Volunteers speak in Unison - cats or cars?
23 May 2018
A typo in an events programme meant that a Birmingham group of Unison Retired members thought they were having a 'cars protection' talk on the 16 May, but of course it was Cats Protection!
Sheila Pennell of the North Birmingham Branch went along with two other volunteers, Sue Morgan and Lesley Strickley, to give a presentation. Members of the audience - as well as learning a lot about cats that they didn't already know – shared their own cat stories and anecdotes, gamely answered cat quiz questions, while member Albert Fletcher said he 'thought the talk was purrfect' - a pun the volunteers have heard many times before ! He was glad it was about cats and not cars!
Cats Protection volunteers Sue and Sheila proudly display the donation cheque of £50 given by Unison Retired Members. The money will go towards helping needy felines in North Birmingham.
Says Sheila, a member of CPs education team: "It was great to meet with the lively band of around 50 retired Unison members on the 19th floor of the magnificent McLaren building in the city centre. It was such a busy morning and, even with Sue and Lesley supporting me, I forgot to ensure we got a photo of the three of us with our lovely responsive audience. So I’ve blown up Unison’s £50 donation cheque, and roped Sue in for a belated photoshoot. Lesley was too busy with her commitment to her volunteering role in our Erdington charity shop to join us for a photo. Our thanks to Unison Retired Members for inviting us along and for their generosity."
Unison speaker secretary, Jenny Smith, who booked the talk, said: "On behalf of Unison Retired Members, I’d like to thank Sheila for a most informative and interesting talk. I'm sure members learned a lot about cats which they didn't know before. It was great that there was a lot of positive feedback from members following the talk and it was lovely to meet Lesley and Sue too who were most welcome."
** Any friendship group or school that would like to request a Cats Protection talk or workshop can contact the helpline with their details – 0345 260 1503.