�

Page � of 91

Albury-Wodonga U3A is located atThe Albury-Wodonga Community College

63 High Street Wodonga VIC 3690PO Box 129 Wodonga VIC 3689

College Reception (02) 6043 8200U3A Mobile 0499 895 117Email: u3a@awcc.edu.au

alburywodongau3a.com > Contact Us

June Newsletter 2019Editor : Tony Keys | Publication Date : June 2, 2019

Albury-Wodonga U3A 2019-20 Committee MembersEdward Voogt (President & Member Services Director) • Dianne Fontana (Secretary)

Doug Reid (Treasurer) • Pat Madin (Programme Director) • Peter Massey (Systems Director ) • Diana Pape • John McLennan (VicNet & Regional Liaison & Vice-President)

Tony Keys (Newsletter) • Rod Farr • Lyn Reed • Anthony White

Term 229th April - 28th June

§

Next Committee MeetingFriday 7th June

§Coffee Morning

Friday 14th June10:00am - Food & Tea/Coffee in

kitchen area10:30am - Performance

Coffee MorningFriday 14th June

The Importance of Being Ernest (Act I)

Presented by the U3A Play Reading Group.

�

Page � of 92

Coffee MorningFriday 10th May, 2019

Wills and Related Matters

Tim Huggins, who is a partner at Skinner & Associates (Solicitors) of Albury, was kind enough to donate his time to explain to us the legal aspects of what (gulp) can only be described as end-of-life planning. A timely reminder that you can’t take the ‘3’ out of U3A. Tim braved the heat put out by a full and inquisitive room, and was carrying an injury sustained while operating one of those infernal bicycle things. (The fifth such war-story told to your correspondent in the space of a week. Be warned.)

Tim’s practice operates on both sides of the Border. From what Tim was telling us, it’s c l ea r t ha t t he V i c to r i an and NSW

governments have responded to the public’s common-sense demand for new legal instruments with which to bring at least some measure of order and control to life’s terminal scenario. Taking control, and close involvement of family members, were the main themes that Tim emphasised.

There were minor differences between the provisions made by the Victorian and NSW governments. Victoria seems to be in the lead. As one would expect, the legal instruments now available appear a little technical for the non-specialist, and many questions were asked. Tim introduced concepts such as the difference between Power of Attorney and Enduring PoA; the latter “enduring” after the subject’s loss of capacity to act in his or her own behalf. Then, in Victoria only, there is the Supportive PoA, which permits the attorney to gather financial and medical information about the subject, give effect to his or her decisions, but not perform any significant financial transactions. But it was the “Living Will” or Advance Care Directive, that attracted most of the questions, because it

Our resident philosopher

�

Page � of 93

Luckily the play (by Oscar Wilde) is high farce set in the late Victorian era.

So if we ham it up it may be a very high farce!

The play is full of classic one liners such as:

“If I am occasionally a little over-dressed, I make up for it by being

always immensely over-educated.”*

“I don't like novels that end happily. They depress me so much”

The play should take about 40 minutes

is a “to whom it may concern” document, that lays out the subject’s instructions regarding resuscitation and the withdrawal of medical treatment. Finally, Tim mentioned the Values Directive, which sets out the subject’s end-of-life preferences as a guide, but without binding any agent to a specific course of action.

Much new territory to consider and explore further. Our thanks go to Tim for raising some uncomfortable issues in a helpful and matter-of-fact way. John Shilling.

§

Coffee MorningFriday 14th June

We plan to present Act I as a radio play. But there will be some visual

props! Oscar Wilde

�

Page � of 94

but there was a shaky armistice in place and then I found we were sailing and stopping at some of the ‘exotic’ places en route – a trade off! This represented the 1st major change in my life! I spent 9 months on the 38th parallel, sleeping underground, but the time passed and the bonus was leave in Japan when my 9 months were up, and that was magic. My next posting and my last was Hong Kong/Kowloon which I really enjoyed and while there I produced cartoons which were published in the ‘Hong Kong Tiger’ newspaper. I left Hong Kong by ship, also visiting Durban, South Africa, and Dakar in Senegal then home and back to work and studies which I successfully completed in Production Management.

I started a new job as a planner with Ever-Ready Razor Blade Co. and shortly after joining, I was celebrating with friends my football team winning the Scottish Cup in Glasgow and went dancing. Dance halls and big bands were the rage back then, and it was there that I met the girl who would become my wife and mother of our three daughters. We were engaged in 6 months, married in 12 months. This was the 2nd major change in my life. We had our first daughter 11 months later, second daughter in 1963 and youngest in 1967.

I continued working and progressing at Ever-Ready and had moved into purchasing During that time the company intended opening a new factory in Belgium and I was sent over to source and vet potential packaging suppliers with my search covering Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Holland and France. On my return I was moved into the role of Production Controller giving me the opportunity to work

Our Members

Alastair Cameron - My Life - a brief story

Apparently I am now a senior member of U3A – a bonus! Given my medical history it’s remarkable that I’ve survived to achieve my 82 plus years. I’ve been requested to put some words together covering my life. Okay! So this is a brief summary of my 82 plus years.

I was ‘made in Scotland’ and made my debut on 31 October 1936 in Paisley, a town situated 11kms south west of Glasgow.

I was 3 years old when World War II started and I do remember when Clydeside was bombed and also the very long period of shortages on virtually everything. Rationing did not stop until 1954, a long time.

My educational journey started in 1941 and while I enjoyed school it was obvious I was never going to be an academic, my skill sets were in the arts. I was also an avid reader and had visions of seeing all those ‘exotic lands’ and cultures. I completed my secondary education, which also included a diploma course at Glasgow Art School. I joined the work force, also starting a course at Paisley Technical College in Production Management. Work experience continued as a planner in both heavy and light manufacturing until after my 18th birthday when I was conscripted and selected to the ‘Royal Corps of Signals’, and after basic training I was posted to Korea. I remember that no one was particularly happy

�

Page � of 95

Albury, NSW, Australia. How he got my name is another story! After a discussion with my wife, an interview was set up the following weekend in London. We had further family discussions and agreement to proceed and so some 9 months later after all the necessary processing was complete we were all set to fly out direct, except that the company changed its plans and requested that we fly to America instead and that I visit key micro chip suppliers and also witness one of the company’s installations. A week in the hotel in London, visits to the American Embassy to obtain the necessary visas all arranged via the company’s London office and we were finally on our way. This was the 3rd major change in my life.

We arrived in New York on a Friday and were met by Roy Casey, Helen’s husband who was the company’s representative. We had the weekend sightseeing in New York before the family flew out to meet up with Helen Casey at their residence in North Carolina. Roy and I joined them a week later having concluded our supplier visits/discussions. I did see the company’s installations in use by the US Military which was very impressive, before we flew out to Los Angeles via Disney Land to Australia. We arrived in Albury via Sydney on 2nd August 1976. The company had acquired a Commission house for us, which we stayed in for about a year, having bought a block of land and then building a house in Lavington, where we still are.

I was with the company for 5 years, setting up various new production control systems before accepting a position initially as

more closely with marketing. I had been nearly 10 years with the company and had achieved probably more than I had thought possible, and at this time I had contacted employment agencies with my resume. I had been spending less and less time with my young family and we decided a move may be a good idea. It was at this time I had a successful interview with a Manchester company and we decided on the move south. I was with the new company for a number of years as Production Controller until they were taken over and closed down. However, I had already secured a position as senior planner with another manufacturing company in the area and this was now using computer planning software systems.

I was with this company when one night over dinner at home I got a call from a Mr Knight who explained that his company were looking urgently for a Production Controller, He further explained that his company was in

�

Page � of 96

Administration Manager, then into planning with an engineering design company who had just secured a major contract with Woodside petroleum. The family had agreed the move, and it was to be my baptism into Petro-chemical and mining projects. It became obvious very early on that I was now into the world of ‘Project’ Management not production and that there were major differences. A steep learning curve was required; this also applied to computer control planning and scheduling systems where I attended several courses.

The oil and gas industry at this time was going through a very quiet time and unfortunately the project folded and I returned to the company’s Melbourne office, working on some planning and scheduling work on Esso Bass Strait platforms. However, I left the industry for what turned out to be only a brief period and joined a brushware manufacturing company as Purchasing Manager. On early surveying of their operations I suggested they should go direct to fac tory source ra ther than loca l wholesalers, making potentially significant savings and they agreed! I spent some 3 weeks travelling visiting factories in Taiwan, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong/Kowloon and China. They did proceed with my recommendations and made savings. However, I had been contacted by a company looking for a planner to work on specific projects at Esso in Sale, including Langford and Bass Strait platforms. Fortunately they were using the same computer software programme I had before so that was a bonus.

I was with Esso for some time and in that time I had set up a consultant company with my wife and also had my resume with a couple of ‘project’ type agencies. A project had come up with BP and I had organised an interview, which was successful. This was a 1 year contract and involved planning the new BP signage on BP service stations. I was assigned with a dedicated BP engineer, BP service stations in Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. Also included were visits to the signage supplier in Brisbane. The project turned out to be a fantastic way to see these states' countryside and townships closely. The work included the planning of the signage required by specific service stations, based on fuel sales and also the signage installer contractors.

Just before the end of my contract I had a call from an agency to see Shell refinery at Corio Bay, Geelong, who were planning a major refinery rebuild, reducing the sulphur content of their refined fuel. I joined the project team on a contract for the full implementation of the project, which completed ahead of schedule and under budget. Prior to its completion I had agreed to a contract with Caltex in Sydney for the planning of a major plant shut down. During this contract I had also accepted a contract to start with the Sydney Water Board in their water treatment plants with my areas designated to be Cronulla, Bondi, Malabar and the Blue Mountains ie St Mary’s, Wentworth Falls and Katoomba.

�

Page � of 97

However, during the shutdown the company offered me a further contract for a month after the shutdown to go to assess the rebuild required on a somewhat derelict Shell refinery in Guam as part of a team including 5 discipline engineers. The dates were tight, but I accepted. The shutdown ended okay and Guam started and was going okay until after about 2 weeks when we got hit with cyclone Olaf. This caused major problems and a delay in completing our work, however the Sydney Water Board agreed to my later start.

Unfortunately towards the end of my work with the Water Board I had a heart attack. After a time out I did more or less finish my work with the Water Board before having a triple bypass at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney. Shortly after this I had a call regarding a senior planning position on a project in New Plymouth, New Zealand with Shell. They offered me the position over the phone which, with the family’s approval, I accepted. The contract was initially for 12 months, however, due to continued design changes it was going onto 3 years when I got a call from Esso in Melbourne offering me a 2 year contract in the CBD basically planning shutdown work which I accepted. I left Esso, taking a new 12 month contract with BP for the planning of a complete re-vamp of their Brisbane refinery, very similar to the one I had been involved with at Shell in Corio Bay.

My next call was from Woodside in Perth offering me a 12 month contract as Asset Planner for the Rankin Platform. This was strange considering I had been involved in

the early planning design phase in 1981. I was with the project before being moved to Woodside Karratha which was having a major No 3 gas train shutdown. While the resident planning team were engaged in that I looked after the many projects re planning assistance. I came back to Perth office for a few months looking after Rankin and also Goodwin platforms re planning before taking up a planning position with Granherne (Halliburton) on a major BP project which was an oil platform in China. The planning was again multi-discipline logic design and construction scheduling including contract and procurement etc and this took me to China. I was part working with Chinese nat iona ls , par t icu lar ly on handover scheduling criteria. Before the end of the schedule which ended well, I had another contract this time again with BP, very similar to the one I’d just completed, but this one was the planning of an oil/gas platform in the Gulf of Thailand. This took me to Thailand also to project offices in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur but these were mainly clarification and handover situations

I had further contracts with Granherne (Halliburton) re feasibility planning for potential projects off the WA coast. I was also involved in contracts for the engineering design and construction planning of gas trains in Pakistan and goldmines in South Africa. This was just before accepting a 12 month contract with Inpex to produce feasibility planning for their proposed project on their development off the WA coast (This project was eventually cancelled on environmental issues in WA and moved to

�

Page � of 98

Darwin). Prior to moving from Inpex I’d had a call from BHP and accepted their offer as a senior planner on their R.C.P. Project M4 (Rapid Growth Project No. 4)' this was not Petro Chemical but it did seem interesting. They had a fairly detailed design on construction, but no discipline design or procurement (front end). So they needed to seriously validate construction dates, including ‘peg in the ground’ end dates. I produced the multi discipline design and procurement schedules l inking i t to construction, thereby validating and changing the construction plan including new realistic end dates.

I went on to produce schedules for No 5 and was working on No 6 when I contracted ‘Golden Staff’. I’d been having vascular operations on my legs when on one hospital operation I picked up ‘Golden Staff’ . This was very serious stuff. I was hospitalised for 6/7 months and in that time had most of my left foot amputated. My wife had come over to Perth and fortunately my daughter’s family was living in Perth. So I left hospital and recuperated with my wife at my daughter’s home with her family for several months. Altogether I think I lost all of 2009.

BHP were prepared to take me back, but I had already decided to retire, with the families backing. I was 73, so back to Albury and retirement.

I started doing a little art: painting reading etc . The problem I had was that I didn’t know anyone outside the immediate family, so my wife suggested a men’s club and U3A and so

gradually I started checking out and joined a men’s club and then U3A.

Having put this brief summary together it stuck me that I’ve had a really interesting even adventurous kind of working life which I’ve really enjoyed. However, I’ve been extremely lucky to have had really wonderful family support allowing me to pursue the contracts, travel and places. I remember my childhood dreams of seeing all those ‘exotic places’ and I think I’ve achieved it, and a pleasing aspect, being Scottish, is the fact that other people have paid for me to see all these exotic places (my parents would be proud).

My education started in 1941 but still continues through books, internet and U3A. In closing I must thank the U3A presenters for their determination and commitment but also to you my fellow classmates and colleagues for your debate, comments and enthusiasm in helping to make this such an enjoyable experience. So thank you from an old new Senior Member.

§

�

Page � of 99

Laughter is the Best Medicine

The doctor tells the patient he has very bad flu. The patient says he wants a second opinion. The doctor says, ”OK, you’re ugly too”.

*

“If a doctor treats your cold, it will go away in fourteen days. If you leave it alone, it will go away in two weeks. Gloria Silverstein

*

A man from Little Rock, Arkansas was awarded $14,500 and medical expenses after being bitten on the buttocks by his next door neighbour's beagle.  The beagle was on a chain in its owner's fenced-in yard, as was the man.  The award was less than sought because the jury felt that the man who, at the time, was shooting the animal repeatedly with a pellet gun might have provoked the dog.

*Having just moved into his new office in Whitehall, pompous, newly promoted Lieutenant Commander Rodney Grant [Royal Navy] was sitting at his desk when Leading Seaman Jones knocked on his door.  Particularly aware of his new position, the commander quickly picked up the phone, told the seaman to enter, then said into the phone, 'Yes, Admiral, I'll be seeing him this

afternoon and I'll pass along your message.  In the meantime, thank you for your good wishes, sir.' Feeling as though he had sufficiently impressed young Jones, he asked, 'What do you want?' 'Nothing important, sir,' Jones replied without batting an eyelid, 'I'm just here to connect up your new telephone.'

§

Editorial GuidelinesPlease use the following guidelines when contributing articles to the newsletter:

• Articles should ideally be no longer than 1000 words.

• Please submit articles in Word or text format. Pdf files cannot be used by the Newsletter editing program.

• Pictures can be included in a Word document or preferably separate from the text ie. as 2 items.

• Copyright considerations have to be taken into account when using pictures from sources such as the Internet. Ask the editor if you are not sure about an item.

• Submitted articles may be edited by the editor in the interests of length, clarity or grammatical correctness. Suitable pictures/graphics may be added.