Jacaranda Outing – November 2023
Wasn’t our Jacaranda outing a great affair? We had a total of 12 units, including three couples from other chapters with one couple from The Capricorn Wanderers in Queensland, who all stayed the four nights of the outing. With the 22 people who stayed, there were an extra 14 people who came in for at least part of the day, so a total of 36 people were involved in the weekend. It was great to see some very early members of the Chapter who also made the effort to come. On Wednesday night Tim was able to show a movie – “Fishermen’s Friends” – which was very entertaining, on a Greyhound Club TV. On Thursday night we had a sausage and patty barbecue dinner with salad, prepared by Nola and the Catering team – thanks, guys.
The weather was very hot from Wednesday to Friday, then we had some overnight rain Friday night, then 52.5mm on Saturday, followed by more showers on the
Sunday as we all packed up. I know I drove through constant rain all the way to Lismore.
Nineteen people went to the Grafton District Services Club on Friday night, to participate in the meat raffles (and some recovered their investment), as well as nicely cooked dinners supplied by the Bistro. Twenty-two people showed up at the Village Green Hotel on Saturday, and we all got beautifully cooked pub lunch-sized meals from the Bistro.
Other than feeding our faces, there were many activities at the Jacaranda Festival that some of us went to, from the free breakfast on Thursday morning and the following Prince Street frivolities, the TAFE Markets on Saturday, the woodworking display that Ken was involved in, and many more as well.
We had our raffles on Saturday, and bingo was played on three days. Also, Anna had her Tai Chi, Carla had her craft business booming, the ladies played their card games and everyone was so busy we did not play any outside games.
Looking forward to our next outing, it will be our Christmas event at Nana Glen, from 07 to 10 December, at the Nana Glen Equestrian Centre at 75 Morrows Road. The cost will be $15 per night, plus $5 per person for the outing, and $5 per unit for the 2024 Chapter membership if you haven’t already paid. As well, for people who have not been to any of this year’s outings, or friends or relatives you would like to bring, $10 per person will help cover the cost of the meal. All payments will be collected by Tony at 10 am on Saturday. Please bring a plate for morning and afternoon tea The raffles will be supplied by the club, so you don’t need to supply anything for that. Marilyn is making up a full Agenda for the outing, so I will send that out when I get it.
As required by CMCA Rules, we will be holding the Annual General Meeting, at 10.30 am Saturday, when all office bearers stand down, and either stand again or be replaced. Enclosed are nomination forms, which need to be signed by the nominator, the nominee, and the seconder, to be handed to me as soon as possible at the outing. Any ideas you might have about improving the Club can be submitted on another form, which will need to be signed by the nominator and a seconder, and again given to me. Following the AGM, we will hold our third General Meeting with the new Executive to look forward to 2024.