen being available to play the piano that day. All welcome.  

Margaret Jenkins  

Marlies' Children's Action Songs to sing with  grandchildren

29/6/2025

 
For our first session in June Carmyl arranged for her friend Marlies from Swanpool to visit Singing for Fun. Marlies had a sheet of Children’s Action Songs which she said were beneficial for the development of children’s language. Marlies led us through the sheet of songs and hoped that we would take the sheet home and sing them to our grandchildren or great grandchildren, whatever the case may be.

Thank you to Ross, Wendy D, Kieran, Carmyl and Margaret for leading the group during June. Also, a big thank you to Gwen for playing the piano for us for the first and third sessions and to Deb for playing for the second session.

Ross kept the idea of themes going with one session about ‘precipitation’ and another session with a series of ‘folk songs’ which included “Amazing Grace”. Margaret introduced us to “The Omnibus” a very British song which many of us had not heard before.

Thank you Sue for sharing your birthday cake with the group. We have sung Happy Birthday to several members during June which included Sue, Joan, Wendy D and Gwen. The next meeting of Singing for Fun will be on Thursday 3rd July at 10am at the Hub at Cooinda. All welcome.

​
Margaret Jenkins

May - Singing at Patsy Bollard's Memorial Service, and more

24/5/2025

 
We had some wonderful Singing sessions led by Wendy, Ross, Carmyl, Margaret and Kieran in May. Wendy chose songs about birds for one session, whilst Ross explained to us a little about breathing and singing which was informative. It is great how the Leaders willingly fill in for one another when one of them is away. Thank you, Gwen for playing for our three sessions in May.

On 8th May one of our oldest members, Patsy Bollard passed away. Patsy had been one of the original members of the group of 12 which formed the U3A Singing group 19 years ago. Patsy always enjoyed coming to Singing for Fun, and even a month ago Patsy and her friend Biannca were at Singing.

It was a privilege that the family asked our group to sing at Patsy’s memorial service on Tuesday 20th May 2025.  Thank you to all our members who participated in the service, and to Gwen for playing the piano for the three songs which we sang. The songs were “You’ll Never Walk Alone”, “What a Wonderful World” and “Inanay”
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On the third Thursday of May we had a visit from a part-dachshund dog, who was obviously lost. Thank you, Rhonda for following up on Facebook and giving information to the dog’s owner that resulted in the dog being reunited with its owner later that day.

The next Singing for Fun will be on Thursday 5th June at 10am at the Hub at Cooinda. All welcome.


Margaret Jenkins 

April - Ross's introduction of songs by 'Crooners' and more ...

21/4/2025

 
April has seen most of the Leaders adopting themes for their selection of songs for Singing for Fun. My thanks to Wendy (with a theme of flowers), Carmyl (theme Australian Songs), Ross (themes of TV music and Crooners) and Kieran and Margaret for their leading of the group.

My thanks also to Gwen for playing twice for Singing for Fun during April, and for Deb for playing the piano once.

It was appropriate on our third Thursday we had a series of religious songs which included Amazing Grace, The Holy City and Hallelujah.

Ross explained to the Group about Crooners who he admired, and how their music was often jazzed up a little in the repetition of each song. Everyone seemed very interested in this advice.

We were pleased to see Ian Grace back at Singing. Ian has been in and out of hospital for several weeks, and it was great that he could be with us on the third Thursday.

The next meeting of Singing for Fun will be on Thursday 1st May ay 10am at the Hub at Cooinda.

Margaret Jenkins 

'We welcomed Ross Bootes as a Leader in March'

23/3/2025

 
U3A Singing for Fun has seen several new members join our group in March. We were very pleased to have Maxine Gardiner back and also Max Tilbury. We were thrilled to see Patsy Bollard and Bianca on two Thursday mornings.

We also welcomed Ross Bootes as a Leader in March and were impressed with his interest in the emotion of each song. The first song he chose was “Teddy Bears Picnic” which is something we haven’t tackled as a group for some considerable time.

Our Leaders Kieran, Carmyl, Wendy, Ross and Margaret have been providing us with an interesting selection of songs. Kieran had one morning with a selection of Irish songs to celebrate 17th March. Some of these he played himself on the piano which was a new scenario for us.

Carmyl chose songs from different countries one morning. She is very good at including rounds and companion songs like “Pack up your troubles” and “It’s a long way to Tipperary”.

Thank you to Gwen for playing for two Thursday mornings, and to Deb for playing on the third Thursday.

The next Singing for Fun will be on Thursday 3rd April at 10am at the Hub at Cooinda. All welcome.

​
Margaret Jenkins

We welcomed Wendy as a leader - well done Wendy!

22/2/2025

 
Singing for Fun welcomed six new members in 2025 as well as our loyal members from last year.

During February we had Wendy as a Leader, and she has done an excellent job. The first week she chose songs from around the world, whilst on the second Thursday she chose songs with Love as a theme as it was the day before Valentine’s Day. Well done Wendy.

We also had Kieran, Carmyl and Margaret as Leaders during February. We enjoyed the rounds Carmyl is keen on. What could be better than singing “Kookaburra sits in an old gum tree” in four parts, and all ending at the same time!

Kieran introduced us to a new Irish song “The fields of Athenry” which several members seemed to know. Thank you for printing out the words of this song Kieran and introducing it to us all.

Thank you to Gwen for playing the piano for us on the first two Thursdays, and for Deb for playing on the third Thursday.

Singing has a very caring group of people and thank you to those members who are bringing other members because of whatever reason. It gives so much joy to those whom you are bringing to participate in our singing.

The next Singing for Fun will be on Thursday 6th March at 10am in the Hub at Cooinda.
​
Margaret Jenkins    
 

Singing for Fun enjoying a festive end of year at the Golf Club...

16/12/2024

 
An excellent roll up for Singing for Fun's December breakup at the Golf Club following the morning's concert at Estia Health!  (three slides)
Margaret Jenkins

"You Raise Me Up".... Cooinda concert

11/12/2024

 
Enjoy!
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"This is the time of year to thank members of Singing for Fun"

24/11/2024

 
Congratulations to the Singing for Fun group on their great performance at the U3A Benalla concert on Wednesday 20th November 2024. Thank you to Kieran, Brian and Margaret for the work that you had done with the choir. Also, many thanks to Gwen for her excellent accompaniment on the piano.

This is the time of year to thank all those members of Singing for Fun that have put in “above and beyond”. Thank you to our four conductors Kieran, Carmyl, Brian and Margaret for your choice of songs throughout the year, and for guidance of the group. Also, thank you to Gwen and Deb Saunders for their playing of the piano which has been enjoyed and valued by the group.

Then there are the smaller but also important jobs. Thank you to Deidre for helping with morning tea at the beginning of the year, and to Sue for her assistance since then. To Wendy and her team for putting all the books away each week. To Brian Colman for arranging the chairs many Thursday mornings, and to the guys for putting them back after each session. Also, to Rupe and Carol for tidying up the kitchen each week.

After seventeen years as a Leader of the Singing for Fun Group, Brian Greed is retiring from being a Leader. During that time, he has created many musical arrangements for the group, and has tried to improve the quality of our singing. Some of the memorable “Brian Songs” that we will all remember are “Sweet Caroline”, “Orange Coloured Sky”, “Changing of the Guard”, “Waterloo” and the Seekers Songs. Thank you, Brian for all the preparation you have done for your segments. We are all pleased that you will still be coming to Singing for Fun.

Thank you to those members of the Singing group who participated in the Remembrance Gathering which was held on Tuesday 12th November at Benalla Health. Our singing of “What a Wonderful World” and “Song of Peace – Finlandia” was appropriate and appreciated by the organisers of the gathering.
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​We have two more concerts in December. On Thursday 5th December at 10.30am we visit Cooinda and on Thursday 12th December at 10.30am we visit Estia Health. Our end of year lunch will be held at the Golf Club following the Estia concert.

Hope to see you all in 2025.

Margaret Jenkins

October - "Our concert pieces are coming along well"

22/10/2024

 
Singing for Fun had three great sessions during October. Our concert pieces are coming along well, and our Leaders Kieran, Carmyl, Brian and Margaret also had time for some extra songs which were most enjoyable too.

Carmyl chose two rounds Row, Row, Row your Boat and Kookaburra Sits on the Old Gum tree as part of the third session. The Singing for Fun group, plus some hostel residents of Cooinda enjoyed the four parts of both rounds and the sound was just amazing. Carmyl continued with the companion songs of Pack up Your Troubles and It’s a Long Way to Tipperary which also sounded great and everyone enjoyed the experience.

Thank you to Gwen for playing for the first and third Thursdays, and to Deb for playing for the second Thursday.

The U3A Concert is on Wednesday 20 November 2024 in the Auditorium of the Benalla Seniors Community Centre at 10am. Please be there a few minutes before 10am. You are welcome to bring partners and friends to hear the concert.  

Our Concert for Cooinda hostel residents is on Thursday 5th December 2024 at 10.30am whilst our concert at Estia is on Thursday 12th December 2024 at 10.30am. Once again, please be seated before the concert is to begin. Our Singing end of year celebration is at the Golf Club on Thursday 12th December at 12 noon. Partners are welcome. 


​Margaret Jenkins

September - "A welcome to Cooinda residents, Carmyl's OAM, upcoming end of year events, "thank you's", and more..."

22/9/2024

 
The Singing for Fun members welcomed about 10 Cooinda residents and 4 carers to our singing on the third Thursday of September. One Cooinda resident had a birthday so we sung Happy Birthday to her. We changed our program a little after morning tea. Thank you to Brian for playing The White Cliffs of Dover and lots of songs from of Book 2 which our visitors joined in and really enjoyed. Thank you, Kieran for conducting that portion of the morning.

On the first Thursday in September Carmyl received her OAM at Government House in Melbourne. Thank you to Wendy for taking a Leader role that day. We all enjoyed the songs you chose. The next Thursday Carmyl gave us all an overview of her afternoon at Government House which was extremely interesting and sounded very organised. Congratulations Carmyl on your award.  

The Singing for Fun group is looking forward to the U3A Concert on Wednesday 20 November at 10am in the Auditorium of the Benalla Seniors Community Centre.

The dates for our concerts at Cooinda and Estia have also been arranged. We are singing at Cooinda on Thursday 5th December at 10.30am, and at Estia on Thursday 12th December at 10.30am. An end of year lunch has been booked for the Benalla Golf Club at 12 noon on Thursday 12th December. All welcome. Thank you everyone who has been involved in organising this.

Our Leaders have been doing a great job. Thank you, Kieran, Carmyl, Brian and Margaret. Also, many thanks to Gwen for playing on the first and third Thursdays and to Deb for playing on the second Thursday.

The next Singing for Fun will be on Thursday 3rd October 2024 at 10am at the Hub at Cooinda. All welcome.


Margaret Jenkins 

August  "... another varied month for Singing for Fun"

24/8/2024

 
​August has been another varied month for Singing for Fun.

Our second meeting for the month was at Estia where we sang with the residents of Estia who used their red song books. Thank you to Deb for playing the piano for us, and to Kieran for conducting the songs. It was a happy morning for all concerned. Thank you to Estia for providing us with morning tea at the end of our visit – that was much appreciated by the choir
Photos:  Thank you Sue Dwyer
​Our third week saw Margaret and Carmyl being unavailable. So, thank you to Kieran and Brian for conducting their sessions, and to Kieran for introducing the songs that Carmyl chose for the morning. We were pleased to have Patsy and five residents of Cooinda plus some staff come and visit us and join in for two thirds of the morning. That is a distinct benefit of holding the Singing sessions at the Hub at Cooinda.

Thank you to Gwen for playing for our first and third sessions of the month. Also, thank you to Carmyl, Margaret, Brian and Kieran for their choice of songs for the first week. Thank you, Wendy for the wonderful slice you provided for morning tea that morning. We all enjoyed it.

The next Singing for Fun will be on Thursday 5 September at 10am at the Hub at Cooinda. All welcome.
​
Margaret Jenkins 

"What a varied month we have had in July!"

22/7/2024

 
What a varied month we have had in July! For our first meeting Margaret was enjoying a Ghan trip to Darwin and Brian was unavailable, so we invited Wendy to try her hand at being a Leader. Thank you, Wendy for stepping up to join Kieran and Carmyl for the morning. By the round of applause, it seemed that everyone enjoyed the songs you chose.  Thank you also to Gwen for playing the piano for the group.

Second week Margaret had caught the lurgy and so stayed at home. We had Kieran, Brian and Carmyl plus we welcomed back Deb from her overseas trip as our pianist. We also welcomed back Deidre who has had foot problems for nearly two months. Plus, we enjoyed the slice that Margaret sent along with Max. Thank you Margaret and Max for an enjoyable morning tea.

Third week was our sing out at Cooinda. We would like to thank the staff at Cooinda who were great in helping with our RAT testing and signing in.  Thank you to Kieran for announcing the songs, and encouraging the Cooinda residents to sing with us. Many thanks also to Deb for playing for us, especially for the extra songs Kieran included in the program. Both residents and our singers enjoyed the morning. Well done everyone!

The next Singing for Fun will be on Thursday 1 August at 10am at the Hub at Cooinda. All welcome.

Margaret Jenkins 

'Sharing our singing with both Cooinda and Estia'

29/6/2024

 
For our first two sessions of Singing for Fun for June we had members away at the FCJ “Finding Our Voice” practices which included Kieran, one of our Leaders. Brian was also unavailable for those two weeks, so our thanks to Margaret and Carmyl for running those sessions.

In the third session for the month, we had Kieran and Brian back with us, so we enjoyed a full range of songs. Thank you Gwen for playing for all our sessions.

A big welcome to Elizabeth and Trudi who came on the third week to check us out, and were full of praise for our welcoming group. We hope to see both of you again in the future.

In the past month we have been asked to share our singing with both Cooinda and Estia. After consultation with Cooinda, we will be going there on 18th July at 10.30am to sing with them for an hour or so. Parking will be available near ‘the pond’ and entrance will be by the door at the rear of their community room which is near ‘the pond’. RAT test kits will be given out on 11th July. Please do a RAT test at home, and bring the RAT test with you to show Cooinda staff as you enter.

Singing at Estia in Thomas Street will be on Thursday 8th August at 10.30am. RAT tests will be given out on Thursday 1st August. Please do your RAT test at home and show your completed RAT test to Estia as you enter. 

 
Margaret Jenkins

'Let's Find Our Voice' community choir - Thursday, 13 June 7pm

1/6/2024

 
Singing for Fun members Kieran Smith, Rhonda Ward and Ray O’Shannessy are again participating in ‘Let’s Find Our Voice’, a project which brings community members together with students from FCJ College to form a community choir. The choir practises for eight weeks before performing a concert for everyone involved, ‘bringing joy and connection, and bridging the generations for all who participate’. We are looking forward to seeing Kieran, Ray and Rhonda in this year’s ‘Let’s Find Our Voice’ concert video!

The 'Let's Find our Voice' concert is being held at the FCJ College Marie Madeleine Centre, 52-54 Arundel Street at 7pm on Thursday 13th June.  Adults $10.

"Home cooking is always enjoyed by everyone at morning tea"

24/5/2024

 
We have had three very enjoyable Thursday mornings in May. Lots of great songs from Kieran, Carmyl, Brian and Margaret. Thank you very much for the variety of songs you have all chosen. Also, thank you, Gwen for playing the piano for us on the first and third Thursdays.

On the second Thursday we had Deb playing for us which we enjoyed. We also had a visit from six members of a walking group from Cooinda, plus two supervisors who heard our singing, and decided to come and join us for three quarters of an hour or so. Visitors from Cooinda are always welcome at Singing for Fun, and we hope to see a similar group again in the near future.

Also, thank you to Rae for bringing a slice on the second Thursday. Home cooking is always enjoyed by everyone at morning tea.

On the third Thursday we wished Ray Happy 92nd Birthday by singing at the commencement of our morning. Ray told us that his wife Bernadette had made the chocolate slice which he brought to celebrate his birthday. Thank you, Bernadette for the delicious slice.

We were sorry to hear on the third Thursday that Deidre had a fall near Wangaratta hospital, and had subsequently found that she had broken four toes. Deidre spent a few days in Benalla hospital, and we wish her a speedy recovery and hope she is back with us soon.

The next Singing for Fun will be on Thursday 6th June at 10am at the Hub at Cooinda. All welcome. 


Margaret Jenkins

"Thank you to Gwen and Deb for accompanying the group"

26/4/2024

 
We have had a varied month in April with lots of different songs. Brian re-introduced us to the Abba favourite “Waterloo” which was quite successful. It has some unusual rhythm sequences which the group picked up quite well. 

Margaret supplied us with the words to “Thank Heavens for Little Girls” which she teamed with “I Enjoy Being a Girl” which was a great combination.

Kieran favoured some Irish Songs and also some songs with Anzac themes for the third Thursday, whilst Carmyl had a great variety of songs and also some rounds which she conducts so well.

We had Deb playing for us on the second Thursday which went well. Thank you to Gwen and Deb for accompanying the group.

We appreciate the effort everyone puts into selecting their songs. We also really enjoyed the delicious slice which Rae brought on the first Thursday morning.

The next Singing for Fun will be on Thursday 2nd May at 10am at the Hub at Cooinda.
​
Margaret Jenkins  

Our 'Sing Out' at Cooinda - "Not only did we sing our concert songs, ..., we included some Community Singing"

26/3/2024

 
In the first session of Singing for Fun in March, we revised the concert songs we performed at the end of 2023 in preparation for our 'Sing Out' at Cooinda on the third Thursday in March.

We had Deb Saunders playing the piano for us for the second session, which was the first time Deb had played for the group. Congratulation Deb on a great start with the group. This lady is very organised as well as having wonderful musical ability. We hope that you will be with us Deb for a long time.

On the third Thursday we had our Sing Out at Cooinda, with Gwen Barnes accompanying the singers. We had not been able to visit Cooinda at the end of 2023, and the 30 or so residents and staff really seemed to enjoy our visit. Not only did we sing our concert songs, ably led by Kieran, Brian and Margaret, but we also included some Community Singing led by Carmyl. Thank you to Gwen and all the Leaders for their part in the morning. It was a satisfying morning for all concerned.

The next Singing for Fun will be on Thursday 4th. April at 10am at the Hub at Cooinda. All Welcome.


Margaret Jenkins

A good start, with a concert coming up at Cooinda on 21 March

25/2/2024

 
​Our three Singing for Fun sessions in February started off very well. We had almost 30 members for a couple of sessions, and our Leaders seemed glad to be back with everyone.

Our regular pianist Gwen Barnes played for all three sessions, and in the third session we introduced Deb Saunders to the group. We are extremely pleased to have Deb on board as our assistant pianist.

Kieran started the year with a variety of Australian songs, whilst Brian Greed chose some favourites including Seeker’s songs, and “The Changing of the Guard”.

Carmyl showed that she is the queen of rounds amongst other things. Carmyl is very precise in organising the rounds, and to hear “Kookaburra Sits in an old Gum Tree” in four parts was very impressive.

Margaret chose “On the Road to Mandalay” and “Wandering the King’s Highway” which were sung with great gusto during her sessions.

The U3A Singing for Fun group have been invited to sing at Cooinda on Thursday 21 March at 10.30am. Cooinda was not able to have us for our end of year concert in December 2023, so have invited us to sing there early this year. It will be a mixture of the songs we did for the End of Year concert last year, as well as songs chosen from Cooinda’s Community Song Book.

The next Singing for Fun session will be on Thursday 7th March at 10am at the Hub at Cooinda.


Margaret Jenkins
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    About 'Singing for Fun'

    The only criterion for joining this group is that you like singing.  You do not have to read music. 

    ​We have three or four Leaders who choose the songs, and a pianist who accompanies us on the piano. 

    We sing for fun and we find it a great sharing experience. 

    Convenor

    Picture
    Margaret Jenkins
    ​5762 6944

    Meeting times and venue

    1st, 2nd & 3rd Thursday
    10 am to 12 noon
    ​

    Cooinda Hub
    ​Jean Lee Drive

    Our Community Singing group, which meets on the 4th Thursday,  is also 'for fun!'

    ​'Thank you, Joyce'

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We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we meet and pay our respects to their elders - past, present and emerging.
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