Romsey & District
Low-down AFTER Lockdown Bulletin No. 22 - 15 September 2021 Welcome, publication of this Bulletin coincides with what we hope will be our last online-only monthly meeting before we return to Crosfield Hall in October. I think that’s an exciting prospect, I hope you do too but I recognise that not all members will feel comfortable about meeting in large numbers indoors. Rest assured, in the interest of your and all members’ health, safety and welfare, we will be putting special measures in place for our future in-person monthly meetings. We will check the temperature of everyone before entering the main hall and ask you to use the hand sanitisers we will have available. Chairs will be spaced 1 metre apart and we’ll have windows open to provide good ventilation. Everyone will be encouraged to wear a mask. Your committee feel that this is in your interest and the interest of all other members attending. For the first of these meetings we will not be offering refreshments at the end preferring to take a cautious ‘step by step’ approach to reintroducing the full experience we know you have come to enjoy. When we have finalised the arrangements I will write to you personally with details. I was so pleased to meet and talk, face to face, with over 60 members during our Coffee in the park on 19 August, and only last week, to share a Tea in the Park with nearly 50. As you know the success of our u3a is dependent on a large number of people who willingly give of their time to organise these meetings and events, to run interest groups, organise visits and trips, produce newsletters and bulletins like this and so on. My thanks to all of them! Kay - your Chair
Diaries
U3A diaries are now available from the Third Age Trust. If you order your own from the ‘national office’ it will cost you £6.99. If you place an order through Romsey and District u3a they will cost £4.00. Please order from Trisha secretary@romseyu3a.org.uk or 07880 645683 (leave a message if necessary) and, ideally, make a BACS payment to ‘Romsey & District u3a’ Sort Code: 20-97-01, Account Number: 20473111 using as your reference your first name & surname or membership number. Alternatively send your cheque to Romsey and District u3a, 2 Windfield Drive, ROMSEY, SO51 7RL. Either way, please place your order with me by 6 October. Trisha - Secretary
Children's Best Beano joke 2021: What did the face mask say to the mouth? Let me cover for you!
Travel Group Meetings Have Moved Due to u3a Risk Assessments we can no longer meet at the Comrades Club. Having looked into various meeting rooms, we have decided that Abbotswood Community Centre has all the requirements we need and has satisfied all necessary Government Legislation for safe Covid practice. It has a large car park and the “Route 66” bus from Romsey leaves at 20 mins past the hour and stops outside the Community Centre. Return to Romsey is 50 mins past the hour from the same stop.
Monthly meetings will be on the 2nd Thursday, 12.30pm - 2.30pm until further notice, starting on 14 October, then 11 November and 9 December. As you can see we have had to change venue, day and time. We have taken into consideration all other u3a Groups’ dates, day and times of meetings. We apologise for the disruption and hope that members accept our choice. Travel group committee
Groups restarting It is not just the monthly meetings that are restarting, many groups are too. Some are changing their meeting times to fit with the availability of rooms in venues better suited to the ventilation and spacing requirements whilst Covid remains a present threat. All group leaders have been asked to complete new risk management forms but, in a change to the previous procedures, they will now brief group members verbally or in emails to avoid the need to copy and provide group members with their written assessments. Group leaders who require any assistance in completing risk management plans or finding suitable new venues should contact Tim Holmes 01794 517604 or Dave Lovell 01794 515316. Our thanks to group leaders who do so much to provide members with an enticing range of interest groups and activities. Contact Margaret groups@romseyu3a.org.uk or ring Jo on 01794 514134 .
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Dates for your diary On 3 November at 10.30am, Shirley Rogers, leader of the Architecture and Local History Group will be presenting some local history: ‘Boys, books and bridegrooms - the Romsey building that links them all’. This talk will, we think, be particularly interesting to members who have moved to Romsey in recent years. It will provide an interesting insight into the early years of elementary education in the building which now hosts our library. Meeting connection details will be emailed to members nearer the time. Our General Meeting in Crosfield Hall on 17 November will be a talk by Tim Craven ‘Thelwell Country: the life and career of an artist and cartoonist.’ It will trace the life, passions and artistic development of Norman Thelwell from his early years and formative wartime experiences to his subsequent rise to become one of the nation’s best known and loved cartoonists of the era. Marion – Programme Secretary
Group Leaders needed
Post Card collecting
The following groups are looking for someone to run their activity, some now and some very shortly. 1. Recorders 2. Craft 3. Luncheon group 4. Walking
Thanks to our member, Paul Brinklow, for presenting a fascinating insight into Post Card collecting in our all-member meeting on 7 September. Do you have a box of old cards in the loft or at the back of a cupboard? Did you know that some cards which at first may look dull and uninteresting ‘come to life’ when a light is shone behind them? Here’s one of Paul’s.
If you are a current member of any of these groups or not, or new to u3a and would like to help organise them, please contact Margaret at margaretmarchbank@btinternet.com Help will be provided by Jo or Margaret to get you going and existing group members will also be available to support you, so don’t hesitate to volunteer because of a lack of experience. Many thanks.
See more at Postcard Pages
Wine Appreciation ...enjoying further "studies". A wonderful variety of Portuguese wine accompanied by delicious tapas in the delightful setting of Lynda and Steve's amazing garden in Middlebridge St.
Jan M
ALL END IN ‘END’ - Answers (Part 2) 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Lend 18 Hyperextend Send 19 Amend Extend 20 Spend Legend 21 Condescend Pretend 22 Blend Reprehend 23 Fiend Transcend 24 Upend 25 Recommend
Newsletter Correction Apologies to Val Smith, who has pointed out that her talk to Social and General History (see Aug. newsletter, p15) was about Rationing in WW2, not the Women's Institute. Pat Batchelor
Self-Care September Find time for self-care. It’s not selfish, it’s essential. Click here to see September’s calendar.
All of our publications are on our website: romseyu3a.org.uk Page 2 of 2