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Thank you to the Office Volunteers for the hours
they put in ensuring the organisation continues to run smoothly, throughout the
year. They fulfil a wonderful role as the
first point of contact with our organisation
and they are always polite, friendly and
helpful. Thanks to our office manager
Brenda Emerson for all her efforts,
particularly in arranging production of your
Newsletter.
We have been most fortunate in having
such a dedicated group of volunteers
manning our office this year. However, for
a variety of reasons difficulty is being
experienced in manning the office on
TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY and
THURSDAY afternoons between 12 noon
and 2pm. CAN YOU HELP PLEASE?
If you can spare a few hours a week/
fortnight/month to assist in the office,
please give Brenda Emerson a call on
47211735 or at the U3A office.
Seniors Card members, family and
friends can now purchase discounted
books on the Seniors Card
website. You can access over one
million titles and CD’s, including
all the latest releases, as well as
old favourites from the Seniors
Card website, www.seniorscard.
nsw.gov.au. Seniors Card
members will receive a 10%
discount on all purchases and
delivery is only $6.95 to
anywhere in Australia.
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IMPORTANT NOTICE |
From the President
This will be the last full newsletter
for this year, but one that I ask all
members to read and consider as it
contains information about our
Annual General Meeting. As usual I
urge as many people as possible to
attend, for this is your meeting and
your chance to express your views
on the running of our U3A.
Personally, I believe we have had a
very good year in all aspects, we
have gained many new members and
our finances are good considering
the outlays we have to make to keep
on top of information to members
and running new classes.
As I have stated we have a lot of
new members but unfortunately we
also lose some each year for various
reasons, which are not related to our
ability to satisfy their demands. It
would be good if each member
could recruit at least one new person
to join each year, all you have to do
is let them know how much you
enjoy what you are doing and let them
know the range of subjects we offer.
The Annual General Meeting will see the election
of a new Governing Committee for
2008, so this is your chance to get
involved. Have you considered
standing for a position on the
Committee, it is a rewarding
experience and an opportunity to use
your knowledge to further our
organisation. So mark your diary for 1.30pm Friday 9th November 2007 and please come along.
—Reg Grace
Baby mammoth discovery unveiled
A baby mammoth unearthed in the permafrost of northwest
Siberia could be the best preserved specimen of
its type, scientists have said.
The frozen carcass is to be sent to Japan for detailed
study.
The six-month-old female calf was discovered on the
Yamal peninsula of Russia and is thought to have died
10,000 years ago.
The animal's trunk and eyes are still intact and some of
its fur remains on the body.
Mammoths are an
extinct member of the
elephant family.
Adults often
possessed long,
curved tusks and a
coat of long hair.
The 130 cm (4ft. 3ins)
tall, 50 kg Siberian
specimen dates to the
end of the last Ice
Age, when the great
beasts were vanishing from the planet. It was
discovered by a reindeer herder in May this year. Yuri
Khudi stumbled across the carcass near the Yuribei
River, in Russia's Yamal-Nenets autonomous district.
Missing tail
Last week, an international delegation of experts
convened in the town of Salekhard, near the discovery
site, to carry out a preliminary examination of the
animal.
"The mammoth has no defects except that its tail was
bitten off," said Alexei Tikhonov, deputy director of the
Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of
Sciences and a member of the delegation.
"In terms of its state of preservation, this is the world's
most valuable discovery," he said.
Larry Agenbroad, director of the Mammoth Site of Hot
Springs research centre in South Dakota, US, said: "To
find a juvenile mammoth in any condition is extremely
rare." Dr Agenbroad added that he knew of only three
other examples.
Some scientists hold out hope that well preserved
sperm or other cells containing viable DNA could be
used to resurrect the mammoth lineage.
Despite the inherent difficulties, Dr Agenbroad remains
optimistic about the potential for cloning.
"When we got the Jarkov mammoth [found frozen in
Taimyr, Siberia, in 1997], the geneticists told me: 'If you
can get us good DNA, we'll have a baby mammoth for
you in 22 months'."
Lucrative trade
That specimen failed to yield DNA of sufficient quality,
but some researchers believe it may only be a matter
of time until the right find emerges from Siberia.
Bringing mammoths back from the dead could take the
form of injecting sperm into the egg of a relative, such
as the Asian elephant, to try to create a hybrid.
Alternatively, scientists could attempt to clone a pure
mammoth by fusing the nucleus of a mammoth cell
with an elephant egg cell stripped of its DNA.
But Dr Agenbroad warned that scientifically valuable
Siberian mammoth specimens were being lost to a
lucrative trade in ivory, skin, hair and other body parts.
The city of Yakutsk in Russia's far east forms the hub
for this trade.
Local people are scouring the Siberian permafrost for
remains to sell on, and, according to Dr Agenbroad,
more carcasses could be falling into the hands of
dealers than are finding their way to scientists.
Japan transfer
"These products are primarily for collectors and it is
usually illicit," he explained.
"Originally it was for ivory, now it is everything. You can
now go on almost any fossil marketing website and find
mammoth hair for $50 an inch. It has grown beyond
anyone's imagination."
Dr Agenbroad added: "Russia says that any mammoth
remains are the property of the Russian government,
but nobody really pays attention to that."
The Yamal mammoth is expected to be transferred to
Jikei University in Tokyo, Japan, later this year.
A team led by Professor Naoki Suzuki will carry out an
extensive study of the carcass, including CT scans of
its internal organs.
Mammoths first appeared in the Pliocene Epoch, 4.8
million years ago.
What caused their widespread disappearance at the
end of the last Ice Age remains unclear; but climate
change, overkill by human hunters, or a combination of
both could have been to blame.
One population of mammoths lived on in isolation on
Russia's remote Wrangel Island until about 5,000 years
ago.
—Story Courtesy BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk
Retirement—twice as much husband, half as much money.
Letter to the Editor:
Dear Editor,
The other day I set off for my U3A course, leaving my husband at home watching
television as usual.
I hadn’t gone a hundred yards down the road, when my car conked out and
shuddered to a halt. I walked back home to get my husband’s help. When I got home I
found him in the bedroom. I couldn’t believe my eyes. He was parading in front of the wardrobe mirror
dressed in my underwear and my high heel shoes and wearing my make-up.
I am 55, he is 54 and we have been married for 32 years. When I confronted him, he tried to make out that he
had dressed in my lingerie because he couldn’t find any of his underwear. But when I asked him about the
make up, he broke down and admitted that he had been wearing my clothes for six months. I told him it had
to stop or I would leave him.
He was made redundant from his job six months ago, and he says that he has been feeling increasingly
depressed and worthless. I love him very much, but ever since I gave him the ultimatum, he has become
increasingly distant, and I don’t feel I can get through to him any more. Please can you help?
Madeleine
Dear Madeleine,
A car stalling after being driven a short distance can be caused by a variety of faults
in the engine. Start by checking there is no debris in the fuel line. If it is clear, check
the jubilee clips holding the vacuum pipes onto the manifold. If none of these
approaches solves the problem, it could be that the fuel pump itself is faulty, causing
low pressure to the carburettor float chamber.—Editor
U3A NEWS
The office will be closed over the term break period from Friday 28 September until Monday 15 October 2007.
Text Books
If you require any text books or reference books you can obtain a good deal on all your requirements from:
Pages Plus Bookstore, 107 Henry Street, Penrith NSW 2750, Phone 02 4721-7000, Mark Sawszak. Open Daily.
or
Harvard Books Pty Ltd, PO Box 2, Blaxland NSW 2774, Phone 02 4739 9377, Laurie Robinson. Open Saturdays 9.00 to 1.00.
Justices of the Peace
Members are advised that the following tutors, who are Justices of the Peace, have volunteered to witness/sign documents on Wednesdays during U3A terms as follows:
10.30 - 12.30 Joan Manna (VAD Room); 2.00 - 3.30 Brian Kearney (Room 1).
State Conference
Our U3A has been asked to host the 2010 U3A State
Conference. The committee will be calling for
volunteers who will be prepared to help organise this
event. We would expect 200+ people to attend, so we
will seek people with a considerable amount of
organisation experience as well as people to assist with
general duties of everyday running of the conference.
We understand that the date seems to be a far way off
but we need to get the preparations under way soon.
Do you have email access?
To save on postage we would
like to send out the Newsletter
by email to all members who
use this facility. The response to
our request in the Term 3
Newsletter was rather poor, so
we again request all interested
members to please send their email details to the office
attention of the Membership Officer.
Thank You
Now I must thank all the members of the Cake
Decorating class, Sophia, Jacqueline, Ron and Erold
for the wonderful birthday cake that they presented to
me in August. It was absolutely
scrumptious and you must
excuse the wet patches on this
page as I am still drooling. The
Milky Way background was an
absolute masterpiece of cake
decoration.
Once again, thank you all so
very much.—Editor
News from the classes
Latest Cake Decorating News
The Cake Decorating class has been busy making
many cakes since the last newsletter. Here are just
some the things our class members have been up
to. While Errold’s aunt was visiting from Perth,
Errold made her a beautiful cake finished with
hand-made roses and small flowers. Errold’s aunt
also joined us for one class, and we enjoyed having
her with us. Jacqueline has been busy making
many cakes, including one for her granddaughter’s
first birthday. The cake was number one in shape
and pink in colour.
Ron has been busy making cakes also, and of all
my students, I am very proud.
We all get along very well in the Cake Decorating
class, and it is a pleasure to come to class every
week and teach them. I wish all my students the
very best as they continue learning and making
their masterpiece cakes.
Sophia Vlodarczyk
(Thank you very for your wonderful
enthusiasm and input to the newsletter
over the 2007 year. —Editor)
Hi, I’m Jacqueline from the Cake Decorating class.
Its hard to believe we are now in the latter part of
Term 3 and still enjoying our course. The
generous nature and infinite patience of our
teacher Sophia makes our class what you could
call a contented group who share our ideas with a
lot of laughter and goodwill, whilst at the same
time learning to create “Cake Art”. Sophia’s
encouraging ways result in homework that is fun
(sometimes) and colourful delights that may be
eaten as well as seen. May I ask you, how good
can a course get?
News from Encore Du Francais
Students of the French language class, “Encore
du Francais” enjoyed a delicious morning tea at
the home of their tutor, Marion Smart, to mark
the end of Term 2. Marion had recently returned
from a visit to “La Belle France” and had some
wonderful photographs of her travels to share
with us.
The whole class was saddened to learn of the
passing of Robert Waddell during the term
break. Robert was a loved and valued member
of our class who delighted us all with his
intelligence, his wit and his whimsical humour.
The following tribute to Robert was written by a
class member:
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Pensees de Robert
|
And a poem of appreciation from members of the 10.30 Tai Chi Group:
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Mona and Bev and Doreen |
Thank You
Thank you to all the groups who have
made contributions to your newsletter
during 2007, I hope that these will
continue into 2008. Don’t forget this is
your forum to let all your wonderful tutors
know what a tremendous job they do. So
repay some of their superb efforts with a
good report card.—Editor
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U3A Annual General Meeting This is the last newsletter before the AGM on Friday, 9th November, 2007, commencing at 2pm. The purpose of the AGM is to elect the Management Committee for 2008. The role of the Management Committee is to run the affairs of the U3A Nepean – Blue Mountains Chifley Chapter on behalf of its members. With some 800+ members, including our hard working Volunteers and Tutors, there will inevitably be some who feel aspects of their views are being disregarded. Those who communicate their views to the Management Committee seeking changes should realise that all matters put before the Committee are discussed, put to the vote, and the majority view prevails. This is simple democracy at work, so no matter how strongly a member or small group of members may feel about an issue, if a majority on the Management Committee decides on a course of action, that is what usually prevails. Of course, provision exists to obtain members’ views through “surveys”, feedbacks through the monthly Management meetings, letters to the Committee and various forms of lobbying. Such provisions are not ignored, but some of them are time-consuming and resource-extensive, taking a considerable time to research and advise on. Furthermore, some the views received may be far from representative of the main body of members; persons with strong views tend to shout louder than those that are broadly satisfied. Why am I raising this now? Firstly, all financial members have the opportunity to attend the AGM and vote FOR/ AGAINST any nominee for any position – it is your right and it is to be hoped that YOU will exercise it. Secondly, any financial member may nominate for any position of his/her choosing on the Committee. Yes, the outgoing Committee attempts to have at least one nominee for each of the positions, but this in no way precludes others from nominating. Thirdly, several Committee positions were unfilled for much of the 2006-2007 year. This was unfortunate, because others had to cover these vacancies and/or make ad hoc arrangements. Inevitably this placed a severe strain on the remaining members of the Committee, despite the efforts of some much appreciated (and too commonly unacknowledged) temporary helpers. Lastly, the organisation needs new blood to share the tasks and responsibilities, to engender fresh thinking, and to overlap and extend the corporate memory of “old retainers”. So, what is the bottom line? Irrespective, whether you are an “old retainer”, new to the organisation, have particular skills that are under-used, or just feel that YOU can make a difference; please ACT NOW. We value your input, so make your presence a boon to the organisation. Contact any member of the existing Management Committee for more information and advice, and NOMINATE. Nominations close seven days before the date of the AGM. Other business at the AGM will be to receive reports from office bearers, and receive the annual audited accounts. |
| 2008 Management Committee Nomination | |
|---|---|
|
2007 Office Bearers Committee Members People marked with an asterisk * will stand again |
Annual General Meeting Nominations are called for the following positions President |
|
Nomination Form Completed nomination forms are required to be in the hands of the secretary on or before Friday, 2nd November, 2007. Each nomination form must be signed by the nominator, seconder, and nominee, all of whom must be financial members for the year 2007. Nomination forms should be sent to: This is to nominate .......................................................................................... Membership No .................. | |
Tales of the Unexpected
Some Seriously Useless Facts
How to work out your age by eating out!
Don't cheat by looking at the bottom first. It's worth doing properly and it takes less than a minute.
1. First of all, pick the number of times a week that
you would like to go out to eat. (More than one but
less than ten)
2. Multiply this number by 2
3. Add 5
4. Multiply it by 50
5. If you have already had your birthday this year
add 1757, if you haven't, add 1756.
6. Now subtract the four digit year that you were
born.
You should have a three digit number.
The first digit of this was your original number (i.e.
how many times you want to go out to restaurants in
a week).
The next two numbers are your age! (Oh YES, it is!)
2007 is the only year it will ever work so spread it around while it lasts.
Apologies if you’ve already seen this – its going the rounds.
U3A Social Get-Togethers
Sep20 – Oct 3
At the end of the third term the
Tulip Festival at Bowral is on.
Travel down by train: departs
9.00am from Granville, arrives
11.00am Bowral. Then catch
local buses to look at the
Gardens.
Sep29 – Oct 7
Leura Gardens open days,
check the Blue Mountains
Gazette for daily details.
Travel by train to Katoomba
or Leura Stations then buy a
$12 Seniors special all day
ticket on the Trolley Bus.
Entry Price:
All inclusive ticket for $18 pp to inspect all gardens
or $5 pp per garden.
For further details see web page:
http://www.leuragardenfestival.com.au
Friday, Oct 19 Tutors'/Volunteers' Afternoon Tea
This will be held at the Log Cabin Motel, Penrith, on Friday 19th October
commencing at 2.00pm. When you receive your
invitation, please advise the office staff, if you are
attending, so that we can ensure we have enough cups
of tea and sticky buns.
Thursday, Oct 25 U3A Astronomy Night
The U3A Astronomy night will be held at Kings
Tableland Observatory, 55 Hordern Road,
Wentworth Falls on from 7pm to 9pm.
The theme is
“Starry Night” and includes viewing the night sky
through telescopes. Cost $10 per person.
For further details contact: Anthony Bayes 4739 2661
Wednesday, Nov 14 Visit to State Parliament House
Karyn Paluzzano, State Member for Penrith, has
invited 25 U3A members to
visit her in Parliament
House in Macquarie Street,
Sydney, for morning tea and a tour of
the building. You should
make your way into the city
by train and meet at
Parliament House at 9.30
am. The tour runs from
10.00am to 12.00 noon and you will have to pass
through security on accessing the building, so be
careful of carrying metal objects. Cameras are OK.
Thursday, Nov 22 U3A Astronomy Night
The U3A Astronomy night will
be held at Kings Tableland
Observatory, 55 Hordern Road,
Wentworth Falls on from 7pm
to 9pm. The theme is “The
Milky Way and Beyond” and
includes viewing the night sky through telescopes.
Cost $10 per person.
For further details contact: Anthony Bayes 4739 2661
General Information
Victim of a Scam?
From a newspaper advert supplied by Hedi Roggeveen:
A refund offer from the Australian
Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC)
In February 2007 the ACCC took legal action to freeze
funds held in Australian bank accounts relating to 37
scams operating out of North America.
Australian consumers received promotional material
suggesting that they had won or were close to winning
large sums of money in lotteries or other games. Of
course, these were scams and no-one received any money.
You may be entitled to a full or partial refund by lodging
an application and providing acceptable proof that you
have paid money to one of the 37 scams between 1 March
2006 and 28 February 2007.
More information on the refund scheme, such as how to
lodge an application and the names of the 37 scams can be
obtained by:
1. viewing the ACCC’s website, or
2. contacting the scheme administrators, Niche
Government Consulting and Assurance on 1300
661 369, mail to P O Box 676, Woden ACT 2606
(or email refunds@nicheconsulting.net.au).
All applications will be treated confidentially.
Please act quickly. All applications, including any
requests for further information or additional proof to
support a refund application, must be received by 30
September 2007.
Term 4 Course News
How to Trace Your Ancestry for Beginners
Helen Smith will restart her 6 week course at Blaxland
Neighbourhood Centre on Thursdays at 1.00pm to
3.00pm, starting 18th October.
If you are interested in this course, please contact Helen
Tel: 4739 3996 Email: helensmith@pnc.com.au
A New Perspective for Family Therapy
Phill Hill will start this new course at Penrith School of
Arts on Mondays at 10.00am to 11.30am starting 15th
October. Phill writes: “A New Perspective for Family
Therapy is the name of a book which looks at family
therapy and which we will be studying. It looks at a way
of thinking that explores human behaviour in a family
context.
We will be exploring such questions as "How do you
transform a way of thinking into a way of doing?"
"Should concern be limited to families, or should we
consider broader contexts when thinking about human
behaviour in the family context?"
We will be thinking about a more expanded focus, by
considering complexity and the systems that are at work
in families."
If you are interested in this course, please contact Phill -
Tel: 4739 4810 Email: j_phill@bigpond.net.au.
Courses at Blackheath
Kay Barlow has organised the following courses at
Blackheath: Architecture, and Italian Literature.
Anyone interested in taking either of the above courses
or any other courses at Blackheath should contact Kay
Barlow – Tel: 4787 8402.
Email: kbeezplace@exemail.com.au.
Walking with a Touch of History - Group A
Nick and Judith Hill will not be able to lead these walks
at present due to Nick being ill. The walks will
continue with a new Leader, John Massar, for the more
strenuous walks. Interest has been expressed in forming
a third group to commence in the first term 2008. This
group will be for members who find the current
programme a little too much for their physical
capabilities and who still want to go out for the day. The
walks will be of a more subtle nature and possibly lesser
distances. Any member interested in joining this group,
please contact Yvonne Hardiman Tel: 9670 3649,
preferably at night.
Ancient Egype
Lucy Bantermalis advises that she will take another
Ancient Egypt, the 18th Dynasty course - 10.00
am to 12 noon on Friday 7th December at Penrith
School of Arts, and on Friday 14th December she
will arrange for her class to have a 2 hour tour of
the Nicholson Museum, Sydney University.
Practical Psychology
The current Psychology for
Relationships course aims to
offer U3A members an
opportunity to apply established
psychological principles to
everyday life. Feedback from
previous course participants
indicated a strong interest in
learning to manage difficult relationships.
Psychology for Relationships concentrates on the
mental health and skills needed for satisfying
relationships. The course utilises extensive notes
and the experience of course participants to
provide opportunities for learning. The course
notes explain current, relevant psychological
principles in everyday language. The participants
discuss the validity of the notes by comparing and
contrasting their experience with the psychological
principles outlined. Opportunities are also
provided for the participants to watch
demonstrations and practise the relationship skills
selected for the course.
Participants begin the course by examining
psychological ethics. The participants then use
these ethical principles to draw up guidelines for
their own relating during the course. In the current
programme, the participants have elected to
examine the mental health topics of anxiety,
depression, personality disorders, attention deficit/
hyperactivity disorder, schizophrenia, counselling
and psychological maturity.
An afternoon tea break provides participants with
the opportunity to get to know each other
informally. After the break, relationship skills are
studied and practised. The skills include listening,
understanding, feeling, assertiveness,
companionship, anger management, and problem
solving. The participants have also elected to study
the Eight Stage Healing Process. This programme
is designed to help people relate to individuals
experiencing psychological difficulties.
No doubt, the course will continue to evolve next
year as participants outline their needs for
practical psychology.
Additional information about the course can be
obtained from Colin Bull on 4751 3713.
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