Woden Seniors Inc

50 years of providing Community Service to the over-50s of Canberra

Mar
9

By

Fortnightly News 5/3/2021

Category: Fortnightly News

Bridge

Tuesday Bridge and Saturday Bridge have resumed. Tuesday at 10.00 am & Saturday at 1.00 pm. Both days are in Hall 2.

Wine boxes for the Book Fair

If anyone has empty six-bottle size wine boxes at home that they do not need we can use them for packing books for the Book Fair. The larger six-bottle size are the best for this purpose. Just bring them in and leave them in the book sorting area in the veranda. If anyone goes to Dan Murphy at Phillip pick up a couple there from the pile at the front of the shop. Just ask them at the checkout if you may take some for Woden Seniors. They are very obliging.

ACT Seniors Weeks 2021

ACT Seniors Weeks was planned for late March but has been cancelled. This includes the Chief Ministers Concert and the Seniors Expo at Epic.

Check In CBR App

The ACT Government has mandated that the Check In CBR App be used by all venues from 6 March 2021. This means that members entering the Club must use the Check In CBR App.

The ‘Check In CBR’ app is a contactless, secure and convenient way for members to sign into the Woden Seniors Club.

The app helps protect the community by assisting with faster contact tracing. The app enables individuals to check-in to venues and have this data stored securely with ACT Health in the event contact tracing is needed due to a confirmed case of COVID-19 in the community.

Use of the app will help the ACT Health contact tracing team quickly identify and assist anyone who may have been exposed to COVID-19.

During the COVID-19 public health emergency non-essential businesses and undertakings are required by law to ask for the first name and phone number of people who attend their venue. Use of this app enables businesses to comply with these laws.

Download the App

5 step process to download and use the app:

(Internet connection and compatible phone or tablet device required)

  1. Download the Check In CBR App from Google Play Store or the Apple App Store.
  2. Register your details (required for the first time only).
  3. At participating venues, open the app, select ‘Check In Now’ and hover your smartphone over the displayed QR code.
  4. Add in any additional people – those who are with you without their own device or app.
  5. When the check-in is complete, show venue staff the app successful check in screen.
   
 
 

Spiral News

Dear Spirallers,

What a year we have had since our last Spiral morning tea!

The last time we met was on 12 March 2020 when we were lucky enough to have Dame Annette King from the New Zealand High Commission join us. That was a very special way to finish.

As proof that the world is making progress in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, not only are vaccines on their way but Spiral is returning.

Yes, we have permission to gather again in the hall at St James Uniting Church in Curtin and we are restarting on Thursday 4 March at 10.00 am. It won’t be quite the same but then again, we are all now getting used to a new normal.

There will be changes – you can read some of them in the attached Spiral Covid plan. You can also read the St James Covid plan and the conditions we must abide by

Here are some of the main issues that will affect you.

You are asked to preregister your attendance by notifying me (Brett Yeats) or Sara York by email or phone – our contact details are at the bottom of this newsletter. This is not compulsory as there will be a sign in sheet at the hall when you arrive.

We will ask you to register in the hall using the Check In CBR app if you can.

We will try to minimise risks by social distancing as best we can and by reducing mingling.

St James has asked us to seat four people per table until further notice.

Food and beverages will be served to you individually rather than sharing platters of sandwiches and cakes

We will have lots to catch up on. I hope you have coped OK with the isolation and with missing friends and family and I’m sure I’m not the only one saying “how lucky we are to be living in Canberra”. It has been so long – will we recognise each other? I’ve turned 70 while we’ve been suspended and I’ve put on weight and grown a beard. I’m looking forward to seeing you and hearing from you.

Let me announce our first month’s activities.

March 11 James Thompson

World War 2 from a child’s perspective

Jim was born in Jarrow, near Newcastle in County Durham in 1932. He will describe the hardships of the depression era in northern England and then talk about the terrors of the nightly bombings in this part of Britain which was the heart of manufacturing for the war effort. Then he will tell us about what brought him to Australia and his life after that.

March 18 Dr Alan Roberts Reverend William Robert Wake 1755 – 1830

Wake had a very interesting career that revealed how strange the Anglican Church was. He was a round peg in a square hole, too liberal for his time and profession. His highlight was Bath in the 1790s but he was tempted by the offer of a valuable living in rural Essex. Enemies alleged he had cheated the previous incumbent out of it. He fell foul of his superiors, culminating in the Archbishop of Canterbury sacking him. The story finishes with a strong Australian connection.

March 25 The Canberra Mandolin Orchestra

Formed in 2003, the CMO brings together players of mandolin, mandola, mandocello, guitar and bass. It keeps alive the rich tradition of the mandolingroups that emerged in the firstcouple ofdecades of the 20th century. The CMO’s repertoire is very wide showing the versatility of its musicians. They have played in the High Court, at Government House and at the National Folk Festival and we have been privileged to have them perform for us many times.

A reminder of who Spiral is and what we do.

Spiral is a community group which has been meeting for morning teas in Curtin for over fifty years. We aren’t incorporated, we don’t have committees or membership forms or joining fees. You can come to any meeting that interests you. We don’t even have a website! We meet in the hall at the St James Uniting Church at 40 Gillies Street, Curtin between 10.00 am and noon every Thursday. There is no religious nature to our meetings and our members come from varied backgrounds, occupations and origins. We are mostly retired, aged from our 60s to our 90s but we won’t turn you away if you are younger or older. We do ask that you make a gold coin donation when you attend. We ask you to arrive by 10.00 am so that we can start our ‘entertainment’ as soon as possible after that. The entertainment is either a guest speaker, sometimes in a conversation format, or a musical performance. We aim to serve a fresh, mainly home-made, morning tea at 11.00 (sometimes a little earlier, sometimes a little later) and we aim to finish at midday.

We welcome new faces and I ask you to share this newsletter with anyone you think might be interested.

Please preregister by emailing Brett at yeatsb or phoning 0406 37 9119 or emailing Sara at sarawyork or phoning 0419 587 578. You can also contact us if you have any questions about anything to do with this newsletter.