ROMSEY and District
Low-down in the Lockdown Bulletin No.11 - 21 October 2020 BULLETIN TIME is here again! However, your Communications team is now ‘taking a short break’ and so there will NOT be any bulletins next month. You can though, still look forward to your November Newsletter, which will be emailed on Monday 16 November. If you still receive a printed copy, this will be posted to you or, if you are on a local ‘Romsey route’, will be hand delivered by one of our intrepid delivery team - out in all weathers and using it as a means of keeping active! (There might be a bit of editorial licence there!!) Whatever you are doing until our Low-down in the Lockdown returns in early December, please do take good care of yourselves in these difficult times. Stay Safe, keep Active & keep Well.
CONGRATULATIONS! Councillor Dorothy Baverstock BEM
YOUR NEWS We’ve loved hearing about what you have been doing recently. You will be able to read Yvonne Ward’s amazing story in the Newsletter (we couldn’t do it justice here). It’s about ‘getting in touch’ and has a very happy ending! Other members have regular video chats across continents with family or friends. Linda Smith has been busy with several craft projects and a holiday in Devon. Not to be outdone, husband Roy appeared on TikTok (dancing with a grandson), and finished his second novel ‘Homeward Bound’ (available on Kindle) “ ...dedicated to an elderly gentleman who gave a talk at one of my local U3A meetings…” Thanks for the mention Roy! Alan Tiller is learning to play the ukulele, like several of our members. Thank you!
We are delighted to learn that Dorothy has been awarded a British Empire Medal in the recent Queen’s Birthday Honours, for the well deserved recognition of her many years of service to the community in the Test Valley. Read her story here. Dorothy was one of the people instrumental in setting up R & D U3A in 1999, recognising the needs of the growing senior community in our town. For 21 years our organisation has flourished, leading to the creation of Romsey Archway U3A and now with over 1,100 members and 102 interest groups between them. We send our congratulations to Dorothy, from whose vision U3A in Romsey has grown into a thriving community, much appreciated and enjoyed by the ever-increasing number of ‘third-age’ citizens.
REMEMBRANCE DAY
Remembrance Day was first established on the 11th day of the 11th month in 1919 to mark the end of hostilities of the First World War. Now, of course, we remember all those who have lost their lives in this and all armed conflicts since. Despite the difficulties that Covid-19 restrictions present, Romsey & District U3A will lay a wreath at the Romsey War Memorial on Remembrance Sunday to say thank you for their sacrifice. Some 100 men of Romsey lost their lives in WWI. Men like: * Private Stanley George Elliott, Hampshire Regiment Died: 28/02/1918 (aged 19): ROMSEY CEMETERY, United Kingdom, Son of Joseph and Annie Elliott, of 26, Winchester Rd., * Private J S Tucker, Royal Army Service Corps, Died: 19/02/1919 (aged 27),: HALLE COMMUNAL CEMETERY, Belgium, Son of Edwin Charles and Sarah Tucker, of 1, Church Place, * Ordinary Seaman Coombs Royal Navy, HMS Tartar Died: 17/06/1917 (aged 18) RINGWOOD CEMETERY, United Kingdom Son of Elijah and Jane Coombs, of 59, The Hundred. These three are chosen at random from A street near you where you can look for more – near where you live now, perhaps in the vicinity you were born, etc. - or you could search here for a photo of the CWGC headstone of someone connected to your family.
BLUE MOON on HALLOWEEN Each month normally sees one full moon, but October 2020 will have two. The first full moon on 1 October was a Harvest Moon, so called for being the closest to the autumn equinox. A second full moon in the same calendar month is called a Blue Moon and, for the first time since 2001, it appears on 31 October, The term Blue Moon can be traced to the early 1900s, hence the phrase ‘once in a blue moon’ - meaning something that occurs very rarely - not that it turns a shade of blue or looks any different! Blue Moons occur once every 2 - 3 years but are even rarer on HALLOWEEN when they only happen every 18 - 19 years. Between 1900 and 2100, a Halloween blue moon will occur only 12 times: 1906, 1925, 1944, 1955, 1974, 1993, 2001, 2020, 2039, 2058, 2077, and 2096. In a rare treat, the 2020 Halloween full moon will be visible to the entire world, rather than just parts of it, for the first time since World War II. Page 1 of 2