READING RETIREMENT CENTRE (registered charity No. 281830)
FIRTREE
(Friends in retirement taking relaxation, exercise and education)
http://www.firtree-reading.com
Firtree Newsletter Summer special Issue 484
This newsletter has two functions and one is to welcome all our visitors to our Open Day (July 30th) as across the day we show a variety of our activities, from movement to music, our songsters, a running show of pictures from our outings and holidays, items from our craft circle, an opportunity to play bridge, whist or scrabble or in the afternoon, table tennis, as well as to share in a light lunch.
Firtree is a self-supporting and self-managing group which is the original Reading Retirement Centre, founded 47 years ago. We meet either here in the chapel or at the YMCA on Wednesdays apart from playing bowls and on our occasional outings as with the garden circle and holidays. If you want to know more please just talk to any of our members for a biased view.
Among our other ventures are this monthly Newsletter and cards to those who are not well or otherwise distressed, as well as being associated with a dance group that meets at the chapel. We try to keep contact with other groups, in particular the Reading Older Peoples Partnership and each week we have a talk of interest on Tuesday mornings.
How do we do all this? We are all volunteers and we do have an annual fee of £35.00. At one event a week that works out at about 75p a time.
Welcome to FIRTREE
The second purpose is to let our members know about what is happening. Though the main activities of Firtree stop for August we are back in full swing on the 2nd September (Bridge). Bowls at the Prospect Park on Thursday Mornings continues through the month and into September. Our Tuesday mornings at the chapel and activities at the YMCA on Wednesday start up again.
The craft Circle have now completed their patchwork ‘throw’ and that will be on view at the Open Day,
Tuesday mornings start on the 3rd September with a Mark Bowman show of clips from our film memories.
10th September – We will have a speaker (Shannon Wilson) on talking therapies
17th Sep. – Speaker to be confirmed
24th September Helen Dormon takes us on holiday
1st October Simon Williams tells us about the great train robbery
It was agreed at the last committee meeting that the full committee will only meet on alternate months starting in September and the Trustees (Chairman, Vice chairman, Secretary and Treasurer will meet during the other month to deal with any business and in needed to receive reports from the activity leaders. We hope to set up support groups for the various activities and that means you, the members can help as well.
One holiday down and what a nice one it was. Weather stayed dry, food was good and even though the hotel was older than we were it was well paced with wonderful views across the bay to the Lake District mountains. Needless to say, the company was excellent and Gloria and Jenny worked hard to make it a very good experience.
Next year we will be back in May for our break to Cliftonville (Kent version) but before then we head to Torquay from Monday 9th to Friday 13th for a Turkey and tinsel holiday at the Toorak Hotel and bookings for this are being taken now. There will be three days of outings around Devon, including visits to Looe and Plymouth, Brixham and Dartmouth and the market town of Totnes in time for you to get more of your Christmas shopping done. As we enjoy Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing day and New Year’s Eve the evenings have a festive nature but all the activities are optional. Please let Gloria know if you are interested as soon as possible, she is collecting the £50 deposits and insurance. As usual there are double rooms still available and these can be allocated to a single person at an extra cost. Bring a friend or your partner or …
As we recall the events of fifty years ago when the first landing on the moon took place few people realised that Neil Armstrong was supposed to say ‘That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind’ but he missed the a out, The history books corrected the mistake as man and mankind are the same, but even today it is the mistake that is remembered and repeated, just the way Armstrong said it.
Enjoy your August.
If you want to know more about Firtree, contact Colin Ferguson (colindf@btinternet.com) or Liz Prior on 0118 942 2958
Firtree 