IT seems that some people are holding back from joining Moruya Probus Club because of the obligations membership might entail. There are not many at all, the Club’s executive says, though it is preferred members attend monthly meetings at least. And not necessarily anything more than that.
So what goes on at the meetings? The August one would be a good example, held at Moruya Golf Club on Tuesday.
Thirty-three of the Club’s 52 members were there for the ten-o’clock start, as well as two visitors, Tom and Roz, who were welcomed by president Di Montgomerie. Then Carolyn Winters told the meeting a joke, this time about a blond lady keen to give the lie to all those blond jokes.
Then ten minutes were then spent with members giving brief insight of their very younger days.
Executive reports followed, taking up only a few minutes including information of a moderately-priced outing to Floriade 2019 being organised by Rixon busses next month and October. Members’ birthdays were then mentioned, as well as a 67th wedding anniversary.
That brought proceedings up to 10.30…time for tea or coffee and biscuits.
After that the president, and acting secretary, of Batemans Bay U3A, Ross Thomas, told the meeting something about the University of the Third Age. But before that he spoke about a Roman emperor of about 1700-yars ago named Probus. Members might be pleased, he said, to learn Probus had been one of the best of that line, a successful general and a good administrator.
Then returning to the present day he explained that U3A was a non-profit organisation of volunteers existing to provide affordable learning opportunities. People who were retired, he went on, were given things to do to help intellectual and physical deterioration, staving off the fourth age.
The movement was begun in France and quickly spread to other countries, arriving in Melbourne in 1984 and Batemans Bay 20 years ago. It now had 100,000 members in Australia, including 661 in Batemans Bay. He emphasised, though, that it was not just a Batemans Bay concern, having members in Moruya and Tuross.
Batemans Bay’s offered 40 courses of about two hours each week. They included book groups and others involving wine appreciation, classic films, languages (Italian, French and Spanish), mathematics, history, crafts and gardening. There were some management issues, Mr Thomas said, and some concerns that the proposed Batemans Bay community centre would not really suit U3A’s needs…and worries about the possible sale of the existing Community Centre by Council.
Moruya Probus meets at Moruya Golf Club at ten-o’clock on the fourth Tuesday of each month.
There are many advantages with being a member of Probus. Apart from meeting new friends, and sometimes some old ones, there are opportunities of being involved in outings. There are discounts for some members with restaurants and hotels and more reasonable travel insurance rates that seniors may otherwise be offered. And there are no obligations to give talks. Anyone considering membership should call President Diane Montgomerie on 4471 8629. Or turn up at a meeting.
