TRUSTEE NOMINATION FORM

For election to the Romsey & District u3a for the year 2023-2024

Charity No. 1082501

All nominations need to be agreed by the nominee, proposer and seconder and delivered by email or post to:

Trisha Meredith secretary@romseyu3a.org.uk

Secretary Romsey & District u3a

2 Windfield Drive Romsey SO51 7RL

By no later than 29th April 2023

Any queries contact : The Secretary Trisha Meredith on 07880 645683 or email

BY EMAIL:

Using the template below, email your full name and the names and email addresses of your proposer and seconder to secretary@romseyu3a.org.uk

Ask your proposer and seconder to email secretary@romseyu3a.org.uk using the relevant template below

[Nominee Template]

I [name] ……………….. ………………apply for election as [trustee/post] ………………………… of Romsey & District u3a Committee for the year 2023-2024

My proposer is [name] [email address]

My seconder is [name] [email address]

[Proposer Template]

I [name] nominate [candidate name] for election to Romsey & District u3a as [trustee/post]

[Seconder Template]

I [name] support the nomination of [candidate name] for election to the Romsey & District u3a as [trustee/post] ……………………………….

BY POST: Please PRINT all entries in CAPITAL LETTERS

Position

Nominee

Proposer

Seconder

Nominee’s signature of agreement

Date

Interest Group Updates/News : February 2023

Natural History : unfortunately this group has had to fold due to lack of attendance. Thank you to Michael Sleigh for his enthusiasm and interest in setting up the group during the pandemic and for organising trips & meetings to study the natural world.

Music Appreciation has also ceased as a group, but our thanks to Michael Perfect for taking it on just before the pandemic.

The following 3 groups have all had a change of leader : we would like to thank the outgoing leaders for all their hard work and dedication in making their groups successful : Shirley Rogers, Jennifer Jarman & Mary Hill.

Architecture & Local History

Mah Jong

English Literature

The new leaders are Glenda Taylor & Kath Feely (Architecture), Margaret Ellis (Mah Jong) and Sue Brookes (English Literature). Our thanks go to them for offering their services to run their respective groups and we wish them every success for the future.

Snappers : following the retirement of the leader of the group, Mike Driscoll, we are looking for someone to take on the running of Snappers. The group has been very successful over many years thanks to Mike’s enthusiasm and dedication in helping members with their photography skills. None of the current group wish to take on the role of leader so we are looking for someone who is interested in photography and would be prepared to undertake an administrative function in running the group. It could become a self-help group and so it doesn’t need to be an expert in photography to help the group continue. Please speak to Margaret or Jo at the monthly meetings or contact us as below if you think you can help.

Suggested new groups : there have been some requests for us to start either a Scrabble group or possibly a mixed board games group (similar to the old Games Friday). If you are interested in either joining such a group or indeed offering to run it, please speak to Margaret or Jo.

New Theatre Group : This is now up and running and meeting once a month in central Romsey. It currently is at maximum capacity, but anyone interested in joining, should give their name to Margaret or Jo, to see if we can start another group.

Crime Fiction Book Club : this group successfully started at the end of last year and is now at capacity. Anyone wishing to join this or another book group, please contact Jo or Margaret.

Margaret : margaretmarchbank@btinternet.com

Jo : 01794 514134

Book Worms

Last year we met at our monthly meeting for the first three months via Zoom, for the rest of the year we met either at the White Horse Hotel or the Old House at Home. The books we read were for example;

 "All the Light We Cannot See " by Anthony Doerr, "

 "The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle " by Stuart Turton

 " The Salt Path" by Raynor Winn

 " Cold Comfort Farm " by Stella Gibbons

With marks given out of ten after much lively discussion. Our group now numbers ten so there are currently no vacancies.

Kaye Hannah, Group Leader

Bridge for Improvers

The Bridge for Improvers Group meet each Wednesday afternoon at Braishfield Village Hall at 1.45p.m. We would welcome new members, but askthattheyhavesomepreviousexperience playingbridge.Please contact me for more information. 01794 524457.

Lindsay Dunford, Group Leader

Wine Group Christmas Gathering

On Friday evening 9th December, 18 members of the wine group enjoyed our Christmas gathering: six wines were tasted over the course of the evening. Finger foods were served throughout the evening with a quiz thrown in for good measure. There was a draw where everyone went home with a present.

We finished the evening with The Twelve days of Christmas’ sing along. All members were actively involved, singing along and everyone left feeling in the Christmas spirit.

Derek Morley, Group Leader

Pickleball Group

Our indoor group has expanded and we now play twice a week on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in the sports hall at Mountbatten School each session is one hour 17:00 – 18:00 meeting outside the sports hall at 16:45 to set up the courts. The cost is £2 a session and all equipment is provided.

We welcome members who would like to come along and give it a try and to do this please email Trisha Meredith either via the u3a website or trishameredith54@gmail.com

Trisha Meredith, Group Leader

Architecture and Local History Group

Abbey Houses

Margaret Massie and Joan Parsons researched and prepared this talk for our meeting in November 2022. An investigation of nos. 11-27 The Abbey, showed that the buildings were developed from a Georgian town house and a brewery and these buildings formed the mediaeval nunnery. We looked mainly at nos. 15, 23 and 25.

The roof timbers of no. 15 have been dated to c.1230 and c.1340. The house has four-foot-thick walls front and back and the cellar (actually under house no.13) has a vaulted ceiling.

Romsey Local History Society found a delightful article for us written in 1983 for the Romsey and District Society by Mrs Aldyth Wellington about her father “Billy” Williams. Mrs Wellington was a past president of the society and had also been the town’s first lady mayor. She describes how, in the 1930’s, he renovated and embellished no. 23 in the 1930s with the well-known dormer window, sundial and Maltese crosses as well as the fanciful chimney pots and rear copper roof. Temple Buildings, nos. 21, 23, 25 and 27 were built in the early 19th century Behind them, across a courtyard, they have older rooms with flint walls. These incorporate parts of the late 18th century brewery buildings.

Illustrations:-

1. Plan of nunnery - the building in front of the cloisters was the nuns’ refectory. Drawn by John Hodgson, © Test Valley Archaeological Trust

2. Plan illustrating 1980s excavations and showing position of nos. 11 -27 The Abbey © TVAT

3. Photo inside no. 15 showing thick vaulted roof of cellar

4. Photos showing exterior of no. 23

5. Photo of room at the rear of no. 25 showing old flint walls and fittings

Can you make the link between Fox Town, Mead, Abbey, Sadlers, Greatbridge, Bark, Burnt, Test, Rivermead and Fox on the one hand and Corn, Fulling, Paper, Flax, Grist, Leather and Wood on the other? It is, of course, the names of Romsey mills and the variety of goods they produced - possible only because of the River Test which underpinned the economy of Romsey for centuries. Jo Morgan gave a thoroughly researched talk on the history of THE MILLS OF ROMSEY at our December meeting. The LTVAS booklet ‘Romsey Mills & Waterways’ inspired the talk which included various drawings and plates from it, with acknowledgement. Apart from mention of three mills in the Domesday Book of 1086, the first reference in a deed crops up in the 13th century. This reference strongly suggests that a fulling mill was in operation in the Mill Lane area and would have belonged to the Abbess of Romsey. Fulling was a finishing process for woollen cloth whereby it was cleaned of grease and oil, then pounded until it resembled a blanket.

Corn is perhaps what we immediately associate with a mill and this was the main product of most Romsey mills until the 18th century. The mills were owned and controlled by the Abbesses until the dissolution of the nunnery in 1539. By a lease of Mead Mill in 1434, a quarterly rent of just over £10 was to be paid to the Abbey together with 450 shafteylings (small eels) and 30 skyvers (large eels), a traditional form of payment.

Fire was a constant threat but when Mead Mill and Burnt Mill needed rebuilding after a fire in 1756, it gave an opportunity for a change of use and Mead Mill became a successful paper mill. Paper making used pounding techniques similar to those of fulling, so was a suitable successor to the waning cloth trade. Test Mill also became a sophisticated paper mill, making its owner, the Skeats family very wealthy. They were able to produce paper with watermarks as was Rivermead, Romsey’s earliest paper making mill (1712). Sawmilling and leatherboard making were added in the 19th century.

In 1813 a flax mill was built alongside the Abbey Corn Mill. The complex gave valuable employment until 1925 when fire claimed one of the mills. La Sagesse Convent erected a new building in 1928 and used the existing water power to drive two turbines supplying electricity to the whole site for many years. Other mills also installed turbines to modernise their operations.

Sadlers Mill, named after an early miller, is perhaps the best known. It housed both a corn mill and fulling mill. In 1745, it was sold to Lord Palmerston who erected the present mill building. An adjacent mill was used for leather dressing and later became a sawmill. Tanneries were essential for curing hides. Bark from cork trees was crushed into a coarse powder under a heavy wheel before being steeped in liquid to produce tannin in which the hides were kept in it for several months. Tanneries produced noxious effluents and were located downstream of the town. They existed in Romsey from the 13th to the 20th century; two were housed in Middlebridge Street.

Town Mill, Greatbridge Mill and Fox Mill remained essentially corn mills. Until it was burnt down in 1890, Fox Mill was served by Tadburn Lake whose water flow was unreliable. Water was supplemented from the canal but when that closed, the mill became unviable. Sold to the Broadlands Estate, a new building was erected and used for various industrial purposes.

After 900 years of providing the motive power for the town mills, the River Test, which had been diverted into braids and streams, used and sometimes abused, was left to flow gently into the sea.

How We Built Britain Episode 1 The East: A New Dawn

Presented by David Dimbleby for the BBC

For our January 2023 meeting, we watched a DVD from the 2007 BBC series on How We Built Britain, where David Dimbleby journeys through 1,000 years of our history, discovering the buildings that have made us who we are. The first episode, The East: A New Dawn, explores the East of England, which in medieval times was the richest place in Britain and home to some of our most spectacular buildings:

• He climbs the 288 steps to the top of the West Tower of the Norman built Ely Cathedrala feat of engineering that took over 300 years to build - a “paradise on earth for god not man”.

• He explores magnificent castles, including Headingham Castle built in 1140 for the de Vere family; one of the 500 castles built in a generation.

• He learns how to build a medieval barn

• He goes on a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham.

• He experiences life in a great hall

• He learns how the Black Death turned England upside down and how, as sheep farming grew, this led to new towns being built for the wool trade, and the rise of the middle class. He visited Lavenham, famous for its blue dye, as an example.

• The journey ended in the famous Kings College Chapel, Cambridge founded by Henry VI in 1446, with its delicate stone work, soaring light from the stained glass windows and the largest fan vaulted ceiling in the world.

It was a very informative and entertaining hour and we are looking forward to seeing the other five episodes in the series at future indoor meetings.

Shirley Rogers, Group Leader

Calling All Group Leaders

Important Meeting

WEDNESDAY 26th APRIL AT 2.00PM in CROSFIELD HALL

IF YOU ARE A GROUP LEADER OF ONE OF OUR INTEREST GROUPS, PLEASE ENDEAVOUR TO ATTEND

History, Social & General Group

The history group meets once a month, normally on the third Monday morning, in the centre of Romsey. Once we had mastered Zoom, we managed to keep the group going during the lockdown, but we are very much appreciating meeting in person again. The usual pattern is to have a talk by one of the members, with time for coffee, chat and questions. In December, however, for a change we had an informal discussion on the monarchy which seemed to be enjoyed by everyone despite a range of different viewpoints. A vote at the end showed that out of 12 members present, 8 were in favour of keeping the monarchy and 3 against, with one abstaining.

In January we returned to our normal format with a talk entitled MysteryMan fromtheMidlands This turned out to be Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802), a man no -one had heard of including the speaker until she visited his house in Lichfield which is now a museum. In the latter part of the 18th century, Darwin was famous throughout Britain as a doctor, inventor and poet, and he turned down more than one invitation to become physician to George III. He campaigned for an end to slavery, encouraged girls’ education, supported revolutions and furthered technology. He was a founder member of the Lunar Society which was an important driving force behind the Industrial Revolution, although the Establishment tended to regard its members as dangerous free-thinkers. They were business men, scientists and inventors who met for lively conversation, debating and sharing ideas; they worked very much together rather than as rivals. Among Darwin’s inventions were a canal lift, speaking and copying machines, a horizontal windmill and a carriage steering mechanism. He was ahead of his time in many things, including his views on evolution and the origins of life, which he wrote about in his poetic works. Sadly this caused him to be ridiculed and his reputation suffered, so by the end of the century he was almost forgotten. Erasmus Darwin and his friend Josiah Wedgwood the potter were the grandfathers of Charles Darwin, who was born at the right time for his ideas to be taken seriously.

The subjects covered in our history group are many and varied, and members are not under any pressure to do a talk. Anyone who wants to join us will be very welcome.

Pat & Patsy

Birdwatching Walk at Lymington Nature Reserve, Maiden Lane, 25th January

The 25th of January did not have an auspicious start. The Met Office forecast had announced a yellow warning of freezing fog and temperatures hovering around zero Centigrade so, the seven members of the R&D Birdwatching Group who arrived at the rendezvous point wore numerous layers of thermals and an interesting assortment of winter apparel. This was our first chance to notch up as many species as we could on our 2023 group year list. With this in mind we, were off to a raring start with a good handful of species recorded before we left our parking spaces!

Entering the reserve, we all had a lovely sighting of a typical reed bed species. A ‘small brown job’ was grasping the stem of a Common reed and was feeding on the feathery seed heads. Was it a female sparrow? The underparts were streaky, so no. Was it a dunnock? Surely the tail was too notched and had a bit of white in it, so no again. We finally agreed that it was a female reed bunting which made sense for the location and food source.

Eight Acres Pond revealed teal, wigeon and shovelers drifting around in the mist. Our next sighting of interest was the spectacle of a very fine grey heron tackling a huge eel. It had brought the eel onto the pond edge within a few metres of us and was trying to maneuver the fish into a position where it could be gulped down the heron’s long neck. Adding to the drama, we had a couple of impressive flyovers by flocks of Brent geese in typical V formation. Their chorus of deep, croaking sounds were very conversational. I wonder what they were saying to each other.

Normandy lagoon was iced over and there were only a few waders looking quite sorry for themselves. We scoured the seaward side of the bank with our binoculars. Swirls of fog rose atmospherically just above the water’s surface. Hot coffee and biscuits at the corner bench sustained us for the next hour of our walk. Back along the lagoon we latched onto a couple of greenshanks and redshanks.

Retracing our steps to Eight Acre Pond, the shout of Kingfisher went up for the second time that morning and what a bird it was! Very obligingly it perched on a fencepost 10 metres away and took up a variety of poses for our photographers. It flew up and down a bit to give us a flash of its neon back and then came back to perch again. We saw three separate kingfishers on this walk which would have made the day worthwhile despite the weather. However, we had another treat to come.

Birders say that when visiting a reserve you often see the best birds in the car park! As we arrived back at our cars Ed spotted a tiny bird flitting about in the ivy above the ditch a few metres away. Was it a wren? We all got on to it and we could see that it had a brilliant streak of yellow along the top of its head. Was it a goldcrest? After it showed well, we could clearly make out the black and white stripes across its eye area. A firecrest, then. What a wonderful end to a very chilly morning and, with 45 species on our group list, a great start to our birding year.

The next walk is Wed Feb 22nd: Acres Down, New Forest for displaying goshawks.

Photos by Sue Lambert (stonechat, reed bunting, grey heron and kingfisher) and Simon Nickols(greenshank)

Report Marion Slattery, Group Leader

Wendy Jelbert’s Quarterly Update

Another year starting for all of us. Hopefully, with most of you there will be a renewal of thoughts on how to generate meaningful activities of joy and purpose. Creativity and well-being go hand in hand, hence the start of our art classes for 2023 in Linden Road in Romsey earlier this month. If you feel there is a hesitancy, please either visit our wonderful local library to browse their art books, or my website at www.wendyjelbert.co.uk or ring me on 01794 518211 for advice and/or private classes. (Please leave a message if I am not available). At Hilliers Gardens I am holding 4 different art courses throughout the year. Two of them are for beginners. Acrylics in March and Watercolours in July. The other two are for more experienced pupils: Stunning Skies, and A Seascape in Collage, in October.

During the warmer months last year, when we had several quite blissful celebration garden parties, I discovered a quick cake decorating method, that was both very personal and fun. It was much quicker than icing an elaborate cake! …. call them my 'Sketch Cakes’ . Here, I am holding one, using a supermarket’s Rainbow Decorating Icing set of 6 coloured cake icing tubes, that you or a child, could gently squeeze into any patterns over your cake area! Quick, fun and personal!

We held a couple of exhibitions at Hilliers Gardens last year, and the organisers decided to run a competition for the most Arty Outfit both for the artists and the visitors Here I am having fun, demonstrating at the show wearing my coloured trousers!

During the later part of last year, we re-painted and varnished our large Wooden WINSOR AND NEWTON PALETTE house sign. Here is my husband Paul holding it. Now it is ready to be re-instated over our studio, for our Open Studio Show this summer in August.

Best wishes

Wendy Jelbert www.wendyjelbert.co.uk

Jeff Delaney has sent in another fascinating article of his musical recollections.

16th January 1938

A bit before my time, but in the popular music world this date is the stuff of legend. Here’s why

It was 1937 and in America, dance/swing bands were still very popular and one of the finest was the Benny Goodman Orchestra. They had just spent four years of constant touring and broadcasting – they were at their peak and halfway through a short residency at a posh New York hotel. In December that year Benny’s publicist, Wynn Nathanson, had the bold idea that Benny and the band should play Carnegie Hall. The impresario Sol Hurok loved the plan and was very enthusiastic. When they approached Benny Goodman with the idea, he had reservationshe thought it wouldn’t work, or words to that effect. For Benny believed that his band was a dance band and people went to his shows to dance. He couldn’t see any possibility that the public would buy a ticket to sit in a chair all night. Also, he thought that Carnegie Hall wasn’t the right venue – it was for serious music and visiting symphony orchestras, not for jazz/dance/ swing music Benny said no.

But after constant badgering, he eventually and reluctantly agreed. The Hall was booked. He was then amazed to hear that all the seats (2760) had sold out within days. This added to Benny’s worries – what could he do to make this concert event special for this audience. He even drafted in extra musicians from other bands, including Count Basie. If it became a giant jam session it would be the best. As the night was getting near Benny even cancelled some show dates so that he and the band could rehearse in Carnegie Hall and overcome the famous tricky acoustics.

Poor Benny was also being nagged to agree to record the whole event. He didn’t like the idea. They had released live recordings before; some were OK and some weren’t. But again at the last minute he gave in, so a single microphone was hastily suspended over the entire band and was connected by telephone wire to a recording studio half a mile away.

Showtime! The scene in the street outside Carnegie Hall was pandemonium with people still trying to find tickets. The night was a complete success“the applause was tumultuous” The audience had witnessed something special and went home very happy.

After all the excitement Benny was presented with the studio master-copy aluminium disc of the night’s recording. He took it home, placed it in a cupboard and forgot about it. Twelve years later his daughter found it, realised what it was and wondered if anyone would still be interested. She sent the disc to Columbia Records. Using the technology of the day, they cleaned up the sound quality as best they could, and in 1950 it was released as an LP set. It then became the first ever jazz LP to sell a million copies. Incidentally, in the late 1990’s this recording’s sound quality was further improved and issued on CD which can still be purchased today. (Not bad for an over-eighty-year-old original recording). Something magical happened that night. It elevated popular music to a culture and performing art form we enjoy today.

When I think back to stadium concerts that we’ve attended, such as the Rolling Stones or Pink Floyd (showing my age), I can now understand the root of where and how it all started.

Carnegie Hall, New York, 16th January 1938. –“The single most important popular music concert in history”.

U3a Chair still vacant HELP!!! We are still looking for a volunteer to take on the role of u3a Chair in May. This is a key role and unless we have one, we cannot continue to run this u3a. Contact Kay urgently if you would like to discuss the role in more depth via email at chair@romseyu3a.org.uk

Xmas 2023 !!!!

Jo Morgan has a number of cards from last Christmas going spare if anyone would like them, perhaps for craft gift tags or hand made cards for 2023. If you are interested, please contact her at 01794 514134 or mailto:js501morgan@btinternet.com

Publications team

I am now settling into my new role as Newsletter publisher and I thank all of you for your contributions and kind remarks. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my two new “proof readers” who have volunteered to assist me in the final version preparation Julie Reeves & Marian Coffin. John Dick.

Newsletter deadlines

Please send your copy for the May 2023 newsletter to John Dick at: publications@romseyu3a.org.uk

The deadline is FRIDAY 28 April 2023 but PLEASE send as soon as you have it!

Booster reminder

If you are over 65 and haven’t had your Winter Flu and Covid boosters, you are encouraged to do so. This includes residents of care homes.