vip guest for the zoomers
The Mayor of Kirklees makes an appearance
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 ZOOM NUMBERS

SATURDAY & SUNDAY

AT 7pm (19:00)

MATT RICHARDS

354 259 037

MONDAY & WEDNESDAY

AT 6pm (18:00)

ANDREW PEPPER

483 085 8989

TUESDAY

AT 6pm (18:00)

SIMON ROSE

982 611 019

THURSDAY & FRIDAY

AT 7pm (19:00)

PETER POLLARD

906 317 2768

The Lord Mayor of Kirklees - Cllr Mumtaz Hussain
PP 30/10/2020 updated 07/12/2020

PASSWORD FOR ALL

thrash

The Mayors visit - updated 07.12.2020

After the succesful visit of the Mayor of Kirklees, Councillor Mumtaz Hussain, I was delighted to receive a letter from the Mayors office, thanking us for allowing him to visit with us and also he wanted to express his appreciation of what we are doing to keep many people uplifted whilst the pandemic continues. The wording of the letter is reproduced below

Dear Mr Pollard

I was delighted to join you and the members of the George Formby Society for

the Zoom Thrash meeting on Thursday 29 October. It was fantastic chatting to

everyone and hearing you play Formby's uplifting and fun music on your

ukuleles.

I was originally contacted by Mr Mike O'Dwyer who told me all about you, that

you're very proud of your Batley roots and that you run up to three Zoom ses-

sions a week. It was clear from Mr O'Dwyer's email that he and the other group

members are extremely grateful to you for hosting these sessions which bring

people together when many find the loneliness and isolation of the Covid-19 re-

strictions very difficult.

After joining you on 29 October, I can understand why everyone is so passionate

about the meetings - there is so much energy and good humour that you can't

fail to smile and feel uplifted by it.

On behalf of Kirklees Council and those who take part in your Zoom Thrash ses-

sions, I'd like to thank you for your contribution to helping people get through

this period of uncertainty and worry. Your sessions are a ray of sunshine and a

real tonic to all those who take part.

Thank you again for inviting me to join you and very best wishes for your future Thrash

meetings.

Yours sincerely

Councillor Mumtaz Hussain - Mayor

Mike O’Dwyer

The man who made it happen!