It's our GN zoomiversary!

Seems a bit odd to tell the rest of us?

Good to know Gransnet is providing a chance to zoom meet online friends. We are all living through a difficult time and find companions where and when we can . Good for you and your friends - enjoy your meet ups!

I thought it was an interesting post. Some time ago I remember reading an account of three Gransnetters meeting up. Is an account of a Zoom meeting any different? Nothing wrong in sharing happy news surely.

During the session two ladies read out poems they'd written for the occasion. I hoped they'd post them.
We always used to post about our meet ups. This Zoom thing was special. It wouldn't have come about if it hadn't been for Gransnet. Sorry if posting about it irritated others. It was a joyful occasion.

Had lovely first Zoomiversary today -cake and contributions from everyone! Mine was as follows and references various meet-ups we’ve had pre Covid.

I joined our small band in 2016
And I really must say what a journey it’s been
Good times - and bad - along the way
When other posters had something to say!

So we finally arranged to meet
In Aberdeen - right up my street
We had a good lunch, said ‘let’s meet again’
And then our bold heroes were put off the train!

Now the Edinburgh meet up was a different day
Because we all learned to extract DNA
Treat bags were followed by an excellent meal
Then a mad rush to Primark in hopes of a deal

St Andrews was next for great fish and chips
None of us minded a few pounds on the hips
Then we bought smokies to take home to eat
A cunning plan - it guaranteed us a seat.

Now we’ve all stayed at home for 12 months or more
But thanks to our PCs life was never a bore
One app was special - Zoom is its name
And it definitely helped in keeping me sane

So thanks to you all for just being there
And keeping each other from the depths of despair
It won’t be long now until all this ends
But I’ll still have the privilege of calling you friends.

Some time ago I remember reading an account of three Gransnetters meeting up. Is an account of a Zoom meeting any different?

A meet up is for anyone to attend. A zoom meet up, in this case, is only for a very small invited group to take part in.

Grans post about all sorts of lovely occasions: birthday parties, weddings, parties in general. Why not post about this one? It meant a lot to all of us. We wouldn't even know each other without Gransnet. It seemed perfectly reasonable to post about it especially after the year we've all come through.
I expect there were lots of other GN zoom groups too.

What’s the point of this thread?
A small group of people chat privately …..and?
Why not just congratulate yourselves on your zoom meeting?

Kandinsky

What’s the point of this thread?
A small group of people chat privately …..and?
Why not just congratulate yourselves on your zoom meeting?

Hear hear!

Let’s face it, it doesn’t’t help anyone, after a very difficult 18 months, to read that a select few GNs had some private Zoom meetings. In fact it would probably make many people feel even more lonely and unhappy.

Maybe the point is to make those who didn't make the cut, sad?

I don't know. ButI'm glad you had such a wonderful time.

Chewbacca

^Some time ago I remember reading an account of three Gransnetters meeting up. Is an account^ of a Zoom meeting any different?

A meet up is for anyone to attend. A zoom meet up, in this case, is only for a very small invited group to take part in.

My invitation must have got lost in the post.

My invitation must have got lost in the post.
No problem SueD et al, I'll set up a session. Any takers? Though I must admit I'd far prefer face to face.

That’s lovely, glad you all had a good time.
Nothing to stop others arranging similar zoom meetings.
I’d prefer to remain slim and elegant with perfectly coiffed hair than shatter all illusions on zoom but good luck Ellianne.

Lovely to hear that some of those, who previously attended the Edinburgh meet ups, were able to meet up and support each other, even if only virtually. ?

The Edinburgh physical meet ups are a distant memory. It also looks like the in the flesh, Glesca Grannies will be delayed, yet again.
A Zoom for us would be difficult, but not imposssible to organise, the last time there were seventeen of us!

Have a look at this, one hundred voices: (Skip the advert.) That does take some organising!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gpoJNv5dlQ

My invitation must have got lost in the post

A bit like the cheque I sent to you last week then SueDonim!

Well, it's nice that you were a 'group of eight", so why not mention them?
This is a very odd thread indeed.

Select group? Where are you getting that from? It’s the same group that met up in the flesh pre Covid because of proximity to each other. I didn’t realise that being physically accessible to one another constituted a ‘select’ group just because we transferred to an internet communication tool. The world transferred to online communications - so did we. So to avoid potential accusations of elitism we should invite however many thousands of Gransnetters there are ? It isn’t a political rally. There are also restrictions on numbers on some of these platforms dependent on your package. Perhaps Microsoft Teams for business - max of 250 - might have suited some of you better then nobody would get a word in edgeways. I’m pretty irritated with baseless accusations, resentment and snippy remarks, there has been nothing to prevent anybody from doing exactly as we have done. You know if I had read of anyone else staying in touch as we have done during these last horrendous 16 months I would have thought ‘good for them’. I would have been pleased that they had managed to find some way to help them through and not muttering about not getting an invitation. It’s not a child’s birthday party.

I must be naive.
How nice, I thought, that this happens on Gransnet (I am a Covid joiner). That the spirit of friendship hadn't been crushed by lockdown. That any pre-existing support networks were able to continue to function, albeit in a different manner.
I loved hearing about the success of the group - whoever you were!

Hahaha, Chewbacca! £££££

It’s nothing to do with ‘not getting an invitation’ - I personally find zoom chats awkward & tedious & wouldn’t join a ‘zoom group’ in a million years.
But obviously some people love them.
I just don’t understand the point of the thread?
What do you want people to say?
Congratulate you on how wonderful it is that you’ve all been keeping in touch on a glorified WhatsApp group?!
It’s just bizarre.

Of course it was a lovely thing to do Katek. I think most people here weren't showing resentment.
I met two delightful GNs this time last year, but they aren't local enough to meet regularly. I also communicated with some helpful and kind GNs who guided me through the ropes here and who swapped advice on other topics. Hopefully we kept each other sane over the past year! I am grateful for any form of communication, each way of achieving support and friendship is different but equally important.

FOMO at play here?
I think the reason for the thread is to inspire other small groups who would like to do the same that it is indeed possible.
Well done folks to have kept up your meetings for a whole year. Happy Zoomiversary.?

Good for you, zoom has been used for various ‘meetings’ in the last year or so, pleased you enjoyed it. I have my book club one tomorrow.
Other software virtual meeting packages are available! ??

Why is anyone grudging about a zoom meetup? Physical in-person meetups used to happen all the time and hundreds of Gransnet members found them absolutely marvellous! An account of them was usually posted, too, mostly on the same thread where they were arranged. No-one moaned about hearing what a nice time was had.

Select?? Zoom is not select. Neither nothing at all to do with Gransnet, but is open to anyone who has an internet connection (and to be on Gransnet to start with that is an essential) All you have to do is go to zoom.us/download and choose the app that suits your device and download it. Then you are free to send an invitation to anyone you would like to chat to "face to face) They don't even need to have the app, just a camera on their device. It is very easy. They can just follow the simple instructions

Makes the lonely ones feel worse? In that case no-one should ever mention what a pleasure it was to sit in the garden with their family.

They just do it to make others feel bad? Oh come off it! We just did it to make ^ourselves feel good - and by gum, we succeeded, until Aveline posted this thread to share the pleasure, and we found out that some people were miffed that we hadn't been sitting gazing at the wallpaper and wishing we were dead. Not everyone - most people caught the spirit of the anniversary of our first Zoom last year and wished us well.

For tjhose who think we should have announced it and invited in the whole of Gransnet - have you ever been on one end of a phone call, with a party going on at the other end and a dozen people all wanting to chat to you at once? That is what it is like if you have too many people on zoom all at once. It is like herding cats. Not recommended.

The members who met up were ones who have met frequently for years. There were others who have been to our previous meetings, who we would have loved to invite too, but I don't think any of us (including them) would have enjoyed it. Perhaps we need a lot of smaller meetings. The future is vague at the moment.