Interest Groups
Interest Groups - May 2020
Dear Members:
Let’s be honest, so far 2020 has not been all that we had hoped. As I write this update for you all we are experiencing a ‘Polar Vortex’ and I posted a picture to FaceBook yesterday that looked like a snow globe. Just wow. I hope you have joined our new PROBUS FaceBook Group as there are suggestions and helpful information goingup almost every d ay.
To keep us focused on what we can affect, let’s talk all things Interest Groups. I am so inspired by our incredible Interest Group Co-ordinators! During the ‘shelter in place’ directive, our intrepid co-ordinators have shared many creative ideas for how they have engineered means for their group members to enjoyed shared interests. I continue to be amazed by the community we fostered here at PROBUS. Our Interest Group Co-ordinators are investing their time to provide us all with options for how to ‘shelter in place’ yet join remote scrabble games or enjoy a group chat. Please be in touch with your co-ordinators for details.
I am looking forward to seeing some daffodils this month!
Gail Johnson Morris
Remote Group Get Togethers:
I’ve listed some options I’ve personally used with groups:
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Zoom: Great product - ok to about 100 attendees. Just watch Zoom as it has some issues with hacking of meetings that can be addressed if you close some preferences as the meeting host. It also relies upon internet service that is patchy where I am (King’s Bay)– if it stalls, just stop your video so you can still listen in.
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FaceBook Messenger: You can create a group from your friend and then video call each other for free. Set up a group on Messenger and then set a time to call. This is a very easy approach for small groups with folks that are on FB but not much else.
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WhatsApp: It’s an encrypted chat feed with notifications etc. Better on phones/ipad than computer - I can’t figure how to get it on my computer. If you would like to coordinate a new remote group or shared experience, please let Gail know at interestgroups.portperry
probus@gmail.com. Count on Gail to help you get the word out and to engage other members. Note: In-person meet ups are on hold during the ‘shelter in place’ directive. Options for keeping engaged are noted next.
If you would like to coordinate a new remote group or shared experience, please let Gail know at interestgroups.portperryprobus@gmail.com. Count on Gail to help you get the word out and to engage other members. Note: In-person meet ups are on hold during the ‘shelter in place’ directive. Options for keeping engaged are noted next.
Click here to see some of the work of our Open Studio Artists.
PORT PERRY PROBUS INTEREST GROUPS UPDATE
"Shelter in Place" Interest Group Updates:
ACTING FOR FUN - Evelyn McKenzie at evsurfing@gmail.com or 905-985-2587
Our group is on hold right now. I wanted to let everyone know that Andrew Lloyd Webber is STREAMING FREE many of his musicals as his contribution to the COVID-19 pandemic. He’s calling the series The Shows Must Go On and By Jeevesis streaming right now. It is a series. For show times and details just Google: Andrew Lloyd Webber.
ART - OPEN STUDIO – ART - Margaret Adamson at madamson905@gmail.com or 905-773-7828
This group will keep in touch with each other via emails. Hopefully, members who have been working on their own creations/works of art during the COVID shutdown, can share their new creations or art works as an attachment in joint emails. At a later date it might be possible to post them on the website.
A special thank you Anne Harland, Rita Hilker and some of the other Probus members, whose collective efforts enabled seniors in the Port Perry Seniors Club to receive protective face masks. Donations for supplies also were much appreciated. This project has been concluded for now.
BOARD GAMES - Jenny Yorgason at j.yorgason@xplornet.ca or 905-986-5441 and Bill Morrison at billandmaryare@gmail.com or 905-985-2624
Board Games Group is on hold. Members are enjoying remote board games, like scrabble, on their computers. Denise Throp has been enjoying scrabble games with her sister who lives in the UK! See the Port Perry PROBUS FaceBook group for details on how to enjoy games on your computer or tablet.
BOOK CLUB - Mary Arlt at arltmary21@gmail.com or 905-982-0159
Our book club is keeping in touch via email. Everyone is doing well and we are considering a group meeting via Zoom. We will not be adding any readers to our group. However, from time to time there could be changes to our numbers and I will keep you informed. Here is a heads up on upcoming books for 2020; The Lost Letter by Jillian Cantor; Born A Crime by Trevor Noah; and, The Silent Patient By Alex Michaelides.
BOOKWORMS BOOK CLUB Brenda Manns at mannsx2@sympatico.ca and Agnes Shaw at theshaw@sympatico.ca or 905-982-1558
Like all other gatherings the Bookworms meetings have been suspended for the past months of isolation. Our regular meeting days are the fourth Tuesday of each month in the afternoons. The books on our list to still be discussed are Born a Crime by Trevor Noah; Becoming by Michele Obama; The Giver of Stars by Jo Jo Moyes; The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena; and, Recipe for a Perfect Wife by Karma Brown. If you’re interested in joining our group please contact Brenda.
BOWLING FOR FUN - Ann Skinner at skinntj@gmail.com and Pat McDougall at patmcdougall@yahoo.com or 905-982-8865
Bowling For Fun is on the ‘shelter in place’ hiatus. Typically we bowl the last Thursday of every month. When we start back up and if you would like to join in the fun and enjoy social time contact please contact Ann by email.
BREAKFAST CLUBS - Mary-Anne Unwin c/o interestgroups.portperryprobus@gmail.com
Both the Tuesday and Thursday Breakfast Clubs are closed to new members and are currently suspended until the Provincial Government lifts the restrictions on restaurants and group gatherings. Note that even when restaurants reopen, they most likely will be obligated to reduce their capacity to 25 or 50% of normal in order to obey “social distancing” rules. Therefore, it will be awhile after that before groups will be permitted. Membership lists and email addresses have been sent to everyone and I encourage members to reach out and keep in touch with each other. Since some members do not have internet or email, it would be unfair to them to set up virtual meetings. For everyone else, feel free to join the Port Perry PROBUS group on Facebook for insightful comments, humour, and community goings-on. Hang in there, someday we will be able to resume our enjoyable breakfasts together!
BRIDGE - BEGINNERS/INTERMEDIATE - Judy Anderson at judykins999@yahoo.ca
Our group is in a hiatus. If anyone has suggestions for online games we might join, please be in touch. When we start back up, this group will meet on a weekly basis on Tuesday afternoons. With the basics of bidding and play of the hand covered, we’ve moved to a shuffle and play format. This allows the group to feel comfortable with playing traditional kitchen bridge which incorporates scoring. Occasional discussions come up regarding bidding, but for the most part players have become independent. Although our group is currently full, we anticipate adding new members.
Facebook has games such as Scrabble, Words with Friends, Yahtzee With Buddies just to name a few that you can play against friends or a random computer opponent. Facebook has a lot of online games you can play interactively with others.
CREATE & CHAT – Lou Ellen Clement-Hobbs at chichi@persona.ca or 705 432 3229
This group is off and running! When we are back to meeting in person, note that there is still room to join and take pleasure in good company and yummy treats. Please contact Lou at the above email address for more information.
CRIBBAGE Barb Rootham at brb.rootham@gmail.com or 905-985-9066
“The Fifteen For Two Crew” meets bi-weekly on Thursday afternoons at alternating members’ homes. Cribbage can be played with 2, 3, or 4 players, so there is never a challenge of not enough players to enjoy the afternoon games. We currently have 9 members, and new members are always welcome when we can meet in person again. Most of the group has an App where they play against a computer opponent. Barb reports that the computer has NO interesting stories to tell! Contact Barb for more information.
CURRENT EVENTS - Linda Schell at lindaschellconsulting@gmail.com or 905-242-8877
We are working at fostering remote meetings – either with Facetime, Facebook messages or with Zoom, depending upon the group members. Join us if you are interested in delving into the news of the day. We explore global, national, and community topics at each meeting. Please contact Linda if you are interested in joining our discussions about news and views.
FUN DARTS - John Leahy at jleahy6@gmail.com or 905-982-2695 and and Ken Crossley at magentis@checkmail.ca or 705-786-1707
When the ‘shelter in place’ directive is lifted, the club will start getting together in person every Tuesday 2:15-4:30p.m. at The Canadian Legion Branch 419 at 484 Bay St. (basement) corner of Bay and Old Simcoe St, in Port Perry. A Legion Membership is not required. Ladies are welcome. Don't worry about your skill level this is not a league, it’s just for fun only. We also have a 50/50 draw. P.S. Please remove your hat when entering the Legion out of respect for the fallen. For information please contact John or Ken.
DINNER - GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER (GWCTD) - Carole Matthews at dandcm43@yahoo.ca or 905-982-2702
Note that this group is currently in a holding pattern pending lifting of the current ‘shelter in place’ guidelines. Please note for your future planning that this group is open and meets once a month on a Saturday evening. We send an email to the group with details of our next meeting. We expect a lot of members to attend our dinners throughout the spring and summer, and many restaurants in the area only have a limited amount of room, so when you get the notice of the dinner, please RSVP early. If we get more interest than the number of seats available, we do keep a wait list in the event of cancellations. New members are always welcome! Please contact Carole for questions.
DINNER - THE MUNCHKINS – Marg Miller at margandrodmiller@gmail.com or 226-229-9073 and Marilyn Hanna at jf.hanna@powergate.ca, or
905-985-6322
The Munchkins Dinner Group typically meets monthly on the 3rd Thursday of the month at 5:30 p.m. We are on hold right now and checking the menus of all our favourite haunts!
EUCHRE – AFTERNOON - Ann Berube at ann.sundowner@gmail.com or 905-985-7102
This Group is on a hiatus and looks forward to being able to meet on alternate Friday afternoons, the recent norm being for a few members to be absent from time to time due to escaping our lovely winter for a few weeks and adventuring south. This doesn’t stop those left behind enjoying the games, socializing and great refreshments. The group is currently full, but if you would like to be a Spare, don’t hesitate to contact Ann at the email above.
BID EUCHRE – AFTERNOON - Jayne Rees at rees.jayne@gmail.com or 905-852-4997 and Ann Berube at ann.sundowner@gmail.com or
905-985-7102
The Bid Euchre Group is also on hiatus. The schedule will start up when we have the nod from our government. The group plays on alternate Fridays and usually has good attendance and a lot of fun. We have lots of regular players, but we are looking for a couple of spares. If you know the game, or would like to learn it, please give either Jayne or Ann a quick call.
EUCHRE THE TABLE TAKERS - AFTERNOON - Barb Rootham at brb.rootham@gmail.com or 905-985-9066 and Susan Merriman at susan.j.merriman@gmail.com or 416-892- 2127
Stayed tuned for when we start up after the hiatus. The group did meet monthly on the 1st Tuesday of each month at 1:30 PM in members’ homes. Please contact Barb or Susan for information.
EUCHRE – EVENING - Margaret Adamson at madamson905@gmail.com or 905-773-2878
These monthly evening euchre games are played at 7:00 p.m. on the Tuesday evening of our Probus General Meeting. We have started a waiting list for spares. The 2020 rotating schedule for the members to host in their homes will be revised when we are able to meet again.
FOODIES! – Melodie Scott at bmgscott101@gmail.com or 905-767-150
Melodie hopes everyone is keeping healthy and happy. Based on what we are watching on TV, cooking and food seem to be filling a big void in peoples lives right now. Personally, she finds it been great to see some wonderful pictures and comments on our Foodies Facebook page. Melodie has been giving some thought to our group and ways to move forward with social distancing measures in place. Here are her thoughts - Zoom and Facebook Messenger have ways for people to virtually meet. I haven’t used, nor do I know anything about the Facebook format (I will look into it) but I did use Zoom for the first time this week. I joined the Dukes Ukulele group in a virtual jam. I have to say it worked quite well and was lovely to actually interact with others. I have some issues due to unstable internet connections because of where we live, but for me the positives outweighed the negatives. I also jointed a virtual Zumba class. Again, it was great to be part of the bigger community that is out there.
I was thinking we could set up a meeting for those of us who are interested and use the meeting to discuss ideas on how to meet virtually. I have a few ideas to share. Please email me and let me know if you are interested and some times/dates that would work for you. Look forward to hearing from fellow Foodies. I will followup with an email in the next while. In the meantime happy cooking and think about ideas on how to move forward. Melodie is looking forward to hearing from everyone in the group.
GARDENING - BLOOMERS! - Heather Hill Gibson at hhillgibson17@gmail.com or 905-985-9108
The ‘Bloomers! planned trip out to Century Home and Greenhouses for our April meeting was postponed. We are active on our Facebook group and enjoying getting our plants and flower beds cleared up for Spring. One member made a new hoop garden and will keep us posted on the results. Some members have seen some early bulbs pushing through – a great sign!
GENEALOGY – Heather Hill-Gibson at hhillgibson17@gmail.com or 905-985-9108
Our first meeting was cancelled with the library closed. We are eagerly waiting for when the ‘shelter in place’ guidelines are lifted. In the meantime, we are focusing on getting the correct full names of our ancestors, their dates and location of birth.
GOLF - Dave Matthews at dandcm43@yahoo.ca or 905-982-2702
Watch this space for notice of when the game will start-up back up.
HIKING - Bill Morrison at billandmaryare@gmail.com or (h) 905-985-2624
Group hikes will resume when the risks presented by COVID-19 ease to the point that the provincial restrictions on group gatherings become permissive for such an activity / group size.
INVESTMENT - PORT INVESTMENT GROUP - Ann Skinner at skinntj@gmail.com or 905-982-8865
The club is not meeting in person. Our treasurer is circulating our regular monthly updates of our portfolio holdings.
JAZZ - Coordinator Needed!
Jazz is best enjoyed in a reflective mood. Now is the time to listen to some Miles Davis. Just Google his name and you can find some wonderful videos to enjoy.
LAWN BOWLING - Dennis Bayley at dennis.bayley@icloud.com or 289-989-0178
Lawn Bowls Canada has cancelled all club activities. Let us know if anyone has set up a bowling lane in the living room!
LUNCH MEETUP - Gail Johnson Morris at interestgroups.portperryprobus@gmail.com
As soon as we can get together we will fire up this lunch group. I look forward to seeing you then!
LUNCH - THE LUNCH BUNCH – Susan Barber at susan_barber_4@live.com or 905-854-5771
The lunch group is on hold until we may enjoy lunch together in person.
MODEL BOATS - Coordinator Needed!
If you are interested in models boats, you can find designs and how to’s by using Google searches. Note that we have several members interested in building model boats. We just need a coordinator to get the group going. If you’re interested in Model Boats and possibly to join the interest group, please sign up at the next in-person member’s meeting.
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MOVIE GROUP – Denise Throp at deniset1954@gmail.com
Our in-person movie nights are on hold right now. The group has been sharing their movie lists via email. Denise is also enjoying complex jigsaw puzzles and reading new ebooks. You can still get on the distribution list to hear about all the movies on offer that PROBUS friends are likely to attend. Bargain Alert!: Join to get early notice of the excellent $2.00 movies held at the Port Perry Library 6:30 pm on Thursday evenings!
PHOTOGRAPHY – Jim Wakeford at jrwakeford@yahoo.ca or 905-985-2030
We are navigating such an unusual time. If you have a smart phone, you might try some of the filters and the different features available. Perhaps you can do a study of the sky – with and without colour, saturation levels etc. You may just catch the photography bug!
SINGLETONS - Denise Throp at deniset1954@gmail.com and Cathy Jeffrey at cjef@bell.net
We are getting creative by enjoying the various remote activities available to us from the museums and streaming services.
THEATRE TOWN HALL - Judy L. Anderson at or 905-985-4257
The Town Hall is dark. SCSMusicals has postponed The Little Mermaid to Nov. with the same cast. We meet on Zoom to keep our spirits up. Judy is a member of another local group that meets by Zoom to jam and also enjoys YouTube tutorials to continue their learning process. Some great ideas for us all!
TRAVEL INTERNATIONAL - Judy Spring at judith.spring@outlook.com or 905-447-4557
Stayed tuned for when bus and air travel are once again on the agenda!.
WINE TASTING I – Jim Adamson at jim.adamson07@aol.com or 905-773-2878
Sheltering in place can mean enjoying a nice new wine. We recommend you consider a ‘stay at home’ tasting. There are some terrific YouTube tutorials for how to ‘taste’ a wine and what you might consider.
INTERESTING POSTS FROM THE PORT PERRY PROBUS CLUB FACEBOOK GROUP