Issue 15 next to final draft - u3asites.org.uk

NewsletterIssue 15 August

2013

AGM and GeneralMeetingOur first annual general meetingwill take place as part of theGeneral Meeting on July 18th. Thisis an important meeting in the lifeof our U3A.We will be adopting aconstitution, looking at theaccounts and electing theCommittee.....as well as our guestspeaker, news updates, andopportunities to sign up for tripsand visits and chat to new (andold) friends. We welcomeRosemary Gibson who will give anillustrated talk on ‘The GranthamCanal and another world’. Hope tosee you there.

Meetings of Carlton and GedlingU3A are on the third Thursday onthe month at 1030 at RichardHerrod Centre. The room will beopen from 1000 – this shouldhelp if you want to catch the 39bus which arrives at RichardHerrod at 10.20am.

Meetings feature a guest speaker,the opportunity to join interestgroups, news updates about theU3A and refreshments. Wewelcome visitors and newmembers will also be able to join ateach meeting.

Future speakers include:August – Peter Henson –Canadian RockiesSeptember – Vernon Coaker –My Life as an M.P. + our ChoirOctober – Sue Edwards –Stories Behind the FamousPaintings

November – Alan Morris – U3ADecember – The Vibrants +our Choir

New MembersMeetingThere will be an opportunity fornew members to meet othermembers of the U3A in a smallergroup setting at the WillowbrookClub on Main Road Gedling at11.00 am on Tuesday 23rd July.The meeting will take place in thesnug which is in the bar area at therear of the building and coffee ortea will be available as well as theusual range of drinks. Although themeeting is primarily for newmembers, it is also a goodopportunity for anyone who isconsidering joining the U3A tocome along and find out moreabout what we have to offer.Convenor: Brian Shield

Newsletters at theGeneral Meetings

We send out a copy of thenewsletter – in full technicolour, noless – to each e-mail address onour membership list. Ned Flaherty(our Membership Secretary) sendsit out about 4 to 7 days before theGeneral Meeting Thursday.

The copies put out on the table atthe Meetings are intended forthose members who do not havee-mail access. Can membersplease look at their e-mail copy(and print it off if desired), andleave the copies at the Meeting forthose who do need to pick themup.

U3A strider attacked by sheep:

Seeking wisdom through U3A - visitto mining museum - full story inside

WebsiteHave you looked at our websiteyet? It’s really good. It’s not just forcomputer buffs, since GraemeBunting has used the standard U3Atemplate to create a site which isvery easy to find your way round. Ifyou haven’t used it you should giveit a try. If you have used it, you willwant to check out what’s new.

Finding the website is easy, all youhave to do is put the words u3acarlton or u3a gedling into asearch engine like google and thiswill bring up the website. It’s reallyeasy to find your way round thewebsite where you can see:

· Hundreds of photos frominterest groups, trips andgeneral meetings. The questionis not ‘Will my photo be there?’it’s ‘How many times will myphoto be there’!

· Loads of links to other localU3As so you can see what theyare doing. Perhaps there’s aspecialist interest group whichyou’d like to join.

· Links to other useful documentslike back issues of ournewsletter or guides to emailingor editing photographs on yourcomputer

· Details of all our interest groupstogether with an easy way tocontact the interest groupconvenor

· Up to date diary details of allinterest group and general

meetings and trips and visits

· Information about new andforthcoming trips and visits.

So don’t delay, visit the websiteand add it to your ‘favourites’ today!(Review: Paul Martinez; Websitedesigner: Graeme Bunting)

Gedling ShowWe urgently need lots of volunteersto make sure that we have a strongpresence at the Gedling show onSunday 1st September. If you’d liketo help out, please contact EricRennie at the August meeting, ring8478094 or [email protected]

Interest GroupsWe now have 18 groups coveringall sorts of interest from dancing todrawing, walking to theatre andgardening to discussion, musicappreciation and local history. Ourwebsite has details of all thegroups and you can contact thegroup convenor via the website orvia the contact details given in thediary on the last page of thenewsletter.

All the groups are open to newmembers and we are alwayslooking to develop new groups. Ifyou have an idea for a new group,please contact Tom Grainger,interest group coordinator tel 07800949396, [email protected]

General MeetingOur August meeting takes place onThursday 15th at 1030. We will beable to enjoy our Ladies’ Choir whowill be performing a 20 minute setof songs. Our speaker is Peter

Gedling Show

Volunteersneeded

Henson who will present a talk onBanff and the Canadian Rockies.The room will be open from 1000 –this should help if you want tocatch the 39 bus which arrives atRichard Herrod at 10.20am.

At our last meeting, RosemaryGibson gave an interestingillustrated talk on ‘The GranthamCanal and another world’.

Meetings of Carlton and GedlingU3A are on the third Thursday onthe month at 1030 at RichardHerrod Centre. Meetings feature aguest speaker, the opportunity tojoin interest groups, news updatesabout the U3A and refreshments.We welcome visitors and newmembers will also be able to join ateach meeting.

Future speakers include:September – Vernon Coaker –My Life as an M.P.October – Sue Edwards –Stories Behind the FamousPaintingsNovember – Alan Morris – U3ADecember – The Vibrants +our Choir

Your new CommitteeWe now have a new committeeelected by all of us at out AGM. Inalphabetical order, we are:Graeme Bunting (Website), TomButcher (Events Organiser),David Dobbs (Treasurer), NedFlaherty (Membership Secretary),Tom Grainger (Interest GroupCoordinator), Paul Martinez (ViceChairman and Newletter Editor),Gillian McShane (SpeakerSeeker), Jane Pavier (Chairman),Ian Robey (Business Secretary),Eric Rennie (Publicity), BrianShield (Meeter and Greeter), Rose

Stennett (Speaker Seeker),Lindsay Issa (Minutes Secretary).

The committee meets once amonth on the Monday after thegeneral meeting. Meetings areopen to the membership (altho’space is a bit limited). If you’d liketo observe, to see what happens,you can book a place via ourwebsite or by contacting IanRobey.

Words from yourChairmanI hope that the changeable weatherdoes not spoil any of your holidayplans but I, for one, am pleased thatit is not so hot. My garden looks somuch better now we have had somerain, and I do not have to spend somuch time with the watering can.

At our AGM last month those peo-ple who had been on the steeringCommittee stayed on and as noneof you raised any objections they allbecame members of your new Ex-ecutive Committee. GraemeBunting had been co-opted duringthe year and he has now become apermanent member, his specialitybeing looking after the website.Tom Grainger is a new member tothe Committee and he has accept-ed the responsibility of being Inter-est Groups Co-ordinator, whichmeans he will be looking after theexisting groups and starting newgroups. Tom Butcher has alsojoined us and his role is Fundraisingand Events Organiser, so his planwill be to organise social events andhelp us raise funds for our U3A. Iknow you will give all the Committeemembers your support.

Your Committee is there to supportyou so please let us know what youwant from your U3A and any sug-gestions you have that could helpus become more successful andforward looking.

There are things the Committee isworking on. At the Gedling BoroughShow on 1st September, to be heldon the grounds of the Richard Her-

rod Centre, we will have a stand totell people what U3A is about –being friendly with interest groups toencourage retired and semi-retiredpeople to spend time with us. Also,on 23rd November, there will be aU3A Open Day at the Gedling CivicCentre. This is being organised byArnold U3A and will include Carlton& Gedling, Burton Joyce and Not-tingham U3As, all working togetherto promote the ethos of the U3Amovement to people in the boroughand beyond.

For both of these events we wouldlike you, as members, to help us bygiving a little of your time and we willbe asking at the August meeting forvolunteers to help on 1st Septem-ber.

Thank you all for doing your bit byspreading the good news about us– we continue to attract new mem-bers, many of them coming withrelatives or friends.

We are doing everything we can tokeep you all informed of what ishappening in your U3A, in the coun-ty, the Region and nationally. Thewebsite is growing all the time,thanks to Graeme, so please keepan eye on it for any news. Informa-tion also goes on the boards we putup at the monthly meeting.

Enjoy the meetings - Enjoy thefriendship – Enjoy your U3A

Jane Pavier - Chairman

Learning new steps in the teadancing group - see interest group

pages

Discussion Group

Our subject on 22 July was“Society Speeding Up”. A goodnumber (13), for holiday time,turned up and we had a goodabsorbing discussion about mostaspects of modern life and how ithas changed (speeded up) withbenefits (usually in technology)and losses (usually in soul or skill);e.g. we recognised the ease ofcalculations now but bemoanedthe loss of the skill of basicarithmetic – people in servicesabsolutely dependent on the cashregister and unable to re-calculatemistakes.

Supermarkets had to get a kickingin here somewhere - and they did.The pressure put on the checkoutstaff to process items to astandardised timescale; impatientpeople in the queue behindsomeone struggling with theirpacking, etc.

How many of us have tutted at thecomputer for taking 5 seconds toprocess something when 15 yearsago we could not have done it atall? Some admitted terror at theprospect of the demise of an out of

date mobile and the need toembrace the newer technology.

Global economics was broachedwith the technology and power ofthe western culture speeding awayleaving the developing worldstruggling. It was noted that theworld does produce enough foodbut it’s the wrong sort and in thewrong places (ie junk and fast foodin the west).

We did note that thecommunications technology is nowproviding lifelines for developingworld farmers but that is at a moreintermediate level.Two brave souls admitted to theirdriving speeding up (and beingcaught), and were ribbedmercilessly for the rest of themeeting. No names mentioned.

The next meeting should beMonday 2nd September (to

avoid the Bank Holiday) at theFire Station at 10.30. Our subjectwill be “Is Our Water SupplySustainable”. Convenor: EricRennie

Striders

Owing to holidays, a flooded homeand an injury, it was a depletedgroup of Striders who set out fromHarby for the July walk.

We had been met at our usualgathering place by Keith, who inthe absence of holidaying Brian,was to be our leader, but hisinjured foot showed that 'striding'was out for him that day! Ranjitvaliantly agreed to take over, andKen became map carrier.

So it was that eleven of us enjoyedthe walk along a much neglectedand wild stretch of the GranthamCanal. We passed under and overbridges, and took great care as weedged around a pair of nestingswans, who hissed and flappedtheir wings in protection of a clutchof small fluffy cygnets.

We returned to Harby by way ofgently undulating fields and manya stile. The tall plant with blueflowers, so prettily scatteredthrough one field was discoveredlater to be Chicory. The village pubbeckoned to most before a ridehome in the sunshine. (Walkreporter: Trish Savage)

We are returning to Derbyshire forour August walk which is inlimestone country and takes inTideswell, Miller and CressbrookDale . The walk is about 7 miles inlength, starting in Litton. We willmeet at the Shoppers Car Park onRanmoor Road at 9.00 am on22nd August and transport will beby member’s cars. Convenor:Brian Shield

Interest Groups

Contact details for allinterest groups are on ourwebsite and also on thediary page at the end of

the newsletter.

Strollers

The strollers met in the car park ofthe Fox & Hounds in Carlton on 1st

August. There were fifteenmembers & three girls, a result ofthe school Summer holidays. Westarted in dull but sultry conditionsalong Midland Road to MidlandWoods. Gwyneth left us at the endof the woods because she had togo to work. A short road walkbrought us to Colwick Woods. Ashady walk through the woodsbrought to an open area, now inbright sunshine. We re-enteredthe woods, thankful of the shade.A steady climb alongside a streamfound us again in open country.We continued until the landscapeopened out to an incredible viewover the Trent Valley. There was aconvenient bench here, so wetook the opportunity to have asandwich break. Refreshed wecontinued past the NottinghamAcademy & the Wildcat Arena toagain re-enter the woods.

A gradually descending pathfound us on Greenwood Rise.One member left us to catch abus. The remainder took the path& steep steps down to Colwickcrossings. A few members electedto catch the bus here. Six walkerscarried on through Colwick Park tothe Starting Gate. Two continued,whilst four stayed for a drink &something to eat. The day wasnow very hot & humid. A tiredfoursome finished the walk at thestarting point. Colwick Woods isnot an area I know but after thiswalk I would recommend it toeveryone. The next strollers’ walkwill be 29th August, hopefullyGedling Country Park, but I willhave to reconnoitre it first. More

details will be available at the nextmeeting. Convenor: Ian Robey

U3A Tea Dancing

The first tea dance was a hit! 28members danced the afternoonaway with Kathy, our instructor,teaching the rudiments of Rumba1, Quickstep and Waltz.Unfortunately I had to attend afuneral, but my husband steppedup to the mark and managed thewhole event very smoothly. AsMaggie said, it was ‘Baptism byFire’, as this was his firstintroduction to U3A.

The staff at the Richard HerrodCentre were excellent and theafternoon ended with some rock’nroll. So our next Tea Dance is onthe 19th August and I hope to seeyou all there, as well as themembers who kindly sent theirapologies.

Anyone else who would like to try,please feel free to come along, orcontact me with any enquiries. Thecost is £4-00 and the session isfrom 2-4pm at The Richard HerodCentre. Convenor: Helen Madden

New MembersMeeting

There will be an opportunity fornew members to meet othermembers of the U3A in a smallergroup setting at the WillowbrookClub on Main Road Gedling at11.00 am on Tuesday 20thAugust. The meeting will takeplace in the snug which is in thebar area at the rear of the buildingand coffee or tea will be availableas well as the usual range ofdrinks. Although the meeting isprimarily for new members, it isalso a good opportunity foranyone who is considering joiningthe U3A to come along and findout more about what we have tooffer. Convenor: Brian Shield

Theatre TripsOn Tuesday 23rd July 18 theatregoers met at the Lace MarketTheatre to "brush up theirShakespeare" at a production ofCole Porter's "Kiss Me Kate".Despite the heat wave affectingus, the evening wasn't 'too darnhot' and everyone agreed thatfrom 'the opening of another show'the whole experience was'wunderbar', and the females inthe group did not end up 'hatingmen'. Special mention must bemade for Tony O'Rourke asGraham/Petruchio who at six daysnotice took on the role and 'cameto wife it wealthily in Padua'following an accident to theoriginal lead. (Reviewer LindaSpencer)

The August general meeting isyour last chance to buy a ticketfor two theatre trips. Coral Pulk isorganising the trip to see Charlie

Interest Groups

Peace at the NottinghamPlayhouse on Saturday 12th

October. This new work bycelebrated Nottingham writerMichael Eaton also featurestraditional folk songs. This is amatinee performance at 2.30pm.Tickets are £12

Paul Martinez is organising a tripto see Shakespeare’s dramatichistory play Richard III at 1.30pmon Saturday 9th November at thePlayhouse. Tickets will be around£12 and will be on sale at theAugust meeting. This makes the

perfect accompaniment for the tripto Leicester on 7th November tosee Bosworth Field and theRichard III exhibition (see tripsand visits)

We will also be taking bookings fortwo further trips. Linda Spencer isorganising a trip to thePlayhouse’s Christmas PantoJack and the Beanstalk at 2.30pmon Tuesday 7th January 2014.Tickets will be around £20. AnnePorter and Carolyn Hawley areorganising a trip to see MatthewBourne’s all male Swan Lakewhich makes a welcome return tothe Theatre Royal. Theperformance is at 2pm onThursday 13th March 2014.Tickets will be around £27.

All of our theatre trips areorganised by a small planninggroup. If you would like to helpplan our next visits, please contactme, Paul Martinez on 01159559285 or [email protected]

U3A Films

On Monday 2nd September, theU3A film at the Broadway Cinemais the classic To Kill a MockingBird. Films start at 1.30, cost just£2 and you don’t need to book inadvance.

Greenfingers

In recent weeks we have had acouple of outings. We were allimpressed with the fuchsiaviewing at a local garden.Beautiful displays of differentvarieties alongside a wide rangeof herbaceous perennials andshrubs. All came away with ideasand of course the odd purchase ortwo. Thanks, Robin, for arrangingthe visit.

We also walked the Nottingham inBloom Floral Trail around the city.Despite the gloomy weatherforecast, the sun came out as westrolled around admiring the willow

sculptures and the variety ofplanting. Favourites? The teapotpouring a trail of ivy, maybe, or the

sunhat with a band of yellowbegonias. But others may havedifferent suggestions. Well worth alook next time you are in the city.For our next meeting we will visitthe Nottingham Arboretum to seethe Dahlia Walk. Meet Monday2nd September Outside NCToffice, Market Square (next toBetFred) 10.30 a.m.for tram. Allwelcome. Convenor Jann Kirke

Local History

In July we walked through Carlton.We started at St. Paul's Church.When it was built in 1885, in thestyle of a Roman Basilica, it stoodat the heart of old Carlton, whichat that time had become a hub ofactivity principally around thebooming hosiery trade. Many localpeople were cottage industryframework knitters untilindustrialization led to the newtrams carrying them into the cityfactories.

After a tour of the church (thanksto Steve & Phil for organising this)we set off to look at the cluster ofchurches at the foot of Carlton Hilland the old Police Station.Looking at old photos andcomparing notes and memorieswe walked on through Carlton,

Interest Groups

passing the sites of St. Paul'sSchool, and hearing about thespooky goings on at the oldcemetary, now Tescos!

Passing other sites, including theforge, the bakery and the oldBoard School we made our way tosee the Watson Fothergill building,originally a laundry and nowconverted to apartments. Althoughmuch has been lost, includingPark House and its sister building,our shared memories help to keepit alive.

Many thanks to all members fortheir research and contributions tothe walk. From September we willresume our meetings at thelibrary, where we will continue toprise open the window on ourpast. Do join us to explore furtherand to continue to sharememories and stories

A new page showing some of thesites from the Carlton walk hasbeen added to the website (followthe “Carlton Trail” link from theLocal History page). The newpage is still under development. Ifyou have any interesting factsabout any of the buildings shownplease contact one of the LocalHistory Group so that the pagecan be updated.

Next meetings: Netherfield in thePast, Tuesday 20th August 2.00p.m. Meet at the corner of WrightStreet and Victoria Road near the

railway crossing. Tuesday 17thSeptember 2.00 p.m. CarltonLibrary. Convenor Jann Kirke

Battle of Bosworth andRichard III Search for aKing ExhibitionsThursday November 7th - £11. Tripwill include transport by mini busand the following features:Bosworth Country Park∙ Entry to Bosworth battlefield

heritage centre

∙ Guided walk up to the sundial

∙ A talk in the Heritage room

Leicester City

∙ Entry Richard III: Search for aKing Exhibition

∙ Entry Leicester Guild Hall –built 1390

∙ Entry Leicester Cathedral

Bosworth Exhibition Centre:Discover more about the Battlewhere Richard III fought for hiscrown and lost his life! The gallerytells the amazing story of howarchaeologists found the truelocation of the Battle of BosworthField.

Take a short stroll to the Sundialview point or extend this to a 1.25mile walk and compare views of

today with those during medievaltimes. Take a picnic or enjoy lunchat The Tithe Barn Restaurant.

The Guildhall and LeicesterCathedral: The Guildhall, in theshadow of Leicester Cathedral,hosts a major exhibition telling thestory of King Richard III, his lifeand times and the search for hislost remains.

Leicester's Search for a Kingoffers visitors an explanation ofthe findings of the 2012 GreyFriars excavation and details theevidence that proves the skeletonfound belonged to King RichardIII. The trip makes the perfectpreparation for our trip to seeShakespeare’s play on the 9th

November. Tickets for the play willalso be on sale at our Augustmeeting.Convenor: Sue Fairweather

Interest Groups and Trips

Gainsborough Old Halland Hemswell AntiquesCentre

On perhaps the hottest day of theyear we arrived at GainsboroughOld Hall ready for our coffee andhuge portion of freshly bakedcake. We were then greeted in themain hall by our Guide Sue Allenwho is a local author and historian.

Sue explained that GainsboroughOld Hall was not only the home ofthe Burgh family but also ademonstration of their wealth andimportance. By 1596, however,the Burghs had fallen on hardtimes and the house was sold tothe Hickman family. Although anumber of "home improvements”have been made over the years itremains a “textbook of medievalarchitecture.

There is plenty of circumstantialevidence to suggest that theHickmans allowed the Separatistcongregation of local preacherJohn Smyth to worship in secret inthe Old Hall. This was a verydangerous path because themonarch was supreme head of theChurch and to oppose the

monarch was regarded astreason. Eventually some of theSeparatists in the Lincolnshire andNottinghamshire areas laterbecame “Pilgrim Fathers” and asreligious dissenters, sailed acrossthe Atlantic in the ship “Mayflower”in 1620.

We became familiar with theetiquette of the time and had agood look around the kitchen andprivate rooms. We saw how breadwas baked and the bottom of theloaf was covered in ashes. Thebottom slice went into the “humblepie” and the “upper crust” went tothe gentry.The bedroom had an “ensuite“which was very forward thinkingfor the time. Unfortunately with norunning water the door had to bekept closed at night because ofthe smell of ammonia.

Unfortunately or should I sayfortunately we did not get asightings of the Grey Lady walkingthe Ghost Corridor. Dressed ingrey and in Tudor style, the greylady walks the length of thecorridor and turns right before the

end to disappear through a wallwhich has since been found to bea covered over doorway.Many thanks to Sue Allen forbringing the hall to life for us in hercharming and humorous manner.For anyone wishing to visit herwebsite, the address iswww.mayflowermaid.com.After a short journey in the minibus we arrived at the old RAF

Hemswell but on the wrong side ofthe fence for the Antiques centres.Never trust a GPS!!! It was nowgetting a little on the

hot side so we enjoyed lunch inthe gardens before exploring roomafter room of antiques. Quite a fewpurchases were made of antiquesand ice creams.Many thanks once again to ourtwo volunteer drivers Alan andMelv.

Sue Fairweather Trips & Visits

Trips and Visits

Reading GroupThe reading group continuesto thrive at the monthlymeetings in Carlton Library.Recent books we have readinclude Andrew Davidson’sThe Gargoyle, MargaretAtwood’s Wilderness Tips,and Kazuo Ishiguro’s An Artistof the Floating World.

In September we vary thepace with a poetry reading.Meeting details are on thewebsite and on the diary pageof the newsletter.

New members alwayswelcome. Convenor: PaulMartinez

Carlton, Gedling and District Calendar August/SeptemberThu

15

Aug10:30 General Meeting Richard Herrod

Centre Jane Pavier, 8401902, [email protected]

Fri 16 14:00 Bridge Willowbrook Club Ken Savage, 9562780, [email protected]

Mon 19 18:30 Wine Tasting Burton RoadCommunity Centre Paul Martinez, 9559285, [email protected]

Mon 19 14:00 Tea Dancing Richard HerrodCentre Helen Madden, [email protected]

Tue 20 11 New Members Willowbrook Club Brian Shield, 9567670, [email protected]

Tue 20 14:00 Local HistoryCorner of WrightStreet & VictoriaRoad

Jann Kirke, 9615621, [email protected]

Wed 21 13:30 Choir Gedling RoadMethodist Church Tom Butcher, 9532140, [email protected]

Thu 22 09:00 Striders Walking Ranmore Road Brian Shield, 9567670, [email protected]

Thu 22 11:00 Coffee morning Top Spot Club Ned Flaherty, 9116419, [email protected]

Thu 22 13:00 Crafts Carlton Fire Station Rofie Clennell, 9554471, [email protected]


Tue 27 14:00 Music Appreciation Nag's Head Eric Rennie, 8478094, [email protected]

Wed 28 10:30 Drawing &Sketching Carlton Fire Station Alyson Rennie, 8478094, [email protected]


Thu 29 10:30 Strollers Walking TBA Ian Robey, 9988803, [email protected]


Mon2

Sep10:30 Greenfingers Willowbrook Club Jann Kirke, 9615621, [email protected]

Mon 2 10:30 Discussion Carlton Fire Station Eric Rennie, 8478094, [email protected]

Mon 2 13:30 Films Broadway Cinema Broadsway Cinema, 9526611, [email protected]


Tue 3 14:00 Reading Carlton Library Paul Martinez, 9559285, [email protected]




Thu 12 11:00 Coffee morning Top Spot Club Ned Flaherty, 9116419, [email protected]


Mon 16 10:30 Family History Brenda's house Brenda Bowers, [email protected]


Tue 17 08:00 Trips & Visits Richard HerrodCentre Sue Fairweather, 9613140, [email protected]

Tue 17 14:00 Local History Carlton Library Jann Kirke, 9615621, [email protected]


Thu 19 10:30 General Meeting Richard HerrodCentre Jane Pavier, 8401902, [email protected]


Documents

Issue 15 next to final draft - u3asites.org.uk