Retford U3A Newsletter - JANUARY 2020

Retford U3A

Membership No. 822/801/10

www.retford-u3a.org.uk

CHAIRMANS CHATTER

A very Happy New Year to all of our members and their families and let’s hope it’s peaceful, prosperous and above all, healthy, as we move into a new decade. Who knows what’s in store for us!

Now I know that people say you should never look back, it’s the future that counts but I still thought we should have a quick glance at the last decade and see how life as we knew it then, has changed remarkably. For example, innovative technology has advanced at a frightening pace and the smartphone has become an everyday essential tool of nearly all our lives – apparently 95% of UK households have a smartphone. (However in my case I am only capable of using about 1% of its technology!!)

So whether we like it or not social media and social networks have transformed our lives for the better in many ways. I know for example that many U3As have Facebook accounts – something that Retford has so far resisted but maybe we should look again and talk to others about what advantages this might bring to us.

Before writing this edition I thought it might be interesting to look at some of the defining moments of the last decade just to jog my memory (which is nowhere near what it used to be!) and it proved to be a real eye-opener and somewhat overwhelming experience. From political turmoil both at home and abroad; the focus on climate change and its effects throughout the world; the advances in vaccines and medical innovations resulting in us living longer lives; sporting triumphs where a Brit won the men’s Wimbledon title for the first time since Fred Perry in 1936 and much, much more are just a few of the vast number of things that have helped shape our lives over those 10 years! I’m sure many of you will have your own memories of that time.

So please forgive my ramblings – I just thought that we couldn’t let the last decade float past without a cursory glance to remind us what a fascinating world we live in and to ponder on what the next decade has in store for us. Retford U3A continues to grow in numbers with new ideas for Interest Groups being explored. We also have our own very important event in August when we celebrate our 10 year anniversary and look forward to another 10 years of ‘Learning , Laughing and Living’! Don’t miss it – you can sign up now! Back to the here and now we have another excellent speaker lined up for the General Meeting on 23 January. He is Mike Storr who we have heard from before and he will be following up his talk on ‘Masters of Mirth’. I look forward to seeing you there. Cheers Chris

Please see pages 5 and 6 for important

information regarding Retford U3A.

Eat Midlands Regional Conference MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Eastwood Hall Conference Centre

Mansfield Road

Eastwood NG18 3SS

Tuesday 21st April 2020

Speakers

♦ Prof Chris French The Psychology of False Memory

♦ Sam Mauger CEO of the Third Age Trust

Put the date in your diary Now

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BOOK GROUP

NEWS FROM INTEREST GROUPS

CLASSICAL MUSIC GROUP

Dancing Cooperative Come & meet Moira Ruff, a retired professional dancer, who is interested in starting up a new group to encourage people to learn/ enjoy all styles of dancing. A sign up sheet will be available at the January meeting to gauge initial interest.

The Hatscot Soiree Come and sign up for the Soiree of 2020, celebrating 10 years of Retford U3A. Strawberries & fizz from 4 – 6pm on Thursday August 27th 2020. Venue to be confirmed shortly dependent on numbers (possibly West Retford Hotel). Features include – Vocal entertainment, a poem reading written by a member for the occasion, prize ticket, competition for the ladies, ‘best hat’ - for the gentlemen- ‘best button hole’. Presentations and generally a very social occasion. Tickets £5. (will be on sale in March, but need numbers before then) Contact Brenda Wilson if not able to sign sheet T. 01427 848852

Special Interest Days Coming soon. Two days featuring ‘Avoiding Scams’ &’ Safe Driving’ Details to follow shortly.

Games Morning

Hallcroft Community Hall has been booked on behalf of Retford U3A for the 1st and 3rd Thursday's in the month from 09.30 till 12.30, The first session will be Thursday 16th, January. The group will be a general games session. The cost will be determined on the number of attendees. Edwin Barber and Penny Allan will be the leads for this session.

Quiz Night

Back by popular demand. Watch for more details soon.

In July 2020 the Classical Music Group will celebrate its seventh birthday, with many of the original members still regular attenders. We are a listening group with a slight educational element. Each month a member presents a programme of classical music of their choice, which may be based on a composer, an instrument, a type of music, or any theme of the presenter's choice. This means that we hear a large variety of music, often with pieces that are new to us. Presenters usually give reasons for their choice of music with information on either the composer, artist or the story behind the pieces chosen. The group is now full, its size being limited by space and the availability of suitable reproduction equipment. If you are interested in joining us we do have a waiting list, but you may be waiting a long time. Should there be sufficient interest a second group could be a possibility.

♦ Marie Thompson 01777 871567

This is a small but very friendly group that meets on the first Tuesday of the month in the group leader’s home. Each month we read a selected book and discuss it at the following month’s meeting. Dependent on how much we have enjoyed the book, this can last for several minutes or an hour or so. We usually enjoy varied conversations too about current affairs and issues of local interest and whilst we do not have a vacancy at present, due to limitation of space, we would happily support a second group starting up if there is sufficient interest. The books are supplied by Retford Library, but whilst this is closed for refurbishing, we are circulating books of our own. If you are interested in starting a group and would like help with this please contact ♦ Stephanie Kirk on 01777 711095 ♦ Brenda Wilson on 01427 848852

WINE APPRECIATION GROUP

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PHOTOGRAPHY GROUP

Members of the Wine Appreciation Group have not been exercising their taste buds (well not collectively anyway) since last November’s meeting at Vera Ballinger’s. This was rather grandly entitled “Wines and Iconic World Landmarks” and involved on-screen photographs of some very recognisable places together with companionable wines. In December we had our Christmas lunch at the Markham Moor Hotel and in January we have been resting our taste buds as it is, of course, “Dry January”.

Meanwhile perhaps I may share with you just a few of my own favourites, always bearing in mind that taste is a very personal thing and the best wine in the world is always the one that you like best.

My very favourite wine has to be Rex Mundi which is £9.99 a bottle from the Foodhall at Dobbies Garden Centre, but is also often on offer from Laithwaites at £8.99 a bottle if purchasing a case of twelve. Very popular with a lot of people, this French wine has a luscious berry flavour and strong but exceptionally smooth character. Perhaps best to ignore the lurid label and the description on the back of the bottle though.

A red wine at the more reasonable price of £5.99 is an Argentinian Malbec from the Uco

Valley. This is available at the moment from Aldi and is one of their “Exquisite Collection”. These high altitude vineyards produce a bright

and intense ruby red wine with plum and blackberry flavours overlain with subtle violet notes, giving great structure and a long and intensely fruity finish. 13.5% alcohol content. If your preference is for a white wine, the Errazuriz Sauvignon Blanc from

Chile, is available from Morrison’s at £9.00 and is an excellent choice. I first came across this on a flight from Robin Hood Airport. (Yes I know they’ve changed the name now.) It is from a family owned vineyard benefiting from the cool climate of the Pacific shores combined with abundant sunshine. The flavours are of tropical fruit and green apple and it goes very well with shellfish, seafood, salads and spicy dishes.13%. Again a cheaper alternative which I constantly see in people’s shopping trolleys in Aldi is Castellore Pinot Grigio Delle Venezie and no prizes for guessing this is from Italy! A little weaker at 11.5%, this is described as having flavours of fresh white stone fruit together with hints of crisp citrusy lime and minerality. Enjoy as an aperitif or with light and delicate food. At around £4.00 this is one I must try.

The Photography Group sets a monthly theme for members to photograph in their own time, and at the monthly meeting members bring along a selection of images for viewing on a large screen TV. Themes are set a year in advance so that

there is plenty of time for taking photographs for the themes. At the meetings members

comment on the images and advice can be sought if someone has a problem. There is usually one "technical" session per year to help members make the most of their cameras and improve their photography. In addition to the monthly meetings we try to have a group visit to a local place of interest, the object being for members to produce a selection of images showing their interpretation of the place. The group is now full but if you are interested please contact me. Marie Thompson 01777 871567

NEWS FROM INTEREST GROUPS

WORKSOP U3A CINEMA GROUP

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COSMOLOGY GROUP

FUN WITH FLOWERS GROUP

For our first meeting of the new year.. we went “Back to Basics”, and produced asymmetrical triangle arrangements. One theme, but a variety of flowers and colours..but all the correct shape!

The film for the 13th of February at the Savoy Cinema Worksop is

THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF

DAVID COPPERFIELD

Re-imagines Charles Dickens' classic ode to grit and perseverance through the comedic lens of its award-winning filmmakers- giving the Dickensian tale new life for a cosmopolitan age with a diverse ensemble cast of stage and screen actors from across the world. Emmy® winners and Oscar® nominees Armando Iannucci (IN THE LOOP, THE DEATH OF STALIN, HBO'S "Veep") and Simon Blackwell (IN THE LOOP, HBO'S "Succession") lend their wry, yet heart-filled storytelling style to revisiting Dickens' iconic hero on his quirky journey from impoverished orphan to burgeoning writer in Victorian England.

Everyone WE LCOME NO BOOKI NG REQUIRED ...........Just Turn Up !!

No booking needed and open to all U3A members. Cinema groups meets on 2nd Thursday of the month for a film showing at the Savoy in Worksop. Car parking for 4 hours is refunded with voucher against ticket price if parked in either car park behind the Town Hall or Newgate Street East.

NEWS FROM INTEREST GROUPS

The Cosmology Group invites any interested U3A general members to join them in a talk/presentation by Susan Cartwright of Sheffield University on the subject of ‘Galaxies to Atoms’ That subject may sound a bit far out, but it is really a journey explaining what Earth, our Sun, our bodies are made of, where the ‘bits’ came from and when. Then a wee look into the far away future for what lies ahead for our Sun and us. The talk could be nicely paraphrased perhaps by:- “It takes a village to raise a child. It takes a galaxy to raise a world” The meeting will in Grove St Church Hall on Tuesday 7th April from 10am till noon. A small entry fee of £2 will help us cover the cost of the event. There will be a seating limit so it will be first come--first served. If you are interested please call John Kelly on 01777 838637 email kellyjng22@yahoo.co.uk

MILITARY HISTORY GROUP

Our next meeting is on Thursday 13th February and we are very pleased to announce Samantha Glasswell has confirmed she will come and give us a presentation on ‘Boadicea’s Victories’. A note for your diaries, on 9th July we are going on a field trip to the RAF Museum at Hendon. On 13th August we are going on another field trip to Bletchley Park. You do not have to be a regular member of the group to go on these

trips, and the number of buses will depend on the demand.

More information at general meeting.

WALKING GROUPS

Strollers Jean Winder 01777 817777 Email walking-strollers@retford-u3a.org.uk Next walk 18th February. Hoping to keep our feet dry the next walk will be from The Lock Keeper, Sandy Lane, Worksop (S80 1TJ), starting at 10.30 am. This is a linear walk along the Chesterfield Canal towards Shireoaks Marina, returning for lunch at The Lock Keeper. Please park at the far end of the car park. Moderates David Richardson 01427 891500 Email walking-moderate@retford-u3a.org.uk

Next walk 3rd February. Walk is scheduled to take place in the Bole area, but is subject to a recce that will determine its viability, especially regarding underfoot conditions. More news to follow. Striders Contact Tom Bell 01777 710969 or Geoff Marsh 01777 702634 Next walk 17th February Email walking-striders@retford-u3a.org.uk If you can think of a walk you'd wish to do and could schedule it for a particular month we'd be pleased. Please take into account that we tend to travel a bit further during longer daylight hours and stay a bit closer to home this time of year. Please give it some thought.

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David Lee here – I have been the Speaker Finder for Retford U3A since April 2018, and in April 2020 I will have completed my term of three years in this capacity.

It is time therefore for someone else to step into the job, and I would like to give some encouragement to anyone who may be interested but have concerns about the job!

I took over from the previous Speaker Finder (Bob Blatchford) who had already booked speakers for the rest of 2018. I had therefore several months to start looking into getting speakers lined up. The same is true as my term comes to an end – I have the whole of 2020 sorted out and all someone would have to do is to take up the administrative bit for this year.

It may have looked like the job is quite technical in its demands because when I took over there were some problems with the U3A laptop which were a bit of a headache at the time. This is not the same now and the IT side of things are much more reliable.

I was allowed to get involved in the ‘sound’ side of things at The Well which was fun BUT they have

just spent £10,000 on a new sound system which they do not want anyone but their own trained staff to use! The good news is that they can set it up in a memory on the mixing desk for just how the U3A want it; so no hassle for the speaker finder. So, no special demands for on the day.

I thought coming up with speakers would be difficult but in fact it has proved to be the opposite, the Notts U3A have a networking arrangement and it provides a regular stream of possible speakers to the dedicated Retford Speaker Finder e-mail. This coupled with my own little moments of inspiration has supplied me with a range of speakers for the three years I have been involved in.

As Bob said to me when I took over from him – “its time to change – you need a new perspective on what is needed in a speaker every so often so that it does not become stale”. I agree it is time for someone with a different bias to me to select our speakers.

Do not be shy! It is not difficult and I will be around initially to give any help and advice needed.

You will enjoy it! David LeeDavid LeeDavid LeeDavid Lee

BE A SPEAKER FINDER!

GARDENING GROUP

20th Feb Neil Timm from The Fern Nursery 19th March Liz Webster from Garden Blooms Nursery, Fishlake Proposed Visits for Summer Months Thursday 18th June

Sledmere House, near Driffield, Yorkshire The day will include coffee/ tea on arrival, tour of garden and house, access to woodland walks, free flow access to tea rooms, short walk to Church £24.50 Thursday 30th July

Wollerton Old Hall Gardens, Market Drayton To arrive by 12noon when gardens open, probably leave 4.30pm - gardens only as private house. Free flow café/tea shop – no picnicking, plant sales £17 HHA free Saturday 19th September (most likely date) Harrogate Autumn Flower Show at Newby Hall, access to house available. More details to follow as tickets not available until March 2020 The Gardening Group meets on the 3rd Thursday of the month from 2:00-4:00 p.m at The Well Retford(Oct - Mar only). Contact Irene Lewis Telephone 01777 707109 Email gardening@retford-u3a.org.uk

SPEAKERS

Your U3A Needs You

Retford U3A is a very successful branch of the national U3A movement. It was formed nearly 10 years ago and in that time has grown rapidly to where we are now with nearly 600 members. Much of this success is down to the vast array of interest groups on offer, nearly 50, and the superb work and enthusiasm of the Group Leaders whose untiring efforts provide opportunities for all members to get involved and achieve our goals to ‘Learn, Laugh and Live!’

In the background, making sure that we all comply with Charity Commission rules and our Constitution as well as keeping the finances on track, is the Committee of nine people ably assisted by two ex-officio members.

Committee members usually serve initially for three years, at which point they can seek re-election to carry out another role or step down.

Here at Retford we have reached a point where a number of Committee members will be stepping down at this year’s AGM in April - or the following April - and we need to get our succession in place to ensure continuity. For those that argue that a committee is not needed it is simply not the case. We are a registered charity and must comply with the Charity Commission rules whether we like it or

not! Simply put, without a Committee the U3A has to be wound up.

Surely we must have within our ranks of nearly 600, members who are more than capable of doing a good job in the various roles that will become vacant this year, namely: ► Chair ► Membership Secretary ► Deputy Treasure ► Speaker Finder And for next year: ► Treasurer

Of course it means that any volunteers have to make a commitment and be prepared to give up some time and effort to get fully involved but it is by no means onerous (eg. Committee meets every 2 months for 1-1.5 hours) and indeed can be very rewarding and fulfilling. Current Committee members are more than willing to talk to and mentor people who wish to find out more before coming to a decision. There is also the chance to become a Trustee member and get a feel for the committee without too much initial responsibility.

So we are asking you all to please consider coming forward. Please don’t assume that somebody else will do it or that current members will continue in their role. Retford U3A needs you to ensure we enjoy another 10 years of success and continue to provide a vital resource for those of us in our Third Age.

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Design, Production & Printing - Christine Cook Contact:- newsletters@retford-u3a.org.uk It may not always be possible to include all articles that are submitted for publication. The editor reserves the right to edit or discount any submitted articles.

Items for inclusion in the February edition can be sent in any time but no later than Friday 21st February 2020.

NEWSLETTER CONTACT

January 23rd Mike Storr Masters of Mirth - “The Sequel” February 27th Paula Cornwell Early Motoring - “ Fun !!!” March 26th Phil Cooper Travel and History