Monthly Archives: January 2019

Classic Pop and Humour videos

The Forum’s Deputy Chairman Duncan Verity has assembled a large collection of entertaining videos with which he occasionally entertains the Forum’s members.

For the Forum’s second meeting of 2019 on the16th of January he put together a selection which he titled Classic Pop and Humour.  Starting with the Three Tenors singing O Sole Mio, for the next hour we enjoyed the music of many of our favourite singers and comedy from the Two Ronnies and a rare non-singing duet featuring Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra before the final item, a quirky comedy band featuring two trombones whose slides were operated by the bare feet of a third person.

Chairman Mike Earle complimented Duncan in putting together a presentation with something for everyone which had brightened up a dull day.

The Forum continues to attract an average attendance of around fifty but the size of the venue at the Church Centre means that more members could easily be accommodated and would be made very welcome.

 

 

Wheatfields Hospice

On the 23rd of January the Forum welcomed its guest speaker Charlene Graham, a fundraiser from the Sue Ryder organisation whose particular interest is the Wheatfields Hospice in Headingley.     

Charlene began by relating the history of the building which was established in 1859 as a family home called Wheatfield Lodge. During and after the Second World War it housed various government and military organisations until it became a hospice in 1978 under the wing of the Sue Ryder organisation.  Charlene described the various building projects which have brought the building into its present form although not without some setbacks. In 1996 the building was damaged by a flood caused by a burst water main whose repair cost £100,000 which was raised by a charity appeal. This appeal also enabled a new therapy unit to be constructed.     

Charlene went on to describe the work of the hospice which houses 18 in-patients, and also provides day care, for people over the age of 80 who are referred by their GP or the local hospital.  

Forum members then asked questions about the work of the hospice before Chairman Mike Earle proposed a vote of thanks.