It has been another red-letter day for the Zoomers in this dark and dismal year as we sail through our seventh month of pandemic lock- down. This time it was a visit from our very first VIP guest when we were honoured to be joined on Thursday, 29 October by The Lord Mayor of Kirklees, Cllr Mumtaz Hussain. A wonderful attendance for the evening of forty-eight screens containing fifty-five Zoomers who were delighted to greet our guest and as well as playing a few Formby thrash tunes, we had a good friendly chat. Kirklees is a local government district within West Yorkshire, it covers Huddersfield, my home town of Batley, Dewsbury (the town I lived in for forty years), plus numerous other towns and is the third- largest metropolitan district in Yorkshire. Cllr Hussain thanked the Zoomers for allowing him to be with us and spoke about just how important it is to keep such activities going in these troubled times. He also enjoyed the Formby music and thought it much more appropriate for elderly people in the numerous care homes throughout Kirklees that the Mayor will visit. Mayor Hussain also remembered that in his younger days he would watch George Formby films on TV. All in all, a very successful session and we have the one and only Mike O'Dwyer to thank for putting it all together. Our Zoom meetings are all we have at this time, spent in the best of company. If you have not played for a while or you are feeling a bit down, you should come and find out what we are about? Fifty-Five is a great attendance but when you consider the size of the membership of the GFS and the many familiar faces that we never see, it could be so much better!

The Lord Mayor of Kirklees Cllr Mumtaz Hussain

PP 30/10/2020