Blayney VIEW club can report a wonderful second half of 2025, with a number of interesting guest speakers and club numbers continuing to rise.
Dinner meetings resumed in September after the 2 month winter break and at this dinner, the club celebrated it’s 27th birthday.
The club also welcomed Dr Mary-Liz Andrews, curator of the Orange Museum, who gave a comprehensive report on the upcoming exhibition, ‘Bloomfield: 1925-2025,’ an exhibition celebrating the centenary of Bloomfield Hospital.
This was particularly interesting as quite a few Blayney & Millthorpe residents have connections with the hospital.
The exhibition opened on the 6th November, exactly 100 years after the hospital first opened.
Mary-Liz kindly offered members of the VIEW club a guided tour of the exhibition, which is planned for January in lieu of the usual dinner meeting.
At the October meeting Michelle Slack-Smith from Adventum Travel in Millthorpe, spoke. Michelle focused mainly on accessible travel, which was a real eye opener for many!
People with special needs, both children and adults, can wear a sunflower lanyard to identify themselves as they navigate the various stages of travel, some airlines offer a chance to experience the interior of their planes prior to travel to help with what could be a challenging situation for some, and Michelle can tailor make travel and organise any special needs or equipment for clients.
In November, Community nurse, Pam Randoll spoke about the development of Blayney hospital and the services provided by Community nurses. It’s always good to have a first hand update and explanation of local health services. This was particularly interesting as Pam advised members to be fully aware of what assistance is available to community members and to apply to be assessed before the need actually arises!
December saw another delicious Christmas dinner, courtesy of the wonderful Kathryn of Fuse Catering. Kathryn has looked after the VIEW Club for many years now and never disappoints.
The Programme Officers organised an evening of games, fun and much laughter. It was many years since most members had played ‘Pass the Parcel!’
The real challenge came when members were given a supply of Christmas paper and decorations and were challenged to make their own Christmas hats!
This was followed by a hat parade and judging of the most creative.
The Club does not break over the Christmas/New year period and members are looking forward to getting together at the Orange Museum in January before resuming normal monthly dinner meetings in February.
