UNIVERSITY OF THE THIRD AGE

NEWSLETTER - JUNE 2017

Letter From The Chairman

At our AGM this year it was a pleasure to report that Horncastle U3A continues to go from strength to strength. Last year saw our membership reach record levels, along with our interest groups, whilst maintaining a sound financial position that has allowed our membership fee to remain at £15 for another year. I would like to thank everyone who has, and indeed, continues to contribute towards making our U3A one of the best in Lincolnshire.

In 2016 the U3A movement achieved the milestone of its 1000th U3A and this inevitably rekindled the debate of its corporate governance model. For sometime it had been recognised that the model drafted at the start of the movement was no longer ‘fit for purpose’. This was no doubt prompted by the rising tide of concern being expressed at local and regional levels and culminating in questions raised at the Regional and Trust AGM’s. To seek a solution to this problem the Trust launched a wide-ranging consultation exercise throughout the UK and is looking to publish its findings in the near future. I will keep you informed of developments and any implications for our U3A. On a personal note two of the highlights of the year so far have been the trips organised by Pam and Sylvia to London and Hull. Their inspired selection of the hugely entertaining tour guides made these trips especially memorable and l now look forward to the next planned outings later in the year.

Enjoy the Summer!

Richard

NEWS FROM THE GROUPS

ART AND DESIGN GROUP At the request of the chairman our Art & Design Group produced a “Welcome” artwork for display in the Stanhope Hall foyer at the monthly Meeting. Each member of the Group contributed to the project, as follows: Sylvia Jones - Coronation Walk, Margaret Grant - Kings Head (The Thatch). Gill Todd - Remembrance Poppies - Jean Parkinson - Spa Trail. Clare Cleaver - J. Kemp & Son, and printed the ‘Welcome’ message. Ann Calvert - Horncastle Horse Fair & Duck Steps (Tesco Bridge)

If you would like to release your ‘inner artist’ and join our vibrant group, please contact: Ann Calvert - 01507 - 525143 EXPLORING CHURCHES GROUP

Over 22 members visited Benington All Saints, (on the A52, Wainfleet to Boston), closed about 14 years ago but missed and much loved by villagers. Now £2 million of lottery funding and a grand plan means the building will become a focal point of local life once more. The interior has remained well preserved over the centuries. By

September 2018, the grand re-opening will take place - an area for worship will be re-created, plus a cafe and servery, with a meeting room (soundproofed) under the tower, with the remaining space becoming an events area. Wedding receptions, exhibitions, meetings, can take place there as the area will be available for hire. Our tour was led by a trustee, Judy Crowe, who explained planning and fundraising had been going on for 10 years. All permissions had been granted for the scheme to go ahead, though 3 species of resident bats have delayed the high level work until September - though ground work is already underway.

*The group meets on The Wong at 9.30am on the date of each visit to organise car-sharing. Pam can be contacted on 01507 526267

Please notify your Group Leader if you are unable to attend your group meeting

GENEALOGY AND FAMILY HISTORY GROUP

There is no regular Genealogy Group meeting but I meet with individual members as and

when they require my help or guidance. Whether starting to research your family tree or

have some experience but have hit a "brick wall" you may call on me for help . I will not do

your research for you but rather teach you how to research more effectively or to use

alternative sources. I normally devote 2 hours per meeting (you can come more than once)

and use Ancestry online for primary research. If you are just "stuck" -cannot find who you are

looking for - we can often deal with it by email. For information - please call. Colin

Gascoyne. 01507 526938

GARDENING GROUP

For our first garden visit this year we went to Firsby Manor, a lovely peaceful garden with a collection of over a hundred Daffodils. If you would like to join our group we meet on the third Thursday of the month to visit a range of interesting gardens. Contact Eileen Jackson (01507) 588273

THE STROLLERS

This is our group at the “The Splash”, Little Cawthorpe on March 9th. A little wet underfoot, so a slightly changed walk in the sun followed by an enjoyable meal and much socialising. The next planned walk is at Woodhall Spa / Petwood gardens on 8th June meeting first on The Wong car park. If you would like to join our

group please contact Diana Darley (01507) 524954 or Pauline Maddinson (01507) 622064.

NEW MEMBERS ARE VERY WELCOME

U3A 9 MILERS Our group always meets on the 29th of the month UNLESS that date falls on a weekend when it reverts to the nearest Monday or Friday. Each walk starts from the Wong car park at 09.10 am for car sharing and includes time for a packed lunch with a visit to a tearoom at the end. Our next walk will be on 29th June and will start and finish at Minting Park Farm. Contact Edward Jones (01507) 524721

MUSIC APPRECIATION

The Group meets on the 1st Tuesday of each month 2pm to 4pm at Ancaster Court. There are

11 in the group and there is ample room for new members to join us. Recent programs have

included excerpts from “The Marriage of Figaro”, “The Sleeping Beauty”, and “The Wizard of

Oz”; also some pieces for viola and guitar by Paganini, Chopin, and American Songbook, and

infectious melodic swing from the London jazz scene. We have had Rudyard Kipling’s poems

set to music, some 40’s and 50’ s pop and the music of Stephen Foster. Covering a wide

spectrum of tastes from Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Mario Lanza, to Frank Ifield, Maria

Callas, Jim Reeves and many others. Join us to hear such “memorable” hits as “Bimbo”, “Hot

Diggity”, “Ding Dong the witch is dead”, or Chopin’s piano concerto No1- or YOUR choice- a

relaxing afternoon with good music and good company.

Contact Colin Gascoyne on (01507) 526938

CREATIVE WRITING GROUP

Congratulations to two Members on their achievements - Ken Argent on winning the poetry competition run by the Library and to Tessa Holdaway on a commendable mention in the Nottingham Writers Club short story competition. For more information CONTACT: Annette Wilmshurst (01507) 525958 Hardanger Embroidery

Would anyone like to learn to create beautiful embroidered hardanger ? It is a very easy art

that produces work you will be proud to display. Contact: Ann Duncan (01507) 527723

MONTHLY GENERAL MEETINGS

All members are invited to attend the U3A general meetings held at 10am on the first

Tuesday of each month at the Stanhope Hall.

Guest Speakers for the next few months will be:-

6th June Jean Howard Three Little Rich Girls 4th July Chris Dingley Tax, Care and Toy Boys 1st Aug Andrew Lidster Keeping House at Gunby Hall 5th Sept Rev Sam Parsons Parsons Paraguay 3rd Oct Neil Carter Three VERY EVIL people from history 7th Nov Sgt Caroline Broughton Cyber Crime 5th Dec Xmas Social Meeting

HORNCASTLE U3A COMMITTEE

Richard D’Arcy Chairman 01507 - 343396

Chrisandra D’Arcy Secretary 01507 - 343396

Ruth Addison Treasurer 01526 - 399007

Ann Duncan Groups Co-Ord. 01507 - 527723

Ron Fisher Newsletter 01507 - 524450

Shelagh Carter Greeter 01507 - 588295

Eileen Jackson Greeter 01507 - 588273

Ann Duncan Membership Sec. 01507 - 527723

Robin Wilmshurst Membership Sec. 01507 - 525958

Rose Williams Speaker Finder 01507 – 525311

Neil Carter 01507 - 588295

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO JOIN OUR COMMITTEE PLEASE CONTACT RICHARD D’ARCY (01507) 343396

HORNCASTLE U3A GROUPS Members – If you are interested in joining a group, please check with the person listed below to ensure there are places available. Group Leaders – If a new leader or deputy is appointed or there are other significant changes, please inform Ann Duncan, our groups co-ordinator. W=Winter S=Summer

Antiques 3rd Wed 2-4pm Ann Duncan 01507 527723 Appliqué 2nd & 4th

Wed 2-4pm Ann Duncan 01507 527723

Art & Design

2nd & 4th Tues

1.45pm-4.15pm

Anne Calvert 01507 525143

Bells 1st Thurs 2-4pm Karel Jonkers 01507 524727 Book Worms 1st Mon 2-4pm Brenda

Mumford 01507 522447

Bowls (Summer)

Fri 10am Colin & Kathy Fisher

01507 523941

Creative Photography

3rd Wed 7-9pm Andy Mathieson 01507 522701

Creative Writing For Pleasure

1st Tues 2-4pm

Annette Wilmshurst

01507 525958

Croquet (Summer)

2nd& 4th Mon

1.45-4pm Pauline Donner

01507 622741

Cryptic Crosswords

4th Fri 10.30am Sylvia Knight

01507 525028

Eating Out

2nd Fri lunch Jean Norman

01507 522476

Edible Gardening

1st Mon 2-4pm Robin Wilmshurst

01507 525958

Exploring Churches

Tues – dates vary

9.30am Pam Browne 01507 526267

Gardening 3rd Thurs Time varies.

Eileen Jackson 01507 588273

Genealogy & Family History

2nd Mon 2pm Colin Gascoyne 01507 526938

History 4th Wed 2-4pm Malcolm Baxter & Sheila Jonkers

01507 522220 01507 524727

Eating Out 2nd Fri Time varies

Jean Norman 01507 522472

Music Appreciation

1st Tues 2pm Colin Gascoyne

01507 526938

Nine Milers

29th but not w/ends.

9.10am

Edward Jones

01507 524721

Pilates Wed 11-11.55 Stefan Urbanowicz

01507 524430

Prose & Poetry 1

1st Thurs

2-4pm Phyll Durow 01507 522356

Prose & Poetry 2

3rd Tues

2-4pm Alan Baulch 01526 353137

Reading 1 3rd

Mon 2pm

Pat Skingsley

01526 352700

Reading 2 2nd Fri

10.30am Sylvia Knight

01507 525028

Financial Forum

2nd Thurs 10-12 noon

Neil Carter 01507 588295

Bridge Group

Chrissie

Chapman 01507 525859

Strollers

2nd Thurs 10am

Pauline Maddinson & Diana Darley

01507 622064 01507 524954

Sunday Lunch Club

4th Sun

12.30pm Clare Crick 01507 526850

Supper Club 1

1st Tues 6.30pm Bridget Barker Anne Fieldsend

01507 523635 01507 522797

Supper Club 2

3rd Tues

Time varies

Lynn Urbanowicz

01507 527713

Table Tennis

Every Tues

2-4pm Malcolm Baxter

01507 522220

Talking Heads

2nd Tues 2pm Doreen Sanderson

01507 523702

Topical Discussion

2nd Wed 2-4pm Pam Browne

01507 526267

Five Milers 4th Thurs 9.30am

Ray Wisdom

01507 525944

ACTIVITY NEWS SIX GO WILD IN WOODHALL SPA

On a bright March morning our gang of six met up at the World famous Woodhall Spa golf club for a ‘taster’ session with the resident professional. Nerves were shrugged aside as we walked along the path, previously trodden by most of the world’s elite golfers, to join

Neil Harvey at the practice putting green. With Neil’s first lesson fresh in our memory we started ‘having a go’ at trying to get a hole in one. It was at this point that we were introduced to the golfing terms triple and quadruple bogey! Flushed with our success on the putting green, we then moved to the Driving range and after some further tuition were ‘let loose’ with a club and a bucket full of balls. It has to be said that this activity did not come naturally to some members of our group! However, with Neil’s seemingly endless patience we all started to ‘get the hang of it’. All too soon our ‘taster’ session drew to a close with everybody agreeing that it is harder than it looks and GREAT FUN!!!

OUR EXPERIENCES ON THE SKID PAN RAF SCAMPTON - 23rd FEBRUARY

With Bridget and Peter collected we set off, buffeted by the wind as we crossed the runway to a portacabin for the first of several explanatory lessons. The first was about safety issues on the site, and then improvements made to car safety over the years. We then dealt with ‘understeer’ and how to control that situation, before going to the car. The course was a figure of eight where we all learned how to control a front end skid, and took turns to experience this. I was last to go, and began to realise that I was no good as a back seat passenger. Our next session was about ‘oversteer’ and how to counteract it. This did not worry me too much, as doing this on the relative safety of an airfield was not as daunting as on a road with other traffic and pedestrians to worry about The final session dealt with the ABS (Anti Lock Braking System), which should allow one to steer around a person or object - and we all went on to practice this around an imaginary child - so no pressure there then! The car, however, took some heavy punishment doing that part!! When all was over, we were escorted off the airfield past other unsuspecting people awaiting their session - to whom we waved cheerily, chanting “how enjoyable it had all been”. I would certainly do it again, and the £49 cost, is really a small price to pay for improving safety! ROBIN WILMSHURST

THE LONDON TRIP

Members opted for a variety of activities on the day trip to London. Some had booked tickets for matinee performances at West End Theatres - and some went on river trips or on shopping expeditions.

For 20 of us the afternoon was mostly spent on a fascinating walking tour of the Inns of Court with a Blue Badge guide, finishing in the Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand.

THE HULL TRIP It was a full coach that travelled over the Humber Bridge to visit Hull - City of Culture 2017. On arrival the first attraction visited was the beautiful ‘Window of Tears’ situated on the side of the Maritime museum. Members then divided into those who had booked the walking tour and those who had chosen to explore the city separately. On the arrival of our guide, Paul Schofield those on the walking tour were taken on a journey back in time through the oldest parts of the city. Members were

constantly reminded that Hull was the only place in the country where you could visit the ‘Land of Green Ginger’,

see the smallest window in England, walk in footsteps of William Wilberforce and Royalty all in under two hours! Sadly, our fascinating tour had to come to an end but not before viewing the now famous swing bridge used as the backdrop for an artwork, which involved hundreds of blue painted naked residents draped on its decking! Everybody agreed it had been a truly memorable day out.

OUTINGS FOR 2017

Tuesday 20 June Loughborough - Taylors Bell Foundry

Thursday 6 July Leicester - Richard III

Thursday 26 Sept Ely - Cathedral OR stained glass museum.

Booking forms will be available at our monthly meeting but will be mailed to anyone on our database unable to attend. Details will be on our website.

OR CONTACT:

Sylvia Ravenhall (01507) 526014 sylvan@btinternet.com

Pam Browne (01507) 526267 pam.browne@hotmail.co.uk

A CAUTIONARY TALE

They have silver in their hair – some have gold in their teeth, stones in their kidneys and gas in their stomachs. I am actually seeing five gentlemen a day. As soon as I wake up Will Power helps me out of bed. Then it is time for Mr. Quaker to give me my oats. Those two leave and Mr. Arthur Ritus shows up and he stays with me for the rest of the day, taking me from joint to joint After such a busy day I am ready for bed with Johnny Walker – oh! I almost forgot. Before that I will no doubt have a little flirt with Al Zymer. The minister came to visit me the other day. He told me that at my age I should be thinking about the hereafter. Oh! I do, I replied. Often, I wander into a room, I stop and ask myself – what am I in hereafter?

SHELAGH CARTER

Cyber Crime A number of our member’s have recently been the victim of cyber crime. Here are two examples of the latest attempts to access your bank details :- 1/ The Distressed Relative/ Acquaintance You will receive an email with something like: Hello, How are you doing? Please i need a urgent help from you so kindly reply me as soon as you get this mail.

Quickly followed by: Thanks for your mail, am in Manila, Philippines right now for a short trip and am short of cash right here, i tried to access my account from the cash machines here and its not working, i went to the bank to withdraw and was informed that i cant withdraw from my account in some countries, that its network errors, am wondering if i could get a quick loan of £1,000 Pound sterling from you or anything you can afford to loan me to clear some little things here and also take a cab to the airport i promise to refund it as soon as i get back , let me know so i can send you my details. Waiting to read from you.

Whilst the poor English in this example is a dead giveaway they have been revising the email to make it very convincing. I have seen examples that give the distressed parties correct address and telephone number.

2/ The Parking Charge Notification Email You will receive an email notifying you that you have parked on private property and have incurred a parking fine. It will give vague details of the alleged offence: * Refference number: 6FM/T3 * Time of accident: 20:07 * Date of accident: 24/01/2017 * Parking on a private land with no any permit from parking keeper.

DO NOT under any circumstances press any of the buttons on the email as this may install a virus on your computer.

Again the poor English in this example is a dead giveaway. However, the third email l received of this scam had its grammar, spelling corrected, my address added and looked very authentic. If you receive any email that you suspect may be a scam please forward it to the City of London Police at NFIBPhishing@city-of-london.pnn.police.uk and then delete it from your computer. Should you discover or suspect that you may have been scammed report it immediately to the police or through the website www.actionfraud.police.uk

DO NOT IGNORE THE ANY SIGNS THAT YOUR BANK ACCOUNT HAS BEEN COMPROMISED.

ALWAYS KEEP YOUR ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE UP-TO-DATE

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Introduction My name is Ron Fisher and I have taken on the Editorship of the Newsletter from John Dumelow. My contact details are below, so please send

comments, contributions or complaints to me. I look forward to working with you, and, together with your input and Richards support, I hope to produce an interesting Newsletter for all Members.

Please remember…….. I CANNOT do this without your reports and photos for possible inclusion !!

I look forward to hearing from you !!

Contact: ronfisher142@btinternet.com

OR

Tel: 01507 - 524450

All contributions are welcome (and essential) - Group activities to come, or completed - photographs - suggestions - and virtually ANYTHING that other members might

enjoy reading that will enhance the Newsletter.

My thanks to all contributors this month - regrettably space did not allow all entries to be published in full this time, but photos and comments have been saved for possible later use.

You can check out Horncastle U3A’s website any time for details of activities, events and groups. Our web address is: u3asites.org.uk/Horncastle If you have any updates that you wish to share, please contact Richard D’Arcy or Robin Wilmshurst.

Outing to Leicester Richard III

Thursday 6th July 2017

The proposed visit to Leicester is planned for Thursday 6th July, leaving Horncastle Market Place at 8.30 a.m. The cost of £20 includes coach fare and entry to the Richard III Visitor Centre that is situated in the city centre close to Richard III’s re-burial in Leicester Cathedral. It is suggested that at least 90 minutes be allowed for the centre visit. Maps for a self-guided Richard III trail are available from the Visitor Centre (50p). Other attractions include: New Walk Museum and Art Gallery Jewry Wall Museum Newark Houses and gardens Retail therapy opportunities! Booking is now open and a booking form follows. This visit is open to members and friends. Sylvia Ravenhall

Horncastle U3A Outings Booking Form

Outing to Leicester on Thursday 6th July 2017

Name(s)...................................................................................................... …………………………………………………………………………… Phone ....................................................Email...........................................

I/We* wish to apply for ____ places @ £13 per person for coach only

=______ I/We* wish to apply for ____places to Richard III Centre @ £7 per person

=______ Total enclosed:

Cheques made payable to Horncastle U3A Social Account.

Payments cannot be refunded.

Please return this booking slip a.s.a.p. with your cheque to:

Sylvia Ravenhall, 15 Elmhirst Road, Horncastle, LN9 5AT

OR bring to Pam or Sylvia at a U3A general meeting at Stanhope Hall

Open to Members and friends.

Coach departs bus stop in Horncastle Market Place at 8.30 am

Contact Sylvia Ravenhall - 01507 - 526014 or 07970043865 (daytime ONLY)

or sylvan@btinternet.com Please enclose cheque with the Booking Form