MAY 2015

1

OUR INTREPID WALKERS ON HOLIDAY IN

YORKSHIRE

Godfrey’s report of this holiday is on page 7. There were many

photographs taken by the walkers and David Scott has spent a lot of

time loading them onto our web site. Please press ‘control + click’ on

this link http://u3asites.org.uk/code/u3asite.php?

site=282&page=47706 and it will take you straight to the page.

David works very hard on our web site and would welcome any comments you may wish to make.

Programme of Speakers

18 May FUNNY GARDEN FEATURES—unusual and weird

features in gardens from Romans to the Victorians by Andrew Sankey (AT THE METHODIST

CHURCH)

15 June THE FALKLAND ISLANDS BY Martin and Mrs Beaton (AT THE METHODIST CHURCH)

20 July SIMPLE WORDS, HIDDEN MEANINGS—The History of nursery rhymes by Jill Collinge (AT THE

METHODIST CHURCH)

Unless otherwise stated, doors open at 9.30 am at all monthly meetings. Coffee is served until 10.20 and meetings begin at 10.30

am.

WELCOME TO NEW MEMBERS

Veronica Gough, Anne and David Gaskell, and

Claudia Cooper from Market Deeping and Eva and

Charles Cooper from Deeping St James.

CHAIRMAN’S REFLECTIIONS!

Last May newsletter had us "tip toeing through the

tulips", well at least our Thursday gardening group

were, but this year after all the hype we have had thrown at us for the election, (although with three

party leaders resigning, I am sure it is not over yet!)

plus the safe arrival of the fourth in line to the

throne a little late, but seemingly without a hitch, it would be good to believe we could have a little

calm and enjoy the more normal summer events!

Our summer meeting in August will be similar to last year with more lighted hearted entertainment, finishing with another buffet lunch all in

the Deepings School, Park Road Deeping St. James. Tickets will be on

sale from the JUNE meeting at £6.50 including complimentary drink.

June meeting is also the time of year we start our membership renewals (renewal form will be in the June edition), still only £10 for the year

(£5 for affiliate members) so please come prepared next month with a

little extra cash.

In the meantime our May monthly meeting is in the Methodist Church

Deeping St. James, where it is hard to believe they celebrated their 25

years in the new building last week. We look forward to a talk on

some Funny Garden Features from Romans to Victorians and who knows they may even have had some tulips! Look forward to seeing

many of you from the usual time of 9.30.

Best wishes,

Liz

Chairman

.

GROUPS WHO WOULD WELCOME NEW MEMBERS:

Book Weevils and Bookworms, The Wanderers

Walking Group, Discussion Group, Nordic

Walking, Guitar for Pleasure, Quiz Group and

Good Food Group. Please contact the group leader for more information

U3A SUNDAY LUNCH GROUP

The next Sunday Lunch will be on Sunday, 31st

May, at the Wagon and Horses, Langtoft at 12.30.

If you wish to join this event please contact Colin Semper or Michael Griffith or add your name to

the list at the meeting on Monday, 18 May. Tony

or Michael will be located near the coffee/tea

hatch.

U3A FILM GROUP

The next film showing will be 'The Imitation Game' starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley,

based on the true story of Alan Turing at Bletchley Park

during World War II. Wednesday 27 May, 2 pm at the

Community Centre - a great film, don't miss it!

Group Leaders: MAUREEN WHITTLE / RITA BROWN

The Deepings Third Age Group

NEWSLETTER

(Visit our Web site)

Deepings Web site Deeping St. James

Issue No. 142

Committee Members 2014/2015

Liz Noble Chairman

Jennie Sharman Secretary

Anne Burton Treasurer

Olwen Cole Group Coordinator

Janice Cosham Membership Secretary

Kath Allen

Jim Pringle Welcome Coordinator

Lyall Seale ) Speaker

Garth Perry ) Finders

Ann Holmes Newsletter Editor

2

CHURCH MICE VISIT TO ELY—14 JULY 2015

There are still some seats available for this outing. The Church Mice are being joined

by members of the Antiques Group and any

other members of the Deepings U3A are

welcome to join us on this visit. The trip will

include a guided tour of the Cathedral and

entry to the Stained Glass Museum. An additional attraction close by

the Cathedral is Oliver Cromwell’s House which some of us may

like to visit. There is a separate admission charge for this, not included in our fare.

We aim to arrive in Ely by 10.30 in time for a cup of tea/coffee

before a guided tour of the Cathedral arranged to start at 11.30 a.m. Following this you will be able to arrange your own lunch in one of

the cafes or restaurants in the town or picnic in Jubilee Gardens or

by the River Ouse. Your ticket will allow you re-entry to the

Cathedral and there is no extra charge for still photography within the Cathedral although a charge is made if taking videos or using a

tripod. The coach will leave Ely at 4.30 pm, reaching the Deepings

by 6.00 pm.

The cost of this trip, (including coach, a guided tour of the Cathedral

and entry to the Stained Class Museum) is £21, payable at the time

of booking. No refreshments included. (Cheques payable to The

Deepings U3A). For those not wishing to visit the Cathedral, the

‘coach only’ fare is £12. For bookings or further information

contact: Ann Holmes or Geoff Whittle.

GROUP NEWS

GROUP LEADERS: I am still short of a few group

lists of members, if you have not sent me a list of

your members yet please send it as soon as possible.

Please let me know if any of your group details change – leader, venue or time, I can then update our records in the

newsletter and on the notice board.

PLAY READING: If you are interested in joining this group do put your name on the list at the meeting or contact me.

NORDIC WALKING: Janet Moore and Madeleine Donley will be

taking over as leaders from Annette Watkins who is stepping down as she is moving away. Thank you Annette all for your work with

this group. You take with you our best wishes for the future.

Do you have a suggestion for a new group? Would your group like

more members? Are you having difficulties joining a group? Please

let me know if I can help.

OLWEN COLE

Group Coordinator

U3A ANTIQUES AND COLLECTABLES GROUP

For our April meeting one of our members,

Maggie Griffiths, gave us a informative

presentation of WW2 memorabilia. Memories were jolted back to the War Years with all the

problems that people had to faced, food rationing,

clothing coupons, gas masks, and pictures and stories of the

evacuees leaving London and being sent all over to the countryside away from the bombing. Several members gave their experiences,

especially with the evacuees who 'invaded' our schools, one week

they had the schools in the mornings, and we went to school in the

afternoons and the process was reversed the next week. There were several stories of ARP wardens coming round the streets at night to

make sure you were not showing a chink of light.

Our thanks to Maggie for keeping us so interested and amused for the afternoon. Report: IRENE BEEKEN

Group Leaders: IRENE BEEKEN/ PAM PENDRY

U3A HISTORY GROUP

At our April meeting the guest speaker was

Malcolm Knapp, a Blue Badge Guide and au-

thor of 21 books on local history, who came to talk to us about the History of Grantham.

We learned that Grantham, with a population of around 1500, was

mentioned in the Doomsday book of 1086. The building of the Great North Road, followed by the arrival of the Railway, meant that

Grantham developed significantly in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The most recent census of 2011 showed a population of around

42,000. Mr. Knapp certainly enjoyed telling us about his experiences of his life in Grantham.

Next month’s meeting on 20th May, seeing the return of Stuart

Orme, has the intriguing title of ‘150 million years in 50 minutes: ‘The Complete and Utter History of Peterborough.’

Report by MARY BURTON

Group Leaders: SANDRA JONES / ELIZABETH PARKINSON

U3A JAZZ, SWING AND BIG BAND GROUP

Our April meeting was held at the home of

Barbara and Peter Baylis but the programme was

put together by Geoff Whittle and as usual Geoff gave us something

old and something new and definitely something different!

Two items by Carmen McRae began the morning and then two very

different versions of 'Lullaby of Birdland' by Count Basie and his

Orchestra, then Chris Connor's vocal version. Three instrumentals followed, Ray Noble and his Orchestra with 'Tiger Rag' (1937)

Lionel Hampton and Orchestra with 'On The Sunny Side of the

Street', and Sidney Bechet and his New Orleans Feetwarmers, with 'Old Man Blues'.

And so the morning continued with many more numbers, including

Jo Stafford singing 'Make Love To Me,' Dinah Shore plus Andre' Previn on piano gave us 'It Had To Be You' and Johnny Hodges and

Orchestra played 'That's The Blues, Old Man' (1940). The First

English Public Jam Session (a group new to all of us) played 'Tea

For Two' and Henry Allen completed Geoff's programme with 'Feeling Drowsy' (1929).

Lots of great music and vocals that we all enjoyed so thank you

Geoff. Thanks also to Barbara, for tea and fruit loaf and Peter for his hosting. Next meeting unless otherwise advised is at Peter Gray's

home, 12 Wade Park Avenue, Deeping St. James.

Report: ANNE JONES Group Leaders: PETER BAYLIS / ANNE JONES

U3A “WEEKENDERS” GROUP

Ann welcomed 21 ‘Weekenders’ to the coffee

morning on Saturday. She thanked Anita

Setchfield (in her absence—hope you’re feeling better soon Anita) for organising the trip to Ilkley and Saltaire and Jean Rogers for

organising the trip to Foxton Locks. Both trips were most enjoyable

and on both we enjoyed beautiful weather. Well done you two for

organising good weather for us as well!

The proposed trip to Cromer, that we discussed at the meeting,

cannot go ahead as the coach company does not have enough seats

left for us. We can always try again later—thanks to Barbara Buck-ley for enquiring for us.

Next meeting on June 13th will be the summer special with scones

and cream, there will be no charge but there will be the opportunity to make a voluntary contribution to a Breast Cancer Charity.

Report: BARBARA MCNICOL

Group Leaders: ANN BRADHSAW / BARBARA MCNICOL

3

U3A ‘OVER THE GARDEN WALL’ GARDENING GROUP

Our May meeting was a return visit to Springfields to what could be

described as ‘Tulip Mania’. Andy

Boyden did the honours and showed

us round this delightful garden. Who needs to go to Holland when we can

see a garden display like this on our

doorstep. There are 100,000 bulbs

planted in the garden this year. 10,000 a day by 4/5 members of the team under Andy’s direction. He is so knowledgeable and was

happy to answer any questions we asked. It is evident he is so proud

of the garden and happy to share it with us.

The range of tulips was too extensive to cover in this report but was

from single and double bulbs, including Lily flowered, Fringed.

Parrot and multi-flowering ones, covering the whole colour

spectrum. He showed us examples of tulips that were infected with a virus and were prone to colour distortion. To us these looked very

attractive but were a to him a problem because the virus weakens the

plants and reduces the offsets. These bulbs are destroyed in an

effort to eradicate the problem. He advised us to plant Tulip bulbs when the soil cools later in October.

Our next meeting is on May 19th, , venue: Deene Park, Corby. NN17

3EW. Meet there: 10am. Own Transport. This is an escorted tour

with Colin’s Group for members only who have previously

expressed an interest and paid. Please contact Glenys Nice or

myself if you have any problem with transport.

MARGARET GRIFFITHS / GLENYS NICE

Group Leaders

U3A “STROLLERS” WALKING GROUP

Another big turn out on another bright sunny morning heralded our latest walk on Monday 27 April. Meeting at the Blue Bell in

Helpston, where we made our orders for lunch, before driving off to

Southey Wood to commence our walk. Setting off down a field

drive, 22 strollers went southwards towards the village of Upton, where we were able to go into the church, open by prior

arrangement, which stands in the grounds of the old manor house.

This church, built in the 12th century and dedicated to St. John the

Baptist, has some character, with a large section of the north side, segregated, presumably for the local baronial family.

After passing through Manor Farm, we entered Ailsworth Heath,

which includes Castor Hanglands Nature Reserve. The stroll took us along a mixture of woodland tracks and heathland paths, with a

variety of flora to admire, including numerous bluebells. We also

heard the cuckoo, possibly the first this year and the keener

ornithologists recognised the dulcet tones of a nightingale and saw yellow brimstone butterflies. The accompanying photograph shows

the group on some heathland within the Castor Hanglands nature

reserve.

Our next walk will take place on Monday 25 May, which is the

Spring Bank Holiday Monday and will commence from the

Horseshoe public house at Thurlby. The walk leader will be Colin

Ward and members of the group who wish to take part, should con-tact him as soon as possible.

BOB DELLER

Group Leader

U3A NATURAL HISTORY GROUP

The trip to Baston last Thursday went well and I

think those attending enjoyed it. It started off

cloudy and then the sun came out. Here is the list of birds seen (mainly supplied by Joy - I just wrote them down!)

On arrival: three Buzzards, Greylag geese, black headed gulls,

Mallard and duckling, mute swan, oyster catcher, pied wagtail,

widgeon, wood pigeon, pheasant, lapwing, reed bunting, cormorant, chaffinch, blackbird, collard dove, stock dove, coot, jackdaws,

crested grebe, moorhen, rook, kestrel, skylark, gold finch and

dunnock. In addition - hundreds of cowslips, red campion just

starting to flower, orange tip butterfly and a tortoiseshell butterfly. Nicholas later wanted to know if we had seen any tern, but no sign

of them. Didn't we do well! JEAN.

Thanks to Jean and Don for organising the visit. The next outing will be to Deeping Lakes on May 28th. The very interesting subject is

Dragon and Damsel Flies. Our guest is the well known expert in the

field, David Mainwaring. Will let the group know who to contact

for further information.

NORAH LITTLER

Group Leader

U3A ART APPRECIATION GROUP

The meeting was held as usual at the R C Church in

Hereward Way, Deeping St. James on 21st April.

We were treated to a presentation of the life and

work of Angelica Kauffman RA (1741-1807) by Hendy Farquhar-Smith, assisted by her husband Horace.

Angelica Kauffman was a Swiss-born Austrian Neoclassical painter who had a successful career in London and Rome. She was elected

to the Royal Academy in London in 1768, surprising in those times

both for being a woman painter and also at the tender age of 26.

Angelica was taught to paint by her father, Joseph Johann Kaufmann, a relatively poor man but a skilled painter. A very

talented person, she was a linguist and musician but her greatest

talent was in painting. As a young prodigy bishops and nobles sat for

her. Aged 14 her father took her to Milan. Aged 21 she became a member of the Academia di Belle Arti di Firenze. She also visited

Rome, Bologna and Venice producing portraits, at which she

excelled, and other works. While in Venice she was persuaded to

come to London by Lady Wentworth, wife of the British ambassador. One of the first pieces she completed in London was a

portrait of David Garrick. Angelica was herself the subject of a

portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds, who was in turn painted by her.

They became firm friends. It was probably owing to Reynold’s good offices that she was among the signatories to the petition to the king

for the establishment of the Royal Academy. In its first catalogue of

1769 she appears with “R.A.” after her name (an honour she shared

with one other woman, Mary Moser).

From 1769 to 1782 Angelica was an annual exhibitor with the RA,

generally on classical or allegoric subjects. One of the most notable

was Leonardo expiring in the Arms of Francis the First (1778). While Kauffman produced many types of art, she identified herself

primarily as a history painter, considered the most elite and lucrative

category in academic painting during this time period although the

buying public were more interested in commissioning portraits and landscapes at which she excelled. History painting subject matter

was the representation of human actions based upon themes of

history, mythology, literature and scripture. Early in the 1780s she

moved to Rome, befriending among others Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. She continued to contribute to the RA, her last exhibit being

in 1797. In 1807 she died in Rome, being honoured by a splendid

funeral under the direction of Canova.

The next meeting is on the 19 th May at the RC Church in Hereward

Way at 10.00 for 10.30 am, for a talk by Bill Sandles. All are

welcome.

PETER WITHERINGTON

Group Leader

4

U3A “PACERS” WALKING GROUP

This month we ventured further afield to Foxton Locks near Market

Harborough. As this was further than we normally go we invited,

through Godfrey Parkes, any members of the Thursday walking group to join us. So it turned out on a blustery spring day 16 people

(eight from each group) set out led by Maggie Griffiths to explore

Foxton Locks and surrounding countryside.

We went out of the long stay car park (£1.50 for the day if you fancy

a visit) down towards the lock complex passing a bronze statue of a

boy and horse depicting the days when barges were pulled by horse. We then arrived at the top of the hill and saw the amazing sight of

the canal flowing uphill with the aid of a series of locks. We

watched a barge rising up through these locks for as long as possible

before continuing on the walk.

We walked alongside the canal past the marina before crossing over

a bridge and making our way over fields through farmyards on a

circular tour that brought us back to the lower locks. Unfortunately it had started raining on the way back but Maggie spared us by

shortening the route slightly so we arrived back at the pub not too

wet. Our thanks to Maggie for a very interesting venue, one that we

are going to revisit to spend more time watching the barges go up and down the locks.

Our next walk will be on the 3rd June from the Wishing Well at

Dyke PE10 0AF and visit Fox Wood and Morton led by Barbara and

Mags. Contact Barbara if you wish to join the walk. Email to follow.

LYNN AND STEVE WHITE

Group Leaders

U3A CRAFT GROUP 1

We continued with our “bring along your own work” theme this

month, we have such variety of interests and

hobbies between us, that this format seems to

suit us all.

As promised, here is a photo of one of Edna’s

cross stitch angels. Unfortunately this tiny

picture cannot do it justice, but when I tell you that this angel is one of many, and that it

measures approximately 3ft high x 2ft wide,

you will begin to get some idea of the work

and patience involved.

Next month I will show you the work of an-

other one of our talented members. Our May meeting will on 27th

May at Flo’s house.

JULIE MANCEY

Group Leader

U3A THURSDAY GARDENING GROUP

We were

fortunate to

have a mostly dry visit this

month to

Thistleton

Herb Nursery near Oakham.

None of us

could

remember who'd

suggested this

venue but we

were pleased they did. We

had an introduction from the 86 year old founder of the nursery and

heard how it had begun from nothing, when they hardly had two

pennies to rub together, into the interesting family run concern it is today. We toured the poly-tunnels, gardens and greenhouses,

enjoying a warm welcome and plenty of refreshments. Many of us

made the most of the opportunity to buy a range of plants, not just

the amazing variety of herbs. It was also our first opportunity to present David and Margaret Scott with a clematis to add to their

collection in celebration of their Golden Wedding anniversary last

month. After a very enjoyable morning we moved to The

Wheatsheaf in Oakham for a pleasant lunch. Our thanks to Barbara Workman for suggesting it.

Our next meeting is on Thursday 4th June at the home of Mike and

Sandra Bowers. As this is to be our summer lunch party, please note the later start time of 11 am.

LINDA HILL Group Leader Linda sent me two photos with this report and for personal reasons I chose

to use the one above. Without David’s help we may well not have had a

Newsletter this month. Just as I was about to take a short holiday my

computer ‘gave up’. Literally at a moment’s notice David took me to buy a

new one and, together with Nick Bushley, down loaded and transferred

all the data and pics from the old computer to the new one. David also set

the computer up with my printers and other equipment. I had heard

horrific tales of Windows 8 but again, David had it so arranged that I could

recognise the screens and produce this edition without too much difficulty.

David helps many of us with our IT problems and I would like to thank

him, and also Margaret, for allowing us to encroach on their time. We

wish them many more happy years together. ANN

U3A “BOOKWORMS” GROUP

"The Rainbow" by D. H. Lawrence

This book charts three generations of the Brangwen

family from mid-Victorian to early twentieth century, and deals particularly with female need for growth in

their lives, particularly that of Ursula the last of the

three. The characters are well drawn and most of the group enjoyed

reading the book. Although it may not be considered an easy read, it had considerable depth and raised many issues for discussion.

Lawrence was, and still is, considered a controversial writer. This

book was prosecuted when first published, although by today's standards it is fairly tame. Originally it was intended to be published

together with "Women In Love" as one much longer book and the

latter book follows on directly from "The Rainbow". Lawrence's

short troubled life was one of stormy relationships, and restless wanderings, scarred by ill-health. His writings drew greatly from

real characters that he knew and this added to his unpopularity at the

time. He died aged only 45 from consumption in 1930, what he may

have produced in later life we shall regrettably never know.

The next meeting will be at Rita's on Monday 25th May.

Report by DIANA RAE Group Leader: ANN THORNTHWAITE

5

U3A CYCLING GROUP

In April the Cycling Group set out for the Hills and Holes at

Barnack, or if you prefer, The Hills and Hollows. Fred particularly

wanted to see the wild ‘Pasque’ flower which he had heard was out in abundance on the site of the old quarry workings. We cycled via

West Deeping to Bainton and thence to Barnack, where indeed the

Pasque Flowers were out in all their glory. We put our bikes to one

side and took a closer look. Unfortunately, the flowers are not very evident in the photograph.

Our return was via Tallington for our lunch appointment at The

Deeping Stage. The weather was fine and wild flowers really were a treat to see. Thank you Fred for organising this ride. Everyone really

enjoyed it.

Report by EDDIE ADAMS

Group Leader: FRED SKIPPER

U3A “NORDIK” WALKING GROUP

As late April arrived it was an absolute must to return to Dole Wood

for one of our Friday afternoon walks as the bluebells would be

flowering and we were not disappointed as they were flowering in abundance.

We started at a steady pace and on entering the wood we turned

right where the path had recently been cut back which certainly helped us with our poles. A few of us stopped and watched a kestrel

perched on a post in a field but the star of the show were the

bluebells. The walking stopped, poles were put aside and

photographs were taken. I’m afraid that from then on it was a stop/start situation as we came upon more swathes of bluebells but

sometimes the walking has to take a backseat, especially to

something so beautiful.

ANNETTE WAKTINS

This is Annette’s last report as she is leaving the district. Our

good wishes and thanks go with her. Details of the new leaders

are given in the Activity Groups list on page 8. ANN

U3A GARDENING 4 PETALS AND PRODUCE GROUP

Our April venue was Rassell's Nursery at Little

Bytham. Eleven members made it on a cool but

sunny day. After morning coffee (and naughty cakes) Tim, the owner, gave us a thorough tour

of the nursery telling us that he had been in

charge since the age of 17, and how it all works.

The nursery covers 20 acres with many unusual trees, shrubs and

plants of which 90% are grown on site in technically impressive

greenhouses. There are also plans for a walk alongside the river

which with the nursery and cafe will make a very good day out (someone said 'week').

Our next meeting on Tuesday 19th May is at Deene Park. Anyone

needing a lift can give me a call.

COLIN WARD

Group Leader 01778 380779

U3A DISCUSSION GROUP

“Comedians ‘aint what they used to be to be”

and “Press cuttings” formed the basis for

discussion at our last two meetings. To say

that there were no firm conclusions drawn on

either occasion is something of an understatement !! While some

hankered after Morcombe and Wise and Laurel and Hardy during the

first debate the second was immediate post election and threw up dissatisfaction with the electoral system, potholes and crime and

punishment !!! As one member put it “Good fun, good to have a

wide range of views expressed”.

“Investigative journalism” and “Should some sports be banned ?”

will form the basis for our next two meetings. Come and join us.

Call me.

JIM WINSTONE

Group Leader 01778 344003

U3A CRAFT GROUP 2

We went back to quilling this month and it was

good to share ideas and the many books and magazines we had amassed. Heather

Bumfrey has a card planned for next month and meeting will be as

usual at 2pm on 18 May.

LIZ NOBLE|

Group Leader 01778 342855

U3A FLOWER ARRANGING GROUP

The new flower

arranging group got

off to a good start in spite of being at the

Community Centre on

Election day. We

started with a demonstration by Doreen Green creating an all round arrangement

for a table centre. We learned about the mechanics of soaking and

taping oasis properly, how to build up the shape with a variety of

foliage, and finally place the flowers.

We all then tried to follow the guidelines with our own creations. It

was very interesting to see the variety of arrangements produced and

Doreen gave us some pointers to help. Everyone seemed pleased with their efforts and we hope we can put what we learned into

practice for a triangular arrangement on 4th June.

PAT LUDLOW Group Leader

6

U3A MONDAY READERS GROUP

Our book this month was (a rare thing) one that everyone enjoyed. Most of us had never

come across either the author (Elly

Griffiths) or the main character, (an

archaeologist called Ruth Galloway) which made it even nicer to be introduced to a new

series of very enjoyable and well written

stories.

This particular one, The Janus Stone, is actually the second about Ruth

Galloway (but it didn’t matter if you hadn’t read the first,

although it is alluded to during the plot.) This one is about the

discovery of a child’s skeleton under the doorway of an old house (which is being demolished for re-development.) Ruth is called in as it

may be an ancient burial (there is archaeology going on at the site.)

In fact, the author leads us into an extremely enjoyable mystery

involving well-drawn and believable characters, the Norfolk coast and countryside and interesting information about mythology (especially

Roman), history (of all periods) and archaeology. Her research is

realistically woven into the plot and adds to the enjoyment of the story.

A satisfying number of twists and red-herrings lead to a surprising (but convincing) denouement.

Our next meeting is on June 8th (at Jennie’s house) and our book is A

Death in Summer by Benjamin Black.

LIZ WATERLAND

Group Leader

(P.S. I trust that group members have spotted my little joke!)

U3A GOOD FOOD GROUP

We reverted to what had been intended to be the St

Patrick's Day celebration in March, and enjoyed Irish

food today.

As might have been expected, potatoes were in evidence,

in Dublin Coddle, Colcannon and potato Farls. With these we had a

beef, carrot and Guinness casserole. Two unusual desserts to follow, a

carrot custard tart, and soda bread ice cream. All very interesting, and a good time was had by all.

Next month (1st June) we are moving culinarily further afield to try

recipes by Claudia Roden, who specialises in recipes from the Middle East. Anyone is welcome to join us, (male or female), as a

one-off or more permanently, to see what the Group is like.

KATHLEEN TANNER

Group Leader

U3A TEN PIN BOWLING GROUP

We had ten people for bowling this morning, not a

great amount but as it clashed with walking, you cannot do both, and it

is holiday period as well.

The scores were very high today with Brian Patman showing us the

way to bowl, with a score of 197, but never the less everybody is

getting better and better and the main thing is we all enjoy it. This year

once again Tony is having a B-B-Q on June 15th which is a Monday, two games and plenty of eats. Happy Bowling.

DAVID LUNN

Group Leader

For various reasons this Newsletter has not been easy to

produce and I ask your forbearance for any errors,

omissions, etc. you may notice. Please let me know of these so that can be corrected in the next issue.

This month’s Music Group report, and Monday and Thursday Walking

Groups’ reports have not been included and there may be other reports that

have ‘slipped the net’; if so my apologies and I will ensure they are

included in June. ANN

U3A FAMILY HISTORY GROUP

Sickness and holidays reduced our number a little

this month. After a question posed by a group mem-

ber earlier in the month regarding inability to read a

document, we concentrated on this as a subject for the meeting. Why do we find it difficult to read things? There are many

reasons and many ways around the issue. Better note taking, enlarging

scanned copies and understanding the document concerned could all end in a

good result. If having trouble, try placing the document in a plastic sleeve

and overwrite the words. In a lot of cases it becomes obvious. A lesson

which can be learned from this is to always make sure OUR writing can be

deciphered so that in years to come others don’t have this kind of problem.

Our next month’s meeting will be 2.00PM on 11th May at the

Community Centre. We would be more than pleased to welcome any new

members who would like to either start or enhance their family history.

PEG TORRANCE

Group Leader

U3A WRITING FOR PLEASURE GROUP

We had a full house for our May meeting when most

people had written on our set topic of ‘Tea with

Grandma’. Some pieces were nostalgic descriptions of afternoon tea from

china cups, with cakes on a silver stand and linen napkins. Other people

described afternoon tea with their grandchildren, and we had a couple of

fictional pieces with a Grandma and the young ones having tea together.

Next month we have to construct a piece of writing from the letters in ‘The

Deepings University of the Third Age’ with each word starting with a letter

in the correct order. It will certainly give us some amusement hearing each

others’ efforts!

JUDY ROBINSON

Group Leader

U3A “CHURCH MICE” GROUP

Our May visit was blessed with a fine sunny day for

our drive through the unaccustomed rolling uplands of

Clipsham and Stretton to almost the farthest west point in Lincolnshire, at

Castle Bytham. Here we received a very warm welcome from Sheila, who is

lay minister and church warden, as well as preparing a superb tea for us when the time came.

Castle Bytham is a small, attractive village, in which there are documentary

references to a church at least as early as 1115, but the oldest parts of the

present building date from 1190, when the Norman William de Colville was

Lord of the Manor. The church is dedicated to St James the Great, the

earliest parts being the tiny window above the tower arch and the pillars in

the north arcade. It is cruciform in shape – unusual in a relatively small church – and also unusual in having a chancel (dating from the early 14th

century) which is slightly larger than the nave. The north porch is another

unusual feature, and was clearly extended at one stage, being then used for

meetings, when heated debate must have been a necessity.

The interior furnishings and woodwork of the church were nearly all

renewed in the last major restoration, in 1900, The font, in the traditional position near the south door, was built about 1660, and is therefore

contemporary with the belfry ladder (no longer in use) which bears the

roughly cut inscription, “THIS WARE THE MAYPOUL 1660”,when it was

clearly used in the celebration of the Restoration of Charles II, thus forming

a fore-runner of VE Day. The fine 20-light chandelier in the nave was given

by John Coverley in 1816, possibly in thanksgiving for victory at Waterloo,

and is lit for major festivals and often at weddings. The date of the gift

precludes any unworthy thoughts that this might be the chandelier stolen from St Guthlac’s at Market Deeping.

The stained glass windows date from the 19th and 20th centuries, perhaps the

most interesting being at the east end of the south chancel wall. This

commemorates Surgeon-Lieutenant Alister Turner, RN, who was the son of

the local doctor, and was killed whilst performing his duties aboard HMS

Keith at Dunkirk in 1940.

This was a most interesting visit, for which thanks are due to Sheila and to

Kay Roberts, who organised the visit. Report: JIM PRINGLE

Group Leaders: LYALL SEALE / ANN HOLMES (Admin. only)

7

HARROGATE AND THE YORKSHIRE DALES WALKING HOLIDAY

20th APRIL TO 24th APRIL 2015

The choice of location for the 2015 Spring

Walking Holiday was The St George Hotel in

Harrogate, part of the Shearings Group Coast

and Country selection. The hotel is very

centrally located which proved very popular.

On this occasion 38 members made the trip and were joined on a daily basis by up to four

Yorkshire guests. The package price for this

holiday again provided good value for

money.

Arriving on the Monday gave members the

opportunity to sample the delights of

Harrogate be it the town or wide open spaces such as The Stray or Valley Gardens which

were already well planted before meeting up

for our first get together for the evening meal.

Tuesday saw the beginning of the walking part of the week. For this first walk we made the journey to

Bolton Abbey to carry out a 8 mile walk through the estate to the aqueduct at Barden Bridge. The

outgoing part of the walk firstly takes in the ruins of Bolton Priory before crossing the River Wharfe

by the footbridge or stepping stones (or not as one well known member will testify to – preferring to walk on/in the water) and proceeding through the wooded area whilst still retaining the high level

views over the Priory but also providing along the way much interesting wildlife. The return route then

came back via The Strid, at which point the River Wharfe is forced to become rather narrow by the

rocks which bar part of the rivers route. The flow today was a rather gentle cascade but when in full

flow it can be quite a sight as the river roars through.

The Wednesday walk took us to Knaresborough where a circular walk of 7.5 miles through the Nidd

Gorge (or Gorgeous) was undertaken. As the name implies, after leaving the town, the walk was alongside the River Nidd before arriving at the Nidd Viaduct. Shortly before the viaduct the lunch

break gave views over a very wide weir with plenty of water in it. From here an excellent footpath has

been created on the now disused railway track at Bilton Dene which later becomes The Beryl Burton

cycleway after the seven times world cycling champion. On arriving at the end of the path Old Mother

Shipton’s Cave was directly across the road with the hugh Knaresborough Viaduct spanning the river

behind it.

Thursday took us to Pateley Bridge where a

steeper walk led us from the town through

Bewerley and on up to Yorkes Folly via

Noughts Moor, where the remnants of two high towers still remain. From here we contin-

ued across the open moorland to the transmitter tower before turning left through

Guisecliff Woods and on back down to the River Nidd for a well earned lunch break. After

lunch the group split up, almost half returning to Pateley Bridge along part of the Six Dales

Trail (5.5 miles in total) whilst the others embarked on a longer walk via Smelthouses, Fell Beck with its lovely small waterfalls and on up to White Houses before returning to

Pateley Bridge along The Nidderdale Way (10 miles in total). Each of the above three

walks were capable of being shortened to suit members experience and which were taken

advantage of where needed.

.

On the final night the group were also entertained once again by Chas with his witty analysis of the week’s events which produced many a good

laugh. Thanks again Chas.

Friday was a free day giving members the opportunity to further explore the local area before heading off to their next destinations or home. Before those journeys however, 27

members of the group took advantage of the location to visit The Harrogate Spring

Flower Show to view the design gardens and internal displays as well as being enticed to

part with money to purchase items from the numerous stalls for our own gardens. A

really good finish to the week.

This turned out once again to be a great week of walking and socialising. The weather throughout the week was ideal for walking and couldn’t be bettered. The wet gear and

jumpers remaining firmly in the hotel rooms. As in previous years, it was good to be able

to socialise in the evenings in the public rooms and the game of jenga soon appeared to

help the wine or spirits go down if members wished to participate!!

Once again I’m deeply indebted to

Ann, Dave S, Peter and Garth for their assistance with the reccys and also to all of you for

your continued support of these walking holidays and your contribution towards the week and also to “Betty’s Bag” of goodies, it is much appreciated.

Report by GODFREY PARKES

Walking Holiday Organiser

Sorry it wasn’t possible to use more of the photographs and as I am now not sure who sent

what I will not give names but thanks to everyone. Do please look at the web site where

you will find wonderful photos I was unable to use. Just press ‘control + click’ and this

link will take you straight there:http://u3asites.org.uk/code/u3asite.php?

site=282&page=47706