National Seniors Australia Frankston Branch

Every year, Frankston Branch hosts a free luncheon for its loyal members.  For many year we held this event in the Botanical Gardens before moving to Dame Elizabeth Murdoch's beautiful property at Cruden Farm.  Since her passing we have moved indoors and this year our venue was the Hall on Cranbourne Road.
The committee get together an arrange a lovely chicken luncheon, followed by ice-cream and mixed fruit, all the entertainment of "Circular Junction".

We were treated to a morning of Ukuleles strumming a medley of songs for us.  Have to say, it was different and the Ukulelests seem to be having a wonderful time.

Merry Christmas from all of us here at Frankston Branch, and if you've missed any of fun we've had this year, there's always 2016. Hope to see you here.

This year we went local, to Barmah Winery for our Christmas Luncheon, and boy, it was fantastic!  The venue is easily accessed, the setting is beautiful, and the food was divine.  And to top it all off, the weather was perfect, a bright sunny day, not too hot.

 The ladies of committee put on a wonderful show with a reading of "Twas the night before Christmas" followed by singing Christmas Carols.  A truly magic day

  

Marion and Mike

Marion

Leanne looks very happy

Dorothy and Jacob who work hard behind the scenes

Carol and Joe doing the pose thing...

Margaret reads "Twas the Night Before Christmas"

Helen, Margaret Pam and Thelma do the Vestal Virgin Act

Can you hear the Angels singing?

And the prize goes to ???

Pam is so celestial now Marion needs dark glasses

We always make our November  meeting something special.  The usual Christmas crackers and mince pie are a must, but also some pipping hot sausage rolls and other goodies make it very festive. 
Musician, Gavin Ladell is no stranger to our club and makes us get up and have a dance.  We end with us all singing a resounding rendition of "Delia", complete with graphic actions...it's a lot of fun.

Our Break-up Meeting

Gavin's music makes us wanna dance...

An ex Land-Line girl shows us how it done...

Mary, Marion and Diana (out of frame) point the finger at Dick while Margaret tries to look innocent.  Check out the conga line happening at the back..

Margaret and Pamela lead us in "Delia", our signature closing song.  Don't ask it's too complicated!

And so we say goodbye to our formal meetings for another year and thank committee for all the fun we've had in 2015.

We would all love to get to be 90 and be as active and healthy as Margaret is.  What a wonderful milestone, but God help the person who tries to call her old.  Margaret can put a much younger person to shame, walking quickly and striding out, there's no walking stick for her!

Marion congratulates Margaret on the 90th Birthday

And you must have a cake!

And here's a few friends to celebrate the day

We certainly picked a beautiful, sunny but crisp winters day for our visit to Point Nepean. Andrew (our driver) is a local so we got some pretty good history about the place, and there are plenty of notices with information supplied.  However, there is a dark side to this place, and quarantine played a vital part in the mid 1800s.

 The lucky, healthy new arrivals had their possession steamed and disinfected in these large ovens.

Andrew makes a welcome cuppa to warm us up

Win and Carol block Marion from the pic...

Some of us waiting for our Sausage and Onions to be cooked.

There are lots of gravestones missing from this quiet site due to neglect, in fact, everywhere you walk is a grave, however, over the years many have disappeared, which is so sad.  A small amount of restoration has happened, but its a real loss of our history.

There can only be one Marion and everyone was happy to see her back as President of Frankston Branch.  This year saw an increase in the numbers on Committee and that means our club is healthy and thriving, needless to say, all the members take credit for such a great club.

It's true we are friendly and take great pride in our inclusiveness.  Everyone is welcome and welcomed at Frankston, so if you're in the area, check us out.

So, from the top we have the effervescent Marion leading us into another year: 

The Executive Committee are equally impressive, each bringing their own set of talents to the table:


A special thank you to Bob who fitted us into his busy schedule.  There is always a warm welcome for any visitors from other Branches at our meetings.

Back row: Bob Goodyear conducted the election, John (Vice President). 
Front row, Mary (Secretary), Marion (President), Mike (Treasurer).

Next the general committee:


Back Row:  Mike, John, Geoffrey. 
Middle row:  Leanne, Helen, Edna, Pam, Margaret. 
Front row: Diane, Marion, Mary, Jo, Margaret (Social Events Coordinator), Brenda.

With all of you looking after all of us, we can look forward to another fantastic year.

A warm and fuzzy day was had by all those who went to the Koala Centre, down here on the Mornington Peninsular.  With Andrew from Driver's Busses giving us pure gold with his in-depth knowledge of the area, this was a wonderful day.

I hate to tell you Marion, this isn't a real bear!

Every year we host an Australian Biggest Morning Tea for the Cancer Institute.  Every year we are amazed at the generosity of our local traders and members who, combined, helped us raise $29013.15.
Ex-President Roy McLaren conducted the usual chaotic and now infamous auction from donated goods.  Much mayhem was generated which Deputy Mayor Cr Glenn Aitken of Frankston City Council joined in and gave us the thumbs up for a very enjoyable, fun morning.
President Marion lead a team of kitchen maids all intent on expanding our waistlines, but the recipients had to admit, it was a delicious morning tea.

Deputy Mayor, Cr Glenn Aitken & President Marion

The fun trivia quiz had us all (cheating!) puzzled.

Ex President Roy presents a raffle prize to Cr Glenn Aitken

Always time to catch up and have a natter