Burton Joyce & District U3A Newsline Issue 8.1 | January 2015 Hello, Happy New Year, and Welcome to your January 2015 Edition of Newsline. In Newsline This Month This month, we have a new name and new Co-ordinator for the Italian Group, page 2. On page 3 is an appeal for more members to sign up to the proposed Ukulele for Beginners Group to make it viable. Note: If you would like to send in an item for inclusion in the next edition of Newsline, it should be e-mailed to [email protected], to arrive no later than 5:00pm Thursday 29th January. All items received will be acknowledged by e-mail. - Keith Montgomery. Chairman's Message I hope you all enjoyed a happy and peaceful Christmas and New Year celebration and had a few days rest from your normal activities. I know many of you have suffered from colds over the last few weeks, as I have too. You have my sympathy and best wishes for a speedy recovery. It certainly makes one appreciate good health after recovering from a bad cold! At this time of year, we naturally look back at the last year and forward to 2015. We are almost half way through our three year plan now and I am very pleased at the good progress that has been made on all fronts. For our last Committee Meeting, I prepared a summary of key points from each of the Newslines in 2014 and Michelle has reported some of these in her Committee Report below. Although we decided not to set targets for growth, we have welcomed 71 new members over the last year (18% net growth) which I think is very healthy, our finances are in good shape, communications improved and our interest groups are continually developing. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this success, particularly Committee Members and Group Coordinators. We plan to improve the planning and organisation of BJU3A outings this year. © Keith Montgomery We are now making progress in planning the Trip to France in September 2015 and the next step is to receive commitment and deposits from those who wish to come. There is another item with details in this Newsline so I ask you to seriously consider whether this will be a good thing for you. - Paul Geeson. Meetings Programme December Meeting Report The December meeting was our Christmas meeting, when fellow member Dave Collins sang folk songs to us, some of which he had written himself, and played his guitar. There was mulled wine for everyone, and at the interval we had a mince pie, and tea or coffee. It was very enjoyable, and thanks go to everyone involved. - Keith Montgomery. BJU3A Newsline | Issue 8.1 | January 2015 Page 1 Dave Collins entertaining us at the Christmas meeting Editor | Keith Montgomery | [email protected] Thank you to everyone who helped with the refreshments at the Christmas meeting. - Linda Tobin. Future Meetings 13th January 2015: "The Woolly Tellers" Dave Brookes and Michael Whysall are the Woolly Tellers. They are passionate about telling stories, often based on their own Nottingham connections, as well as tales from their extensive travels around the world. This promises to be an entertaining and enthralling afternoon of grown-up storytelling. - Judith Wright. Please don't forget if you have put your name down to help at the January meeting. - Linda Tobin. 10th February Colin Bower “The Humour That Surrounds Us” Committee Notices Committee Meetings At the final Committee meeting of 2014, on 16th December, we had time to look back over the year and reflect on what had gone well and what may still need more focus on in 2015. In the year to December 2014: Ÿ Our membership has increased by 18% to 329. Ÿ Our groups now total 49 having risen overall by 6, with some having run their course but many more having started. Ÿ Many of these new groups have actually been started by very proactive and enthusiastic new members. Ÿ We have changed the format of our coffee mornings for new members and most new members have now attended one. Ÿ We have registered as a Charity and moved our bank to a charity account where we pay no bank charges. Ÿ The website has been developed and is being well used and continues to be enhanced. Ÿ We have been overwhelmed with offers of help at the monthly meetings either to act as a welcomer or make teas. Ÿ Our finances remain healthy standing at an equivalent reserve of £23 per member. Most importantly we hope you agree that we have listened to you as members and acted on your suggestions. To this end we reviewed feedback from you about the Christmas party and have decided next year to use some of our reserves to provide a wider spread of food. We are also going to think again about the entertainment you may like, maybe working with the local primary school. As a thank you to all the hardworking group co-ordinators we shall be hosting another thank you lunch on the 17th March 2015. (More details to follow.) Finally our 2015 top priority will be to get a team together to structure a programme of outings throughout the year. We know the outings are always extremely popular and we want to ensure that there is something on offer to suit everyone and that we get a good balance throughout the year. Already we have offers for arranging a trip to the National Arboretum in April and Nancy and Paris in September, see pages 6 and 8. The Committee wish you a Happy New Year and hope you continue to enjoy U3A in 2015. - Michelle Price-Horne. Groups News This section of Newsline contains the Groups Facilitator's updates on recent changes to our Groups. It also has reports from the Groups themselves on their activities and any changes to their normal meeting programme. Our Groups are listed on pages 7-8 of this edition of Newsline, and fuller details on individual Groups are given on our web site, see the 'Our Groups' page on the web site http://www.bju3a.co.uk/groups.html New Co-ordinator and Name for the Italian Group Mary Simm is now the Co-ordinator for the Italian group, and in future the Group will be referred to as the Italian Intermediates group. The Group meets every Friday 2:30 - 4:00pm at Burton Joyce Methodist Church Hall, Meadow Lane, Burton Joyce. NG14 5EX. Mary can be contacted on 0115 841 3605. BJU3A Newsline | Issue 8.1 | January 2015 Page 2 Editor | Keith Montgomery | [email protected] Proposed New Group - Ukulele for Beginners. Whilst several people have already signed up for this proposed new Group, a few more members are required before it can meet. It is not necessary to have any music knowledge or experience. It is a fun instrument to learn and we have an experienced teacher lined up who has taught other U3A Groups. Hopefully there are a few more amongst you who would like to give it a go. So please put your names down on the list at our next monthly meeting on Tuesday 13th January, or if further information is required please contact me, David Faulkner, my contact details are given below. If you have any questions about our Groups, or would like to start a new Group, please have a word with me, David Falkner, at the monthly meeting, or contact me via e-mail at [email protected] or by phone on 01636 918973. - David Falkner. Bird Watching © Wikimedia Commons We had a bumper turn out for our festive stroll around the Netherfield lagoons including Breeay, our youngest member, John & Sue’s granddaughter. Large flocks of teal and pochard were present amongst 25 species identified. John Bourne spotted our best 'tick', a common gull with his yellow legs amongst a crowd of red legged black headed gulls. Santa led the walk and distributed Gaelic coffee on the way and enjoyed the company in the Wheatsheaf after. Our next outing on Thursday 15th January is to Attenborough Nature Reserve, scene last year of bittern and water rail sightings on the same morning! Meet at 10:00am in the car park at Attenborough or 9:00am in the Wheatsheaf car park for a lift. Please note that the tram works make it a slow journey. Happy New Year- Keith Stafford. Common Gull (Larus canus) Canasta - Plenty to Celebrate Colin and Mary Simm hosted the Canasta group's Christmas Fuddle on the 10th December. We played 'speed canasta' which was great fun and had a lovely spread of drinks and food that the whole group had contributed. Mary won the competition and Colin unfortunately was last! Sadly, we missed Marlene's mince pies as she was poorly. However, the best news of the evening came about 10 o'clock when Steve and Liz Cantrell were contacted to let them know of the birth of their first grandchild. What a lovely way to end a super evening. Michelle Price-Horne. Computer Studies 1 The dates for our meetings through to the end of March are: 12th & 26th January, 9th & 23rd February, and 9th & 23rd March. I have also been getting experience of Windows 8.1 over the Christmas period, thanks to a rather nifty little 7" tablet, so I can now help with all versions of Windows from XP and Vista through to 7 and 8.1- Keith Montgomery. Country Walks Craft - Look What We Made December's meeting produced these lovely Christmas displays, right. Superbly tutored by Chris Sheath, we all took away with us a most professional looking table decoration or wreath for the door. One member even managed to produce 2, even though it took another (me) the whole session to finish hers and even that required patient supervision. Delicious mince pies and coffee cakes contributed to a very pleasant morning. - Judith Wright. Members of the Craft group with their © Trevor Wright The next walk will be on Monday the 19th of January at Cotgrave Country Park, meeting at Shepherds pub car park, Stragglethorpe, at 10:30am. Lunch can be had at Shepherds afterwards. - Ned Flaherty. table decorations and wreaths. BJU3A Newsline | Issue 8.1 | January 2015 Page 3 Editor | Keith Montgomery | [email protected] Film for Fun This month our films are: Ÿ 12th January 2:00pm THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING Ÿ 26th January 2:30pm TESTAMENT OF YOUTH Please meet at Broadway 15 minutes before the film starts - Peter Price-Horne. History 1 History 1 has decided to go back in time and start again (wouldn't it be nice if that were possible). We intend to start by studying the early Roman visits to our country and the impact they had on our way of life. We intend to cover the very early history of our country from that point onwards, through the Dark Ages and the time before William the Conqueror and onwards from there. That should keep us occupied for some time so anyone interested in this journey would be very welcome to join us. We meet on the second Monday of the month at 10.30 am in Lowdham at the home of our Leader, Viv Bushell. We will be having a break for a few weeks and are starting again on Monday March 9th. If anyone is interested please put your name on the History 1 sheet and you will be contacted when Viv returns from holiday mid-February. If anyone wants any further information before then please contact me, Kate Robinson, 0115 911 7240. - Kate Robinson. Luncheon Group. Wednesday 17th December saw an amalgamation of connoisseurs advance on The Thatch, Bottesford, seeking an abundance of alimentation of delicacies. 19 worthy sophisticates partook of four courses of gourmet lovelies, all for a very reasonable consideration. So well was this banquet received that suggestions were made as to booking the meal for next year! Bonhomie abounded and a good time was had by all. The first extravaganza for 2015 is on Tuesday 27th January, at The Ship, Lowdham. Hosts: The Robinsons. 0115 966 3793. We would like to thank everybody for their continued support, and look forward to another enjoyable years partaking of good food. Submitted by a bloke with a leather bound, gold inlaid copy of Bradshaws Railway guide. God Save The Queen. - John Robinson. Nature Walks Group For our final walk of the year we stayed in BJ, starting and finishing at The Wheatsheaf and walking down towards the river. Thanks to Marlene Hobson for taking us on what was, for many of us, a new route along the dyke. The weather was kind to us and conditions were ideal for an invigorating winter stroll. From a wildlife point of view, the highlights were a large flock of (mainly) fieldfare, below left, and redwing, below centre. These attractive large thrushes migrate to us in winter to escape the harsh conditions in Scandinavia and beyond. They can be seen, normally in mixed flocks and in open countryside searching for berries in hedgerows and wooded areas. They also eat worms and can be seen on the ground in grassy and arable fields. When our weather conditions are harsher they can often be found in urban areas as well. We also saw wigeon, below right, an equally attractive duck and also a winter migrant, on the river. While we didn’t see them, a passing birder also told us about the goldeneye, little owl and whooper swans that were seen that day. I will circulate a schedule for our 2015 meetings early in the New Year. If you have any suggestions for new possible new venues, please let me have them as soon as possible, (0115 926 2239 / [email protected]). © RSPB Our first walk of the New Year will be on January 2nd and we will return to Ploughman Wood. Meet near Barbara Furley’s house at 10:00am. Please let me know if you need directions or a lift. - John Edwards. BJU3A Newsline | Issue 8.1 | January 2015 Page 4 Editor | Keith Montgomery | [email protected] Photography © Dennis Bromiley We also had 11 images as members "monthly choice"; Janice Lambert capturing this lovely shot, left, of a dahlia. We went to Newstead Abbey and Dahlia Brenda Draper caught this view, right, across the Upper Lake; by the way, we should let everyone know that entry to the grounds is free on weekdays at the moment - I understand this doesn't apply to school holidays, please check the Newstead Abbey web site, http://www.newsteadabbey.org.uk/. - Keith Hucknall. Political Circles © Brenda Draper © Janice Lambert Last month the "topic" pulled from the hat was "Circles" and 12 members sent in images so we had 33 to view at the meeting; one of Dennis Bromiley's was "Political Circles", right, taken in Nottingham Council House. Newstead Abbey Ramblers December proved to be very popular for the Ramblers' shorter walk, with 23 members setting off from Burton Joyce, on a comparatively mild day, heading up to 'dead man's pond', but first taking in the view of the winding river Trent, along to Shelford village, and beyond. Our route was a little muddy in parts, and we also encountered some testing stiles, evoking much comment !! Our descent took us to the edge of Lambley village, then following the path of the Cocker Beck, and well prepared farmland, eventually reaching Lowdham Church, and park, before settling in at ''The Magna Charta''. We were joined at the pub with several other members, having our own dining area, making our choice of Festive lunch. A good sociable occasion, nicely rounding off the year, after having twelve varied walks in Nottinghamshire. The No 100 bus on the Pathfinder line, took us back to our starting point, in Burton Joyce. Many thanks to all who participated throughout the year. - David Falkner. Theatre Group Trip to ‘Neighbourhood Watch’ at The Averham Theatre. Twenty five of us visited the recently refurbished and re-opened Averham Theatre, near Newark, a remotely located gem, pretty and compact with spacious and impressive facilities. ‘Neighbourhood Watch’ is one of Alan Ayckbourn’s better plays with dark aspects along with the usual farcical elements. The set was excellent, suggesting ‘nouveau riche’, tastelessly arty people but the green walls set our teeth on edge, deliberately of course! As the title suggests, a Neighbourhood Watch committee was formed but a warning against vigilante activity was hilariously conveyed when things got out of hand! The players were well-cast, audible, conveying a mix of personalities and some bad language on the part of the feisty minx character! Ayckbourn is certainly an astute observer of human foibles and failings. The play was quite long with a slowish start but improved enormously as events unfolded and raced along to a stunning conclusion. The audience knew that the principal character had died – but how? It really kept us guessing. We enjoyed this play, the acting was brilliant and it was well worth the trip. - Christine Smith and The Theatre Group. Talks, Visits & Excursions News Talk on Bee-Keeping This talk, by Alec Thomson from Woodthorpe, is on Wednesday 21st January at 10:00am in Burton Joyce Village Hall. Though organised for members of the four Garden Groups, all members of our U3A are >>> BJU3A Newsline | Issue 8.1 | January 2015 Page 5 Editor | Keith Montgomery | [email protected] >>> cordially invited and are welcome to join us, as are non-U3A friends too. The cost is £3 per person, including refreshments. Alec will be bringing honey along for sale. Alec will explain what you can do to help to create bee-friendly habitats. He will tell us about his experiences of bee-keeping and how these insects order their lives within the hives. Did you know a honey bee produces one teaspoonful of honey in the whole of its short life? So, do come along for a fascinating talk and don’t forget to bring your friends too. They do not have to be U3A members. We shall have an enjoyable morning together. - Alwyn Foster. Trip to France 2015 The basic details of the trip are: Dates: Wednesday 16th September to Thursday 24th September 2015. Places: One day in Paris and 7 days in Nancy, Lorraine. Travel: All by rail - train from Nottingham to St Pancras, Eurostar from St Pancras to Paris Gare du Nord, TGV from Paris Est to Nancy Ville. Accommodation: 3 star hotel in central Paris for one night and 7 nights in an aparthotel or student accommodation in Nancy. Activities: Sightseeing tour of Paris or Art Galleries tour. Outing to Alsace vineyard and winery. Guided tours of historic Nancy - Architecture and Art Nouveau. Walks with local French walking groups. Trip to Strasbourg European Parliament. Bird watching outing. Lots of opportunities to practise French language with locals and for photography. At our second meeting in December, we concluded that it is more likely that we shall stay in an aparthotel as there is little student accommodation in Nancy. On this basis, I have estimated the cost of the trip for travel and accommodation, but without outings and meals, will be around £700. As we shall have to book the accommodation soon, I am requesting a deposit of £100 per person to be paid on or before our next planning meeting on 13th January. This would be best paid by cheque, payable to Burton Joyce U3A, either at the meeting or sent to our Treasurer, Jenny Carr (please ring her on 0115 952 3486 for her address). - Paul Geeson. Members' Corner Members' Corner is an occasional feature containing articles of general interest sent in by members. Any views, comments or opinions expressed are those of the individual concerned and should not be taken as a reflection of the views or opinions of the Committee, or of Burton Joyce & District U3A. If you have an item for inclusion in this section, please e-mail it to [email protected] What to do with your old Car Tax Disc Holder Now we no longer need to display a tax disc on our car, Neighbourhood Watch Nottinghamshire are promoting an idea, approved by Nottinghamshire Police, to have contact and medical information in a document that may save lives that you put in your old tax disc holder. Please follow this link or click on the picture to download the document. When you have done that, print it out on A4 paper, record the details, cut it out, fold it as shown and then put into in your tax disc holder instead of the tax disc. If you do take up this idea, please follow the instructions in the document to make sure that you fold it so that the information it contains cannot be seen from outside the car- Alwyn Foster. Third Age Trust Notices Information on the items listed below will be displayed at our monthly meetings, or you can visit the Third Age Trust web site (http://www.u3a.org.uk) for further details and a wealth of other information about U3A and its operations. Much of the information is only available in the Members Only area. To get maximum benefit you will need to register on the Third Age Trust web site and obtain a user name and password. Members wishing to use the Resource Centre also need to apply for an Identification Number to borrow items. The 2015 summer schools will be held on 13th-16th July in Shropshire and 17th-20th August in Cirencester. For more information visit the Members' area of the web site www.u3a.org.uk or contact the National Office 020 8466 6139 or via e-mail [email protected]. BJU3A Newsline | Issue 8.1 | January 2015 Page 6 Editor | Keith Montgomery | [email protected] Diary Dates & External Events Do you know of any events in Burton Joyce or the surrounding villages that would interest fellow members? If you do, then please e-mail the details to [email protected]. Friday 23rd January: The Bookcase, Lowdham, presents two very special sing-along screenings of FROZEN! Bookstall plus refreshments, and a licensed bar at the evening screening. Times: 4:30pm & 7:30pm. Venue: Lowdham Village Hall. Tickets: £5 full, £3 children, Festival Friends and concessions (plus £1 to meet the characters!) from The Bookcase, 50 Main Street, Lowdham, NG14 7BE, or 0115 966 3219. Committee Members & Administration The members of the Committee are shown below: Paul Geeson Judith Wright Jenny Carr Michelle Price-Horne Bob Clifford David Falkner Linda Tobin Keith Montgomery Paul Beard Stephen Cantrell Chairman 0115 783 9069 Vice-chairman & 0115 931 2805 Speaker Finder Treasurer 0115 952 3486 Business Secretary 01636 830 799 Membership Secretary 0115 931 3937 Groups Facilitator & 01636 918 973 Welcomers Co-ordinator Social Secretary 0115 931 2094 Newsline Editor & 0115 966 3954 Web Site Editor Publicity 0115 931 3601 Newsline Distribution 0115 931 4370 & Transport Co-ordinator [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] - There are also a number of other administrative tasks which do not require membership of the Committee: Brian O'Neill Web Site Maintenance 0115 931 2864 - Group Information Details of Group meeting times and venues are also published on our web site, www.bju3a.co.uk/groups.html. If you have a query regarding a Group, please contact the relevant Group Co-ordinator as shown below, or the Groups Facilitator, David Falkner, 01636 918973, e-mail: [email protected]. Group Aerobics for the Young at Heart Antiques & C20th Collectables 1 Antiques & C20th Collectables 2 Art Appreciation Bird Watching Book Club Bridge 1 Bridge 2 (Beginners) Canasta Computer Studies 1 Computer Studies 2 Country Walks Craft Croquet Discussion Family History Family History (Beginners) Film for Fun Co-ordinator Sally Wightman Jane Taylor John & Kathy Hill Paul Geeson Keith Stafford Judith Wright Dorothy Burton Dorothy Burton Colin Simm Keith Montgomery Bob Clifford Ned Flaherty Christine Sheath Keith Montgomery Charles Bushell Sue Clifford Sue Clifford Peter Price-Horne BJU3A Newsline | Issue 8.1 | January 2015 Telephone Time 0115 931 3419 14:00 0115 931 2087 10:00 01949 851 719 10:00 0115 783 9069 Varies 0115 931 2657 10:00 0115 931 2805 14:00 † 14:00 † 14:00 07850 553 133 19:30 0115 966 3954 10:00 0115 931 3937 10:30 0115 911 6419 10:30 0115 931 3260 10:00 0115 966 3954 14:00 0115 966 4032 14:00 0115 931 3937 15:00 0115 931 3937 TBA 01636 830 799 Varies Page 7 Normal Meeting Days 1st, 3rd, 4th & 5th Tuesday 2nd Monday 4th Monday Monthly Variable 3rd Thursday 3rd Wednesday 1st, 3rd, 4th Tuesday, 2nd Monday Every Thursday 1st & 3rd Wednesday 2nd and 4th Monday (W) 3rd Friday (W) 3rd Monday 2nd Friday 2nd & 4th Monday (S) Usually 1st Monday 3rd Tuesday TBA 2nd & 4th Monday (W) Editor | Keith Montgomery | [email protected] Group Co-ordinator Telephone Time Normal Meeting Days French 1 Sue Clifford 0115 931 3937 10:00 Every Friday French 2 (Beginners) Sarah Hervey 07950 556 201 10:00 Every Thursday Garden Group 1 Karen Taylor 0115 841 9099 10:00 1st Wednesday Garden Group 2 Alwyn Foster 0115 931 2571 10:00 1st Monday Garden Group 3 Christine Shepherd 0115 961 8840 14:00 4th Wednesday Garden Group 4 Alwyn Foster 0115 931 2571 10:00 3rd Monday Guitar Playing Tony Kirk 0115 961 4587 19:00 Monday - Fortnightly Hikers Paul Geeson 0115 783 9069 10:00 2nd Wednesday History 1 Viv Bushell 0115 966 4032 10:30 2nd Monday History 2 Jane Prest 0115 961 1967 14:00 1st Tuesday Information Exchange Maggie Gaborak 0115 998 5798 N/A N/A Italian Intermediates Mary Simm 0115 841 3605 14:30 Every Friday Kurling Paul Geeson 0115 783 9069 10:00 2nd & 4th Thursday Luncheon Group John Robinson 0115 966 3793 12:30 4th Tuesday Mah-Jong Helen Geeson 0115 931 2076 14:00 1st & 3rd Wednesday Medicine & Social History Grace Goodman 0115 965 3957 10:00 3rd Thursday Nature Walks John Edwards 0115 926 2239 10:00 1st Friday Patchwork & Quilting Christine Webb 0115 931 2103 10:00 4th Friday Photography Keith Hucknall 0115 931 3446 14:00 3rd Wednesday & 1 ad hoc/month Photography for Fun Elaine Malcolmson 0115 961 6967 10:00 1st & 3rd Thursday Practical Art Kate Robinson 0115 911 7240 13:30 2nd & 4th Thursday Ramblers David Falkner 01636 918 973 10:00 Last Wednesday Scrabble Madeline Allington TBA TBA TBA Sunday Lunch Karen Taylor 0115 841 9099 12:00 3rd Sunday Table Tennis 1 Tony Simpson 0115 845 8142 10:00 Every Monday Table Tennis 2 Brenda Draper † 19:00 1st & 3rd Tuesday Theatre Nora Crossland 0115 956 2346 10:30 1st Friday Tea Dancing Sue Slater 0115 987 5455 TBA TBA Tea Shop Appreciation Jan Smith TBA 14:00 1st Monday Water Colour Painting Yvonne Kirk 0115 961 4587 9:30 1st & 3rd Wednesday Wine Tasting Paul Geeson 0115 783 9069 19:00 2nd OR 4th Thursday Notes: † Please contact via Michelle Price-Horne, 01636 830799. (S) Meetings normally take place during the late Spring, Summer and early Autumn months. Contact the Group's Co-ordinator for more details. (W) Meetings normally take place during the late Autumn, Winter, and early Spring months. Contact the Group's Co-ordinator for more details. A timetable, showing on which days in the month each Group meets, has been prepared and is available from our web site, http://www.bju3a.co.uk/timetable.html and is also displayed on the notice boards at our monthly meetings. If any of the above information is incomplete, incorrect, or out of date for your Group, please e-mail the correction to David Falkner at [email protected], with a copy to me, Keith Montgomery, at [email protected]. - Keith Montgomery. Talk, Visit & Excursion Information The talks, visits and excursions currently planned by Groups or members are listed below, showing the contact and the date of the event. Activity French Trip 2015 National Arboretum Excursion Contact Paul Geeson Jackie Spencer & Patrick Johnson Telephone 0115 783 9069 0115 987 0390 0115 965 3576 Date of Trip 16th-24th September 2015 15th April 2015 © 2014 Burton Joyce & District U3A - Registered Charity Number 1157213. All rights reserved. BJU3A Newsline | Issue 8.1 | January 2015 Page 8 Editor | Keith Montgomery | [email protected]
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