Members Access to Course List
Members Access to Course List
Enrol here

President’s Message June 2018
Old Age is the most unexpected thing that can happen to anyone

This is so true.  I was at a family gathering recently and was amazed that the little tots I remember are now handsome and beautiful teenagers. How did that happen?  I used to feel sorry for my grandparents sitting quietly in a corner and seemingly missing out on all the chat.  Now I really enjoy sitting in the corner and keeping an eye on all the activity.

When I married I could not imagine being 30 let alone over 70.  We just cannot comprehend that this will happens.  All of us look at our friends or partners and the mirror and are amazed at the changes which have crept over us all.   However, no one told me that it is possible to enjoy older age so much.  Of course we are a bit creaky but we can truly enjoy a new baby’s laughter and a toddler’s unfailing energy at play.  We fully appreciate the passing seasons and the beautiful views we have in Tasmania.

As teenagers we worried about personal characteristics we considered as shortcomings without realizing our young perfection.  Now I understand that my friends with their experience imprinted faces are truly beautiful.  Teenagers and babies are exquisitely ravishing beyond description.

Another advantage is that people help you.  At 50 we become invisible (women especially) in queues.  Now as elders we often receive attention and help.

Don’t give up your dreams
Just sleep longer

Jocelyn
president@u3aclarence.com

News
TMAG Outings
We have arranged two conducted tours of TMAG’s special collections. I can recommend their café for morning tea and they have fabulous sandwiches.  There will be booking sheets for names and more details on the notice board in Room 6.  Cost is $5.
Thursday July 5th 10.30 to 11.30        Colonial History Galleries
Thursday July 19th10.30 to 11.30       Tasmanian Earth and Life, Thylacine, Islands to Ice
As a coincidence, there is also a special exhibition of the work of Lola Green, the first Aboriginal to be named a National Living Treasure.  She is a shell necklace artist and exhibits the traditional art of indigenous women of Tasmania’s Flinders Island and Cape Barren.  Well worth a diversion at the end of your tour.
Quiz afternoon
Thursday August 9 at the Howrah Recreational Centre 1-3pm.  This is always a fun event and a pleasant afternoon tea. Cost will still be $10.
Anniversary Booklet
Proudly supported by Clarence City Council’s Community Grants Scheme

Clarence City Council has given us a generous Community Grant to offset some of the costs of publication of our Anniversary Booklet.  This will allow us to sell the booklet for $10.
You have until 30 June to submit your pithy paragraph, pertinent poem or piece of punchy prose to be included.  Email contributions to Patricia Corby ppatriciacorby@gmail.com   A box for entries is on the table in room 6.  Details are on our notice board in room 6.

[et_pb_section bb_built="1"][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type="4_4"][et_pb_text _builder_version="3.17.6" custom_padding="|10px||10px"]

The University of the Third Age Clarence (U3AClarence) has been providing quality courses and activities for the residents of Clarence and beyond for 25 Years.

The original concept of U3A was to extend the intellectual learning life of older individuals. U3A Clarence does this and more with a varied program of lectures and other activities.

There are no defined age requirements but is usually most suitable for those 50 to 55 and older. Some of our members are over 80 and still enjoy interesting activities with like minded people in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

Unlike universities for the young there are no exams and no previous knowledge of the subject matter is required. All are welcome regardless of educational level, past occupations, and backgrounds.

There no competitive components, except perhaps in Mah-jong and chess. We get together to exercise our minds and bodies at entirely our own pace, with co-operative and mutually supportive other members.

Our varied activities cover lectures and discussion groups on geography, science, history, art and issues of topical interest. For our physical wellbeing we have Tai Chi, circle dancing, yoga and line dancing. During the year we also organise social activities such as a trivia afternoon and visits to places of interest.

Rosny Library (LINC) is our meeting place which is well appointed, warm and convenient. We are run entirely by volunteer members which is why we can keep our annual subscription to $45 to cover essentials. Subscription and enrolment forms are available on other pages of this website.

Our current program is now available and is as varied as usual. I am sure there is something of interest for both our long term members and newcomers.

New members receive a warm and comfortable welcome. You may choose to simply attend the sessions you are interested in. But we hope you will join us for morning tea in Room 6 at 10.30 am.

I look forward to meeting you soon

Jocelyn Head

Honorary President U3A Clarence

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

MY nominee For The NOBEL PEACE PRIZE

The person, whom within MY lifetime, has done more for Peace and the preservation of good Literature in my lounge room, is the inventor of the MUTE BUTTON.

Eugene Polley of the Zenith Radio Corporation is credited with creating the first wireless TV remote that could turn off the sound. The marvellous invention came into being in 1995. Yes, that recently, only 22 years ago.

He did receive the Technology & Engineering Emmy Award (1997); IEEE Consumer Electronics Award (2009).

Unfortunately, this genius passed away in 2012 at the age of 96. This makes him ineligible as the prohibition of posthumous awards fails to recognise achievements by an individual who dies before the prize is awarded.

So, next best thing to do is to confer a Saint Hood, as this is an obvious miracle, witnessed by and of benefit to billions around the world.

FC Mickey Benefiel

Looking back from 20 years in the future

You are only 5 minutes late, don't get so bothered about a little delay.

I can remember when people had to line up for hours just to get on one of those big cramped, noisy aeroplanes in order to go from Hobart to Sydney. Then it took well over an hour to get there!

No Quick Cabs in those days. Everything was sub-sonic. Of course they used petrol driven jet engines back then and they had severe limitations on speed and weight, so they just crammed all the people they could into a plane and only went from one airfield to another. Oh, how I hated waiting for the suitcase to come off the plane and out on the conveyor belt, before I could even get out of the airport.

No door to door at all ! You had to take a cab or a rent a car to get to where you actually wanted to go. Now when I want to visit my son in Helensburgh, they put me down on the footpath right in front of the house, and my luggage as well.

And of course the high speed underwater ferries didn't even exist! I don't think anyone had even thought of such things back then. Hydrogen powered locomotion and aqua dynamics engineering have made a huge difference to all forms of transport, but especially getting back and forth to England or Canada. It took Jet aircraft 12 hours just to get from Perth to Cape town! Can you imagine, sitting in a chair for 12 hours!

Back then just about everyone drove cars. There were just as many idiots in the world then, so you can imagine how dangerous it was. Now when you call for a pickup to go visiting or for an outing, it may take a few minutes for the transporter to arrive; but they have progressed tremendously since they got the trucks off the transways. Used to call them roads in the old days, before they put everything underground.

So settle down in the recliner there and have a cold beer. Fortunately, some things never change.

Mickey Benefiel

Where the Wind Comes From

A storey for Fia

A little girl named Fia sat watching the leaves being swirled in the air by a Dust Devil when her Grandfather came and sat beside her. "you look very thoughtful, what are you thinking about?", asked the old man.

"Where does the wind come from, grandpa?" said the girl, squinting to keep the dust from his eyes. "And why does it make such a mess?", she continued.

"Mother Nature owns the wind, but she doesn't always do a good job of making it behave. Some days it just gets out of hand and runs wild."

Pointing to the sky Fia asked, "Does it blow the clouds around too?" They watched the thin layer of scratchy cloud, strung out in long streamers across the horizon.

"Sometimes it does, other times the clouds and the wind are just playing chasings."

"Does the wind make it rain?"

"Oh no. The clouds own the rain, and the wind is jealous about that. Sometimes they don't get on very well at all, the wind and the clouds. The wind will make the clouds angry and that's when they get all dark and cover the sun. If the wind gets too pushy the clouds throw rain and roar with thunder and lightning to try and scare it off, but the wind just keeps on blowing and that's when we get bad storms."

Fia frowned. “The wind is always bad!”

No, wind makes peoples windmills work and sailors are always needing the wind to make their yachts go. Sometimes the wind cools the land after a real hot day, but that's when it just puffs up a breeze. It dries the washing on the clothes lines and helps you fly your kite. The wind can be really good when it wants to. It just doesn’t try very often."

They sat in silence for while, thinking about the wind and clouds, then Fia looked very seriously at her grandfather and said "when I act bad mum makes me stay in doors and I can't go out and play. I wish I was the wind, then I could do whatever I wanted to, and no body could boss me around."

"Now don't get me wrong dear, the wind doesn't always get it's own way. Mum Nature has her own punishments she hands out. She gets angry and makes the wind spend days out blowing the water into waves. Hard work that. Then another time she gets cranky with the clouds and makes them SO cold, that the rain freezes into ice and snow and the clouds can't hang onto it and they dry out, loose their thunder and lighting and sometimes just turn into fog."

"Wind can be real cold too", said Fia. "Does she cause that as well? Because I don't like it when it gets real cold."

"yes she does, but to make up for that she lets us have the fire place to get warm again. She owns fire too."

Hello to the Animals in my Garden

I am sitting in my small secluded back garden, the air around me is redolent with the perfume of roses, the trees and shrubs sway in a light breeze. I am watching the tiny silvereye birds joyfully playing in a terracotta bird-bath which I had just filled with freshwater. It stands between two rose bushes, which give a protective cover and an escape route from marauding cats or bossy larger birds. The birds are like small children at the seaside, jumping in and out of the shallow water. This is repeated many times.

I speak to them softly, "Go on my pretties, enjoy yourselves."

As long as I don’t move they continue to bathe and drink the water. The sun catches their shiny olive-green backs and wings as the drops of water sparkle on them.

Another day, same place, I heard a rustle from the dry leaves that had fallen from the magnolia tree, my most prized garden plant. I sat still, listening intently, leaning forward to try to see what animal was disturbing the leaf litter. A glistening scaly head, beautifully patterned in amazing geometric precision, appeared. "A snake," I thought, getting ready to jump on the garden seat.

I couldn't take my eyes away from the beautiful creature. I sat very still as it crunched and crackled its way through the dried leaves. About sixteen inches were visible now. A sigh of relief escaped me when a small leg and foot appeared. It was a wonderful blue-tongued lizard! The biggest I have ever seen.

"You are welcome to my garden," I said, "and to the snails as well."

The most frequent four-footed visitor to my garden is a small wallaby. She is a female because she was pregnant last year. and now she is quite slim, although I never did see a joey. She’s a quiet little thing, she stands and listens to me as I speak in a gentle even tone. She will sit and listen, unmoving, as I talk to her about the weather, or pruning the roses. I haven’t got a dog, so its nice to have this uncritical, quiet little companion. She sits about ten feet away from me but if I make a sudden move she turns and quickly hides in the shrubbery. But still she comes back again and again. She poos a bit but I don’t care. I like her tranquil company and she loves my garden. I think she likes me too!

Bev

I have come to the borders of sleep,

Yet my eyes will not close.

I am wondering why.

Was it what I ate tonight?

I’m wondering.

Or the wine that I drank;

Or perhaps the heat of the day

Which has continued till now.

I’m wondering. Why?

Is it the warmth of the body

Now slumbering next to my own?

Or the beams of bright light

Filtering through to my face

From the round golden Moon

Which I’ve watched half the night

As the eclipse passed mysteriously by.

I’m wondering why.

Or maybe, just maybe,

twas the movie we watched:

a classic whodunit, but gory and bloody

and full of strange spirits.

We both were excited, but scared just the same.

I’m still not asleep and I’ve counted more sheep;

Done deep respirations and tried to relax

But still I’m not sleeping

And wondering why.

We put out the light and turned off the cat

So why am I bothering any more about that?

And now it is raining, a little at first,

And now there is more and the wind’s getting up

And keeping me wakeful

The more I ignore it.

We’re away in the morning - a holiday trip;

Our bags ready-packed, await in the hall,

But now I’m remembering, now wide awake,

I should take a towel and my swimmers forgotten.

Need some more money; there’s never enough.

Won’t worry right now cos I’m trying to sleep.

Will the taxi come early? Or late?

We’ll need to have breakfast

And time to wash up.

The sheets are all ruffled,

The doonah too heavy,

It’s no wonder I’m restless

Yet bordering on sleep.

BUT I CAN’T !

I can’t . . . I can’t . . .

The clock . . . says . . . three . . .

Three . . . I forgot . . . forget . . .

For . . . ever . . . and . . . ever . . .

Aa . . .m . . .en . . .

Colin

“Mum, Mum, wait till you see this!”
The girl was hard to see in the darkness: a vague silhouette, slithering over
piles of rotting rubbish, fruit, vegetables and other unsold and out-of-date
foodstuff. Behind the shopping centre a yard was enclosed by a brick wall,
high, but not high enough to stop determined scavengers bunking up and over
to look for anything which might fill an empty belly.
Lily was always hungry. There never seemed to be enough money for food.
What did Mum do with it, she wondered. Smokes? Drink? Pokies? She could
not be sure but they both did this nightly round of the grocery chuck outs.
Her hands slipped over more rotten fruit: bananas oozing from split skins;
apples, some still firm, most slimy and not worth a second touch, oranges
covered in films of mould; mushy plums, apricots, grapes getting pongy,
squashed tomatoes: a jumble of stale bread rolls, cream buns, tacky glazed
icing, crumpets, doughy muffins, smashed cream cakes. Lily’s fingers dipped
in and out of her mouth: the taste was good but it was too dark to see what
she was eating.
A rat scurried away.
Her hand fingered inside a fibre carton: packets of something unopened,
several of them. She pulled one out in front of her face. “Hey Mum, come
over,” a loud but muffled whisper, “wait till you see what I got.”
Her mother, a formless shadow slid around the jumbled garbage. “What is it
then? What yer got?”
“Doughnuts, packets of ’em. They’re in boxes like this. I seen ’em in the shop.
Cor. I love doughnuts.”
“OK, put ’em in the bag. We’d better be orf ’fore security comes round.”
“I got a few rolls as well.”
“OK, that’ll do us dinner. Come on.”
“Mum, how come all this food don’t get sold in the shops?”
“Dunno luv. Waste, ain’t it.
ColinW

Is this an apple which I see before me?
Come, let me behold thee.
’Tis shapen like an apple red
yet hath these shining russet yellow streaks all round.
’Tis small, yet light upon my hand,
with tiny broken stalk upon its upward face.
’Tis like a cherry – larger – yet not so sweet;
with juice, ’tis crisp and crunchy to the bite,
a taste like fallen honey drops,
sharp to my teeth, sweet to my tongue,
rapture to my nose, with flavour rich and joyful;
and cheerful sound unto my ears.
This gentle longing to have thee whole,
at once, as favourite love-bites on my lips.
Oh, wondrous fruit, how blest thou art.
Thy skin, though firm doth still resist my ardent bite
yet longeth to be with me – as any lover might –
to satisfy my hungry need.
I love thee still,
thy inner flesh so firm, so white,
so pure within and true.
I love thee, all of thee.
Resist me not, my love is sure
And will be till I’ve eaten all of you!
Colin

 

A helping hand

Everyone needs a helping hand sometimes. Babies, of course, need constant care. As we grow we pride ourselves on our competence and independence but still help is welcomed at times (including old ladies being helped across the street by boy scouts, even if they don’t want to go!)

There is an Arab saying to the following effect: “Do not thank me for the assistance or gift I give you, instead do a favour for 7 other people.” The size of the assistance is immaterial; it is expected to be in line with the resources of the giver and the need of the recipient. Thus it may be a pat on the back for commiseration, helping carry a parcel or a major undertaking on the assister’s behalf. Wouldn’t the world be a better place if we could all follow this proverb?

Members of U3A contribute to our organisation as members or past members of the committee, part of the set up crew, washer uppers and morning tea volunteers and in many other ways. This year we seem to have a small army of people helping with the anniversary celebrations in some way or another.

Many of our members also volunteer for charitable organisations or are on committees for other organisations. Of course many of us care for older or sick family members. We often assist our children to bring up our grandchildren and give them our support where possible.

Sometimes all the help needed is a sympathetic smile, a listening ear, a hug or offering the help we are able to give. We respect their refusal of help accepting that this may not be what is needed.

The good wishes of friends and acquaintances can be a good support. When I was ill last year our Committee did most of my work for months. But I was surprised by the boost that the good wishes of all of you made to my getting through the days.

I joined U3A for the lectures and activities and still that is the prime reason I attend, but I am proud to be a colleague of such caring and helpful people as we have in our membership.

Jocelyn Head

Honorary President of U3A Clarence

Clarence City Council
We'd like to thank Clarence City Council for their support via a Community Support Grant.