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TRANSCRIPT
MAY 2013 ISSUE Number 118
1
CHAIRMAN’S REFLECTIIONS
We have been “flying the flag” for Deepings
U3A recently in two places - this time last year Deepings U3A was proud to receive an award
from the Deeping St James Parish Council for
the “organisation that has made a difference”
and several members of the committee attended the same event last week where we gave a short
presentation. We were delighted the
organisation to receive the award this
year was the Round Table but also thrilled that one of our members, Anne
Birks. received a certificate as
acknowledgement of individual
contribution to the environment with her excellent floral display together
with care and attention to the area on
the corner of Church Street and
Hereward Way. Well done Anne.
This was followed two days later by a
Regional Network meeting in Navenby. Whilst the meeting was
interesting to hear how other U3As are organised and meet other
committees in the region, the meeting room itself was of particular interest! Navenby Parish Council has built a “village
hall” opened in 2012 known as “The Venue” on the outskirts of
the village and it was spectacular and envied by us all……..just
what we require for our increasing membership!
AUGUST MEETING - 10 years
Double figures always seems like a great
achievement and our U3A has gone from
strength to strength in the 10 years and is
therefore worth celebrating.
We are expecting to have some excellent
displays by our groups, some tasters too so you can try and see what others do. There will be some professional singers to
entertain us with songs from around the world and we will finish
off the meeting with a buffet lunch and a glass of wine (or non-
alcoholic drink). Why don't you book your place?
All members are of course welcome to the meeting only in the
usual way, but for catering purposes we need to know numbers
so we are putting tickets on sale from the May meeting onwards
at £4 for the lunch including drinks, or please contact me by
email or phone to reserve your ticket.
Come and celebrate our first 10 years.
Best wishes,
Liz
Chairman
WELCOME TO NEW MEMBERS
Margaret and David Hull from
Spalding and David Leaton,
Deeping St James.
The Deepings Third Age Group
NEWSLETTER
(Visit our Web site)
http://u3asitec.org.uk/live/code/u3asite.php?site=282
PHOTOGRAPHERS MEET “PADDY” FOX BEM
See page 2 for more details.
Committee Members 2011/2012
Liz Noble Chairman
Jennie Sharman Secretary
Garth Perry Treasurer
Olwen Cole Group Coordinator
Janice Cosham Membership Secretary
John Bloomfield Speaker Finder
Kath Allen
Jim Pringle
Lyall Seale Publicity
Ann Holmes Newsletter Editor
David Scott Contact through website Webmaster
Programme of Speakers
20 May THE BOY BISHOPS - The happenings when choristers become
Bishops for one day, by Neil MacKenzie (at METHODIST
CHURCH).
17 June RAFBBF (The story behind the aircraft of the Battle of Britain
Flight) by Stuart Reid BSc, MCGI, Squadron Leader RAF (retired)
(at METHODIST CHURCH).
15 July CREATING WOODLAND TOGETHER by Nick Sandford of The
Woodland Trust (at METHODIST CHURCH).
GROUPS WHO WOULD WELCOME A FEW NEW
MEMBERS
Guitar for Pleasure, the Monday Readers Group,
Mah Jong, Cycling, Singing Group and the Foodies
Group – please contact group leaders if you are
interested and perhaps arrange a taster visit.
2
GROUP NEWS
Langtoft Bowls Club has extended a warm
welcome to our members to go along on
Wednesday mornings 10am to 12 noon for a coffee and a friendly game of bowls. If you would like more information
please contact me. Members that have already been along have had a
very enjoyable time.
We now have nine members interested in a Quiz Group and a meeting has been arranged on 3 June 2013 at 2.30pm in my house. If anyone
else would like to join this group please contact me.
Eight members have expressed an interest in the Nordic Walking
group. Several have completed the necessary training and others will be doing this soon. If you would like to join this group please put
your name on the list or contact me.
The Craft groups have proved very popular and are now full, so I
propose to start a new group, if you have your name on a waiting list for Crafts please put your name on the New Crafts list at the monthly
meeting or contact me.
Any comments or information about groups please contact me.
OLWEN COLE
Group Coordinator
U3A ANTIQUES AND COLLECTABLES GROUP
This group visited the Victoria and
Albert Museum in April. We were all
anticipating a stimulating and informative day and that is exactly what
we had.
The V&A collections are spread over
seven levels and organised into five major themes: Asia, Europe, Materials and Techniques, Modern and
Exhibitions. The exhibitions on offer during our visit were: David
Bowie and/or Treasures of the Royal Courts. Some of our members enjoyed the latter exhibition whilst others contented themselves with
looking at the vast array of impressive articles which form the
permanent display of the museum.
Everyone agreed that we needed stamina and many more visits before we would be acquainted with all the V&A has to offer. We should
like to thank Pam and Irene for organising such a thoroughly
enjoyable day, good food, comfortable transport, fascinating artefacts
and great company. Report by CHRIS PEARCE
Group Leaders: IRENE BEEKEN / PAM PENDRY
U3A LEARN PHOTOGRAPHY GROUP
A number of members of the Photography Group joined the coach to
London organised by the Antiques and Collectables group. Some
went their separate ways but three of us, together with Dave Pendry,
Leader of the Photography Group, enjoyed a walk along the Thames from the Albert Bridge to Chelsea Bridge photographing anything
that appealed to us.
Quite by chance we came upon The Royal Hospital Chelsea,
home of the famous Chelsea
pensioners. We were able to see
The Great Hall and the Chapel and learned a great deal about
the life of a Pensioner there from
Chief Tour Guide Bill ’Paddy’
Fox BEM (pictured on front page). Dave was told in no uncertain terms that as an ex-RAF
member he did not qualify to join the Hospital, it is Army personnel
only!
Thanks Dave for arranging our part of the day—we all enjoyed it and
hopefully have a few good photographs.
ANN HOLMES
U3A GARDENING 4 PETALS & PRODUCE
On 16th April, we
visited the site of Railworld in
Peterborough. We
were totally
unprepared for what we had in
store. The curator
(for want of a
better word), Brian Pearce, gave us a
presentation on the
history of the
project and its growth from small
beginnings. Brian’s
total commitment
to the scheme, together with his exuberant enthusiasm won everyone over. The
latest scheme being developed is a wildlife project, which includes
gardens, beehives, water features, and many associated items, all
constructed out of derelict railway marshalling yards. As we wandered around this area we were amazed by what had been
achieved in such a short time. Although the only colour was from
daffodils, we could easily see that in the summer the whole area
would be a riot of colour.
This visit gave me a lot of unexpected pleasure and I am sure that
everyone that went felt the same. A special thank you to Charlie and
Rita Stevens for organising this trip and to all the members from
other groups who supported us.
Our next meeting is on 21st May at 10.00 am, at 74 Eastgate, when
Dave Pendry will be giving us some tips on garden and flower
photography. Visitors interested in gardens and photography are welcome to join us. As an extra meeting on 4th June, we are visiting
Style Roses at Holbeach. (PE12 7NR). Again we shall be pleased to
welcome members from other groups as this will be a very
informative visit. Hopefully we shall be able to view some flowers
in bloom.
EDDIE ADAMS
Group Leader
U3A “BOOKWORMS” READING GROUP
“Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury.
We had mixed views on this classic Sci - Fi
book. The book was initially written as short stories
in a 1950’s magazine. The motivation for the book
was originally fear of McCarthyism and censorship of the press and
the threat of book burning in the USA.
There are two major themes, resistance to conformity and control of
individuals via mass media and technology. However the population
are partly complicit, and it does have an optimistic ending. If Montag (main character) had not fled the city he too would not have
survived.
Comments noted:
Nowadays there is often continuous piped music and television can be on 24 hrs with mainly rubbish programmes. The Montag house
seems grey and unhappy to Mildred (Montag’s wife) once the TV
walls are disconnected. Everyone must be happy with no time to
think for themselves. Any individuality is condemned. The country (USA) is continuously at war so giving the populace “blood and
circuses”.
The author Ray Bradbury died in June 2012. Our next meeting is
with Nancy Titman at her son’s home. Report by DIANA RAE.
Group Leader ANN THORNTHWAITE
Photo courtesy John Marsh
3
U3A CRAFT GROUP 1
First of all I would like to say
"it’s nice to be back".
I am also pleased to know that
everyone has been so productive
in my absence; however the
award for progress and achievement must go to Ann, for
her beautiful needle tatting. I’m
sure she would agree with me, when I say "it’s a bit like a good book,
and once hooked, you can’t put it down.”
We had a very pleasant meeting, catching up with the news and
working on our own projects, which ranged from some very
impressive Trapunto embroidery to knitted dolls, crotchet, and Needle
Tatting. We also took time to look at a book of very artistic
contemporary knitted tea cosies. One for the winter month’s maybe...
The format of our meeting was raised and it was agreed by everyone
there, that bringing our own work, gives us the freedom to dip in and
out as we please. So unless anyone has a specific craft they would like to share, or learn, we will continue in this vein. The May meeting
will be at Julie’s. NB please inform the host ASAP if you are unable
to attend.
JULIE MANCEY Group Contact
U3A JAZZ, SWING AND BIG BAND GROUP
Our meeting on Wednesday 24th April was held at the
home of Maurice Annison at Langtoft. Maurice began
the morning with Nobody’s Sweetheart Now by
McKenzie and Condon’s Chicagoans, followed by Bix Beiderbecke and his gang’s Royal Garden Blues.
When the Saints Go Marching In by Bunk Johnson and his New Orleans Band made a pleasant change from the regular version by
Louis Armstrong. Lil Greenwood featured on a Duke Ellington track
singing St Louis Blues followed by My Blue Heaven by Artie Shaw
and his Orchestra. We heard tracks from Miles Davis, Ted Heath Orchestra, Stan Kenton (featuring Jack Sheldon on trumpet). Always
a favourite, we heard Julie London singing Fly Me To The Moon,
then followed Louis Armstrong’s St James Infirmary, then Diana
Krall’s East Of The Sun (West of the Moon) and finally we heard John Dankworth and his Orchestra playing around with his version of
Experiments With Mice (Three Blind Mice played by his orchestra in
the style and sound of seven other different groups/bands – very
clever and amusing to hear!!).
Thank you Maurice for a most enjoyable morning. Our next meeting
is Wednesday 22th May at the home of Barbara abd Peter Baylis.
Please telephone either Peter Baylis or Jennie Sharman if you are unable to attend.
Joint Leaders: JENNIE SHARMAN/ANNE JONES
U3A “BOOK WEEVILS” READING GROUP
For our April meeting we had read The People’s Train
by Thomas Keneally. This is set in Australia and Russia
in the years leading up to the Russian Revolution in 1917. We found it a more difficult read and not easy to
identify with the revolutionary mindset of the hero and
other characters. However, the historical background
was very interesting.
The next meeting of Book Weevils will be on Tuesday 21st May at
2.30 at the home of Janice Cosham. New members are very welcome
to join us for a meeting to see how we run the book group.
CATHRYN SEALE Group Leader
U3A “STROLLER’S” WALKING GROUP
The latest walk took place on Monday 22 April, when 15 Strollers
met at the Hare and Hounds in Greatford. This walk was originally planned for last September, but was cancelled at the last minute
because of persistent rain. Fortunately, the conditions in April were
more favourable as the day was dry and the ground hard from the
recent dry spell. Just as well, as the walk would have been less enjoyable if it had been wet. The walk took us alongside two fields,
across another field and along a track to Braceborough. Members
were able to go into the church which was open and then posed for a
photograph nearby.
We then continued alongside the Glen River to the northern edge of
the village, before walking back through the village, for another photo
call on the village green, before crossing the fields back to Greatford.
The church at Greatford was also open and members were able to repent their sins again whilst they learned of the village’s historic
royal connections, in as much that a local doctor attended to King
George III in the early 19th century.
The next walk will take place on Monday 27 May, meeting at the Red Lion, West Deeping at 10:15 to order lunches before driving to
Maxey, for a walk around the lakes. The walk leader will be Colin
Ward and Strollers who are interested in taking part, should contact
him a few days beforehand.
BOB DELLER
Group Leader
U3A LISTENING TO MUSIC GROUP
Our May meeting was hosted by Ann Holmes
on 8 May. Ann gave us a programme of
music inspired by birds and birdsong.** The starting point was Vaughan Williams evocative Lark Ascending followed by the
colourful and realistically sounding Le Merle Noir by Messiaen from
his Oiseaux Exotique.
There was a fair sprinkling of little known pieces depicting Hens, Cuckoos, plus the Nightingale from composers ranging from Handel,
Rameau and Respighi.
A piece that produced strong feelings either way of like/dislike was
Cantus Arcticus by the little known contemporary Finnish Composer Einojuhani Rautavaara. This is unusual as it uses sound recordings
of Arctic birds made by the composer himself in the lakes and tundra
of Northern Finland. These recordings are skillfully worked into
appropriate orchestral texture to produce a most haunting piece of music. The most memorable part was written around the sounds
made by a large flock of migrating swans.
Our next meeting is on 12 June at John Bloomfield’s house, 10 am.
Report by TERRY NOBLE Joint Leaders: TERRY NOBLE / JIM PRINGLE
**Those of you who know me will know that whilst I enjoy listening
to music I am incapable of preparing such a programme as given above. Terry actually did the hard work and I provided the coffee
and biscuits. Thanks from us all Terry it was a great morning. ANN
4
U3A NATURAL HISTORY GROUP
Our first visit to
Tortoiseshell Wood, near
Castle Bytham,
proved most
successful. The Wood
Anemones were
in full bloom, as
were groups of Primroses, Dog's
Mercury, some
Ransomes, a few
Bluebells and one early Purple Orchid. There was a lot of birdsong,
including a Cuckoo.
Thanks to Dave Vandome of the Lincs. Wildlife Trust who showed us
round and told us about the history of the woodland.
Next meeting, change of venue, (by democratic vote), to Hills and Holes, Barnack. Meet at 10am on Thursday May 25th. names to me
please.
ALISTAIR SMITH
Group Leader
U3A “PACERS” WALKING GROUP
On a glorious May day 13 Pacers set out from the Hare and Hounds in Greatford in high spirits. It was the 1st of May,
the skies were blue and cloud free, the sun was shining and
at last the signs of Spring were all around us! We walked
over mud –free fields to Barholm and then along the road to Shillingthorpe Estate with a Kite circling overhead.
Then a walk through the parkland, crossing the infant West
Glen river, over the fields, through the woods and back into Greatford and the Hare and Hounds for an enjoyable
and well-earned lunch.For the first time in months we
returned home with clean boots NO MUD
Report by BARBARA McNICOL
Group Leader: LIZ WATERLAND
U3A CYCLING GROUP
Our April ride took us along fairly familiar territory. From Market Deeping Bridge we set off for Maxey, then to Etton, past Woodcroft
Castle and up the gentle hill to Helpston Heath. After a short rest we
moved on to Ufford, stopping for a brief look at the ancient sheep dip
at Bainton and finally stopping for lunch at the Red Lion at West
Deeping. Thanks to Terry Noble for organising the ride, which was
very enjoyable. A total of about 16 miles was covered.
Our next ride is on 21st June. We usually meet on Market Deeping
Bridge at 11.00am. If you are interested in joining us for a leisurely ride through our local countryside, then please speak to Ian, our
Group Leader. You will be very welcome.
Report by EDDIE ADAMS Group Leader: IAN TANNER
U3A MONDAY WALKING GROUP
Many members of the group have recently
attended the walking holiday in Whitby. A report of the walk will appear elsewhere in
the Newsletter but I feel I must record the
grateful thanks of the group to Godfrey
Parkes for organising the event. The weather, against all the odds, was extremely good, as was the accommodation. Godfrey, ably
assisted by David Scott and Pete Jackson, had devised a programme
of walks to suit all the members of the group and an excellent time
was had by all.
The most recent group walk was held on May 13th, a week later than
normal due to the Bank Holiday. It started and finished at the Kings
Head in Wadenhoe and covered an area around Lyveden. A full
report will appear in the next Newsletter.
The next walk will be on June 3rd., It will be led by Olive and Eric
Parrin and will commence from the Café in Fineshade Woods where
we will also have lunch. We will be walking to Blatherwyke and
Kingscliffe. I will as usual circulate group members nearer the date.
CHAS FERGUSON
Group Leader
U3A WEDNESDAY GARDENING GROUP
The Wednesday
gardening group payed
a visit to Castor Hanglands for their
meeting this month.
The weather had been
very warm but on the morning of our visit it
was cooler and
overcast and a few spots of rain before we
started, this did not
deter us though.
We were met at Southey Wood by the
warden Chris Gardner who was to give us our guided tour. We
crossed the road and made our way to the hanglands, which is
mentioned in the Doomsday book and the name 'hangra' is Old English for a wood on a hill. The hanglands contain a remarkable
variety of plants and animal life. We saw a Wren, heard a Cuckoo,
had Kites soaring above us and then we hear Nightingales
singing. Chris explained they sing during the day and then do their
flying at night.
The grassland, scrub and wetland areas of the reserve are part of
Ailsworth Heath. This land was ploughed around 800 years ago,
leaving distinct ridges and furrows which can still be seen today. The heath was also used as common grazing land, but today it is hard to
find a farmer to use it, although they do have some Dexter cattle that
use it for grazing. It can not be grazed all year as the area also has a
vast array of wild flowers.
This was a very interesting tour and Chris is certainly very
knowledgeable and answered all our questions and also gave a lot
more information about the history and future of the area. As the
winter has been long and cold we only saw the wild orchid leaves, but there were carpets of bluebells, primroses and cowslips around, and
we did see a frog at the side of one of the ponds. A very enjoyable
morning was had by us all.
Our next meeting is a look round Sue's garden at 8a Castle End Road, Maxey. Meet at Rainbow car park at 9.45 to car share for a 10 o'clock
start at Sue's. Report: AVRIL WILLIS
JEAN FOSTER / ANGELA DORWARD
Group Leaders
I am sorry I did not have space for the Writing for Pleasure Group
report this month. This and any other late arrival will be carried
over to next month. ANN
Photo courtesy Pam Ready
5
U3A THURSDAY WALKING GROUP
Twenty six members undertook a very pleasant walk in sunny
conditions this month starting from the Southey Woods Car Park and
progressing through the woods before arriving at the village of
Ufford. From here we were soon able to re-enter the woods before arriving back at the car park. The short journey to Barnack was then
made where a good lunch was provided by the Millstone Inn. Many
thanks to Eddie and Chris for leading the walk and organising the
lunch.
The next walk on 13 June will be led by Margaret Griffiths and will
be at Hemingford Meadow near St Ives starting at the Axe and
Compass, High Street, Hemingford Abbots PE28 9AH. The journey
to Hemingford is about 45 minutes so please meet at the Rainbow
Centre Car Park (1st on the right) at 8.50am where we can sort out
transport to reduce the number of cars going and also to assist those
wishing to walk but who do not wish to drive. If you would like to
attend this walk, could you please phone or e-mail Margaret by the
Tuesday preceding the walk, if possible.
GODFREY PARKES
Group Leader
U3A THURSDAY GARDENING GROUP
Small and select in numbers for the May meeting, BUT the sun was
out so we will excuse those of the group who were hopefully enjoying the sunshine walking in Whitby area or on holiday. The sun did
make showing the group round my garden a real pleasure. Help was
given with the disasters and we were all amazed at just how the
timing is out for many of the plants – many overlapping in flower that have never done so before. Our climate is certainly posing problems.
The plan was to discuss summer bulbs which seem to be as popular as
the spring bulbs now and we all had a good exchange of information,
aided by some excellent books and are now just praying the weather
co-operates.
Next month we are at Gill Ronaldson’s house and hope to help her
plan for making her lovely, but large, garden more manageable and
easy maintenance….from the armchair of course!
Report and photo LIZ NOBLE
Group Leader: CHRIS FERGUSON
NB: The illustration given with the Church Mice Report on page 6 is a
copy of the map of the world Christopher Columbus used to raise funds for
his voyage to discover the West Indies. The book it was taken from was from
the same “print run” as that used by Columbus and is in the Trigge Library.
U3A HISTORY GROUP
Once again we received a superbly
entertaining presentation from Steve Perry. His talk revolved around the parts of
Peterborough that now constitute our
shopping centre called Queensgate, which opened in 1982. He gave
us a virtual tour of the streets that were in existence before the bulldozers took over. The tour was taken from a street map drawn up
in 1934. (The presentation was given via the most up to date version
of Power Point so had a few quirky special effects!)
There were too many stories to report in this magazine but there were a lot of quiet comments such as, ‘Oh my aunt lived there, and, I used
to work in that building’. Four photographs that caused comment
were: one showing congested traffic in the 1920s; a large group
protest meeting from around 1930 where all the men wore hats; a group of policemen photographed at the turn of the century. They
were all wearing very bushy moustaches; the shoe boxes from floor to
ceiling in Gibbs shoe shop. ‘Memories are made of this.’ (I bet you
will all start to hum this tune when you read this report!).
Liz reminded members that the balance for the London trip in August
is due in June and Mavis and Fran were welcomed to the group. The
attendance at the meeting was excellent and it is very pleasing to note
that we have so many volunteers and potential speakers amongst us.
Report by SANDRA JONES
ELIZABETH PARKINSON / SANDRA JONES
Group Leaders
U3A SUNDAY LUNCH GROUP
The next Sunday Lunch will be on SUNDAY,
2ND JUNE (note change of date due to Bank Holiday) at The Blue Bell, Glinton. If you wish to join this event
please contact Tony Semple or Michael Griffiths, or add your name to
the list at the meeting on 20th May. Tony or Michael are usually at a table at the back of the meeting room in the vicinity of the coffee
point.
U3A CRAFT REPORT 2
Barbara Baylis helped us create some really
interesting shaped cards from a plain sheet of
A4 card – thank you to her.
Avril Willis brought a fascinating necklace which she had made and she passed round to all. It was made of rainbow fine wool and made
using crotchet. The result was extremely light and colourful and we
are going to tackle this in May. 20 May 2013 2pm, usual place.
LIZ NOBLE
Group Leader 01778 342855
U3A LEARN PHOTOGRAPHY GROUP
The next Photography meeting will be on
Wednesday, 22nd May at 2.00 pm at the RC Church Hall, Deeping St
James.
Members are asked to bring in their cameras and instruction books. Also any photographs for viewing for the August U3A celebrations at
the Deepings Comprehensive School.
DAVE PENDRY
Group Leader 01778 345179
Members of the U3A
Science Group at a
lecture given in St. Guthlac’s Church by
Chris Jones on The
Mechanics of
Building Medieval Churches. Photo:
Alistair Smith.
6
U3A GARDENING GROUP 3
On April 16th we joined The Gardening 4 Petals & Produce for a visit to Railworld in
Peterborough.
Rev. Richard Paten founded Railworld in
1985 to promote Sustainable Transport, with an emphasis on
rail travel and sustainable development, which he was also passionate
about. Land at Railworld was made available to build a wildlife
haven and environment centre; he helped to raise money and gifts in kind totalling £400.000 to build this exciting project for the
youngsters of Peterborough. Reverend Paten died on 22nd July 2012,
and his work is now being carried on by Brain Pearce. They worked
together on the project for 25 years. Brian gave us a presentation giving details of how the work was carried out and how he has
managed to get backing from all sorts of organisations. This hidden
treasure of Peterborough is well worth another visit. All U3A
members that visited were overwhelmed with the the enthusiasm of all the volunteers. We thank Eddie and John for organising a very
interesting and informative meeting.
Our next meeting is on 28th May at SEAGATE IRISES, address Long Sutton By-Pass, Long Sutton, Lincolnshire, PE 12 9PX.
Please meet at 10.30 am. There is ample parking spaces. All
gardening group members are very welcome to join us. Please ring
Janice or Josie Smith if you wish to come along. JANICE WILSON
Group Leader.
U3A FAMILY HISTORY GROUP
The group met again today and in smaller
groups we looked at ways we can find information about births, baptisms, marriages, deaths and burials. We
paid special attention to where we could obtain the information for
free. It proved that it is not always necessary to spend lots of money
to find relevant information. One source of accredited marriage and birth details is a service record. Here the service man would need to
produce his actual marriage and children’s birth certificates which
would then have been transcribed onto his documents by the officer
to whom it had been presented. In most cases this information will be 100% correct as he would have read the document and sign that he
has done so. We looked at a few examples, one of which the man had
even given his father, mother and all his siblings by name and address
– what a find! Our next meeting will be on 10th June, 2pm, same time
and place.
We would be more than pleased to welcome any new members who
would like to either start or enhance their family history. Anyone
interested in joining our group or just having a chat about what we do, please give me a call. Anyone who would like any help, can contact
me on my e-mail address, I may not have the answer but I will
probably be able to point to the person who does.
PEG TORRANCE
Group Leader
U3A “WEEKENDERS” GROUP
Sixteen members enjoyed an interesting day visiting
the National Memorial Arboretum at Lichfield, described in the guide book as “the UK’s year-round
Centre of Remembrance; a spiritually uplifting place
which honours the fallen, recognises service and sacrifice and
fosters pride in our country”. It affected us all in different ways. Some of us also managed a quick visit to the Cathedral too. Thanks
Barbara for arranging it. ANN
The recent meeting of the Weekenders Group was very lively and Sociable, enjoying coffee and sharing ideas for future meals and
outings. A trip to the Key Theatre in July and also a visit to
Cambridge. The next coffee morning will be held at the Deeping
Stage June 8th. AUDREY ALLEN / PAT RIGBY
Group Leaders
U3A ART APPRECIATION GROUP
We met in the meeting room of the Catholic Church
in Hereward Way, Deeping St. James for out April
meeting.
The topic was Italian Renaissance Paintings 1450-1530. During this
period, many years before Italian unification, Italy consisted of a
number of city-states, each governed by a rich dynasty. The artists of the day depended upon these families, and the church, for
commissions, producing paintings, carvings and statuary to order.
Many of these commissions were too large for a single artist to
complete in the time allowed and they were produced by established artists working together and often included the employment of
apprentices. Some artists displayed a lack of originality or variety –
one such had the same face on twelve figures in the same painting!
On occasions the result was not accepted by the patrons. One such
rejection resulted in a 25 year wait for a new rendition of the work.
As a result of the patronage system the majority of the works are of a
religious nature, depicting biblical events, either directly for the
church or paid for by patrons to show their devotion and support. The system resulted in sought-after artists moving from one patron to
another as their reputation and popularity grew. In addition to
providing works of art to show their support to the church a patron
would commission portraits to show their success and wealth.
Paintings were produced using a medium called tempera painted onto
wooden panels or canvas or walls. Tempera was produced by an artist
grinding colour material into a powder. Different powders were then
mixed to produce the required colour and mixed with egg yolk to bind it together for application, usually with a brush. Some of the base
material was very expensive and/or exotic. For example Lapis Lazuli,
imported as a stone from Afghanistan resulted in a brilliant blue
colour – known as Ultra Marine – reflecting that it came from “over
the sea”.
The paintings had many brilliant colours, showing the skill that the
artists had in producing them consistently. The tempera method was compared with the Dutch method at about the same time of using oil
as a binding medium, with the comment that oils took longer to dry,
thus prolonging the time between the application of a fresh colour and
the time it took to finish a work.
The next meeting, same location, is on Tuesday 21 st May at 10.00.
The topic will be: Gustav Klimt, his life and work. ALL WELCOME
PETER WITHERINGTON
Group Leader
U3A “CHURCH MICE” GROUP
This month’s visit was to St. Wulfram’s Church, Grantham. This Church is really worth a visit as
it is a hidden gem within the old part of
Grantham. It dates back to pre 1222 when there
was probably a Saxon place of worship on the site. The Norman architecture can be seen
throughout, even though there was a major fire in
1222 which destroyed much of the fabric of the
building. The Church was part of the Reformation and then restored/refurbished in Victorian times, with Gilbert Scott being an influence
on its design.
The windows are mainly Victorian but there are modern ones that were installed in the 1960s. The cover of the font is really ornate and
cleverly hinged so that it opens to reveal small statuettes. The Crypt
dates back to the C14th and is very peaceful. There is a chain library
called the Trigge Library which houses very early printed books.
It would take an age to tell you about this lovely Church. There is so
much history hidden there and also in the surrounding area including
the Angel and Royal Hotel which is a short walk away. The Church web site is www.stwulframs.org.uk . Report by SANDRA JONES
LYALL SEALE / FRANK MILLS
Group Leaders
See note bottom of
Page 5,
7
WHITBY WALKING HOLIDAY — 29th APRILTO 3 MAY 2013
The 2013 Spring Walking holiday saw 33 members descend on Whitby
in North Yorkshire this year. In a change of format from previous years
when we have used B&B’s, this year we were located at the Royal Hotel with excellent views over the harbour and across to Whitby Abbey. The
cost of the bed, breakfast and three course evening meal package was
exceptional.
The holiday
started with a
wonderful
occasion on the Monday
night as this was the day of Norah’s 60th birthday. A very brave lady for coming on a
walking holiday on that day – did she really think we would let it pass un-noticed?
Following the meal Ann and Brian walked in with a lovely big birthday cake, Brian being dressed up in black as Guy the Gorilla. Even one of the waiters joined in the fun
by offering him a banana!! This was followed by a very nice “Ode to Norah” written
by Chris and sung by the Deeping Choral Society!! to the tune of “If you knew Suzy”.
This was a brilliant start to the holiday so if anyone else has a special birthday that coincides with a walking holiday then beware or keep it quiet!!.
Tuesday saw the beginning of the walking part of the week. As this was a coastal location we took
advantage of walking part of the Cleveland Way southwards from Whitby to Robin Hoods Bay for approx eight miles. This was a lovely walk with good views all round and punctuated at one of the
stops to help Norah eat the birthday cake on the cliff top. At least it made Brian’s rucksack lighter!! A
pub get together in Robin Hoods Bay sitting outside on a warm sunny day then gave many members the
opportunity to descend steeply into the Bay where we came across several of the Goths who were still there from the weekend. Bus passes (well for most of us) then came out for the journey back to Whitby.
On the Wednesday we did the short
journey to Goathland (Heartbeat Country) where there is still plenty of evidence of the popular TV programme even though
recording has now finished. The walk involved a circular route of approx 5 miles
with several stepped climbs that gave high level views of Goathland and the surrounding moors including the popular North York Moors Railway line where
we were pleased to see steam trains in action. Today coincided with the 40th
Anniversary of the railway and a special train ran in the afternoon which Eddie
has photographed for the website, this being the original train which had been specially restored for the occasion. The walk was extended slightly to enable
members to see the Mallyan Spout waterfall before climbing steps to the hotel of
that name for a well earned drink, again in a sunny garden. We were grateful to
Ken on this walk for giving us some historical information about the area relating to Monks Trod, Grouse Butts and Sheep Folds. Is this a precedent you are setting Ken?
Thursday was another coastal walk along the Cleveland Way, this time going northwards from Whitby to
Sandsend along the promenade and beach plus a further stretch on the disused railway to the blocked off tunnel. (four miles) The return journey being the same route or on the bus. Several walkers continued from
the tunnel for a further four miles northwards to the delightful location of Runswick Bay before making use
of the bus for whole or part of the return journey.
Friday was a free day giving members the opportunity to further explore the local area before heading off
to their next destinations or home. This turned out once again to be a great week of walking and
socialising. The weather throughout the week couldn’t have been better. The change of format worked
particularly well as it enabled us to meet up and socialise even more especially in the evenings in the public rooms with quizzes, bingo, snooker and pool if members wished to participate.
Many thanks to David, Peter and Ann for assistance with the reccys and comments on the itinerary, to Brian, Ann and Chris for helping to make
Norah’s day complete and to all of you for your continued support of these walking holidays and your contribution, it is much appreciated.
Report by GODFREY PARKES
Walking Holiday Organiser
Many more pics on
website.
Sorry I was unable to use