Greetings to Members 

Dear Friends, 

We live in interesting times! In future times we are likely to refer to life before and after Covid-19. These days of isolation give us time to reflect on what we value in our lives. I miss the companionship and interest that U3A brings to my life, and I am sure that these words will speak for many of you. I do hope that you are finding ways to compensate for the lack of physical presence of family and friends. It would be good if you could phone a friend, or someone you think may be lonely. 

There are significant changes in Community behaviour – and older people have been recognised as taking great care to avoid this infection. Well done! 

This U3A Stonnington website is being updated continually with pandemic-related information and items to provide distraction and entertainment – I recommend it! 

Many of us enjoyed an excellent lecture that one of our members, Dr Mark Kestin, gave in February – Overview of Nutrition, with an Emphasis on Ageing. Mark has kindly agreed to this lecture being added to the Course notes here. The wealth of information in this lecture is supplemented with some amusing cartoons. 

Here is an unrelated comment from Mark: “I thought this link might be useful for any of the members who can’t access the library, if they are willing to read online: National Emergency Library of the Internet Archive. This is a repository of scanned books (1.4 million!) from a number of sources. They can be borrowed for two weeks for free.” 

The Grattan Institute website is already listed here in the Knowledge Hub. In addition to a wealth of other information, this Institute is running ‘webinars’ (online seminars) about the health, economic, budgetary and political effects of Covid-19 every two weeks; recordings of these are or will be available on their site, along with other information. Here is the link to the first seminar about Covid-19. People are welcome to sign up for the webinars. 

Some organisational matters continue at U3A Stonnington. The NBN will be connected soon. Presenters have been contacted and have agreed to rescheduling – but who knows when? We are exploring options for increased online contact, possibly for small groups. 

We are living in a changed world. I am interested that, among other things, sales of bread makers and toasters have risen! I hope that you are able to find renewed interest and contentment in activities at home. 

Look after yourselves.
Best wishes, Elizabeth
Elizabeth Brown, President, U3A Stonnington