PRESIDENT IAN BURDETT 0417 071 325 VICE PRESIDENT TBA TREASURER MARK KING 0407 974 322 SECRETARY GRAHAM ROBINSON 5439 5332 EXECUTIVE OFFICER TBA ACTIVITIES CO-ORDINATOR LYN GOODALL 0418 587 102 COMMITTEE HELEN BANDROWSKI LYNDA BURKE MICHAEL GALLAGHER LYN GOODALL MARION RICHARDSON BARB RITCHIE BRENDA STEVENS-CHAMBERS PERSONS OF RESPONSIBILITY MINUTE SECRETARY HELEN BANDROWSKI 0417 302 293 HEALTH & WELLBEING TBA LIBRARY BARBARA MCDOUGALL 0438 433 850 MARY FRY 0413 025 380 ATTENDANCE SHEETS LEX MILNE 0417 856 476 THE BUZZ EDITORS JUDI FISHER 5442 9611 ALISON OPPERMANN 4433 1138 TECHNICAL SUPPORT MICHAEL GALLAGHER 0408 397 448 NETWORK COORDINATOR IAN BURDETT 0417 071 325 UMAS & DOCUMENTATION COORDINATOR LYN GOODALL 0418 587 102 TUESDAY TALKS & SHORT COURSES WILF SAVAGE 5442 1437 POSTAL ADDRESS U3A BENDIGO PO BOX 274 BENDIGO 3552 PHONE: 03 5447 1812 OR 0490 858 469 EMAIL: [email protected]WEBPAGE: www.u3abendigo.com BUZZ members, A reduced Buzz-lite comes to you this month to keep you informed, offer you some ideas for your self-isolation, and keep you connected with the Bendigo U3A. This will continue until restrictions around meetings of groups are lifted, at least until 11th May at last announcement. —-your U3A committee DIARY DATES - MAY 2020 12 Deadline for BUZZ information 21 Buzz folding Quick reference—What’s in this Buzz? Report from the President, pages 1 Notices, page 2 Activity Coordinator Notes, page 3 Activity Notes, pages 4-5 Gardening, page 5 Convenors’ contacts, page 6 The BUZZ is printed for U3A Bendigo by courtesy of Jacinta Allan, Mem- ber for Bendigo East and Maree Edwards, Member for Bendigo West. BENDIGO UNIVERSITY OF THE THIRD AGE the BUZZ-lite Newsletter No. 309 May 2020 Buzz deadline for JUNE 2020 Tuesday, 12th May Please send information to [email protected] or [email protected]DIRECTIONS ST MARY’S ANGLICAN CHURCH CNR. OF CHURCH & BANK STS. KANGAROO FLAT, VIC 3555 ENTER VIA CAR PARK OFF CHURCH ST. [SEE MAP ON BACK COVER ] NEW OFFICE PHONE NUMBER 0490 858 469
Welcome to the May 2020 BUZZ. I hope you are keeping well in these very different times. You will notice this month’s edition looks a bit thinner than usual. At the April Committee of Management meeting, it was agreed we need to keep in touch with members and that the BUZZ is an excellent way of communicating with each other. Committee encourages members to keep in touch with one another by phone, text or email. Some groups are continuing to meet informally via Zoom video conferencing. Convenors wishing to explore online video meetings should contact Activities Coordinator Lyn Goodall for advice. Convenors are also encouraged to check in on members in their groups. On Monday, 16 March 2020, Committee discussed growing concerns about the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and how this might impact members. It was determined that Committee has a responsibility to limit the risk COVID-19 might have on our membership, especially those who are considered more vulnerable due to their age or on-going heath issues. A motion was passed that all U3A activities be suspended from Tuesday, 17 March 2020 until further notice; and that U3A facilities at St Mary’s be closed for the duration, and therefore insurance for all activities regardless of venue be also suspended. A notice was approved to be circulated to members with the April BUZZ and posted on the U3A website. My thanks to all those involved in making this difficult decision. As a result of this decision, the New Members Morning Tea, Convenors’ Meeting and Social Gathering planned for 25 March 2020, were cancelled. There will also be no Social Gathering in April or May. No decision has been made about future meetings or gatherings. It is unlikely group activities will recommence until after social activity restrictions are relaxed. The Victorian Government has announced the “State of Emergency” will continue until at least 11 May 2020. Regrettably, the 30
th Anniversary lunch at the Kangaroo Flat Sports Club on Wednesday, 15 April 2020 was also
cancelled. An email was sent to members who had registered on UMAS and to invited guests informing them of the cancellation. The 30
th Anniversary booklet is at the printers and will be made available to purchase for $10 a copy. If
you would like to reserve a copy, please email me at [email protected]. The booklet is also available on the U3A Bendigo website. At the April Committee meeting, under advice from Consumer Affairs Victoria, the authority responsible for regulating incorporated associations, it was determined that the U3A Bendigo AGM, scheduled for Wednesday, 22 April 2020, be postponed to a date to be fixed later in the year when social distancing measures are relaxed. My thanks to Committee members for their willingness to continue in their roles for the time being.
Please keep safe and well. Ian Burdett, President [at Home]
Page 1
Help limit the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) U3A Bendigo members should note that the Victorian Government introduced Stage 3 directives on 30 March 2020. These directives are designed to help keep us safe and well. They require all Victorians to stay at home as much as possible and restrict sporting, cultural, recreational and commercial activities to help limit the spread of COVID-19. In addition, they are consistent with the National Cabinet's agreement that gatherings are now restricted to no more than two people except for members of your immediate household and for work or education. Key messages from the Victorian Government for everyone
•Stay home. Protect the health system. Save lives.
•There are only four reasons to leave home:
shopping for what you need - food and essential supplies
medical, care or compassionate needs
exercise in compliance with the public gathering requirements
work and study if you cannot work or learn remotely Full information about the Stage 3 restrictions can be found at: https://www.vic.gov.au/coronavirusresponse The latest advice on the virus can be found via the Victorian Government website:
We canvassed a group of members to see what they were doing and added other suggestions—
Walk the dog
Garden
Phone one person each day for a chat
Work a crossword puzzle or sudoku
Paint landscapes or family portraits
Paint or touch up rooms around the house
Put together a jigsaw puzzle—the bigger
the better!
Take up a language
Relearn that musical instrument you still
have at home—or just enjoy playing it
Hold your committee work on zoom or an-
other similar app
Fix household repairs from your ‘to-do’ list
Dust the house
Mend that hidden basket of clothes
Go through your wardrobe
Reorganise the pantry so you know what
to eat/use
Bake biscuits with the grandchildren over
what’s app
Try a new recipe each week—the Age
newspaper has a new one each day on its
‘The Home Front’ page
Photograph special family items and iden-
tify what stories are related to these items
for the next generation
Write your life story
Research your family tree [try hints on
Ancestry or one of the free gen. programs]
Exchange book titles with friends
Write poetry [See Dawn’s, col. 1]
Donate to Gowns for Doctors
Organise your photos into folders or al-
bums with identification
Do that aged care plan you have post-
poned—call Ruth Hosking if you need help
Listen to your collection of CDs
Re-read your home library, and consider
what books you donate to U3A
Watch ‘Q+A’ on Monday night ABC as
they discuss and advise on various aspects
of covid19 and its impact on communities
In Shutdown
Not a weed in the garden have I ‘what shall I do?’ is my cry I’ve made endless green cuttings And spadefuls of mulchings And booked for a cruise in July. —-Dawn Colbourne
Thanks, Dawn. If anyone else has something to share from their month at home, please send it to us (email address on front page)—a writing, photo, painting, idea. I see some people are miming their favourite art-work with items from home, including their pets. We will try a collage of ef-forts! —Judi & Alison
ACTIVITY NOTES
GARDENING AND GROWING THINGS
It’s awesome autumn, the still pleasantly warm season when deciduous trees explode in a fiery
show of colour and our thoughts turn to getting out into the garden.
Here are some ideas to help you make the most of your gardening on those autumn days.
May 15
# Plan for a sensual spring by planting a few drifts of drop dead beautiful tulips
# Plant one of the gorgeous camellias
now
# Sow seedlings of calendulas, cineraria’s, cornflowers, enigeron, for-get-me-nots, impatiens,
nemesia, nigella, phlox, poppies, primulas, statice and Virginian stocks
# Order bare root roses and fruit trees (their generally cheaper than potted ones) to plant over
winter,
May 22
# Rate your flowering perennials (salvias, sedums, delphiniums, asters, red hot pokers,
agapanthus and more) and select the best for dividing up with a sharp new spade to produce
new plants
# Plant up pots for the coming winter with violas, pansies, primulas, Iceland poppies, and
polyanthus
# Get in a crop of garlic (plant corm pointy end up) in a sunny spot that drains well
# Move smaller trees and shrubs that are barely surviving in the wrong
spots
# Plant up pots for the coming winter with violas, pansies, primulas, Iceland poppies and
polyanthus
# get in a crop of garlic (plant corm pointy end up in a
sunny spot that drains well
# Move smaller trees and shrubs that are barely
surviving in the wrong spots
May 29
# Check out deciduous trees for borer damage once they
are devoid of leaves and seek out advice from a
garden centre on treatment if borers are present
# Dig in any remaining organic mulch on vege beds into
the soil to improve texture and water holding ,
planting ability
# Get in an early crop of potatoes, planting certified seed
potatoes into frost free soil – that drains well then
