Newsletter No. 49 - December 2020/January 2021
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE GENERAL MEETING WILL BE HELD ON ZOOM AT 10.30AM NEXT WEDNESDAY 27th JANUARY

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President's Report

President’s Report – January
It was fantastic to see over eighty members at the Christmas party. We were able to catch up with all of our friends and enjoy a great afternoon. The food was good, the venue excellent and it demonstrates how difficult it has been over the past twelve months to be separated from all of our Probus family. Thank you Enio for organising the day.

Unfortunately the rules have changed again and we will have to have our January meeting via Zoom. It just doesn’t compare to a face to face meeting.

Everyone needs to think about whether they would like to be involved in the running of the club by becoming a Committee member. The AGM and elections are coming up in March, and in the next six weeks we are seeking nominations for committee positions. Position details and nomination forms will be emailed shortly. If you prefer you can nominate as a backup for a position, which will provide an opportunity to understand the requirements and responsibilities associated with the role.

Along with the end of our financial year, In March/April we will be asking for annual membership fees. One benefit of Covid is that our expenses for the past twelve months have been lower than usual. As a result the fees for the next twelve months will be significantly reduced.

Hopefully in the coming year we can all start to get involved again, and enjoy the many activities that the club offers.

Until then, I will see you on Zoom.

Regards

Bob Carritt

Secretarial

Correspondence In

None.

Correspondence Out

None

Bev Dona

Details of the Probus Member Benefit Scheme are at: www.probussouthpacific.org/pages/members_offers_member_benefits_scheme
(click on link)

Treasurer

TREASURER’S REPORT                                               For the Month of January 2021

GENERAL ACCOUNT
Opening cash balance 1st January2021               $3617.78
Interest                                                                    0.03
Deposits                                                                     -
Expenses                                                                    -
Closing cash balance 31st January2021          $3617.81

ACTIVITIES ACCOUNT
Opening cash balance 1st January2021            $22213.08
Interest                                                                      1.03
Deposits                                                                  500.00   Bright payment
Payments                                                                     -
Closing cash balance 31st January2021         $22714.11

Additional deposits were received for Bright.

There were three activities open at the end of the month:

Activity                                              Balance
Bright                                                 22500.00
Frozen                                                    207.00
Christmas lunch                                 (214.93) To be subsidised by transfer from General Account
                                                       $22192.07
Add:
Interest received                               22.04
Activities surplus                                     -
Bank balance                               $22514.11

TERM DEPOSIT
$5,000 is invested in a Term Deposit with Bendigo Bank at an interest rate of 1.0%. To date interest is estimated to be $27.07.

INTEREST
For the year to date, we have received $22.04 in interest in total from the general and activities accounts.

ACTIVITY SURPLUS
As mentioned last month, the Management Committee decided that the Christmas lunch would be subsidised to $10.00 per attendee - $830.00 in total. This amount has been made up by using the Activity Surplus ($614.98) and a make-up subsidy of $214.93 from the General Account. This amount is yet to be transferred to the Activities Account.

Ian Roberts
Treasurer
19th January 2021

Membership

Just a reminder of our Club policies for attendance at meetings and activities.

Members are expected to attend a minimum of 10 functions (meetings and/or activities) per Probus year (April to March).
Visitors may only attend a maximum of 3 functions (meetings and/or activities) per Probus year.

Our membership is currently full, at the agreed maximum of 110.

Jeff Swan – Membership Officer

Welfare

Welfare Report December 2020/January 2021

Alls well with welfare!

Cathy

Cathy Turner & Terry Ridge – Welfare Officers

September Meeting Speaker - How to Wake Up your Ear and Brain ~ Vitality with Sound Therapy

Rafaele Joudry MSc (Psych.)

Author, international keynote speaker and founder of
Sound Therapy International, Rafaele Joudry has dedicated her life to helping people
overcome auditory problems and enhance their lives through better ear and brain health.

She pioneered the first portable Sound Therapy program in Australia in 1989, enabling individuals to improve ear function and brain integration, relieve tinnitus, and enhance hearing, learning and brain performance.

Rafaele has a background in social work and community education and holds a
Masters of Psychology specializing in Sound Therapy. She has toured Australia,
Europe & the USA to educate about the impact of sound upon our health.

She has authored dozens of articles plus three best-selling books: Sound Therapy: Music to Recharge Your Brain, Triumph Over Tinnitus and Why Aren't I Learning?

Since 1989, Rafaele has given hundreds of radio and TV appearances and has spoken to over 200 community and professional groups and conferences.

To learn more about Sound Therapy visit www.mysoundtherapy.com

Photos From November Meeting

Birthday Celebrations

Happy Birthday
To all our members
Celebrating a birthday in December 2020 & January 2021

December

HelenBeutler
SueCalabrese
JoanCram
RobertDavison
ChristineHeaton
LynneHenderson
GlenysHendry
KaijaLam
RobinPalmer
BarbaraTyas

January

JanByrne
WendyCarritt
RosemaryClarke
TonyCoote
SueCordukes
HelenDonnelly
FloraKortlepel
KathyLewis
MargaretMcGowan
CawasSahukar
ManjaSheiles
PeterStanton
BarryWailes

Photos From Christmas Party Wednesday 16th December

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE GENERAL MEETING WILL BE HELD ON ZOOM AT

10.30AM NEXT WEDNESDAY 27th January.

Zoom login details, including Meeting ID & Password have been emailed by Rob Clarke to all members.

If you want help in installing Zoom please let Andrew Little or Rob Clarke know.

Make sure you turn on your video. We ask you not to turn on your audio (ie MUTE AUDIO) as having to many people on audio makes it impossible for anyone to hear anything.

Bright trip - 20 to 28 April 2021

We have 56 confirmed travellers, and we have some people on the waiting list. It looks like we are all itching to get away to this fabulous part of the world.

I would like to thank the committee for all the hard work putting this trip together:
Ken Smith has had a difficult job in finding the accommodation, this has been particularly difficult with changing numbers and changing Covid-19 restrictions in Victoria. A number of the motels we have booked closed down for some months. Ken has also worked on finding places for dinner as in some towns there are very few options.
Max Henderson has personally worked with individuals on car pooling so that we can all travel on this trip.
Ken and Kathy Lewis being locals in Bright have been able to put the information packs together and book venues as we are in Bright over the autumn festival.
Andrew Little has had the unenviable task of working on the activities to Bright. This has been made complex due to places not operating due to Covid – 19 and road closures that still exist following the bush fires last year. At this stage some of the roads we want to use are still closed.
Ian Roberts has made sure that every dollar is tracked by individual.

Itinerary

Our itinerary remains unchanged however the route may change due to the road restrictions, we have been advised the roads should open on Q1 this year. If not, we have worked out another route so do not be concerned.

Meeting February 2

We were to have a meeting at the Clarke’s residence on February 2. This will now take place via Zoom (a Zoom invitation will be sent). The reason for this is the Covid 19 restrictions of 5 per household and unfortunately I have to travel to Queensland for personal reasons. To do this Rosemary and I need to quarantine in norther NSW for two weeks.

Information Packs on Bright
Ken and Kathy have put together a great information pack that is being distributed, one per household. If you have not picked up yours yet please call Rob Clarke to arrange a collection.

As everyone wants to have lunch at the Gapsted winery this is one activity we will all go to. We will be in under a marque facing the vineyard.

At the February 2 meeting we would like some feed back on what you would like to do on this trip. The photography group has indicated they would like to get up at the crack of dawn (well some of them!) to take some photos in iconic places. This is open to every traveller. One of these locations are the disused truss bridges at Gundagai.

During our trip we will be providing options for you each day and it will be up to you to undertake the activity. In this way it allows people to do what they are interested in doing. This will be discussed in more detail at our February 2 meeting.
Other locations we are considering are Wallace’s Hut and the Bogong High Plains

Accommodation
Please note that the accommodation is country NSW and Victoria motel standard. There are no 4 or 5 star resorts in these locations.

Trip Costs
The final tranche will be due in early March and will be approximately $250 per head. We may add the winery lunch to the tranche as everyone wants to go to this lunch, it will make the payment to the winery easier.
Note funds contributed will only pay for the accommodation and some breakfasts. You will still need to purchase lunch, dinner, drinks and entry fees if applicable.
If you have any questions on this trip please do not hesitate to call me or contact me by email.

Rob Clarke

Hand Made – Fully Washable - Triple Layer Face Masks

To our members we are currently selling masks at a reduced price of $5.00.

As many of you know, Wendy Carritt and Anne Sharpe have been making masks for the Rotary Club of West Pennant Hills & Cherrybrook to sell, with all proceeds going to support their charity projects. They are all machine washable, three layered (includes a filter layer) in a variety of colours, plain & patterns to suit everyone.

If you wish to purchase any please contact me.

Beverley Davison

Activities & Leaders

As a result of the sign-up sheets at the Foundation Meeting and expressions of interest on application forms we have set up numerous activities and interest groups.

Newsletter Copy Deadline

There will be no newsletter published in December.

A combined December/January newsletter will be published in February 2021.

Please provide your contributions for the combined Newsletter by Friday 12th February.

Please email to Enio Dona or Bev Davison for activities or direct to Andrew Little for other articles.

Alternatively place directly into Dropbox under WPHD Probus Activities / Activity Newsletter Contributions / Contributions – 2021 02

Activities List

Click on activity to go straight there!

Book Challenge

📚 Here Comes the Sun Challenge📚

This Challenge will run from September 2020 to February 2021.
Just search Facebook for WPH&D Book Challenge to join us.

One month to go in this challenge and wow!!! we’ve reached 31 books so far. Some very enjoyable ones too.
Gogo Mama by Sally Sara – a very interesting and at times very sad book club read about Sara’s journey into the lives of twelve African women. We didn’t like all the stories and at times you are left with great unease about the way people can treat each other in the name of power and survival.
Bring up the Bodies – Hilary Mantel – the second in the Wolf Hall series, focusing on Henry VIII’s 2nd wife Anne. A real eye opener into how fragile your standing was in those days. Cruelty, behind the back scheming, misogamy, selfishness, childishness – it’s all there. Interesting description of how Anne’s Ladys-in-waiting had to handle the beheading – one even had to accept the bloodied head into her hands and to then lay it beside the body.
Where the Crawdads Sing: by Delia Owens – an interesting read with an unexpected twist in the final pages. A combination of murder mystery, lush nature writing, romance and a coming-of-age story.
Good Girl Bad Girl: by Michael Robotham – Keeps you constantly engaged with lots of twists and turns – physiological investigations with a minor dark side. Hard to put down.
Leonardo da Vinci: by Kathleen Krull – part of the series Giants of Science. The focus is on his scientific investigations rather than his art. Not fully recognised in his time, but still a true genius despite being an illegitimate, left-handed, homosexual, anti-war vegetarian.
The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel – the final book in the Wolf Hall Trilogy. Henry VIII’s world is very fickle – Henry remains but Cromwell doesn’t. A very uncertain time, but then every age has its uncertainties.
The Life-changing Magic of Tidying: by Marie Kondo – very slow to start as she goes on interminably about her progress to becoming the queen of the tidy home. When she settled into the method it was much more readable. I was inspired to clear out 8 large garbage bags from one cupboard to take to the Thornleigh Recycle centre.
I Owe You One: by Sophie Kinsella – enjoyable but a bit predictable. The usual girl meets boy story with all the angst that goes with it. A light read after so many darker reads.
A Casual Vacancy: by J.K. Rowling – definitely not in the Harry Potter vein. Enjoyable in parts but very raw and confronting in others. You can see that J.K has lived very close to this kind of life where you just don’t know what goes on behind closed doors. Incredible insights into the mind of teenage kids struggling to cope with finding their place in the world too. Another book club read.
The Erratics: by Vicki Laveau-Harvie – a memoir of a dis-functional family – a toxic mother/daughters’ relationship. Two sisters have a very short window to save their father from their mother’s often irrational manipulations and lies that she used to isolate themselves from the outside world. Interesting coping mechanisms when you blot out some very confronting memories to save yourself.
Dannii Minogue – My Story: biography of Dannii’s life giving insight into the spasmodic nature of music/artistic work and lifestyle.
The Sunday Lunch Club: by Juliet Ashton – an easy reading feel-good story of family relationships. A little utopian in parts but well written and enjoyable.

Sue Calabrese

Activity Group	Leaders
Book Challenge	Sue Calabrese
Book Club	Bev Davison
Bridge	Rob Clarke
Cards	David Turner, Barbara Taylor
Cycling	Bruce Bartle
Day Trips (Bus/Train/Ferry)	Helen Games
Dining Out	Wendy Carritt
Domestic Travel	Max Henderson
Gardening	Sue Small, Lorenza Powyer
Golf	Terry Ridge
Investment Group	David Antonjuk
Mens Club	Rene Beutler
Mixed Social Group	Kim Nicholls
Movies	Sue Small and Lorenza Powyer
Overseas Travel	Looking For Leader
Photography	Rob Clarke
Ten Pin Bowling	Douglas Matthews
Tennis	Bob Davison
Theatre and Musicals	Bruce Bartle
Walking Group	Bob Carritt & Enio Dona
Wine & Cheese	Julie Shenstone, Susan Antonjuk

For an activity group to start, a member needs to step forward to lead the group

Newsletter

Newsletter No. 49 - December 2020/January 2021PLEASE NOTE THAT THE GENERAL MEETING WILL BE HELD ON ZOOM AT 10.30AM NEXT WEDNESDAY 27th JANUARY