May 2011

It was such a shame to see the weather interfere with the attendance at this month's meeting, which turned out to be one of the most interesting. The subject matter was dealing with problems of an ageing population.

There were eight apologies, as a number of our many members have gone overseas. Thirty three people turned up.

Vince Fazio, the presenter for the night, wasted no time in introducing the guest speaker Ms Rosalene Jones from TARS, an organization funded by both Federal and State governments, dealing with the care of the aged.

In her capacity in charge of promoting and providing information to the general public on problems with the ageing in NSW, there was a vast amount of detail forthcoming.

This included advice on: accommodation, violence/abuse, finance, granny flat situations, Centrelink, and other government bodies dealing with complaints in this area.

The subject matter became intense, as questions kept coming. In fact such an overwhelming number of questions were asked, that Vince was obliged to close the meeting to allow Ms Jones to eventually leave.

The meeting turned out to be one of the most interesting evenings for a long time. It was made obvious by the reaction of those present and the questions that were forthcoming.

Following the break for coffee, Chairman Dominic reminded those present that the July meeting would not be an evening affair, but rather a two hour daytime visit to the National Archive Office in Sydney at Chester Hill. He supplied details that a minimum number of 12 were needed, and a special tour and lecture was scheduled. A list was prepared for those interested.

He also reported that the first microfilm reels had now arrived at the CO.AS.IT. Library. They relate to data from the province of Calabria. He advised people not to leave it to the last minute when starting research with reel matters, as orders take up to six to eight weeks to be supplied from overseas.

In conclusion, once again Mrs Anna Zagame did not disappoint with her supply of home made Italian 'sfinchis', when we took our break!

Dominic Arrivolo