…. Being Out and About

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Celtic Connections Concert
Day trip to Bankstown
International Nurses Day Picnic
January 2023 social outings
A Sensational Sausage Sizzle
Annual Picnic – 20 October
Day trip to Mount Wilson – 5 October
Showcase – 17 February
Jacaranda Cruise
Vietnam/Cambodia Tour

Celtic Connections Concert

Celtic Connections is a group of eight amateur musicians/singers who came together via the u3a Rock Orchestra or u3a Unpluggers Guitar Group. None born in Celtic country but Celtic DNA music flows through them all. They gave their first NB u3a concert on Wednesday 23 August.
Leader Graham Spindler and friends did a marvellous job introducing traditional Celtic songs and music from Ireland to our u3a community. The audience was asked to sing along for the chorus and most did. It was a good atmosphere. Most of the musicians played multiple instruments, vocals were very good with fine harmonies.
A very talented group of musicians!
Many thanks to Runa Schmidt-Muller for the review and to Laurie Wilson for the photos.

Day trip to Bankstownc

Day trip to Bankstown

A marvellous day visiting Bankstown on 18 August!
Our leader, Sue Atteridge, had planned well with many trips to ‘test the route’ prior to the day.
It started with the light rail to Jubilee Park where we had coffee at the old tramsheds …. then on to Dulwich Hill for the cross over to a regular train to reach our destination.
A walk through the shopping area with lots of ethnic food and goods before a stop at the Art Gallery gave us an appetite for lunch. We chose the busiest Vietnamese restaurant and weren’t disappointed with our food choices. The spice bazaar was next on the agenda before we caught the fast train back to the city and our journey home.
A big thank you to Sue for her leadership and to Meg Watson as her back-up.

International Nurses Day Picnic

As promised by the weatherman, 12 May brought a bright warm sunny day and an enthusiastic group gathered
at Jamieson Park to celebrate this special day and share stories of times gone by.
A good time was had by all!
Special thanks to Meg Watson for organising the get together and to Ian Thompson for taking these photos.

The top photo features five of our former nurses –
L-R: Sue Atteridge, Pat Keenlyside, Meg Watson, Virginia Lawrence, Olivia Kesby

January 2023 social outings

Ferry boat trip around Scotland Island plus Lunch

20 enthusiastic members gathered at Church Point on 23 January, a drizzly morning but the weather didn’t hamper the spirits. A very pleasant trip around Scotland Island on the ferry was followed by a delicious lunch at Waterfront Cafe/Restaurant. By then the sun had shown its face and members headed off home having enjoyed a very pleasant time.

Jamieson Park Picnic

Although the day started with heavy showers the weather did improve somewhat. Ten members braved the elements to meet for our annual picnic at Jamieson Park by the lake on 20 January.
The very slight drizzle at times didn’t spoil the get-together and a good time was had by all.

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A Sensational Sausage Sizzle

Another great event by our Treasurer, David Tuckerman, held on Thursday 12 January.
This year we were able to return to Stony Range at Dee Why and the weather was particularly kind to us. Over 50 members joined on the day for a very enjoyable get-together in sharing a sausage or three!
Special thanks to David Tuckerman, Leigh Haines, Helen Loseby Bowles and Chris Bowles for their organising, BBQ and catering skills

From Website/Newsletter Editor: A big ‘thank you’ to Ian Thompson for taking the photos

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Annual Picnic – 20 October

Luckily the rain held off and the picnic was able to go ahead! A different venue this year at Clontarf Reserve and members had fun guessing its connection with royalty. [In March 1868 Prince Alfred (son of Queen Victoria) escaped serious injury when an assassination attempt was made on his life. Not seriously injured the Prince recovered quickly. Henry O’Farrell was charged with attempted murder and later hanged at Darlinghurst Gaol.] Ivy Edwards was the prize winner and took home a beautiful daisy plant which will find its way into her garden in due course.

We were watched very closely by a few kookaburras and bush turkeys … plus of course the seagulls who were ever hopeful of scoring some tidbits. We left them looking very disappointed!
Big thanks go to Gaye Pringle and Kay Hamilton who organised the event and arranged the delicious food.

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Day trip to Mount Wilson – 5 October

5 October dawned and the weather forecast was as predicted ….. RAIN!
In fact it rained all day but it didn’t dampen the spirits of those members who had booked the trip.

We headed out of Sydney, up the Bells Line of Road to Windsor where we had morning tea and picked up a few more u3a members. Because of the rain lunch had to be in the Mount Wilson Community Centre but everyone pitched in and it wasn’t long before we had set up tables and chairs and were enjoying home made quiches and salads washed down with a glass of wine or other beverage.

After lunch we headed to Windy Ridge Garden, a sheltered five acre property filled with seasonal colour and exotic cool climate plantings. We were able to wander along the paths to admire the plants and the owner very kindly provided hot tea and coffee to warm us. We then moved on to Bebeah Garden, beautifully laid out over 12 acres. Over the past 19 years, the owners have restored and reshaped the garden to today’s magnificence. One tree we came across was planted in 1890 and would have needed three sets of arms to reach around its trunk. We stopped at Bilpin on the way home and although it was still raining everyone agreed they’d had a fabulous day.
Our thanks go to Kerrie Sanders for organising such a great day.

Runa Schmidt-Muller and Lesley Lord in Azaela Avenue,

A beautiful display of hellebores, Windy Ridge

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Showcase – 17 February 2022

Success snatched from what looked like being a total disaster!

Imagine our feelings when we arrived at the previously booked venue and found that it had been double booked to a large children’s group, already set up. Read more here …..

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Jacaranda Cruise

The first jacaranda tree to have been planted in Sydney

No jacarandas in sight but a fun place to visit

On Sunday 8 November a group of approximately 30 members headed into Barangaroo to board our boat for a jacaranda cruise.

What a fabulous afternoon we had! After a couple of rainy overcast days the sun came out and the purple jacarandas were the shiny stars. Apart from the more familiar parts of the harbour the boat also ventured into the Lane Cove River and Hunters Hill area where we found most of the jacarandas.

A very interesting commentary by Graham Ross, horticulturalist, author and presenter on the TV program ‘Better Homes and Gardens’ for the last 25 years, was well received. It was the 102nd tour Graham had presented and it was full of interesting and historical facts – he was obviously enjoying the cruise and sharing his knowledge as much as us.

Two of our members, Kaye and Runa, won packs of garden goodies in the Lucky Door Prize draw so headed home with big smiles.

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Vietnam/Cambodia Tour

A fabulous trip by a group of our adventurous members.

From the bustling, chaotic, steamy atmosphere of Hanoi to the cool, French built hill stations of Sapa and Dalat, this beautiful country grabs you by the hand and pulls you along with it.

More photos and narrative can be viewed here

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