Newsletter - Enfield University of the Third Age

ENFIELD
Newsletter No. 73
University of the Third Age
January 2015
Contents
Page
Chairman’s Report
London Region Summer School 2015
Welcome to New Members/Editor’s note
Answers to October Quiz
West End Sing Out
My House of Lords visit
Kung Hei Fat Choi
News from the Groups
Knitting Group
Party ‘photos
Gardening Club
Walking Group
Book Club 3 – Cuckoos and Bees
Theatre Group
Theatre Seats for Seniors
Freedom Pass outings
Subject Groups
Pub Lunches
2/3
3
4
5
6
7/8
9
10
11
12/13
14
15/16
17/18
18
19
20/21
22/23
24
Registered Charity No. 1070139
Website: www.enfieldu3a.org.uk
Chairman’s Report
Welcome everyone to a brand new Enfield U3A year and decade!!
Our anniversary meeting last month was a great success attended by
Enfield’s charming Deputy Mayor, who presented our quiz prizes, Ian
McCannah, London Regional Trustee and, most importantly, some twenty of
our Founder Members. (‘Photos on pages 12-13)
In his short talk Ian mentioned that Enfield was a pioneer in starting a
U3A in this area as all our neighbouring U3A’s are somewhat younger, so
thank you for giving years of happiness, knowledge and entertainment to
our succeeding members. Ian also handed us a congratulatory card (picture
above) which was signed by Barbara Lewis, NEC Chairman.
2
The Three Valley’s Male Voice Choir kicked off the proceedings with a
rendition of popular songs and Christmas Carols followed by photographs of
our Founder Members with our Anniversary Cake, beautifully decorated by
Joy Lewis. Finally, we all tucked into a grand spread of sandwiches, mince
pies, wine and other goodies!
Many thanks to all the committee members
for the planning and preparations and all those who helped us on the day:
it really was a team effort.
Now for the year ahead with our still flourishing U3A. We have new groups
forming on a regular basis with the latest one being a Ukulele group if we
can find a leader for it. This is an instrument which seems to be having a
revival!!!
I wish you all a very happy, healthy, successful 2015.
Pauline
LONDON REGION OF U3As
3RD NON-RESIDENTIAL SUMMER SCHOOL
28-30 JULY 2015
After a very successful event in 2014, the summer school
is being held once again at St Bride Foundation, off Fleet Street.
There will be a wide range of subjects on the themes of Science, Art,
Literature and History, by way of talks and various workshops. Individual
sessions can be chosen and attendance can be for one, two or three days.
Application forms and full details will be available on the London Region
website: www.u3asites.org.uk/london-region from January 2015.
In the meantime, to register an interest, email: [email protected]
giving name and U3A, and details will be sent direct as soon as they are
available.
3
EDITOR’S NOTE
A very happy New Year to everyone and thank you for your
contributions during the year – whether coerced, or not! Please keep them
coming and let me know if there is anything else you wish included/not
included in the Newsletter. Do feel free to take copies for members who
are not at the monthly meeting to pick them up for themselves. It’s also
available from a link on our website www.enfieldu3a.org.uk or
www.enfieldu3a.org.uk/docs/newsletter.pdf
I’m always very pleased to accept your pieces, particularly news of
what’s going on in your groups – it is your Newsletter. Small items and
drawings are very acceptable as they can be useful to fill up gaps between
larger pieces. They can be sent to me by e-mail –
[email protected], but please don’t be put off if you are not
online. Snail mail is fine, to – 2G Old Park View, Enfield, EN2 7EJ, or ring
me if you have an idea to discuss.
Joy Lewis 020 8372 0067
WELCOME
TO
NEW
MEMBERS
&
VISITORS
On behalf of the Committee, a warm welcome to all new members who have
joined since the last issue of the Newsletter. I hope you will enjoy your
time in our U3A and take every opportunity to take advantage of what is
on offer. Please don’t be shy to make your own suggestions and ask anyone
if you are at all unsure about anything.
CONTACTS:
General enquiries
Avril Harris (m) 07990-976390 (daytime)
e-mail - [email protected]
Group Information Eileen Flack 020-8350-3679
e-mail - [email protected]
Membership fees
Vivienne Ferber 020 8886 4463 (weekdays)
and applications
e-mail [email protected]
4
ANSWERS TO OCTOBER QUIZ
1.
7 spikes representing 7 seas and continents.
2.
1337-1453 (116 years)
3.
Balloon whisk
4.
Cape Canaveral, Florida.
5
Pauline Creer
6.
At a whale weigh station.
7.
The Shard.
8.
Lacrosse
9.
Sir Robert Walpole 1721 to 1742
10.
No one signed it. King John used his seal.
11.
1982
12.
Flat loaf/roll, up to 10 inches across
13.
Charles Hamilton
14.
Walt Disney
15.
Sandy Shaw
16.
Malachi
17.
Roger Federer
18.
Undara Lava Tubes in Topical North Queensland
19.
Thunderbird 4 was Yellow
20.
Nelson’s Column
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNERS:-First prize £25 – Karen
Warnes; Second prize £15 – Wendy James; Third prize £10 shared
equally between Kathy and Jean McGovern
5
WEST END SING-OUT
On 22nd October, 150 U3A members from all over the country arrived at
the Players Theatre to take part in the West End Sing Out. The
Ambassador Theatre Group’s West End Creative Learning team has created
this one day event so U3A members can enjoy the experience of working
together with a professional West End Musical Director (Louisa Ridgeway),
learn a series of songs from various West End Musicals and perform the
songs for a recording, a copy of which is sent to all participants.
It was an excellent day and we had plenty of laughs – especially learning
the words for “You can’t stop the beat” from Hairspray. We were far
more subdued singing the melodic “Feed the birds” from Mary Poppins – as
Louisa advised us to ‘channel Julie (Andrews)’ as we sang. We certainly
came away smiling and feeling uplifted after a great day singing. I would
encourage other members to look out for the next event – you don’t need
to be able to read music – for a very enjoyable day, and you even get
lunch!
Chris Burnikell
(Picture from Third Age Website)
6
MY HOUSE OF LORDS VISIT
I had a really good visit to the House of Lords
recently. The decor was gold and ornate with
beautiful stained glass windows,
rows of red
leather seats, blue and gold carpet, tiled ceilings
and pictures on the wall. There were wood panels
and a lovely throne surrounded by a red and gold
carpet. There were enormous chandeliers and
(pretend) candles.
We were chaperoned to our seats by door-keepers. The (Lady) Lords
speaker was a Baroness who is politically neutral. There were about 20
U3A members in the gallery to watch a 3-way debate which focused on
the question: ‘In a digital society is politics for politicians or is everyone
a decision maker’. This was to celebrate 25 years of digital internet.
There were 3 angles for debate, led by 3 key teams.
The House of Lords had been working with the English Speaking Union to
brief all participants and train the key teams and floor speakers on the
debate options:
1)
We should leave politics to our representatives
-
debated by JonnyGilpin - Ballyclare High School, Dominique Groves St Dominic’s Grammar School for Girls and Joy Montomery - U3A
2)
We should include more expert advice via online
conferences and/or community consultation
George Baker
- debated by
and Reece Dungey from UK Youth and Richard
Johnston - U3A.
7
3)
Most, if not all, local, national and international
decisions should be made by UK citizens collectively
through online voting
- debated by Tanya Kropacheva - London
College of Communication, Brenda Morton - U3A and Francis Waine
- UK Youth.
Jonny, Dominique and Joy said we vote with confidence and for democracy,
we do not trust the internet or computers and we should leave politics to
the politicians.
George, Reece and Richard said we should discuss stuff on the internet
and we would reach a wider community, we should have online debates but
beware of the hackers and that the internet is a brilliant tool.
Tanya, Brenda and Francis said we have lost all trust in politicians, we
should get into the 21st century, the internet is an alternative to old
technology, we need change, a cross on a ballot paper is not enough
anymore and that online voting would be easier for the disabled.
After this there was a discussion on the debate by the floor for about
an hour with some saying politics should be taught in schools, there should
be more say for youngsters as most MPs are in their 50’s and most Peers
are in their 60s. They are too distant from today’s youth. Some said
online voting was too risky, the present system is not working effectively,
youth want more internet interjection and a lot of the older ones said
leave it to the politicians.
Then there was a vote from the floor and 23 voted for online voting,
for leave it to the politicians and 112 for online conferences.
57
Eileen Flack
8
KUNG HEI FAT CHOI
Happy New Year
While the New Year celebration is over for most of us, there is a great
deal to come for the Chinese who will be celebrating the Year of the Goat
for 15 days starting on the 19th February.
Last year, our member, Helena Yiu, made the long trip to Hong Kong to be
with her family. New Year’s Eve dinner is the most important meal for
Chinese families to get together to enjoy their annual reunion. Children
delight in receiving little red envelopes containing lucky money from their
adult relatives. After 12 midnight, fireworks are used to drive away evil.
However, it’s not essential to travel far to be part of the festivities.
Outside Asia, London’s Chinatown claims to
have one of the largest Chinese New Year
celebrations. Highlights this year will be a
party in Trafalgar Square on 22nd February,
with visiting artists from China. Festivities will
spread throughout Chinatown for the whole
period with colourful parades, dragon dance,
lion dance, a New Year Market, puppet show, traditional food and other
fun activities organised to welcome the coming New Year.
The fifteenth day is the Lantern Festival. Paper lanterns in various shapes
are displayed and people normally eat small round glutinous rice dumplings
and attend the Lantern Festival as a final part of their celebrations.
Information provided by Helena Yiu
9
NEWS FROM THE GROUPS
Happy new year everyone and I hope you all had a good Christmas and
didn’t stuff yourselves silly !
Ukulele group still needs a U3A member tutor. We have a new group
list for Advanced Italian,
which will be closing soon if no one is
interested. Beginners Italian - we have enough members to start a group
so I will be in touch with the relevant members soon. German/English
walking group - once a month at Broomfield Park with Monica. Canasta
could do with some spares,
also Shakespeare, Philosophy, knitting,
discussion/current affairs, Moving Images, Bridge and Jenny’s book club
could do with some more members.
Group leaders’
– could you check your members’ cards please to
make sure they are up to date with their subs.
If you want to contact Sara Davis (photography) please don’t leave
messages as she cannot hear them very well – please ‘phone her back.
All the very best for 2015 and I will see you soon. Eileen
WHAT IS THE U3A?
U3A is an organisation of men and women who regularly gather together
to share their experiences, knowledge, philosophies values and ideas.
They learn from each other.
It is a forum for the growth of the human spirit, the development of
friendships and the exploration of ideas to enrich the quality of life in
the Third Age.
10
KNITTING GROUP
Some examples of seasonal projects by the group:
Tops for Innocent Bottles for Age UK,
knitted by Adele Bar
Knitting
for Warm Homes by Frances Pope
A SELECTION OF PHOTOS FROM THE
11
Wendy receiving 2nd Prize for the quiz
Listening to the Choir
Deputy Mayor & Ian MacCannnan
Kathy receiving 3rd prize for the quiz
12
20TH ANNIVERSARY/CHRISTMAS PARTY
Celebration Cake
Some founder members
Three Valleys Choir
Plenty of food
13
WALKING GROUP
This summer we have been covering some of the London Loop.
In July we walked section 16 from Cockfosters to Barnet, a large part of
which skirted the edge of Hadley Common and passed “posh” houses
towards the end!
In SEPTEMBER we walked section 19 from Chingford to Buckhurst
Hill. This was a particularly interesting section as we had an early coffee
stop at the QUEEN ELIZABETH’S HUNTING LODGE then proceeded
through part of Epping Forest with its magnificent trees.
Just before
reaching the M.11. we came upon a beautiful lake in the Roding Valley
which was man- made, having been dug out for the building of the nearby
motorway.
Here we took a group photo.
In NOVEMBER we walked the second half of section 17, from the
Ridgeway, Enfield to the Hertford Road.
Most of this walk was in the
countryside and along footpaths.
We hope to cover the missing bits
during 2015.
14
We are very fortunate in Enfield to have so many parks, country walks and
footpaths at our disposal.
FINALLY – in December we went into London to walk through St. James’s
and Piccadilly, starting in Trafalgar Square then into St. James’s Park for
coffee. We then crossed The Mall, up the Duke of York steps to Pall
Mall and along to St. James’s Palace, a place which most of the 15 of us
had never seen before!!
So great was our timing that, whilst
we were there, a troop of guardsmen,
complete with band, marched round
the
corner
and
into
the
courtyard. We are not quite sure
what they were doing as only the
band left, each member carrying a
grey cloak!!!
A further place of interest was the
wine merchants in St. James’s Street with its ancient weighing scales
(1765) and wall dating back to the time of Henry VIII, not to mention the
free samples which some of the group found!!!
Then there was Piccadilly
and Fortnum & Mason’s, with its frock-coated floor walkers, followed by
five floors of books in Waterstone’s.
We ended the walk at St. James’s Church (Sir Christopher Wren) where
there was a lively craft market in the courtyard.
Pauline Creer
15
GARDENING CLUB
It was beginning to look a bit like Christmas at the November Gardening
Club event, ably organised by Susan Sims.
Nearly thirty members sat at a long
table in Christchurch Church Hall, Chase
Side, Enfield. Bill Mills left the group
and went outside. On his return, he
was very disappointed to learn that,
during his absence, Santa Claus had
visited and handed round a “Secret
Santa” sack of presents! (Was there a
connection between Bill’s absence and
Santa’s entry? No, it is not possible. We believe in Santa!)
Members provided plenty of food for a buffet, and Eileen Flack presided
over the tea bar.
Many people wore Christmas hats –
these ranged from Santa hats to some
really stylish confections of holly and
berries with judicious touches of sparkle.
There was lots of laughter over the quiz and
party games, and people really seemed to
enjoy themselves. What a pity we will all have
to be serious again in 2015 and return to
learning about plants and gardening.
Deirdre Barrie
Mavis
16
BOOK CLUB 3 – CUCKOOS & BEES
We recently reviewed 'The Cuckoo's Calling' by Robert Galbraith (aka J.K.
Rowling) and 'The Secret Life of Bees' by Sue Monk Kidd.
As in her Harry Potter books, J.K.
Rowling romps away in a very readable
style with something funny or exciting
in every chapter.
She has a wry
sense of humour and the hero is more
an anti-hero, living in his office and
showering in the university across the
road, whilst trying to hide these activities from his female assistant. She
is a nice young lady who finds this detective work exciting and uses her
own initiative to get results. Her fiancé disapproves of her unorthodox
undertaking and feels she should get a proper job. The story is about a
suspect suicide of a super model but I found the denouement disappointing.
However, I look forward to further adventures of the weirdly named
Cormoran Strike and his side-kick, Robin.
'The Secret Life of Bees' is along the lines of
'The Help' about the subjugation of black people in
the American South. The time-frame is the 60's
and laws were being passed to give them the same
rights as whites but old habits die hard with the
red-neck white community. Our heroine is Lily,
the 14 year old white daughter of a cruel peach
farmer. She is the victim of her father's physical
and mental cruelty and traumatised by her
mother's tragic death when she was very young.
She is cared for by a kind black woman, Rosaleen
and together they run away and embark on an adventure to piece together
Lily's mother's life before she married. They end up at the house of
17
black sisters, all named after months of the year and who keep bees.
They take them in and Lily and Rosaleen learn all about bee-keeping, love
and fellowship. The ending brought a tear to my eye but I won't tell you
if it was a tear of joy or sorrow in case you read the book. Sue Monk
Kidd has written another book in the same genre 'The Invention of Wings'
which is also heart-warming and even better than 'Bees' as it is based on
a true story.
Jenny Kirby
THEATRE GROUP
Barbara was busy in 2014, as usual. Shows visited were:The Duck House, Jeeves and Wooster, Another Country. Dirty Rotten
Scoundrels, The Pajama Game, Relative Values, Handbagged, Daytona,
Bakersfield Mist, The Play That Goes Wrong, and White Christmas.
The group had to contend with a tube strike one day and a taxi strike on
another.
Let Barbara know what you would like to see in 2015.
18
THEATRE SEATS FOR SENIORS
An old man lay reclined across three seats in the cinema.
When an attendant came by and noticed this, he
whispered, "I'm sorry sir, but you're only allowed one seat."
The old man mumbled something but didn't budge. The usher became
more impatient.
"Sir, if you don't get up, I'm going to have to call the manager."
This time, the old man just groaned.
The attendant marched briskly back up the aisle. In a moment, he
returned with the manager. Together, the two of them tried a
number of times to move the dishevelled old man, but with no
success. Finally, they summoned the police.
The Police officer surveyed the situation briefly and asked, "All right
then, sir, what's your name?" "Fred," the old man moaned.
"Thank you, Fred. Now, where are you from?" asked the policeman.
With terrible pain in his voice, and without moving a muscle,
Fred moaned, "The balcony..."
19
FREEDOM PASS TRIPS
Doreen Chester, who had lived in
Walthamstow, didn’t believe me when I
said we were to visit Walthamstow
Village. “There’s no such place”, she
said. However, she was happy to be
proved wrong when we visited Vestry
House Museum in the heart of a quiet
enclave of charming Georgian houses and
cottages away from the noise and bustle
of commercial/industrial Walthamstow.
On a piece of land, purchased by the Vestry for £6, the house was built
in 1730 at a cost of £343.12s.3d. One room was used for Vestry
meetings and the rest was occupied by paupers who had to earn their keep
by untwisting strands of thick rope known as ‘picking oakum’, a common
form of hard labour at that time. The inscribed stone plaque at the
entrance reminded them "if any would not work neither should he eat".
The house has been put to various other uses over the years and was a
police station at one time. The police cell has been preserved with original
bench and toilet and even a ‘prisoner’ inside. It had also been used for
private occupation before being handed over to the Council and opened as a
museum in 1931.
It is now a charming local museum. One room has been set up as a typical
Victorian parlour and there are many exhibits of domestic life, toys and
games, many of them manufactured in Walthamstow.
Costumes are
displayed in a room lined with 16th century panelling taken from Essex
House when it was demolished in 1933.
In the garden, the planting is inspired by the garden's history as an
eighteenth-century workhouse garden, with an emphasis on useful plants
including vegetables, herbs and dye plants.
20
Queen Elizabeth’s Hunting Lodge
Inspired by a talk on Epping Forest at
one of our monthly meetings, we took
the 313 bus to Chingford to visit the
Lodge and were rewarded with a
fascinating glimpse of Tudor life.
The three floors of the building each have a
themed display. So, on the ground floor, we
were treated to a mouth-watering display of
dishes which would have been served to the
nobility while the lower classes would have had
to be content with a bowl of pottage.
Tudor fashion is displayed on the first floor and
we found ready models to try on some of the
clothes.
We enjoyed spectacular views across the forest
from the second floor windows, and marvelled at
the puzzle of the timber roof construction. It was
very cleverly done and there are samples of joints
for visitors to attempt putting them together.
It was quite an experience to soak up the atmosphere of this incredible
historic building nearly 500 years after it was first built.
Joy Lewis
21
SUBJECT GROUPS
Subject
Board games/cards group
Bolivia Canasta
Book Club
Book Club(2)
Book Club (3)
Book Club (4)
Bridge Intermediate/Adv
Discussion Group
Group Leader
Adele Barr
Julia Manda
Soo Hynes
Penny Gorman
Jenny Kirby
Chris Burnikell
Janet McQueen
Eileen Flack and
Ann Pretty
Joy Lewis
Day and time
1st Tuesday 1.30pm
3rd Tuesday 2.00pm
3rd Monday 2.30pm
1st Thursday 2.00pm
3rd Monday 2.00pm
1st Thursday 10.30am
Mondays (alt.) 2.30 pm
1st Friday 11.00am
French (2nd year)
French Intermediate I
French Intermediate II
Fringe Theatre Visits
Gardening
Genealogy
German
Pam Kennedy
Joyce Bell
Deirdre Barrie
Chris Burnikell
Sue Sims
Lilian Gibbens
German/English-speaking
Walking Group
History I
History II
Knitting
London History
Monica Collinson
London Walks
Joe Studman
Mahjong I
Mahjong II
Moving Image Club
Philosophy
Photography
Play Reading
Pub Lunches
Margaret Mitchell
Pam Gilling
Judy Hunt
Michael Donnan
Sara Davis
Marianne Lanjri
Sheila Lamonte
Alt. Tuesdays 2.00pm
2nd & 4th Tues 2.00pm
2nd & 4th Tues 2.00pm
As arranged and notified
4th Wednesday 2.00pm
Varied dates
Each Monday, 2.30pm except 2nd
in the month,
Each Saturday 10.30am at
Grovelands Park
Monday(alt) 2.00pm
Tuesday(alt) 10.30am
3rd Wednesday 2.00 pm
Wednesdays (as arranged and
notified)
1st Thursdays 11.00am (on the
dates notified)
4th Monday 2.00pm
4th Monday 2.00pm
1st Tuesday 2.30pm
3rd Tuesdays 2.30pm
Friday (last) 10.30am
2nd Thurs 10.30 – 12.30
2nd & 4thTues 12.00pm
Freedom Pass Trips
David Child
Colin Field
Colin Field
Eileen Flack
Stuart Harvey
As arranged & notified
22
Rehearsals – Barbican/LSO
Scrabble I
Scrabble II
Scrabble III
Scrabble IV
Shakespeare Class
Sunday Lunch Group
Theatre Visits
Walking Group
Jean Fawcett
Josie Smith
Edna Rogers
Pauline Creer
Jenny Kirby
Brian Keatley
Monica Collinson
Barbara Saunders
Pauline Creer
As arranged & notified
Every Tuesday 2.00p.m.
Every Friday 2.00p.m.
2nd Friday 2.00pm
4th Monday 2.00 pm
1st & 3rd Wednesday 10.30 a.m
As arranged and notified
As arranged & notified
2nd Thursdays 10.30am
QUICK CALENDER OF GROUPS
Sunday
Mondays
Tuesdays
Wednesdays
Thursdays
Fridays
As arranged
and notified
Sunday Lunch group
am Genealogy;
pm Book Club I; Book Club III; Int./Adv. Bridge;
German; History; Scrabble IV; Mahjong
am History II
pm Board games/cards group; Bolivia Canasta; French (2nd yr);
French Intermediate I and II; Moving Image; Philosophy;
Pub Lunches; Scrabble I
am London History (occasional course); Shakespeare
pm Gardening; Knitting;
am Walks; London Walks; Play-reading; Handicrafts; Book Club IV
pm Book Club II
am Discussion Group; Photography
pm Scrabble II; Scrabble III;
Freedom Pass Trips; Barbican Rehearsals (LSO); Theatre visits;
Fringe Theatre visits; Sunday Lunch Group
Should you find that your desired group/s is/are full, how about starting your own?
Many have started in this way. We will help you all the way! U3A is a self-help
organisation after all.
If you have a skill or hobby in which you think others may be interested, contact the
Groups Co-ordinator on 020 8350 3679 or enter your choice on the Wish List.
Other subject groups can and may be formed according to interest, demand and
if leaders can be found.
The only limiting factor is YOUR ENTHUSIASM!
In U3A, the sky’s the limit!
Please note that, for protection of privacy, Group Leaders’ telephone numbers are not
included in the list of subjects in the Newsletter. However, new members receive this
information with their ‘Welcome Pack’. Eileen will always be willing to help with
information if you do not have/have lost this.
Ed .
23
PUB LUNCHES to June 2015
We have a core of regulars, who talk about their
activities and generally put the world to rights
over a convivial meal, but we like to see new
faces and you don’t have to be a member of U3A
to join us on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays in the
month. We are early birds and meet from Noon.
See you there.
Cheers!
For information telephone Sheila on 020 8886.
7873
2015
Jan 27
Cricketers, Chase Side Place, Enfield
B.DP
Feb 10
Feb 24
Railway Bell, East Barnet Rd, Barnet
Crown & Horseshoes, Horseshoe Lane, Enfield
B.NP
B.NP
Mar 10 Fishmongers Arms, Winchmore Hill Rd, N.14
Mar 24 Ridgeway Tavern, Ridgeway, Enfield
B.U.P.
B.P
Apr 14 Alfred Herring, Green Lanes, N13
Apr 28 Moon Under Water, Chase Side, Enfield
B.NP
B.DP
May 12 Beehive, Little Bury St. N9
May 26 George, The Town, Enfield
B.P
B.T.NP
June 9 Stag & Hounds, Bury St. West, N9
June 23 Cherry Tree, The Green, N14
B.P
B.P
Key: P= Parking; NP=No Parking; DP=Difficult |Parking; B=Bus; T=Train
U=Underground
24