Fortnightly News 6/8/2021

Annual General Meeting

The Woden Seniors Club 2021 Annual General Meeting will be held in Hall 1, at 12 noon on Monday 20 September 2021 unless there is a COVID-19 outbreak. A light lunch of sandwiches, cakes and tea/coffee will be provided after the meeting. Please come along to the meeting as we did not have one last year.

No more books!

We are unable to accept and process any more books until further notice. So please keep them until then. Please also tell anyone you know who is thinking about donating books.

Free Digital Help For Seniors

Club Membership

Please ensure your membership and parking voucher is up to date.

Woden Seniors is turning 50 next year

We are preparing a book to mark the 50th birthday of the club and are looking for people that may be able to help in its preparation. We are looking for five or six people that maybe able to help. Please let Polly know

Get involved in Rail Safety Week 9 – 15 August This week is Rail Safety Week. Woden Seniors has joined Canberra Metro Operations, the ACT Government and key community groups to raise awareness around the issue of safety around light rail in Canberra for Rail Safety Week. This year we are urging all Canberrans to Stand Back. Look Up. Stay #RailSAFE. Remember to always: Stay off the tracks Avoid distractions Follow instructions and Encourage others to be safe Follow @CanberraMetroLightRail on Facebook & Instagram to find out more about staying #RailSAFE You now have to Check In on public transport and in all retail settings It is now mandatory to use the Check In CBR app on Canberra public transport, as well as all retail settings. The expanded range of retail settings include supermarkets, petrol stations, takeaway services, clothing stores and department stores. Transport services include all buses, light rail, taxis, Uber and other rideshare services. People aged 16 years and older must check in upon entry, regardless of how long they are planning to spend in a venue, as well as for each individual bus and light rail journey. Check in codes will be available in the venue or vehicle. If you do not have a smart phone or if you’re having trouble using the app, you can still travel on public transport and still check into venues. On public transport, if you have a registered MyWay card, this can replace the need to use the app.If you have an ACT Seniors My Way card, this was registered when you applied for your card and you do not need to register it again. Otherwise, it’s a good idea to keep a record of the different trips that you make.To find out more visit www.transport.act.gov.au or call 13 17 10. In retail settings, a friend or relative that has the app on their phone can check you in as a guest or you can ask the business to check you in using their business profile. You cannot use a registered MyWay card in business settings, only on public transport. Mandatory use of the Check In CBR app will ensure our contact tracing teams have access to the best available data to quickly and effectively contact any individual who may have been exposed to COVID-19. The ACT Government will continue to provide support and information over the coming weeks to ensure businesses and the Canberra community understand the importance of using Check In CBR. It is also very important in the current environment to stay up-to-date with the latest health and travel information. Visit the COVID-19 website for more information.

Produced by ACT Health, COVID-19 Public Information Coordination Centre

Please Do Not Enter the Club if:

• You are feeling unwell and developing cold or flu like symptoms (including fever, cough, sore throat, fatigue or shortness of breath); or
• You have been in close contact with someone with these symptoms or is a confirmed COVID-19 case; or
• You or someone you have been in close contact with has recently returned from interstate or overseas.

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

I can now fill in some of the gaps in the calendar that some of you have been asking about but first I have two very special opportunities that may interest some of you.

This Saturday the ANU Film Group is screening Collective. Out of hundreds of eligible films, this Romanian documentary made the short list of five for both the Best Documentary Oscar and the Best International Film Oscar. The screening will be followed by a discussion with an erudite panel. There are free tickets and all the details you need if you click on this link: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/lrsj-presents-collective-movie-screening-and-panel-discussion-tickets-165701815591

Then the following Saturday, also at 5pm and also at the ANU Film Group, we are screening the wonderful Australian documentary Brazen Hussies. Another panel, this one includes Elizabeth Reid. I’ve seen this film and I will see it again. It speaks very loudly to people born in the 1940s and 1950s, especially to women who will remember the gender inequality of the times. It should be seen by people born later than that, too. For free tickets and all the details please click on this link:

https://genderinstitute.anu.edu.au/brazen-hussies-film-screening-panel-discussion

Now for the calendar update.

August 12 Commander Alan Masters and Lieutenant Commander Kerry Holmes Life on the ocean wave

Kerry (born in 1956) and Alan (born in 1940) will be in conversation about their experiences in the Royal Australian Navy and their lives before and after. They will talk about how life in the Navy has changed over time. If you click on the link you can see and hear Her Majesty’s Marine Band playing the song written in 1838 by Henry Russell whose life is another interesting story.

August 19 Professor Nic Peterson

The Dark Emu Debate: What’s it all about?

If you click on Nic’s name you will realise how lucky we are to have him as our guest speaker and why he is qualified to speak on this topic. Nic says “There is absolutely no doubt that Aboriginal people were not farmers pre-colonial, but just how wrong is Bruce Pascoe’s account? If he is wrong, how come his views been so readily taken up and why weren’t his views challenged early on? The debate is a case study in the wider complexity of Aboriginal issues today, in which fact, misconceptions, identity politics, and goodwill come together in a heady and volatile mix. I hope to go some way towards sorting out the wheat from the chaff”.

September 9 Sharon Bulkeley

Ruth Lane-Poole: A Woman of Influence

When the Federal Capital Commission was faced with the challenge of furnishing Canberra’s two official residences – Government House and The Lodge – in time for the opening of Parliament House in 1927, Ruth Lane-Poole was engaged to work with the architects on matters relating to interior furnishing. This CMAG exhibition was curated externally by Margaret Betteridge who is locked down in Sydney but we are very lucky to have Sharon presenting this in Margaret’s stead. Some of you may remember Sharon from previous visits. She is very experienced, knowledgeable and entertaining.

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 Woden Valley 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. 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.

If you have any questions about Spiral or anything to do with this newsletter please contact me, Brett Yeats, at yeatsb or on 0406 37 9119.