Firtree Newsletter May 2019 Issue 482
May should be a nice enjoyable month with plenty of time to admire the gardens but sadly it is also the business month when we have our annual general meeting and receive our annual accounts. This time it is even more taxing because we have decided to revise our constitution. Why on earth would we do that!! Well for one thing our present constitution was revised fourteen years ago when we were a different type of club and also some laws have changed. Also, we do not have any rules about trusteeship which we do need as a charity. This has now been amended to bring us into line with Charity law. Copies of the new constitution will be available after Easter so that you will have time to read it before the Annual Meeting which is on Tuesday May 28th. If anyone wants to amend the proposed paper they should give Karen a copy of any proposal (as our Secretary) by May14th. The same applies to any new proposal on any topic.
One of the rule changes gives time limits for committee appointments and I am well over the limit. The same applies to others on the committee so all the jobs on the committee are available. We elect the Chairperson, and Vice-chair, Secretary and Treasurer. Karen is willing to be secretary and Monica has a year to go as treasurer. Please, if you have any spare energy, speak to any of the present committee about what you could do, and don’t be surprised if one of us speaks to you!
Now for Tuesday mornings:-
30th April Ailsa Claybourne presents Enchanted Woodlands
7th May ‘We don’t bounce like we used to’ – the problems with falling – An NHS nurse will talk about falling and how to try and prevent it.
14th May The Mark Bowman collection of what we used to watch
21st May One man and an orchestra – Bert returns with his accordion.
28th May Annual general meeting
I had the pleasure of joining the Garden Circle for their visit to Toad Hall on the 8th April along with 21 others. It would have been easy to spend much longer there with their very wide variety of plants. Needless to say, the afternoon tea was very welcome. Next month of course is the trip to Kew Gardens and there may be one or two seats left – 50 of us have already booked. The normal garden circle activities resume on the 10 June when there will be a ‘plant swap’.
Indoor bowls has ended now and we will be resuming outside at Prospect Park on Thursday 16th May. If you have never played bowls before this is your opportunity to do so with a friendly group who laugh more than they cry. There is green fee of £2.00 which is the best value in the whole of Reading. We welcome others as well at £4.00 (or of course the full membership fee.) Contact Alan Warner if you are interested (01189 426087) There are bowls available at the green.
Holidays are nearly upon us and we still have double/twin rooms (at Morecambe, for the Lake District) in July. We have started looking at a ‘Turkey and Tinsel’ break this winter and next year’s main holiday is now booked at Cliftonville (Kent coast) in late May. Gloria will be taking provisional bookings if she hasn’t caught you yet.
I have been editing the newsletter now for 7 years so you may well find me repeating myself. It would be good to share the work with a view to someone taking it on later. I have to admit that I am not getting any younger and my jokes have been around for many years.
The Healthwatch ladies who called recently were delighted at your help with their questionnaire and I am hopeful that they will come to talk to us about their role in the community. Believe it or not your views are still welcome as at the meetings with the council on Fridays afternoon four times a year.
Sarah Hunneman and Michelle Berry have a brief to work with older people and I get regular notes from them about activities in Reading suitable for us. We get updates on help for carers, issues about dementia as well as all the things done through Age UK. Because this newsletter only comes out monthly I don’t always get the information in time but if you are interested in any of the groups do let me know and I will get you a direct link.
Now for something that goes round and round and never seems to stop. They are playing it in parliament right now.
Three professors (absent minded of course) were standing at a bus stop and didn’t realise the bus had arrived. When they did two of them managed to scramble on it. The third one didn’t make it. A stranger said to him , “ Never mind, at least two of you made it. “Yes” said the third professor, “but they came to see me off !”
Every blessing for this Easter. I wonder if anyone still dyes their eggs in onion skin?
If you want to know more about Firtree, contact Colin Ferguson (colindf@btinternet.com) or Liz Prior on 0188 942 2958
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