Exe Valley U3A Newsletter 73 : February 2014 U3A Committee Members Chairwoman : Margaret Wallwork (01884 243096) Vice Chairwoman and Welfare Officer : Sian Tucker Secretary : Jo Jeffrey Treasurer : Paul Fitzmaurice Membership Secretary : Deborah Lal (01884 254823) Website Manager : David Hazlewood Monthly Meeting Organiser and Publicity Officer : Helen White Group Leaders Co-ordinator : Joan Kelly Programme Secretary and Social Organiser : Martine Downes www.exevalleyu3a.org.uk The life and times of a Queen’s Trumpeter Peter Cripps will tell us of his experiences as a military musician, with reference to the good and sometimes bad times. He will also tell us of some of the highlights of his career as a musician up to the present day. Annual General Meeting At the beginning of our meeting on 19 March we shall hold our AGM. Sian Tucker and David Hazlewood are both resigning so we shall need to elect two new committee members as well as re-electing the other members of the present committee. Copies of the minutes of the 2013 AGM will be given out today, as well as a copy of the agenda for this year’s meeting, at the bottom of which you will find a nomination form. So please get busy and make sure that we have enough people to serve on our committee this coming year. New members are very welcome to serve on our committee, so if you are willing please find two people to nominate you. After the AGM we have a speaker. Her name is Debbie Westlake. She lives in Tiverton, is married to Chris Westlake who works at Clare House Surgery and has two young boys who are 5 and 2 years old. She has been Chief Officer for Age UK Mid Devon for over 5 years. Age UK Mid Devon is a local independent and locally funded charity which is celebrating its 25th year in the Mid Devon Community. With the help of 100 volunteers they offer 13 different services across the Mid Devon Area and last year contributed 16,500 hours of voluntary time to help people in later life and also help carers have an improved quality of life. 80% of their services involve going to people’s homes or picking people up and bringing them in. Last year they helped over 4,000 people and brought more than half a million pounds in benefits into the Mid Devon Community. Thursday 13 March: Murder in the Culm Valley! Local historian David Pugsley talks us through a gruesome murder and the subsequent trial and execution in 1853. This talk ties in with the present temporary exhibition at the museum Notorious: Crime and Scandal in Mid Devon. Thursday 10 April: A grand idea never quite achieved. Grand Western Canal historian Denis Dodd examines how the GWC came about. It was inspired by the success of the Duke of Bridgwater’s Canal in Lancashire, which opened in 1761. Talks at the 2 Thursday 8 May: Trains, Planes and Childhood Memories. Railway historian Amyas Crump will be talking about the local railways and a forgotten plane crash. Thursday 12 June: Tiverton and the Great War 1914 -18. A talk from Mike Sampson, local historian, author and archivist at Blundell’s School, about Tiverton during the war to end all wars. The temporary exhibition at this time will be about Mid Devon during World War I. All talks start at 7.30 pm at the museum. Tickets £4.50 including light refreshments. Essential First Aid If sufficient people are interested we are willing to arrange a course of essential first aid, to help you know what to do when faced with an emergency involving adults, children or infants. The situations covered are unconsciousness, choking, bleeding, burns, heart attack, stroke, head injuries, and sprains, strains and broken bones. The course lasts for 5 hours and would cost £30 per head, though if at least 15 people were committed to attending it would cost £20 per head. Please let Margaret Wallwork know if you are interested. Upcoming Online Courses Spring 2014 At the end of March 2014 (enrolments required by March 29 2014), we shall be launching a number of new online courses. These will be interactive and participants will be encouraged or expected to contribute to the online discussion together with the author or tutor. The courses are: Fairy Tales, All In The Mind, Gawain and the Plowman, Six impossible things, An Introduction to the History of the Design of Gardens Course Descriptions Fairy Tales An eight-unit study of the topic and includes material about the history of fairy and folk tales, together with references to writers such as the Grimm Brothers, who collected or originated them. All In The Mind A long course of 17 units. It draws heavily on up to date video presentations on a wide range of material to do with the study of the mind and includes much neuroscience as well as such issues as sentience. Gawain and the Plowman A look, in modern and in middle English, at two great poems contemporary to, and often overshadowed by, Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. We will relate Gawain and the Green Knight and Piers Plowman to the people and politics of that time, laying down the basis for the Wars of the Roses. 6 units. 3 Six Impossible Things The 8-week course covers Gödel’s Incompleteness Theorem, Turing's Halting Theorem, Transfinite Numbers, Codes and Cracking Enigma, Lorenz and Colossus, and Prime Numbers. The course aim is to present these topics in an accessible way with the minimum of technical detail. An Introduction to the History of the Design of Gardens This 8-unit course looks at the visual aspects of gardens through recorded history, and discusses the reasons behind the designs. It is an introduction to the story of the design of gardens, which will lead the student to further study of the relationship of the owner, the designer and the viewer of gardens. For more information, please visit http://onlinecourses.u3a.org.uk Publishing your own books 24 April 2014 10.30am - 4.30pm Venue : NUJ, Headland House, 308/312 Gray's Inn Road, London WC1X 8DP Speakers : Francis Beckett, Katy Scholes and Alan Slingsby The Trust has arranged this seminar because there are many U3A members who have written books and want to acquire the skills and knowledge to produce them, to edit them, to make them available either in print and/or electronically and then to go out and sell them. All of these aspects will be covered. The cost will be £35 including lunch and refreshments. Please ask Margaret Wallwork for further information. Places are limited so please apply quickly. Introduction to Debating at NUJ, Headland House, 308/312 Gray’s Inn Road, London WC1X 8DP on 9 April 2014, 9.30 am - 4.00 pm This study day has been organised for U3As by the English-Speaking Union in collaboration with the Third Age Trust. It will be of interest to U3As which are keen to start a debating group. The aim of the day will be to send members home with enough knowledge and confidence to do so. There will be no charge to attend. Please ask Margaret Wallwork for further information. Forthcoming events Adult Learners Week – 14 - 20 June Find out what's going on in your local area by contacting your outreach co-ordinator – http://www.alw.org.uk/outreach-coordinator-details World Poetry Day – 21 March http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/un/world-poetry-day South East Forum Summer School at Chichester 24 - 27 June 2014 The subjects are: Great Houses and Gardens of West Sussex; Life Drawing: Women, 4 Art and Society; Psychology; Jazz; Singing; The History of the Wool Industry; The Joy of Mathematics; Creative Writing; Play Reading; Medieval and Georgian Chichester; Memory; The First World War. The costs are: full board ensuite £320; full board standard £290; non-residential with evening meal £200, without £150. Booking forms available online at http://u3asites.ore.uk/southeastu3aforum/ or by telephoning Helen Turner on 01622 817264 or Gillian Pitt on 01293 528943. Broadway, Big Band, Big Noise An evening on Broadway with the Big Noise Chorus and the Devon Youth Jazz Orchestra at the Great Hall, Exeter University on Saturday 29 March at 7.30pm - doors open 5.30pm. Tickets £16 and £11 from www.bignoisechorus.co.uk This year the two charities to benefit from this concert, sponsored by the Exeter Lions Club, are the Hearing Dogs Trust and the Lord Mayor of Exeter’s charity, Ataxia, which deals with a rare set of neurological disorders. Quiz Evening Friday 11 April 2014 7.00 pm St George’s Hall, Tiverton Our Welfare Officer, Sian Tucker, is responsible for keeping in touch with members who become ill or are taken into hospital. If you become aware of any such cases please contact her on 257067. Would you please also tell Sian if you know of a member who has a special birthday or anniversary to celebrate. CDs and DVDs Please don’t forget our monthly B&B stall for books, CDs and DVDs, which you can buy at 50 pence per item. Please bring your unwanted books, CDs and DVDs and we hope that you will find something you want to buy. Using the newsletter as a noticeboard We are happy for you to use the newsletter as a way of contacting other members e.g. if you want to find out whether there are other people who share an interest you have and for which, at the moment, there is no interest group. Please contact Margaret Wallwork. Her email address is on your list of phone numbers. 5 News from the interest groups The Group Leaders listed below will be very pleased to give more details about their groups. Approachable Poetry David Fogg We will be discussing a wonderful range of Carol Ann Duffy’s work on Thursday 27 February, then on Tuesday 11 March we turn to John Tripp, a powerful writer about 20th Century life, and on Thursday 27 March we focus on the work of the enigmatic Emily Dickinson plus a few poems by Jenny Joseph, a popular English poet. All these meetings are at 2.00 pm. Arts Appreciation David Fogg On 20 February Kay Morris will be sharing her enthusiasm for the life and work of Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, then on 6 March we continue our fascinating study course, when we will be looking at ‘The Rebirth of Classical Dynamism’ as well as ‘Realism to Impressionism.’ Both these meetings take place at 10.15 am for 10.30 am, and are repeated at 2.00 pm, all at the group leader’s house. On 20 March we welcome back Jonathan Edmunds who will be talking about ‘Venice in the Nineteenth Century’ through the eyes of artists from other countries. Please note that this meeting takes place at 2.00 pm only, and will be held in the upstairs Mayoralty Room in Tiverton Town Hall. Boules No meetings at the moment. Sue Dark Beginners’ Bridge Doreen Burton The Beginners Bridge group, with Paul Fitzmaurice, started at the beginning of 2012 and continues to meet for lessons, fortnightly on Tuesday evenings. All the members of the group are very appreciative of the work and time given by Paul. We also meet for practice sessions, usually on alternate Tuesdays, and these are thoroughly enjoyed by everyone. All meetings take place in various members’ homes. 6 Bridge York and Sarabella Dawson We meet every Thursday in members’ homes and continue to learn and above all have an enjoyable evening. Canasta Dave Dark We had a full house again, and a good time was had by all. The next meeting will be on Wednesday 5 March at the Group Leader’s house. Craft Jean Tennant The new venue of the British Legion Memorial Room proved very successful, with 14 of us having great fun trying to make paper florettes behave themselves. A very good afternoon. Our next meeting will be on Monday 10 March at 2pm at the British Legion Memorial Room when we will be making Japanese lady book marks. All materials will be provided – but don’t forget to bring a mug for your afternoon cuppa. Creative Writing (In your own words) Gordon Ball The writers had a very successful meeting on 13 February with all current members present, plus an extra listener. The writings were a mixture of invention and reminiscence, sometimes disguised with the members being challenged to detect fact from fiction. As usual, the suggested subjects were followed, or adapted, to suit the writers’ wishes. Our next meeting is arranged for Thursday 13 March, with the starting time being now fixed at 2.45 pm. The proposed subjects are ‘Light’ or ‘Green Shoots,’ which are ambiguous enough to test the ingenuity of all. The host will be Ivor Watts, and please contact him on 01884 242964 if you are not expected and would like to come, or are expected and cannot. Cribbage Brian West We are going to continue meeting on the second and fourth Monday afternoon in the month. The next crib afternoons are as follows: 24 February – Margaret Cadogan’s, 10 March – Peter and Sue Anderson’s. If any member is interested in an afternoon of friendly crib, whether as a beginner or experienced player, please contact Brian West. Discussion Diana Manning Benn There was the usual lively and interesting conversation with plenty of food for thought but we nearly had to swim to get to Annie’s home for it! Our next topic for discussion will be ‘Who would you invite to dinner and why?’ and we shall meet on Friday 14 March at 10.15 am at Helen 7 White’s home. Please let her know if you will/will not be able to attend. We would welcome some fresh members and any possible new Leader. Drawing and Sketching Sue Dark The two groups are getting underway and we are all thoroughly enjoying John’s input and the challenges he is setting us. The next meetings will be: Group 1 on 13 March and Group 2 on 27 March Folk Dancing Frances Hilson We meet on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month in Halberton Village Hall from 2.30 pm to 4.30 pm and of course any new members are welcome to join us. Our next meetings are on 26 February and 12 and 26 March. Phone Frances if you need more information. French Conversation Annie Saunter The French group had a convivial lunch at Frou Frou restaurant – good fun, but not really very French in the food line. We overcame this with determination. Our Wednesday meeting was at Uffculme as usual, and everyone should be congratulated on their homework – great efforts – Avril swearing that no dictionary was used, others needing the use of that tome, and we will all remember what moving house is, now and forever. Hopefully we will be meeting at Philippa’s house on Friday 28 February, if we have not been swept away by flooding. The group meets on the second Wednesday at Uffculme, and on the fourth Friday at various members’ houses, at 10.15 for 10.30 am, the meeting usually lasting about two hours or more. Gardening Joan Kelly, Jo Jeffrey and Carol Powney We enjoyed a good lunch at The Tiverton Hotel on 20 January. It was good to catch up again after the Christmas break. Several members of our group met last Monday to talk over and decide our programme for the coming year. Our first visit will be on Monday 17 March so please see Joan and Carol today for details and to sign up. We are looking forward hopefully to a good summer. We certainly deserve it after the wet winter months. Knit 2, Chat 2 together Marian Murrell Our Group enjoyed a late Christmas Lunch at the Tiverton Hotel on 6 February. In the afternoon we had our usual Knit 2, Chat 2 together meeting in the Bar and a very cheerful time was had by all. We did, 8 however, receive a few amused looks from passers by at the sight of a group of ladies knitting! Thank you to Marian for organising it all and for hosting the group in her home month after month, not forgetting the lovely homemade delicacies she makes for tea. The next meeting will be on Thursday 6 March at 2.00 pm at Marian's house. Jenny Park Local History Maggie Rice and Philippa Langdon Our February visit was held at Sampford Peverell Village Hall with a meeting shared with members of the Seniors Club. Contact had been made with the Local History Group who had agreed to show a video made by their members on the history of the village. So 24 members of our group and 15 members from the Senior Club enjoyed a very interesting afternoon, gaining information on the work of the Local History Group and all their achievements over 10 years, and their recording of many aspects of life in the village. The dynamic group have researched and recorded the history which has been published in books and leaflets. Our next meeting on Thursday 13 March is the visit to the Walronds, which will include lunch. There’s a time change – meet at the Walronds for 12.30 pm. Local Theatre Joan Kelly Tomorrow, the 20 February, a number of us are going to see the Tiverton Junior Operatic Club perform The Pirates of Penzance. Unfortunately there are no more tickets available for this. However, tickets are now available to see the Tiverton Amateur Dramatic Society perform Stepping Out on Thursday 10 April, at the New Hall, Tiverton at 7.30 pm. Tickets are £8.00. Please see Joan today if you would like tickets. If you have already put your name down for tickets please pay Joan today. Lunch Group Jane Estall-Cole So many people wanted to go to the Exe Valley Restaurant at Petroc College that we had to have two visits and they were certainly worthwhile. The menu was varied and the food chosen was of a high standard, tasty, well cooked and served in a modern style. The next venue is near Exeter Airport! (We can car share if required.) On Wednesday 26 March we shall visit Marco’s New York Italian Restaurant, Clyst Honiton. It is situated next to the Hampton by Hilton Hotel by Exeter Airport. There will be a fixed menu to choose from with 2 courses for £12.50 – either starter and main course or main course and pudding, which ever permutation you wish. Should 3 courses be required all puddings will be charged at £5.50. I hope that at the monthly 9 meeting there will be sample menus for the Lunch Menu Special, to give you an idea of what will be on offer on the day. Please, if you have any ideas for further venues or if you can organize a lunch yourself – any help is welcome – contact Jane. Mah Jong Bunty Coffin and Margaret Jenkins We meet on the 1st and 3rd Friday of the month from 2pm to 5pm at Barrie and Lynne’s house. The next meetings are on 21 February and 7 and 21 March. On most Fridays we have three or four tables playing with people of mixed abilities. Would all players who ARE NOT able to attend any of the Friday meetings please ring Barrie/Lynne so that they are able to set up the correct number of tables. We look forward to seeing you all and meeting new players. For any further information, please ring Bunty or Margaret. Maths for Fun Liam Edwards This new group meets on the first Tuesday of the month. We will decide the format and content of our meetings at our next meeting, 10 - 12am on Tuesday 4 March at the Group Leader’s house. Whatever your ability, if you wish to join this new group, please telephone Liam. Quiz Chris Nadin Fifteen of us met this month at the Rose and Crown at Calverleigh. This time the fire had not been stoked so high so we didn’t have to retreat from it! Sheelagh set us some excellent questions on a wide variety of subjects. Next month’s meeting, at 7 pm on Monday 3 March, will again be at the Rose and Crown and Bob Burden has volunteered to be our quizmaster. Please let Chris know whether or not you are coming. Rambling Keith Dawson We started 2014 with a ramble on a most pleasant day between spells of pretty dire weather. We had a gentle ascent of Culmstock Beacon to admire the views before a steepish descent down to the river meadows, and then back to the village – this clockwise route was preferred to the alternative anti-clockwise option. 14 of us then lunched at the Culm Valley Inn in the back room, undisturbed by the resident dogs – I lost count how many there are! Like last February I will be away for the rambling Thursday (and not available for other Thursdays) and so no walk is at present planned – feel free to volunteer! 10 Reading Ro Darlington In 1616, as summer dwindles in the North Atlantic, the men on an English whaling ship prepare to return home. All except the quiet, headstrong Thomas Cave who has bet the rest of the crew that he can survive alone on a deserted Arctic island. This is the beginning of The Solitude of Thomas Cave by Georgina Harding. As Cave faces months of darkness and an inhospitable climate he is haunted by memories of another life and a lost wife and child. He begins to reflect on man’s relationship with God and the wilderness. Harding captures beautifully the eerie isolation, the stark beauty of the island and Cave’s survival routine, nor does she flinch in her descriptions of the cruelty the whalers inflicted upon the whales and seals. This made for uncomfortable reading. Cave is eventually rescued from the island when the whaler returns for the summer season, but he finds that he is never the same again when he returns to England after his six months of solitude. The group found this an interesting, intriguing novel, admired Harding’s prose but did think the ending was contrived. We next meet on Monday 24 February, 2pm at Alison’s home to discuss The Tiger’s Wife by Téa Obreht. Scrabble 1 Pam Hilton When six of us met at Pam’s house one set of players played so fast they played twice as many games as the other, but we all enjoyed our afternoon and were well fortified by some scrumptious biscuits. On 24 February we shall meet at Liz West’s house and on 10 March at Sue Dark’s house. Phone the Group Leader for 24 March venue. Scrabble 2 Margaret Wallwork The February meeting had to be cancelled. The meeting on Monday 17 March will be at the Group Leader’s house. Please let her know whether or not you are coming. Singing for Fun Ali Robertson The group has grown quite a bit recently and it is no longer possible to use Ali’s home as a venue, so in future we will meet in Room 1 at Old Heathcoat School Community Centre between 7pm and 9pm on the 4th Wednesday of each month. On the agenda for February we have Abba, My Fair Lady, Sound of Music, an attempt at ‘barbershop’ and who knows what else?! 11 Social Bridge Margaret Fitzmaurice We enjoy a sociable game of bridge every other Tuesday in the houses of members of the group. If you would like to join us do phone and come along. The next two dates are Tuesdays 4 and 18 March. Table Tennis Helen Booth All of our sessions have been well attended recently with 19 players at our last one and a definite improvement in many people’s games. We meet on the 1st, 2nd and 4th Mondays of the month at 10 am at Tiverton Town Football Club. Wine Peter and Vicki Stuckey It was back to the OHSCC this month after several very sociable months for members. Brian and Liz selected six wines from the German supermarkets, Aldi and Lidl, and did a lot of research on the companies and their wines. Some of them were surprisingly good, made even better by their ridiculously low prices!! Our next meeting is on Wednesday 12 March, starting at 7pm at OHSCC, when York and Sarabella are going to lead us in sampling different wines from the Savoie region of France. We look forward to seeing you there. We are delighted to welcome the following new members: Duncan and Vera Beck John and Judy Bye Christine Cook Valerie and Tony Copeland Shirley Cousins Julie De’Ath-Lancaster Liam and Marianne Edwards Joan Frankton Gillian Leslie Carol McIlwrath Heather Meredith Sue Newberry A reminder to all Group Leaders Please get your reports to me as soon as possible and not later than 12 noon on Friday 14 March. For those who meet on 14 March reports must be in by midnight on Friday 14 March. Thank you. Margaret 12 Diary for February - March 2014 Thursday 20 February 10.15 am and 2.00 pm Arts Appreciation 7.00 pm Bridge 7.30 pm Local Theatre Friday 21 February 2.00 pm Mah Jong Monday 24 February 10.00 am Table Tennis 2.00 pm Cribbage 2.00 pm Reading 2.00 pm Scrabble 1 Tuesday 25 February 7.00 pm Beginners’ Bridge Wednesday 26 February 2.30 pm Folk Dancing 7.00 pm Singing for Fun Thursday 27 February 10.15 am Drawing and Sketching (2) 2.00 pm Approachable Poetry 7.00 pm Bridge Friday 28 February 10.00 am Group Leaders’ Meeting 10.15 am French Conversation Monday 3 March 10.00 am Table Tennis 7.00 pm Quiz Tuesday 4 March 10.00 am Maths for Fun 7.00 pm Social Bridge Wednesday 5 March 2.00 pm Canasta Thursday 6 March 10.15 am and 2.00 pm Arts Appreciation 2.00 pm Knit 2, Chat 2 Together 7.00 pm Bridge Group Leader’s House Contact Group Leader New Hall, Tiverton Barrie and Lynne's House Tiverton Town Football Club Margaret Cadogan’s House Alison’s House Liz West’s House Contact Group Leader Halberton Village Hall Old Heathcoat School Community Centre John Bye’s House Group Leader’s House Contact Group Leader Old Heathcoat School Community Centre Philippa Langdon’s House Tiverton Town Football Club Rose and Crown, Calverleigh Group Leader’s House Contact Group Leader Group Leader’s House Group Leader’s House Group Leader’s House Contact Group Leader 13 Friday 7 March 10.00 am Committee Meeting 2.00 pm Mah Jong Monday 10 March 10.00 am Table Tennis 2.00 pm Craft 2.00 pm Cribbage 2.00 pm Scrabble 1 Tuesday 11 March 2.00 pm Approachable Poetry 7.00 pm Beginners’ Bridge Wednesday 12 March 10.15 am French Conversation 2.30 pm Folk Dancing 7.00 pm Wine Thursday 13 March 10.15 am Drawing and Sketching (1) 12.30 pm Local History 2.45 pm Creative Writing 7.00 pm Bridge Friday 14 March 10.15 am Discussion 12.00 noon Newsletter Deadline Monday 17 March Gardening 2.00 pm Scrabble 2 Tuesday 18 March 7.00 pm Social Bridge Wednesday 19 March 2.00 pm Monthly Meeting Thursday 20 March 2.00 pm Arts Appreciation 7.00 pm Bridge Friday 21 March 2.00 pm Mah Jong Monday 24 March 10.00 am Table Tennis 2.00 pm Cribbage 2.00 pm Reading 2.00 pm Scrabble 1 Old Heathcoat School Community Centre Barrie and Lynne's House Tiverton Town Football Club British Legion Club, Angel Hill Peter and Sue Anderson’s House Sue Dark’s House Group Leader’s House Contact Group Leader Group Leader’s House Halberton Village Hall Old Heathcoat School Community Centre John Bye’s House The Walronds, Cullompton Ivor Watts’ House Contact Group Leader Helen White’s House Group reports to Margaret Wallwork Contact Group Leader Group Leader’s House Contact Group Leader Tiverton Rugby Club Mayoralty Room, Tiverton Town Hall Contact Group Leader Barrie and Lynne's House Tiverton Town Football Club Contact Group Leader Contact Group Leader Contact Group Leader 14 Tuesday 25 March 7.00 pm Beginners’ Bridge Wednesday 26 March 12 noon Lunch Group 2.30 pm Folk Dancing 7.00 pm Singing for Fun Thursday 27 March 9.30 am Rambling 10.15 am Drawing and Sketching (2) 2.00 pm Approachable Poetry 7.00 pm Bridge Friday 28 March 10.15 am French Conversation Contact Group Leader Marco’s New York Italian Restaurant, Clyst Honiton Halberton Village Hall Old Heathcoat School Community Centre Homebase Car Park John Bye’s House Group Leader’s House Contact Group Leader Contact Group Leader 15
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