MAY 2013 ISSUE Number 118

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CHAIRMAN’S REFLECTIIONS

We have been “flying the flag” for Deepings

U3A recently in two places - this time last year Deepings U3A was proud to receive an award

from the Deeping St James Parish Council for

the “organisation that has made a difference”

and several members of the committee attended the same event last week where we gave a short

presentation. We were delighted the

organisation to receive the award this

year was the Round Table but also thrilled that one of our members, Anne

Birks. received a certificate as

acknowledgement of individual

contribution to the environment with her excellent floral display together

with care and attention to the area on

the corner of Church Street and

Hereward Way. Well done Anne.

This was followed two days later by a

Regional Network meeting in Navenby. Whilst the meeting was

interesting to hear how other U3As are organised and meet other

committees in the region, the meeting room itself was of particular interest! Navenby Parish Council has built a “village

hall” opened in 2012 known as “The Venue” on the outskirts of

the village and it was spectacular and envied by us all……..just

what we require for our increasing membership!

AUGUST MEETING - 10 years

Double figures always seems like a great

achievement and our U3A has gone from

strength to strength in the 10 years and is

therefore worth celebrating.

We are expecting to have some excellent

displays by our groups, some tasters too so you can try and see what others do. There will be some professional singers to

entertain us with songs from around the world and we will finish

off the meeting with a buffet lunch and a glass of wine (or non-

alcoholic drink). Why don't you book your place?

All members are of course welcome to the meeting only in the

usual way, but for catering purposes we need to know numbers

so we are putting tickets on sale from the May meeting onwards

at £4 for the lunch including drinks, or please contact me by

email or phone to reserve your ticket.

Come and celebrate our first 10 years.

Best wishes,

Liz

Chairman

WELCOME TO NEW MEMBERS

Margaret and David Hull from

Spalding and David Leaton,

Deeping St James.

The Deepings Third Age Group

NEWSLETTER

(Visit our Web site)

http://u3asitec.org.uk/live/code/u3asite.php?site=282

PHOTOGRAPHERS MEET “PADDY” FOX BEM

See page 2 for more details.

Committee Members 2011/2012

Liz Noble Chairman

Jennie Sharman Secretary

Garth Perry Treasurer

Olwen Cole Group Coordinator

Janice Cosham Membership Secretary

John Bloomfield Speaker Finder

Kath Allen

Jim Pringle

Lyall Seale Publicity

Ann Holmes Newsletter Editor

David Scott Contact through website Webmaster

Programme of Speakers

20 May THE BOY BISHOPS - The happenings when choristers become

Bishops for one day, by Neil MacKenzie (at METHODIST

CHURCH).

17 June RAFBBF (The story behind the aircraft of the Battle of Britain

Flight) by Stuart Reid BSc, MCGI, Squadron Leader RAF (retired)

(at METHODIST CHURCH).

15 July CREATING WOODLAND TOGETHER by Nick Sandford of The

Woodland Trust (at METHODIST CHURCH).

GROUPS WHO WOULD WELCOME A FEW NEW

MEMBERS

Guitar for Pleasure, the Monday Readers Group,

Mah Jong, Cycling, Singing Group and the Foodies

Group – please contact group leaders if you are

interested and perhaps arrange a taster visit.

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GROUP NEWS

Langtoft Bowls Club has extended a warm

welcome to our members to go along on

Wednesday mornings 10am to 12 noon for a coffee and a friendly game of bowls. If you would like more information

please contact me. Members that have already been along have had a

very enjoyable time.

We now have nine members interested in a Quiz Group and a meeting has been arranged on 3 June 2013 at 2.30pm in my house. If anyone

else would like to join this group please contact me.

Eight members have expressed an interest in the Nordic Walking

group. Several have completed the necessary training and others will be doing this soon. If you would like to join this group please put

your name on the list or contact me.

The Craft groups have proved very popular and are now full, so I

propose to start a new group, if you have your name on a waiting list for Crafts please put your name on the New Crafts list at the monthly

meeting or contact me.

Any comments or information about groups please contact me.

OLWEN COLE

Group Coordinator

U3A ANTIQUES AND COLLECTABLES GROUP

This group visited the Victoria and

Albert Museum in April. We were all

anticipating a stimulating and informative day and that is exactly what

we had.

The V&A collections are spread over

seven levels and organised into five major themes: Asia, Europe, Materials and Techniques, Modern and

Exhibitions. The exhibitions on offer during our visit were: David

Bowie and/or Treasures of the Royal Courts. Some of our members enjoyed the latter exhibition whilst others contented themselves with

looking at the vast array of impressive articles which form the

permanent display of the museum.

Everyone agreed that we needed stamina and many more visits before we would be acquainted with all the V&A has to offer. We should

like to thank Pam and Irene for organising such a thoroughly

enjoyable day, good food, comfortable transport, fascinating artefacts

and great company. Report by CHRIS PEARCE

Group Leaders: IRENE BEEKEN / PAM PENDRY

U3A LEARN PHOTOGRAPHY GROUP

A number of members of the Photography Group joined the coach to

London organised by the Antiques and Collectables group. Some

went their separate ways but three of us, together with Dave Pendry,

Leader of the Photography Group, enjoyed a walk along the Thames from the Albert Bridge to Chelsea Bridge photographing anything

that appealed to us.

Quite by chance we came upon The Royal Hospital Chelsea,

home of the famous Chelsea

pensioners. We were able to see

The Great Hall and the Chapel and learned a great deal about

the life of a Pensioner there from

Chief Tour Guide Bill ’Paddy’

Fox BEM (pictured on front page). Dave was told in no uncertain terms that as an ex-RAF

member he did not qualify to join the Hospital, it is Army personnel

only!

Thanks Dave for arranging our part of the day—we all enjoyed it and

hopefully have a few good photographs.

ANN HOLMES

U3A GARDENING 4 PETALS & PRODUCE

On 16th April, we

visited the site of Railworld in

Peterborough. We

were totally

unprepared for what we had in

store. The curator

(for want of a

better word), Brian Pearce, gave us a

presentation on the

history of the

project and its growth from small

beginnings. Brian’s

total commitment

to the scheme, together with his exuberant enthusiasm won everyone over. The

latest scheme being developed is a wildlife project, which includes

gardens, beehives, water features, and many associated items, all

constructed out of derelict railway marshalling yards. As we wandered around this area we were amazed by what had been

achieved in such a short time. Although the only colour was from

daffodils, we could easily see that in the summer the whole area

would be a riot of colour.

This visit gave me a lot of unexpected pleasure and I am sure that

everyone that went felt the same. A special thank you to Charlie and

Rita Stevens for organising this trip and to all the members from

other groups who supported us.

Our next meeting is on 21st May at 10.00 am, at 74 Eastgate, when

Dave Pendry will be giving us some tips on garden and flower

photography. Visitors interested in gardens and photography are welcome to join us. As an extra meeting on 4th June, we are visiting

Style Roses at Holbeach. (PE12 7NR). Again we shall be pleased to

welcome members from other groups as this will be a very

informative visit. Hopefully we shall be able to view some flowers

in bloom.

EDDIE ADAMS

Group Leader

U3A “BOOKWORMS” READING GROUP

“Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury.

We had mixed views on this classic Sci - Fi

book. The book was initially written as short stories

in a 1950’s magazine. The motivation for the book

was originally fear of McCarthyism and censorship of the press and

the threat of book burning in the USA.

There are two major themes, resistance to conformity and control of

individuals via mass media and technology. However the population

are partly complicit, and it does have an optimistic ending. If Montag (main character) had not fled the city he too would not have

survived.

Comments noted:

Nowadays there is often continuous piped music and television can be on 24 hrs with mainly rubbish programmes. The Montag house

seems grey and unhappy to Mildred (Montag’s wife) once the TV

walls are disconnected. Everyone must be happy with no time to

think for themselves. Any individuality is condemned. The country (USA) is continuously at war so giving the populace “blood and

circuses”.

The author Ray Bradbury died in June 2012. Our next meeting is

with Nancy Titman at her son’s home. Report by DIANA RAE.

Group Leader ANN THORNTHWAITE

Photo courtesy John Marsh

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U3A CRAFT GROUP 1

First of all I would like to say

"it’s nice to be back".

I am also pleased to know that

everyone has been so productive

in my absence; however the

award for progress and achievement must go to Ann, for

her beautiful needle tatting. I’m

sure she would agree with me, when I say "it’s a bit like a good book,

and once hooked, you can’t put it down.”

We had a very pleasant meeting, catching up with the news and

working on our own projects, which ranged from some very

impressive Trapunto embroidery to knitted dolls, crotchet, and Needle

Tatting. We also took time to look at a book of very artistic

contemporary knitted tea cosies. One for the winter month’s maybe...

The format of our meeting was raised and it was agreed by everyone

there, that bringing our own work, gives us the freedom to dip in and

out as we please. So unless anyone has a specific craft they would like to share, or learn, we will continue in this vein. The May meeting

will be at Julie’s. NB please inform the host ASAP if you are unable

to attend.

JULIE MANCEY Group Contact

U3A JAZZ, SWING AND BIG BAND GROUP

Our meeting on Wednesday 24th April was held at the

home of Maurice Annison at Langtoft. Maurice began

the morning with Nobody’s Sweetheart Now by

McKenzie and Condon’s Chicagoans, followed by Bix Beiderbecke and his gang’s Royal Garden Blues.

When the Saints Go Marching In by Bunk Johnson and his New Orleans Band made a pleasant change from the regular version by

Louis Armstrong. Lil Greenwood featured on a Duke Ellington track

singing St Louis Blues followed by My Blue Heaven by Artie Shaw

and his Orchestra. We heard tracks from Miles Davis, Ted Heath Orchestra, Stan Kenton (featuring Jack Sheldon on trumpet). Always

a favourite, we heard Julie London singing Fly Me To The Moon,

then followed Louis Armstrong’s St James Infirmary, then Diana

Krall’s East Of The Sun (West of the Moon) and finally we heard John Dankworth and his Orchestra playing around with his version of

Experiments With Mice (Three Blind Mice played by his orchestra in

the style and sound of seven other different groups/bands – very

clever and amusing to hear!!).

Thank you Maurice for a most enjoyable morning. Our next meeting

is Wednesday 22th May at the home of Barbara abd Peter Baylis.

Please telephone either Peter Baylis or Jennie Sharman if you are unable to attend.

Joint Leaders: JENNIE SHARMAN/ANNE JONES

U3A “BOOK WEEVILS” READING GROUP

For our April meeting we had read The People’s Train

by Thomas Keneally. This is set in Australia and Russia

in the years leading up to the Russian Revolution in 1917. We found it a more difficult read and not easy to

identify with the revolutionary mindset of the hero and

other characters. However, the historical background

was very interesting.

The next meeting of Book Weevils will be on Tuesday 21st May at

2.30 at the home of Janice Cosham. New members are very welcome

to join us for a meeting to see how we run the book group.

CATHRYN SEALE Group Leader

U3A “STROLLER’S” WALKING GROUP

The latest walk took place on Monday 22 April, when 15 Strollers

met at the Hare and Hounds in Greatford. This walk was originally planned for last September, but was cancelled at the last minute

because of persistent rain. Fortunately, the conditions in April were

more favourable as the day was dry and the ground hard from the

recent dry spell. Just as well, as the walk would have been less enjoyable if it had been wet. The walk took us alongside two fields,

across another field and along a track to Braceborough. Members

were able to go into the church which was open and then posed for a

photograph nearby.

We then continued alongside the Glen River to the northern edge of

the village, before walking back through the village, for another photo

call on the village green, before crossing the fields back to Greatford.

The church at Greatford was also open and members were able to repent their sins again whilst they learned of the village’s historic

royal connections, in as much that a local doctor attended to King

George III in the early 19th century.

The next walk will take place on Monday 27 May, meeting at the Red Lion, West Deeping at 10:15 to order lunches before driving to

Maxey, for a walk around the lakes. The walk leader will be Colin

Ward and Strollers who are interested in taking part, should contact

him a few days beforehand.

BOB DELLER

Group Leader

U3A LISTENING TO MUSIC GROUP

Our May meeting was hosted by Ann Holmes

on 8 May. Ann gave us a programme of

music inspired by birds and birdsong.** The starting point was Vaughan Williams evocative Lark Ascending followed by the

colourful and realistically sounding Le Merle Noir by Messiaen from

his Oiseaux Exotique.

There was a fair sprinkling of little known pieces depicting Hens, Cuckoos, plus the Nightingale from composers ranging from Handel,

Rameau and Respighi.

A piece that produced strong feelings either way of like/dislike was

Cantus Arcticus by the little known contemporary Finnish Composer Einojuhani Rautavaara. This is unusual as it uses sound recordings

of Arctic birds made by the composer himself in the lakes and tundra

of Northern Finland. These recordings are skillfully worked into

appropriate orchestral texture to produce a most haunting piece of music. The most memorable part was written around the sounds

made by a large flock of migrating swans.

Our next meeting is on 12 June at John Bloomfield’s house, 10 am.

Report by TERRY NOBLE Joint Leaders: TERRY NOBLE / JIM PRINGLE

**Those of you who know me will know that whilst I enjoy listening

to music I am incapable of preparing such a programme as given above. Terry actually did the hard work and I provided the coffee

and biscuits. Thanks from us all Terry it was a great morning. ANN

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U3A NATURAL HISTORY GROUP

Our first visit to

Tortoiseshell Wood, near

Castle Bytham,

proved most

successful. The Wood

Anemones were

in full bloom, as

were groups of Primroses, Dog's

Mercury, some

Ransomes, a few

Bluebells and one early Purple Orchid. There was a lot of birdsong,

including a Cuckoo.

Thanks to Dave Vandome of the Lincs. Wildlife Trust who showed us

round and told us about the history of the woodland.

Next meeting, change of venue, (by democratic vote), to Hills and Holes, Barnack. Meet at 10am on Thursday May 25th. names to me

please.

ALISTAIR SMITH

Group Leader

U3A “PACERS” WALKING GROUP

On a glorious May day 13 Pacers set out from the Hare and Hounds in Greatford in high spirits. It was the 1st of May,

the skies were blue and cloud free, the sun was shining and

at last the signs of Spring were all around us! We walked

over mud –free fields to Barholm and then along the road to Shillingthorpe Estate with a Kite circling overhead.

Then a walk through the parkland, crossing the infant West

Glen river, over the fields, through the woods and back into Greatford and the Hare and Hounds for an enjoyable

and well-earned lunch.For the first time in months we

returned home with clean boots NO MUD

Report by BARBARA McNICOL

Group Leader: LIZ WATERLAND

U3A CYCLING GROUP

Our April ride took us along fairly familiar territory. From Market Deeping Bridge we set off for Maxey, then to Etton, past Woodcroft

Castle and up the gentle hill to Helpston Heath. After a short rest we

moved on to Ufford, stopping for a brief look at the ancient sheep dip

at Bainton and finally stopping for lunch at the Red Lion at West

Deeping. Thanks to Terry Noble for organising the ride, which was

very enjoyable. A total of about 16 miles was covered.

Our next ride is on 21st June. We usually meet on Market Deeping

Bridge at 11.00am. If you are interested in joining us for a leisurely ride through our local countryside, then please speak to Ian, our

Group Leader. You will be very welcome.

Report by EDDIE ADAMS Group Leader: IAN TANNER

U3A MONDAY WALKING GROUP

Many members of the group have recently

attended the walking holiday in Whitby. A report of the walk will appear elsewhere in

the Newsletter but I feel I must record the

grateful thanks of the group to Godfrey

Parkes for organising the event. The weather, against all the odds, was extremely good, as was the accommodation. Godfrey, ably

assisted by David Scott and Pete Jackson, had devised a programme

of walks to suit all the members of the group and an excellent time

was had by all.

The most recent group walk was held on May 13th, a week later than

normal due to the Bank Holiday. It started and finished at the Kings

Head in Wadenhoe and covered an area around Lyveden. A full

report will appear in the next Newsletter.

The next walk will be on June 3rd., It will be led by Olive and Eric

Parrin and will commence from the Café in Fineshade Woods where

we will also have lunch. We will be walking to Blatherwyke and

Kingscliffe. I will as usual circulate group members nearer the date.

CHAS FERGUSON

Group Leader

U3A WEDNESDAY GARDENING GROUP

The Wednesday

gardening group payed

a visit to Castor Hanglands for their

meeting this month.

The weather had been

very warm but on the morning of our visit it

was cooler and

overcast and a few spots of rain before we

started, this did not

deter us though.

We were met at Southey Wood by the

warden Chris Gardner who was to give us our guided tour. We

crossed the road and made our way to the hanglands, which is

mentioned in the Doomsday book and the name 'hangra' is Old English for a wood on a hill. The hanglands contain a remarkable

variety of plants and animal life. We saw a Wren, heard a Cuckoo,

had Kites soaring above us and then we hear Nightingales

singing. Chris explained they sing during the day and then do their

flying at night.

The grassland, scrub and wetland areas of the reserve are part of

Ailsworth Heath. This land was ploughed around 800 years ago,

leaving distinct ridges and furrows which can still be seen today. The heath was also used as common grazing land, but today it is hard to

find a farmer to use it, although they do have some Dexter cattle that

use it for grazing. It can not be grazed all year as the area also has a

vast array of wild flowers.

This was a very interesting tour and Chris is certainly very

knowledgeable and answered all our questions and also gave a lot

more information about the history and future of the area. As the

winter has been long and cold we only saw the wild orchid leaves, but there were carpets of bluebells, primroses and cowslips around, and

we did see a frog at the side of one of the ponds. A very enjoyable

morning was had by us all.

Our next meeting is a look round Sue's garden at 8a Castle End Road, Maxey. Meet at Rainbow car park at 9.45 to car share for a 10 o'clock

start at Sue's. Report: AVRIL WILLIS

JEAN FOSTER / ANGELA DORWARD

Group Leaders

I am sorry I did not have space for the Writing for Pleasure Group

report this month. This and any other late arrival will be carried

over to next month. ANN

Photo courtesy Pam Ready

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U3A THURSDAY WALKING GROUP

Twenty six members undertook a very pleasant walk in sunny

conditions this month starting from the Southey Woods Car Park and

progressing through the woods before arriving at the village of

Ufford. From here we were soon able to re-enter the woods before arriving back at the car park. The short journey to Barnack was then

made where a good lunch was provided by the Millstone Inn. Many

thanks to Eddie and Chris for leading the walk and organising the

lunch.

The next walk on 13 June will be led by Margaret Griffiths and will

be at Hemingford Meadow near St Ives starting at the Axe and

Compass, High Street, Hemingford Abbots PE28 9AH. The journey

to Hemingford is about 45 minutes so please meet at the Rainbow

Centre Car Park (1st on the right) at 8.50am where we can sort out

transport to reduce the number of cars going and also to assist those

wishing to walk but who do not wish to drive. If you would like to

attend this walk, could you please phone or e-mail Margaret by the

Tuesday preceding the walk, if possible.

GODFREY PARKES

Group Leader

U3A THURSDAY GARDENING GROUP

Small and select in numbers for the May meeting, BUT the sun was

out so we will excuse those of the group who were hopefully enjoying the sunshine walking in Whitby area or on holiday. The sun did

make showing the group round my garden a real pleasure. Help was

given with the disasters and we were all amazed at just how the

timing is out for many of the plants – many overlapping in flower that have never done so before. Our climate is certainly posing problems.

The plan was to discuss summer bulbs which seem to be as popular as

the spring bulbs now and we all had a good exchange of information,

aided by some excellent books and are now just praying the weather

co-operates.

Next month we are at Gill Ronaldson’s house and hope to help her

plan for making her lovely, but large, garden more manageable and

easy maintenance….from the armchair of course!

Report and photo LIZ NOBLE

Group Leader: CHRIS FERGUSON

NB: The illustration given with the Church Mice Report on page 6 is a

copy of the map of the world Christopher Columbus used to raise funds for

his voyage to discover the West Indies. The book it was taken from was from

the same “print run” as that used by Columbus and is in the Trigge Library.

U3A HISTORY GROUP

Once again we received a superbly

entertaining presentation from Steve Perry. His talk revolved around the parts of

Peterborough that now constitute our

shopping centre called Queensgate, which opened in 1982. He gave

us a virtual tour of the streets that were in existence before the bulldozers took over. The tour was taken from a street map drawn up

in 1934. (The presentation was given via the most up to date version

of Power Point so had a few quirky special effects!)

There were too many stories to report in this magazine but there were a lot of quiet comments such as, ‘Oh my aunt lived there, and, I used

to work in that building’. Four photographs that caused comment

were: one showing congested traffic in the 1920s; a large group

protest meeting from around 1930 where all the men wore hats; a group of policemen photographed at the turn of the century. They

were all wearing very bushy moustaches; the shoe boxes from floor to

ceiling in Gibbs shoe shop. ‘Memories are made of this.’ (I bet you

will all start to hum this tune when you read this report!).

Liz reminded members that the balance for the London trip in August

is due in June and Mavis and Fran were welcomed to the group. The

attendance at the meeting was excellent and it is very pleasing to note

that we have so many volunteers and potential speakers amongst us.

Report by SANDRA JONES

ELIZABETH PARKINSON / SANDRA JONES

Group Leaders

U3A SUNDAY LUNCH GROUP

The next Sunday Lunch will be on SUNDAY,

2ND JUNE (note change of date due to Bank Holiday) at The Blue Bell, Glinton. If you wish to join this event

please contact Tony Semple or Michael Griffiths, or add your name to

the list at the meeting on 20th May. Tony or Michael are usually at a table at the back of the meeting room in the vicinity of the coffee

point.

U3A CRAFT REPORT 2

Barbara Baylis helped us create some really

interesting shaped cards from a plain sheet of

A4 card – thank you to her.

Avril Willis brought a fascinating necklace which she had made and she passed round to all. It was made of rainbow fine wool and made

using crotchet. The result was extremely light and colourful and we

are going to tackle this in May. 20 May 2013 2pm, usual place.

LIZ NOBLE

Group Leader 01778 342855

U3A LEARN PHOTOGRAPHY GROUP

The next Photography meeting will be on

Wednesday, 22nd May at 2.00 pm at the RC Church Hall, Deeping St

James.

Members are asked to bring in their cameras and instruction books. Also any photographs for viewing for the August U3A celebrations at

the Deepings Comprehensive School.

DAVE PENDRY

Group Leader 01778 345179

Members of the U3A

Science Group at a

lecture given in St. Guthlac’s Church by

Chris Jones on The

Mechanics of

Building Medieval Churches. Photo:

Alistair Smith.

6

U3A GARDENING GROUP 3

On April 16th we joined The Gardening 4 Petals & Produce for a visit to Railworld in

Peterborough.

Rev. Richard Paten founded Railworld in

1985 to promote Sustainable Transport, with an emphasis on

rail travel and sustainable development, which he was also passionate

about. Land at Railworld was made available to build a wildlife

haven and environment centre; he helped to raise money and gifts in kind totalling £400.000 to build this exciting project for the

youngsters of Peterborough. Reverend Paten died on 22nd July 2012,

and his work is now being carried on by Brain Pearce. They worked

together on the project for 25 years. Brian gave us a presentation giving details of how the work was carried out and how he has

managed to get backing from all sorts of organisations. This hidden

treasure of Peterborough is well worth another visit. All U3A

members that visited were overwhelmed with the the enthusiasm of all the volunteers. We thank Eddie and John for organising a very

interesting and informative meeting.

Our next meeting is on 28th May at SEAGATE IRISES, address Long Sutton By-Pass, Long Sutton, Lincolnshire, PE 12 9PX.

Please meet at 10.30 am. There is ample parking spaces. All

gardening group members are very welcome to join us. Please ring

Janice or Josie Smith if you wish to come along. JANICE WILSON

Group Leader.

U3A FAMILY HISTORY GROUP

The group met again today and in smaller

groups we looked at ways we can find information about births, baptisms, marriages, deaths and burials. We

paid special attention to where we could obtain the information for

free. It proved that it is not always necessary to spend lots of money

to find relevant information. One source of accredited marriage and birth details is a service record. Here the service man would need to

produce his actual marriage and children’s birth certificates which

would then have been transcribed onto his documents by the officer

to whom it had been presented. In most cases this information will be 100% correct as he would have read the document and sign that he

has done so. We looked at a few examples, one of which the man had

even given his father, mother and all his siblings by name and address

– what a find! Our next meeting will be on 10th June, 2pm, same time

and place.

We would be more than pleased to welcome any new members who

would like to either start or enhance their family history. Anyone

interested in joining our group or just having a chat about what we do, please give me a call. Anyone who would like any help, can contact

me on my e-mail address, I may not have the answer but I will

probably be able to point to the person who does.

PEG TORRANCE

Group Leader

U3A “WEEKENDERS” GROUP

Sixteen members enjoyed an interesting day visiting

the National Memorial Arboretum at Lichfield, described in the guide book as “the UK’s year-round

Centre of Remembrance; a spiritually uplifting place

which honours the fallen, recognises service and sacrifice and

fosters pride in our country”. It affected us all in different ways. Some of us also managed a quick visit to the Cathedral too. Thanks

Barbara for arranging it. ANN

The recent meeting of the Weekenders Group was very lively and Sociable, enjoying coffee and sharing ideas for future meals and

outings. A trip to the Key Theatre in July and also a visit to

Cambridge. The next coffee morning will be held at the Deeping

Stage June 8th. AUDREY ALLEN / PAT RIGBY

Group Leaders

U3A ART APPRECIATION GROUP

We met in the meeting room of the Catholic Church

in Hereward Way, Deeping St. James for out April

meeting.

The topic was Italian Renaissance Paintings 1450-1530. During this

period, many years before Italian unification, Italy consisted of a

number of city-states, each governed by a rich dynasty. The artists of the day depended upon these families, and the church, for

commissions, producing paintings, carvings and statuary to order.

Many of these commissions were too large for a single artist to

complete in the time allowed and they were produced by established artists working together and often included the employment of

apprentices. Some artists displayed a lack of originality or variety –

one such had the same face on twelve figures in the same painting!

On occasions the result was not accepted by the patrons. One such

rejection resulted in a 25 year wait for a new rendition of the work.

As a result of the patronage system the majority of the works are of a

religious nature, depicting biblical events, either directly for the

church or paid for by patrons to show their devotion and support. The system resulted in sought-after artists moving from one patron to

another as their reputation and popularity grew. In addition to

providing works of art to show their support to the church a patron

would commission portraits to show their success and wealth.

Paintings were produced using a medium called tempera painted onto

wooden panels or canvas or walls. Tempera was produced by an artist

grinding colour material into a powder. Different powders were then

mixed to produce the required colour and mixed with egg yolk to bind it together for application, usually with a brush. Some of the base

material was very expensive and/or exotic. For example Lapis Lazuli,

imported as a stone from Afghanistan resulted in a brilliant blue

colour – known as Ultra Marine – reflecting that it came from “over

the sea”.

The paintings had many brilliant colours, showing the skill that the

artists had in producing them consistently. The tempera method was compared with the Dutch method at about the same time of using oil

as a binding medium, with the comment that oils took longer to dry,

thus prolonging the time between the application of a fresh colour and

the time it took to finish a work.

The next meeting, same location, is on Tuesday 21 st May at 10.00.

The topic will be: Gustav Klimt, his life and work. ALL WELCOME

PETER WITHERINGTON

Group Leader

U3A “CHURCH MICE” GROUP

This month’s visit was to St. Wulfram’s Church, Grantham. This Church is really worth a visit as

it is a hidden gem within the old part of

Grantham. It dates back to pre 1222 when there

was probably a Saxon place of worship on the site. The Norman architecture can be seen

throughout, even though there was a major fire in

1222 which destroyed much of the fabric of the

building. The Church was part of the Reformation and then restored/refurbished in Victorian times, with Gilbert Scott being an influence

on its design.

The windows are mainly Victorian but there are modern ones that were installed in the 1960s. The cover of the font is really ornate and

cleverly hinged so that it opens to reveal small statuettes. The Crypt

dates back to the C14th and is very peaceful. There is a chain library

called the Trigge Library which houses very early printed books.

It would take an age to tell you about this lovely Church. There is so

much history hidden there and also in the surrounding area including

the Angel and Royal Hotel which is a short walk away. The Church web site is www.stwulframs.org.uk . Report by SANDRA JONES

LYALL SEALE / FRANK MILLS

Group Leaders

See note bottom of

Page 5,

7

WHITBY WALKING HOLIDAY — 29th APRILTO 3 MAY 2013

The 2013 Spring Walking holiday saw 33 members descend on Whitby

in North Yorkshire this year. In a change of format from previous years

when we have used B&B’s, this year we were located at the Royal Hotel with excellent views over the harbour and across to Whitby Abbey. The

cost of the bed, breakfast and three course evening meal package was

exceptional.

The holiday

started with a

wonderful

occasion on the Monday

night as this was the day of Norah’s 60th birthday. A very brave lady for coming on a

walking holiday on that day – did she really think we would let it pass un-noticed?

Following the meal Ann and Brian walked in with a lovely big birthday cake, Brian being dressed up in black as Guy the Gorilla. Even one of the waiters joined in the fun

by offering him a banana!! This was followed by a very nice “Ode to Norah” written

by Chris and sung by the Deeping Choral Society!! to the tune of “If you knew Suzy”.

This was a brilliant start to the holiday so if anyone else has a special birthday that coincides with a walking holiday then beware or keep it quiet!!.

Tuesday saw the beginning of the walking part of the week. As this was a coastal location we took

advantage of walking part of the Cleveland Way southwards from Whitby to Robin Hoods Bay for approx eight miles. This was a lovely walk with good views all round and punctuated at one of the

stops to help Norah eat the birthday cake on the cliff top. At least it made Brian’s rucksack lighter!! A

pub get together in Robin Hoods Bay sitting outside on a warm sunny day then gave many members the

opportunity to descend steeply into the Bay where we came across several of the Goths who were still there from the weekend. Bus passes (well for most of us) then came out for the journey back to Whitby.

On the Wednesday we did the short

journey to Goathland (Heartbeat Country) where there is still plenty of evidence of the popular TV programme even though

recording has now finished. The walk involved a circular route of approx 5 miles

with several stepped climbs that gave high level views of Goathland and the surrounding moors including the popular North York Moors Railway line where

we were pleased to see steam trains in action. Today coincided with the 40th

Anniversary of the railway and a special train ran in the afternoon which Eddie

has photographed for the website, this being the original train which had been specially restored for the occasion. The walk was extended slightly to enable

members to see the Mallyan Spout waterfall before climbing steps to the hotel of

that name for a well earned drink, again in a sunny garden. We were grateful to

Ken on this walk for giving us some historical information about the area relating to Monks Trod, Grouse Butts and Sheep Folds. Is this a precedent you are setting Ken?

Thursday was another coastal walk along the Cleveland Way, this time going northwards from Whitby to

Sandsend along the promenade and beach plus a further stretch on the disused railway to the blocked off tunnel. (four miles) The return journey being the same route or on the bus. Several walkers continued from

the tunnel for a further four miles northwards to the delightful location of Runswick Bay before making use

of the bus for whole or part of the return journey.

Friday was a free day giving members the opportunity to further explore the local area before heading off

to their next destinations or home. This turned out once again to be a great week of walking and

socialising. The weather throughout the week couldn’t have been better. The change of format worked

particularly well as it enabled us to meet up and socialise even more especially in the evenings in the public rooms with quizzes, bingo, snooker and pool if members wished to participate.

Many thanks to David, Peter and Ann for assistance with the reccys and comments on the itinerary, to Brian, Ann and Chris for helping to make

Norah’s day complete and to all of you for your continued support of these walking holidays and your contribution, it is much appreciated.

Report by GODFREY PARKES

Walking Holiday Organiser

Many more pics on

website.

Sorry I was unable to use