On 12th August, our Card Group celebrated Nita Stubley’s 99th birthday. Nina is still very sharp minded and regularly wins.

Our Yoga group celebrated the end of year with morning tea at Shillinglaw Cottage.

Our Shakespeare Rockers posed for this photo taken by tutor Noel Butterfield.

Our Luncheon Group comprises some 30 people who get together every 2nd Friday of the month to enjoy different dishes at different cafes and restaurants in the surrounding areas of Nillumbik. So far, the lunches have been mainly restricted to the typical Australian cuisines. But the pattern was broken on Friday, 13th October, when the decision was made to have a completely different menu, from an Asian restaurant. So, lunch was held at the Diamond Saigon (Vietnamese) restaurant at Diamond Creek. Some members started with the entrees of Vietnamese spring rolls, dim sims, or soups to warm up the appetite on a very cold day. The main courses included curry beef, scallops in ginger, garlic prawns, and chicken in lemongrass and chilli, and stir fried chicken and vegetables. Most people decided to share the different dishes on the table. The service was very efficient and the dishes arrived on time. The atmosphere was happy and relaxed. Even the restaurant owner, Ian, was very happy with the event. The final judgment: absolutely delicious!

One of the members of the group, Eileen Goodall, is Irish, so the group decided to have a bit of fun on St Patricks Day (17th March) and celebrate with her. As you can see, everyone wore green and had some green coloured goodies to eat.

On 4th November, the Diamond Valley Big Band, who are becoming part of Nillumbik U3A, filled the Eltham Community and Reception Centre for an evening of big band jazz music. As illustrated by the photos, there was a lot of dancing.

We decided to have our mid-year social gathering at the Old Eltham Courthouse this year rather than at a restaurant. It was very successful – there was more space to move and we could hear each other speak. Everyone prepared a short presentation in Greek and we brought a variety of Greek dishes including meatballs & salad, tzatziki, galaktoboureko and baklava. Γειάσας!

[Editor: I looked up the word Γειάσας! and it apparently means “bet you are jealous!”]

[Editor: just joking. It means “hello!”]

The time is 1:45pm on a Friday afternoon and cars are winding their way towards Eltham Lower Park where you'll find the Diamond Valley miniature railway, dog training, cricket and lacrosse playing areas. Graeme [Russell] is the first to arrive as he has the keys to unlock our playing premises. He has to be careful to press the correct buttons or, should I say, numbers as any error would set off the burglar alarm system and who knows what would then happen.

Once inside, the lights and (depending on the time of year) the heater or cooler are operated, just like the three bears not too hot, not too cold, but just right. By this time, other eager members have arrived and get into setting up the tables and chairs with table cloths, writing or scoring pads, pencils, everything needed for the afternoon's entertainment and, of course, cards and cubes with their little reminders for those rare senior moments. The kettle is on, the chairs are filled, partners are taken and the cards are dealt.

There is silence for a moment while players study their hand, looking for that elusive joker. Sure there's one in every pack, next best are the bowers left and right, but none are in sight. Oh well, how best can I assist my partner, let's see. What(!), it's my call? Oh dear, ah, yes, no, alright, six spades. After picking up the kitty, and remarking that it would have been much better for the opposition, the hand is played with cunning and mirth. The two hours rapidly pass in this happy manner. Then tables are folded, chairs and equipment put away, the door locked and the alarm reset. We happily head home with a spring in our step. When will this happen again?

Would you like to step inside the life of an ‘untouchable’ growing up in India, journey to the court of Queen Elizabeth II with all its intrigues, or maybe experience the life of a female reporter in the Second World War? This is a snapshot of our reading so far this year. Why not come to the Second Tuesday book club and see what else is in store? 2nd Tuesday of each month, 10.15am-12.15pm, Eltham Library.

The Weirdness of Light class visited the Synchrotron and an interesting time was had by all. Thanks to Pam Jenkins for the idea and to Chris Livingstone for the photo.

The Shakespeare Rocks group recently had an enlightening and entertaining presentation from Dr. John Bigelow on aspects of Shakespeare’s comedy Twelfth Night, as well as his sonnets and poems. John’s background is philosophy but he has a passion for Shakespeare, particularly the sonnets.

In Twelfth Night, John provided insights into the circumstances of Mavolio’s imprisonment and torment after he is tricked into making a buffoon of himself. The ‘Fool’, disguised as Sir Topas, questions Malvolio on aspects of Pythagorean philosophy – he answers correctly – a conversation that could have seen him charged with heresy. In Elizabethan times, this could have been tantamount to a death sentence. It sounds like heavy stuff but the play, despite some typically dark Elizabethan undertones, is very funny.

The first sonnets were written in the 14th century by Italian poet Francesco Petrarch. Over the years, the structure was modified by French and English poets but Shakespeare returned to the original format. Shakespeare wrote his sonnets over a number of years but they were first published in 1609. They were then almost completely ignored for over a century as lesser art forms until championed by the romantic poets John Keats and William Wordsworth in the 18th century. Classically, the format follows 14 lines of iambic pentameter; three, four-line alternately rhyming quatrains; ending with a two-line rhyming couplet. Whilst Shakespeare predominately maintains the classical Italian structure, he is able to add non-discordant departures almost at will to suit his message.

The sonnets cover broad aspects of love from romance to more base desires. In all there are 154; the first 126 are dedicated to an unidentified and, much speculated upon, beautiful young man or boy, whilst sonnets 127-152 concern tormented dealings with a mysterious ‘dark lady’. Sonnets 153 and 154 appear irrelevant to the previous 152, although on a similar subject of love.

Shakespeare offers something for everyone’s interest, theatre, literature, history, philosophy, psychology. But, of course, there is pure enjoyment in just the beauty of the words.