1

U3A North Gold Coast Inc. Member of U3A Network Queensland

July 2017

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Dates for your Diary:

Wednesday July 12

Seniors Expo Runaway Bay

Indoor Basketball Stadium

Friday August 25 Our Choir gives a special

“Seniors’ Week” performance at

Runaway Bay Library

Friday August 25 Seniors’ Week Cocktail party

at the HUB

U3A NORTH GOLD COAST INC LABRADOR COMMUNITY HUB 57 Billington St, Labrador Phone: 5529 0583 RECEPTION Normal hours 9.00am to 3.00pm Monday to Friday during term Phone: 5529 0583 E-Mail: secretary@u3anorthgc.com Website: www.u3anorthgc.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/U3ANGC CORRESPONDENCE: PO Box 1226 RUNAWAY BAY, Qld. 4216

target at the moment.

A few weeks ago, you will have received the first of our rather great looking

“MailChimp” bulk emails, advising of the midyear luncheon that took place

at Solace Restaurant on June 23. I have to say that our first new bulk email

marketing campaign was a great success; 71 members attended the lunch

and regrettably we had to refuse a number of late registrants.

Then the second phase of our “Mail Chimp’ marketing campaign saw our

June newsletter go into your email inbox. I hope you all agree that the new

style was very exciting. Tell me, did you like the format of the class

descriptions? There’ll be more of that to come as we move forward.

An analysis of the first two "MailChimp" campaigns has highlighted some

interesting information. Our membership records show that we have

approximately 500 member emails registered in our database, but only

approximately 60% [300] of those members have received both

"MailChimp" campaigns; meaning that it appears that 40% of our email

database is possibly not aware of the marketing changes that we are

currently initiating.

Is there an answer to this? Possibly several:

• A member with an email address never opens their emails

• The member only periodically delves into their inbox

• the emails were inadvertently deleted by the recipient

• The emails received were treated as Junk or Spam and deleted

unopened – only the member can fix this issue

Dear members

Welcome to July – a little rain; a little cooler and who

can’t wait for those warm summer months?

You’ll recall last month, I mentioned about the U3A

software changes that were about to take place. Well, I’m

pleased to say that they have started and we’re right on

we’re right on target at the moment.

A few weeks ago you will have received the first of our

rather great looking “MailChimp” bulk emails, advising

of the midyear luncheon that took place at Solace

Restaurant on June 23. I have to say that our first new

bulk email marketing campaign was a great success; 71

members attended the lunch and regrettably we had to

refuse a number of late registrants.

2

U3A North Gold Coast acknowledges the

assistance given by Verity Barton, State

Member for the Broadwater and her staff

in the printing of the newsletter.

MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE 2017 - 2018

EXECUTIVE

PRESIDENT: JOHN HUDSON 5577 4706 VICE-PRESIDENT: TBA SECRETARY: VALERIE FROST 0405 240 292 secretary@u3anorthgc.com TREASURER: AMANDA DE FINA 0414 334 393

COMMITTEE CURRICULUM MANAGER & VENUE BOOKING MAUREEN COOPER 5571 7738 CURRICULUM FILEMAKER INPUT CAROL CHAMBERS 5529 2245 EVENTS COORDINATOR KERRIE GREEN 0421 924 224 PUBLIC RELATIONS MIMI BRODIE 5577 2645 RECEPTION MANAGER DAPHNE VAN NOOTEN 5500 6116 SPECIAL PROJECTS KRYS PASZKIEWICZ 0448 582 628 NON COMMITTEE CLASS ADMINISTRATOR WENDY TOWNSEND 0417 908 243 EDITOR & WEBMASTER ERIKA WALKER 5571 5546

• Where a household shares the same email address, one of the

householders deleted an email without advising the other

householder

This 40% does concern us. Over the ensuing months we are going to

have a look at this angle more seriously and find a way of ensuring

that all of our members are opening their U3A emails.

Now on another note, let me remind you of Queensland Seniors’

Week during August and the fully catered Cocktail Party that we will

be holding at The Hub on Friday August 25th, between 4 and 6pm;

everyone is invited but we are restricted to 100 guests only. May I

suggest that if you are going to join us on the day that you register

your name with the office as soon as you can please?

Have a good month.

John Hudson President

MEMBERSHIP REPORT

We wish to welcome the following new members who have joined U3A North Gold Coast since the last newsletter.

Full members: Heather Browne, Rhonda Gentle, Nick Halsey Honorary Member: Rosemary Norman-Hill

We are sending our wishes for a speedy recovery to all members who are not well. Reminder: Please phone or email me with any changes to contact details and I apologise for any errors or omissions. Valerie Frost Secretary 0405 240 292 Email: secretary@u3anorthgc.com

The all-important moment

when Maureen clicks the

send button for our first

Mail Chimp Newsletter

3

Hi everyone, Term 3 is starting on Monday 10 July. Many thanks to all our tutors who have contributed time and effort in term 2 and will continue in term 3. Please note the Gold Coast Show Public Holiday on Friday 1 September. We have received numerous applications for the new classes in term 3 and only a few places remain in the classes shown below. You are welcome to apply for any of the other classes not mentioned and will be informed if a place is available. 229 - Art History Thursday 27 July at 9.30-11.30am presented by John Hudson will feature Edgar Degas (1834-1917) and his portraiture of “Women at Work”. Was Degas truly an Impressionist painter, or did he despise ‘en plein air’? We’ll explore his art form, from history and portrait paintings, to his fascination with the depiction of movement when he began to paint women at work; particularly his portrayal of ballet dancers, which continually emphasised their status as professionals doing a job. With his new-found interest in photography, he was intrigued to link his paintings with freezing moments in time capturing the artistic flow and movement of the dancers he depicted. We’ll discover that during his life, public reception of his work ranged from admiration to contempt. 522 - Stretch Your Mental Muscles Friday 14 July at 10.30-12.30pm for 6 weeks Danielle Jefferies will take you step by step through easy puzzles to learn the techniques as you build the skills and confidence to tackle the challenges that will truly stretch your brain. Extensive handouts provided. Please bring sharp pencil and eraser. Crossword puzzles will not be included. Please note there is a $ 2 charge for photocopies. 607 - Animal Language Tuesday 22 August 10-45-12.45pm Presented by Dr Lisa Jefferies. If someone asked you what separates humans from other animals, one of the first things that would probably come to mind is language. Language is so fundamental to humans that it is hard to imagine what life would be like without it. But is language unique to humans? In this lecture, we will consider whether the forms of communication used by animals differ from human language and whether animals can be taught to use languages that are analogous to human language. 606 - Bird Watching & Photography Tuesday 11 July 3 -5pm in U3A Classroom then alternate weeks at an offsite venue. Brian Hale will continue this interesting class for our bird watching enthusiasts, combined with outings of interest to the photographers amongst you for the experience of capturing birds in flight. 515 - Meditation & Self Awareness Tuesday 18 July 11.15-12.15pm with the new topic Living a Valuable Life. In these sessions, you will explore your innermost values that influence your personal attitude, outlook and behaviour. By using each value as a searchlight, you can discover what lies within the self. Values bring empowerment and open our heart to transform our nature, so that life is filled with compassion and joy. These sessions include meditation, a talk and reflective exercises. 416 - Apple Mac Computer Basics Wednesday 12 July 9am weekly With Julie Hewetson. Computers are available in the U3A Classroom 105 - Acrylic Painting Workshop. As this is not a teaching class, two class members volunteer to be responsible for taking care of U3A property and any emergency issues for a full term. Thank you for term 2 Sharyn McGregor & Margaret Bramley. Welcome to Alan Countee & Jan Brockhurst for term 3. I would like to thank the following tutors for their contribution to U3A North Gold Coast:

• Dianne Cecil, who teaches 104 - Watercolour Beginners Class, has completed the two-term course she runs each year. This class will be available once again in 2018.

Curriculum Report

4

• Valerie O’Brien, tutor for 202 - French Beginners Class. For personal reasons, Valerie has cancelled this class for the rest of the year and hopes to restart in 2018.

• I would also like to thank Kevin O’Brien who has kept the members in 230 - Australian Diggers Class spell bound for 6 weeks. I believe Kevin is going to be providing another Military History Class in 2018. All will be revealed before the end of this year.

I would like to thank those of you who have notified reception that you no longer wanted to attend your selected classes. In many cases this has allowed members who were on the wait list to be entered in your place. Maureen Cooper Curriculum Manager

303 – Choir (Big Morning Tea)

A surprisingly small audience of about 60 members and friends attended the Choirs’ Biggest Morning Tea —

but a generous audience in that $615 was donated to go towards Cancer Council Queensland’s program of

research and support for Australians affected by cancer. The Biggest Morning Tea provided by the Choir

members was superb … must have been … there was lots on offer, and it just about all disappeared. Delicious! So enjoyable! Thank you to Choir Master Laurie Gibson for all the work he did in

creating a program of entertainment that was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone. Of course, the Choir of 35 men

and women did their bit, too! They were in fine, melodious voice, and were loudly applauded by an enthusiastic

audience. Janet James

5

COMMENTS FROM MEMBERS

224 - BOOK CLUB

Our next meeting will be 20 July at 1-3pm. The novel for discussion is Haruki Murakami’s Colourless Tsukuru Tazaki and the Years of Pilgrimage. This is the story of Tsukuru, who at the age of 36, at the urging of new girlfriend Sara is trying to discover why his four best friends in High School abruptly cut all relationships with him. This never-explained, Kafkaesque ostracism left him feeling suicidal then guilty “as an empty person, lacking in colour and identity”. When his only college friend vanished, he felt “fated to always be alone.” Now he decides to seek his former friends to mend the relationships and find out why they rejected him. He visits them one by one, first in Nagoya, then in rural Finland, on a quest for truth and a pilgrimage for happiness. New members welcome, please apply at reception. Dr Sheelagh Wennersten Tutor

515 - Meditation and Self Awareness Starting Tuesday 18 July

Living a Valuable Life In the coming sessions, we will explore our innermost values that influence our personal attitude, outlook and behaviour. By using each value as a searchlight, you can discover what lies within the self. Values bring empowerment and open our heart to transform our nature, so that life is filled with compassion and joy. These sessions include Meditation, talk and reflective exercises. Linda Cooper Tutor

"An enhanced thinking process and considering other people’s views before making any comment." "I am becoming aware of how you can find peace within yourself without the blame and interference of other people around you”. "I have found that the 8 Powers we have learnt in the term are all connected and none of them work well just by itself. When you meditate and come back to who you are and what you are, you will find the situation will naturally clear up. And you will be free and content.” “This course helped me to understand how our positive thoughts and actions can increase

our well-being."

Members from the Meditation group reading the Quest for

Well-Being book. They all have enjoyed and taken a lot from

the sessions. Linda Cooper, tutor

6

210 – Great Thinkers & Social Movements

Members enjoyed dressing up for the end of term 2

7

503 – Circle Dancing

Our circle dance class meets on first and third Thursday mornings during the term. In this photo, some of our dancers are having fun with steps to a dance titled "Tall Ships"' rocking forwards and backwards in an open circle formation. The music to this dance is by a group called Sirocco. Circle dance music comes from all around the world and all steps in our dances are taught at the beginning of each dance. A class session will usually include around 10 dances, some slow, some faster. Folk dancing, world dancing, peace dancing and dance meditation are all additional descriptions of what we do in a circle dance class. We keep on dancing to keep on moving to music, and to keep connected. Newcomers are always welcome, please apply at reception. Judith Keller, Tutor

222 – Australian History

In the April-June term we have met some amazing people of historical interest and explored some key events including: Gov Richard Bourke; William Charles Wentworth; Abp John Bede Polding; Cobb and Co; Ben Hall; Ellen (Mrs) Kelly; Ned Kelly; The First Melbourne Cup 1868; Thomas Wills, Cricketer, ARL Champion; Henry Lawson; Henry Kendall; Banjo Patterson; Mary Gilmore; Fenianism; The Shooting of Prince Alfred 1868; The WA Catalpa Escape 1876; Qld Separation 1859; Lt Gov Bowen; Dundalli; The Qld Native Police; William Lane. With around 20 people on the class list, we are not taking any new students this year, especially as there is lively involvement in class sessions amongst current participants and we reach Federation, our goal for the course, at the end of this year. Gerard Sullivan Tutor

Some members of the

Australian History class met up

for an end of semester lunch

8

603 - U3A Cultural Excursions With Jan and Ron Marshall

We are now well into an event filled year. Members went on their second tour by train to Southbank to

visit the Maritime Museum. After a short walk, we stopped for a delicious morning tea and continued to

walk through Southbank to the Maritime Museum.

Here we were taken on a very interesting guided tour by Tor, a Master Mariner. The museum was excellent,

filled with all sorts of memorabilia including fabulous models of several types of sailing ships including

Nelson’s “Victory” and Cook’s “Endeavour”. The main part of the tour was on the HMAS Diamantina, the

last frigate to be built and launched during WWII. She saw service around various islands and the Japanese

surrender to the Allies ceremonies for Nauru and Ocean Island were conducted on her Quarter deck.

The movie for May Seniors/Morning Tea at Events Australia Fair was “Viceroy’s House”. It told the story of

the Lord Mountbatten as the last Viceroy of India during the formation of Pakistan and the transfer of India

back to the people. We found the movie full of history and very interesting. As usual we were treated to

a delicious morning tea of coffee and cakes.

COMING EVENTS

THEATRE

THE ARTS CENTRE: Live Stage Shows

Marriage of Figaro with Opera Australia, 1.30 pm Saturday 22 July. Cost $54.00 group concession

Beethoven with Qld Symphony Orchestra, 7.30 pm Saturday 26 August. Cost $45.00 group

concession.

GOLD COAST LITTLE THEATRE: All shows are at 2 pm Sunday

Musical Comedy 70, Girls, 70 16 July Cost $20.50

Oscar Wilde’s Lady Windermere’s Fan 10 September Cost $15.50

One Act Play Season Short & Dangerous 1 October Cost $15.50

Comedic Horror Musical Little Shop of Horrors 26 November Cost $20.50

QPAC BRISBANE:

“WIZARD OF OZ”. 1 pm Wednesday 29 November Group price $69.90 (a saving of $30.00)

“MAMMA MIA”. 1 pm Wednesday 31 January Price $59.95

GRITFFITH’s “OPERA ON THE BEACH”

A production of “Aida” is coming to Coolangatta Beach 6.30 pm Friday 22 September.

Gates open 5.00pm. 10+ Group price in C Reserve $28.00 (save $7). This is low seating, bring your own rug or low beach chair. You can take your own picnic or buy food and drinks but not BYO.

9

TOURS CHUNG TIAN BUDDHIST TEMPLE at Priestdale and a visit to the Daisy Hill Koala Park

Wednesday 5 July. Total cost for the day approx. $40.00

We need more members to fill the bus

GOLD COAST BOTANICAL GARDENS - Tuesday 12 September A morning tea at the coffee cart at 10 am, followed by a guided tour at 10.45 am and afterwards a picnic lunch. If you would like more information or would want to join in on any of the outings please contact Jan or

Ron on ronaldmarshall@bigpond.com, or 55 940 358

***************************************************************

MONDAY 17 July 2017 at

Café 63, Ross Evan Gardens 300 Oxley Drive, Coombabah

Time: 12 noon for 12.15pm

Cost approx. $ 25 main and desert

Coffee or Tea $ 4 Wine available or bring your own

Please place name on the sheet in the reception by July 14.

All enquiries please phone Bev on 0412 293 187 or

Carol on 0412 844 999 Pay on the day at the restaurant

10

U3A NORTH GOLD COAST INC LABRADOR COMMUNITY HUB

57 Billington St, Labrador 5529 0583

RECEPTION

9.00am to 3.00pm Monday to Friday during term

E-mail:

secretary@u3anorthgc.com

Website: www.u3anorthgc.com

Facebook:

www.facebook.com/U3ANGC

CORRESPONDENCE: PO Box 1226

RUNAWAY BAY, Qld. 4216