P.O. Box 87291, Meadowbank, Auckland, 1742. Email: [email protected] President: Gay Williams Secretary: Janet Crawford Ph. 524-7221 Ph. 948-1192 www.u3ameadowbank.nz

NEWSLETTER – AUGUST / HERE-TURI-KŌKĀ 2019 Greetings from the President

Our July meeting was well attended (despite being the morning after the overnight Cricket World cup final!). We had a fascinating visit to the Southern Ocean among whales, penguins, seals and icebergs with our Vice president Cecilie Rushton. What a wonderful part of the world to visit. Several members mentioned they were inspired to consider going on a trip there too!

Our main speaker was Professor Helen Danesh-Meyer who presented a fascinating overview of diseases of the eye – especially Cataract, and Glaucoma. With the aid of beautiful slides, she outlined the causes and treatment of these common conditions – Cataract surgery - the safest eye surgery, and Glaucoma, the silent disease – the leading cause of preventable blindness in New Zealand. Helen outlined some risks and lifestyle activities we can all take to manage these conditions, and there were handouts to help us understand the main points. Of concern she mentioned that over 50% of the population are unaware that they have Glaucoma and we all need to have Glaucoma checks regularly especially if there is a family history of Glaucoma. There were several questions from the floor, and many members commented on the value of the presentation.

For further information go to www. glaucoma.org.nz and join Glaucoma NZ (for free) to keep up to date with developments.

Remember the U3A network meeting on 30 August – sharing transport and supporting two of our members presenting at this event. Chris Hawley and Denys Boshier.

Gay Williams

Whakatauki / Proverb for the month This month the proverb is from Tibet: The secret to living well and longer is: eat half, walk double, laugh triple and love without measure. Proverbs encapsulate wisdom from different cultures. Suggestions are welcome. Send to [email protected]

The year 2020 2020 will see us celebrate 20 years of U3A Meadowbank. A small group will be looking at plans for the year and have already received ideas from some members which will be discussed with you all later this year. If you have any suggestions please email Gay Williams ([email protected])

Who’s Who for Monday 19th August 2019 meeting: 9.45 a.m. for 10 a.m. start at St Chad’s Church, 38 St. Johns Road, St Johns 1072. Greeters: Jazz 1 Opera Studies Mini speaker: The mini Speaker will be Sarah Lightbody from Forest and Bird. Her talk -'How to increase biodiversity in Auckland through Native Plant Design.'

Guest Speaker: Dr David Morris – U3A Member – ‘Fifty Years of Friendship between Bin Dinh Province Vietnam and New Zealand.’ Dr Morris is a Board Member of the NZ Vietnam Health Trust that grew out of Kiwi medical teams who worked in and around Quy Nhon in the central province of Binh Dinh before and during the Vietnam War (1963-1975). He was a surgeon in a 1970s’ team. https://vsa.org.nz/what-we-do/vsa-connect-home/stay-connected/viet-nam-volunteers/

Membership of U3A Meadowbank New member – A warm welcome to Becky Gillanders

Who’s Who for Monday 16th September 2019 Guest Speaker: Kate Kenedi, an American born Earth scientist working at the University of Auckland. Her specialty is studying volcanoes. Her topic: Volcanoes in Remuera and Orakei.

GROUP NEWS Poets/ poetry Potential poets, lovers of poetry? Join our U3A Meadowbank poetry group from 10-12 on the 3rd Thursday of the month in individual homes. Contact Gay Williams (524 7221) or Christine Chilwell (575 0951)

AUCKLAND NETWORK U3A – EVENT CELEBRATING U3A 2019 This event is on Friday 30th August 2019, 9:30am (for 10.00) to 2:30pm at the Barfoot and Thompson Netball Centre, 44 Northcote Road, Northcote - $25 which includes morning tea and lunch. Keynote speaker - MIKE KING – New Zealander of the year, plus mini speakers from Auckland U3A groups You can register online at http://u3a.net.nz/event/ Sign up at the July meeting for shared transport.

Online Questionnaire. Kia ora. My name is Marie and I am a PhD candidate in Speech Science at the University of Auckland. My research involves the first NZ study on people’s opinions about their own swallowing (eating and drinking) and nutrition. I am looking for independent New Zealanders aged 65 years and older, who are willing to answer an online questionnaire (37 questions, about 10 minutes). People are eligible to participate whether they do or do not have swallowing problems. I am contacting you for your support in circulating the study with your U3A mailing list. I have attached the study advertisement and participant information sheet, which you can choose to circulate or not; it is voluntary. The link to the questionnaire is https://auckland.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_2lzUYRfymLR3C9T Completed questionnaires can go into the draw to win one of five $20 supermarket vouchers. This study is funded by the NZ Health Research Council and HOPE Selwyn Foundation. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me ([email protected]) or my supervisor, Dr Anna Miles ([email protected]). Thank you for your time Best regards Marie Jardine Approved by the University of Auckland Human Participants Ethics Committee on 3rd July 2019 for three years. Reference Number 022615.

DIGITAL DATA HINT FOR THE MONTH Accessing u3a websites Many U3A organisations have websites. There are currently 83 u3a groups in New Zealand! Those you may find interesting/useful include u3a.nz – a directory of all NZ u3a groups u3a.net.nz – the u3a Auckland network – helping promote and support Auckland u3a groups u3aMeadowbank.nz – our website. In addition there is an Australian site offering online courses https://www.u3aonline.org.au Take some time to explore these sites.

RETIREMENT VILLAGE IMPLICATIONS - FREE COMMUNITY SEMINAR COMMISSION FOR FINANCIAL CAPABILITY

• Saint Heliers – Tuesday 17th September – Saint Heliers Community Centre – 100 St Heliers Road 10am tea, start 10.30am • Remuera – with very abundant free parking at the venue – Auckland Bridge Club – Thursday 19th September, 273 Remuera Road, 10am for tea, start 10.30am The seminar discusses the personal, legal and financial implications of retirement village living and what people need to consider before becoming a retirement village resident. For each event there will be tea on arrival for registered attendees, half an hour before the seminar starts. (NB. The Commission is an autonomous Crown agency, offering objective, impartial information. This is not a marketing event.) Registering is important because seats tend to fill fast once word gets around and also we need to have an idea of numbers as we supply tea and materials to registered attendees. People can register online – on eventfinder – or by calling Paul Niccolini on 021 565 321. https://www.cffc.org.nz/retirement-villages/events/

Next Group Meeting: Monday 19th August 2019

Don’t forget to send us your U3A news to include in the next newsletter – we rely on your contributions Deadline for September 2019 newsletter items is Friday 30th August 2019. Expect receipt confirmation

If you change your personal details, please email the change to [email protected]. Please include your full name, physical address, phone number and email address.

TO CONTACT COMMITTEE MEMBERS please use the correct gmail addresses below: Secretary: [email protected] Membership Secretary: [email protected] Treasurer: [email protected] Newsletter Co-ordinator: [email protected] Feedback: [email protected] Groups Co-ordinator: [email protected]