|
Dear Glyde-In Member
Recently I attended a Linkwest conference.While waiting for the lift, an unknown man asked me which Centre I was from?I said “Glyde-In” He exclaimed “Glyde-In!! Glyde-In’s a Legend”. I later discovered I was talking to James Jarvis, the Chair of the Linkwest Management Committee.
All our Staff, Committee, Volunteers and Members can be very proud of Glyde-In.
Sadly, two of our senior members died during term 1. Laura Webb, died on February 19th and Patrick Barton died on the 22rd February. On behave of Glyde-In, I extend our sympathy to both families. We remember Laura and Patrick below.
Committee member Bronwen and I attended a two day conference on 5th & 6th of April, organised by Linkwest and called ‘The Power of Community Conference’. Delegates came from as far away as Esperance, Christmas Island and Kununurra and towns big and small throughout WA. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet delegates and hear what they were doing for their local community. There were also talks and workshops on all sorts of issues facing Community Centres and Community Resource Centres. Bronwen has prepared a report on the conference. This is available as an email or hard copy from Glyde-In.
At the end of summer, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Lynn and our volunteer Garden Gnomes for keeping our beautiful garden looking so healthy. A special thankyou to Lynn, Jan, and Jono for sharing the dedicated daily water roster during the hot, dry summer months.
Our hardworking coordinator, Jacqui, has produced an exciting program for term 2. I hope you will be able to attend something.
Best wishes
Gordon (Chair)
|
|
|
Pinnacles Outing- A Wonderful Experinece
Thanks to Mal Christison for this trip report
Barbara Saba is a new member of our hardworking Out&About Organising Committee. She recently organized an unusual outing with a private tour company, who drove 30 of our members to the Pinnacles. The outing proved to be a wonderful success.
We left Melville in the afternoon and stopped en route at a lovely beach, where we received a most informative talk from our driver on Aboriginal bush tucker and the medicinal uses of the plants in the area.
We arrived at the Pinnacles before sunset. An overcast sky threatened rain all afternoon, but this cleared almost magically as we arrived. We had time to walk about and then enjoy the most beautiful sunset with the Pinnacles reflecting in the glow. Our location took on a magical atmosphere as the Milky Way slowly appeared in the fading light of a glorious waxing moon night.
As darkness fell our tour guides, Gavin and Martin from Lumineer Adventure Tours, produced chairs and tables to seat everyone in a big circle, light a BBQ and feed us delicious sausages with salad and a quality glass of wine, all included in the price. This meal could have ended a most satisfactory evening, but there was much more to come.
In almost total darkness our resourceful guides produced two quite large telescopes, offering night sky views. Both were well-informed on Astronomy and provided interesting facts about our night sky using laser pointers to great effect. I think the Pinnacles night sky was better than the Perth Observatory view, probably because we were further from the city where there was less light and air pollution.
Our drivers had another surprise when they provided a wonderfully effective sound healing experience using an instrument that produced the most beautiful resonance. Given the darkness, we could not see what it was, but it had the most extraordinary effect on us. As they walked slowly around our group, playing this lovely instrument, we all fell silent and stayed silent for what seemed like 10 minutes. Later we spoke about humming all over. The haunting sound of a harmonica playing out of the darkness broke the silence. We later learned that this was Jono Farmer who had picked his moment to perfection.
Our drivers appeared to have perfect night vision as they gathered up their equipment and loaded it all in the back of the buses. We had a long, late drive home, and everyone was tired, but the feedback was positive. Lumineer Tours did an amazing job and were most generous with their time, their knowledge, and their excellent equipment. I think we should do this trip again. Thank you, Barbara.
Mal Christison
|
|
|
Vale Laura Webb
Jono with Laura in the garden
Glyde-In’s very first Life Member, Laura Webb, died on February 19th. She was a very active member for a long period. She was the leader of the Thursday walking group and a cycling group for many years. Laura was responsible for establishing the Garden of Memories and helped decorate the much-loved old Art Shed with mosaics. Subsequently, when the Art Shed was declared uninhabitable and was replaced with the Garden Room, Laura collected bits of memorabilia from the old building. Some of these are scattered in the garden and one much loved item from the front of the old building was a teapot and cup set. Laura had these mounted on jarrah and they are now on the outside west wall of the Garden Room. Laura will be remembered by many members. Below is a personal memory of mine of Laura. Rest in peace Laura.
My Laura Webb Story by Gordon
Laura and I were in a Glyde-In riding group in 2005. I was still riding my old post-war heavy steel banger. One day towards the end of 2005 Laura said, “I‘ve seen a report that Bike Victoria is organising a fully supported bike ride from Albany to Perth. They were expecting about 800 riders from all over Australia. Laura said “Let’s go in it".
The first reaction from most of us to this idea was, as you might expect. “Who me, ride from Albany to Perth – you must be joking?" But Laura was well known for not giving in easily. So, when the laughter had stopped, she added, “We could raise money for Leukaemia Research”. (Sadly, one of Laura’s sons died of Leukaemia). Then she added, “If we joined the ride, we would each get a brand new free flat-bar road bike thrown in”.
The idea of riding suddenly became less daunting. Laura had won and we were in for the 783km ride. We trained madly for a few months, picked up our flat pack (mean green machine) bike, put it together and were then transported to Albany. At about 9 am, on Sunday, the 19th of March 2006, nine hardy (or was that foolish) Glyde-In members - 3 ladies and 6 men - set off from Albany to ride to Denmark and then on to Walpole, Shannon River, Manjimup, Nannup, Augusta, Margaret River, [and of course Simmo’s ice-cream factory], Busselton, Bunbury, Pinjarra and finally Perth.
We arrived home very pleased with ourselves. We raised, with considerable help from Glyde-In members, $12,347 for Leukaemia Research. All the riders kept cycling in Glyde-In groups and for me cycling became my main form of exercise. So, thanks to Laura, I found a get-fit exercise that I have really enjoyed.
|
|
|
Vale Pat Barton
Jono Farmer
Late last month we lost an old friend. He was Pat Barton, a long term member of our Monday and Friday cycling groups.
During Pat’s and my many deliberations about how to fix the world’s problems, we talked about our absolute rejection of either of us dying in a nursing home. Pat got his wish and I only hope that when my time comes it will be as swift. Pat and I debated politics, often from different points of view... but we always parted friends.
His love of theatre and music saw both of us reciting various Noel Coward satirical songs in the most unlikely places such as the amphitheatre in Booyembara park.
Early in his cycling career with us Glyde-Inners, Pat was given a bicycle by Margaret Watson and it was his pride and joy. The thought of investing in a new bike or even resorting to an electric one was an anathema to him… so! he saved his pennies.
I recall Pat regaling me with stories about his friends in North East Scotland who caught lots of fish and lobster in the North Sea. So, a few years ago, Pat suggested that we team up with him and his friend Jill on a visit to Scotland in Jill’s very comfortable car. This two week trip was a huge success, taking us from the Lake District to the West coast of Scotland where we visited the historic island of Iona. Then, across to Loch Ness, Inverness and up to Port Mahomak where his friends caught all the fish. We, did in fact, catch lots of fish and enjoyed the hospitality of Pat’s friends, Marlene and Terry Hamilton. As was his wont, when a ray of sunshine appeared, Pat shed his clothes and had a swim in the freezing North Sea.
I believe most of his cycling friends were relieved that on many occasions Pat survived imminent death despite his complete faith in motorists being able to see him in time!!
He was a memorable character whom I was privileged to call my friend… we will miss him.
Jono Farmer
|
|
|
Enrolment Day Term 2
Yet another terrific enrolment day. Although people were lining up from 7.30am, there are not so many these days as many members prefer to book online. The doors opened at 8.30am and by 9.30am our very efficient team had cleared the queue. There were 516 enrolments from 182 individuals, bringing in around $18,000 in course fee income. With such a huge number of courses, very few are booked out. Most talks still have space available.
You can still learn to play bridge, engage in healthy eating, explore science and religion or improve your story writing skills. And there are a few spots in some yoga classes available.
To satisfy your artistic leanings there is painting sunsets using pastels or printmaking. And on the digital scene, you can learn how to make photobooks, take better photos with your iPhone or explore the world of Facebook.
There are still several spots left in the trip to the WA Ballet Centre on Friday June 16th, where you can be inspired by the dancers and their routines, accompanied by beautiful live piano. Or, if you prefer, enjoy a trip to Caversham Wildlife Park, the WA Army Museum or an Op-Shop Tour. For something different, why not try mini-golf with Barbara?
Check out the full programme here and you can enrol by phoning 93393964. |
|
|
WA Mahjong Festival
Elizabeth Howell
The inaugural WA Mahjong Festival took place at the South Perth Learning Centre on 15th April and was organised by Ivy Branson and players from that club. It was based along the lines of the Australasian Mahjong Festival and was open to WA club mahjong players. The event comprised four sessions, two in the morning and two in the afternoon. Players were assigned to different tables for the morning and afternoon sessions and different sets of hands were used morning and afternoon. The list of mah-jong hands had been available since January and Saturday practice sessions were available at South Perth Learning Centre. Points were awarded per game and the player with the most points at the end of the day received a cup and free registration for the Australasian Mahjong Festival to be held in Caloundra, Queensland in August.
88 players took part in the Festival, coming from the Perth Metropolitan and Bunbury areas. The four members of the Glyde-In club who took part were Maureen Hislop, Brenda Mowe, John Lillico and Roland Howell, and all agreed that although we didn’t win, it was a great experience and a very enjoyable day. We look forward to the 2024 Festival.
|
|
|
Term 1 Highlights
|
|
|
|
Congratulations to our winners: Lyn White, Paula Schneider and Marian Tye. We hope you enjoyed the prizes at least as much as we did putting them together! Many thanks to everyone who bought tickets for this mini fundraiser and, of course, to those who kindly donated items for the raffle (fabulous!). Thanks also to Marguerite and Jono for drawing the winning tickets. We might do this again later in the year…
Lyn White sent us this lovely email after collecting her prize at the end of last term: "Thank you for the Easter raffle prize. I appreciated all the care that went into wrapping all the goodies up so decoratively. The wrappings, ribbons and bow have all gone into my gift wrapping recycle box for future reuse. It was a lovely surprise to win and really brightened my day. Best wishes to all at Glyde-in... Kind Regards, Lyn White."
|
|
|
|
In our last newsletter we mentioned that a new walking group was starting. Well it is up and running. Meeting every Friday at 8:50am for approx. one hour walk (8 - 9am), followed by coffee back at the starting point for those who’d like to socialise afterwards. The venue changes each week and a list of walks is supplied; all walks are south of the river. 9 Fridays, starting 5 May. Register via the office.
|
|
|
|
We have fruit galore, we just need cooks to make more!
Did you miss your Glyde-In jams in Term 1? We certainly did! The good news is that, despite being in the middle of moving house, our chief Jam-tart (Liz Howell) got extra busy and whipped up a small range of jams (and lemon butter!) for us, and Jono made more of his yummy cumquat marmalade. These will all available over the next couple of weeks.. until they run out.
BUT we need help from some volunteers to use up the rest of the fruit that’s been donated and to give a break from jam-making. It would be great if you could join us for morning tea and a jam-related planning session on Monday 8 May at 10.30am, here at Glyde-In. Contact the office if you have any questions.
|
|
|
OTHER NEWS
Calling Knitters of Beanies, Scarves, Gloves and Socks!
Calling on knitters to make winter warmers for people on the street.
Freo Street Kitchen provides weekly meals for people in need in Fremantle. We would like to offer warm clothes too. If you knit and would like to help, please do. Drop them into the Glyde-In office and accept our early gratitude; leave your name with your offering if you wish. (Most recipients will be men, if it helps to know for size and colour choices.)
More info: Jono Farmer 0481 098 214
Sandra Bantoft 0417 996 265
Ann Reeves 0478 634 924
|
|
|
|
Scrabbling for Scrabblers!!
We have a group of people who meet on Wednesday mornings to enjoy games of Scrabble. They play from about 9-12, but as there are several games you may want to come for just part of the time. No experience is required and you'll find the scrabblers to be a fun and friendly group. $6 for the morning and another dollar for a cuppa!
For more information phone the office.
|
|
|
Check out this TED talk
This is a talk about retirement you might find interesting. It pretty much sums up the Glyde-In!!
Click here
|
|
|
Containers for Change
Save your 10¢ containers! We're hoping our members will support our fundraising efforts by collecting and returning drink containers to Containers for Change so that they can be recycled to live another life - just check for the 10¢ mark. We hope to have a drop off point here at Glyde-In soon, but in the meantime please use our donation number (below) when you take them to C4C station.
|
|
|
|
|
