November Newsletter 2020

Romsey & District U3A Newsletter – November 2020 Web site: romseyu3a.org.uk Monthly Meetings There will be NO Crosfield Hall meetings until advised.

ONLINE talks using Zoom have replaced them.

The programme MAY NOT match your programme card so please always check the Bulletins & Website for updates.

Meetings start at 10.30 am (Zoom log-in from 10.15 am).

————————————————— 16 December Michael Brown

A Medieval Christmas The celebrations and music of Christmas during the medieval period, played on replica instruments.

————————————————— 20 January Steve Herra

A Body Through the Porthole In 1947, sailing from South Africa to Southampton, a young actress had a liaison with a Deck Steward, died and her body was pushed through the porthole! Will you, the jury, decide if the accused is guilty or not guilty of murder?

————————————————— 17 February David Boag

Safari in Africa David’s photographs capture the very essence of a safari trip and to enjoy this lecture is like enjoying a safari holiday for yourself, visiting the Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti Plains.

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Chair’s report Once again, the nights are drawing in, the clocks have changed, and we’ve just had the wettest October ever. And the BBC has treated us to two weeks of Autumnwatch, to encourage us to enjoy autumn colours and migrating birds - plenty of both to be seen in and around Romsey, at least.

Unsurprisingly, we won’t be meeting in person for a while yet. Our monthly meetings will continue on Zoom, as will many of the interest group meetings. If you haven’t tried it yet, give it a go; there are plenty of people now who can help you get started - just ask.

A small group got together to produce ‘Low-down in the Lockdown’, a two page bulletin to keep all our members informed whether they're online or not. It comes out twice a month, with a short gap for the newsletter. (You may have noticed that it's mainly the same people for both.) They reached Issue 11 in October - and never expected to have to carry on for so long! Please keep them going with your news items, jokes, poems, or anything else that is of interest to us as U3A members, who are all continuing to ‘learn, laugh and live’.

My previous Chair's Report was in the August newsletter, just before our slightly-delayed AGM, online for the first time ever. Thanks to the work of our committee members, particularly our Treasurers and especially our Secretary, Janet Moody, everything was organised and ready well in advance; and John Broughall and Sylvia Croxall provided the essential technical support behind the scenes that ensured it did all run smoothly on the day.

Sylvia gave her scheduled talk following the AGM, on a sadly necessary topic: Keeping your data safe - online scams and how to spot them. Our Programme Secretary, Marion Fowler, has continued to find us speakers who are willing to perform online, which has meant some changes to our schedule (check the website, newsletter, or bulletin for details).

Marion persuaded our September speaker, Andy Lester, to give us a more uplifting talk than originally planned, on the very colourful wildlife

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of Costa Rica, rather than the global crisis of Climate Change.

Environmental issues haven't been forgotten, and that's something for next year, as well as the postponed talks about the Hillier Gardens, and Romsey Warhorse sculpture.

October also took us on a journey, up to Northumberland, and some pre-Raphaelite artists and goings-on. That was given by one of our new members, Jennifer Wineberg. November's talk will be about the history of cartoons, from Hogarth to Private Eye -- there's no shortage of material for modern satirical cartoonists just now.

As we head into the dark days of November, the usual celebrations of ‘festival of light’, whether Bonfire and Guy Fawkes (5 Nov), or Diwali (14 Nov this year), are on a much more restricted scale than usual, but we can still mark them. Then for December, we'd normally all get together at the Crosfield Hall with a seasonal topic and suitable refreshments. That won't be happening this year but we will have a Medieval Christmas celebration, complete with (replica) musical instruments online. Should be interesting - I'm looking forward to it!

Wishing you all the best for this Christmas season, however and wherever you celebrate the dark days and your own festival of lights.

As Shelley wrote, two centuries ago: "If winter comes, can spring be far behind?"

Janet Payne

Newsletter Team Contacts Please send copy for the FEBRUARY 2021 newsletter to:

Dave Lovell : 01794 515316 news.copy@romseyu3a.org.uk The deadline is Friday 29 January 2021 but please send any copy as soon as you have it!

Other newsletter queries to: newsletter@romseyu3a.org.uk 3

MAPPING OUR HIGH STREETS A National U3A Research Project : how much will the Covid pandemic accelerate change to the nation’s High Streets?

This is the question the national U3A is attempting to answer by inviting member groups to record and photograph the premises in their shopping areas before and after the pandemic. Current information had to be recorded by the end of September this year; researchers will then revisit the same streets in a year to 18 months’ time to note changes that have taken place. The information will form a landmark report by the Third Age Trust in 2022 helping to raise the U3A’s profile in its 40th anniversary year.

Sixteen of our members took part in the survey, fourteen of them from the Architecture and Local History Group. Sybil Warner registered our interest and received the recording forms from Michaela Moody, the national project leader. We divided the town into sections; pairs of members then sallied forth in their own time to record and photograph the premises in their area.

We surveyed and photographed premises in: Bell Street and Tee Court, Broadwater Road, Church Street, The Corn Market, Dukes Mill, The Hundred, Latimer Street, Latimer Walk and Alma Road, Love Lane, Market Place, Palmerston Street and Winchester Road. We concentrated on buildings, and did not cover the market stalls that remain an important element in our town.

The data and photographs were uploaded to a central database.

Post codes were key to allow the photo folders to align with the recorded data. Each street had its separate form, which recorded that Romsey was a Market Town administered by Test Valley Borough Council, and also the locality, e.g. single shopping street; the street type, e.g. through street with traffic, and available public transport. Each set of premises in a street then required a separate entry, giving: post code, name of premises, description of business, size, current condition, e.g. open for business, parking availability, and lastly a photo reference with any additional comments. This whole exercise was a learning curve for most of us. In total, 169 photographs, in 16 folders were eventually uploaded.

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What did we find?

We were pleased to note that at the time of our survey Romsey had a variety of shops and businesses, with very few empty properties. We still have some traditional shops: a butcher, a baker and, if not a candlestick maker, then a cobbler, a greengrocer, a hardware store and an oldfashioned sweet shop. Clarks shoe shop is still there as is Bradbeers Department Store, an increasing rarity in market towns. Indeed, Bradbeers takes up a sizeable slice of the town and would be sorely missed if ever it went out of business.

Independent shops include a toy shop, a card shop, a florist, a photographer, a bridal boutique, a picture framer, a haberdasher, three jewellers and a men’s clothing shop. Although no one would claim it has architectural merit, a dedicated Post Office must not be overlooked, as many are now pushed to the back of supermarkets.

Original names for businesses are Pars Rug Company; Avalon Crystals; The Consortium, selling vintage and retro goods; Just Sewing, in Tee Court complete with a tailor, tape measure draped round his neck; Kit & Caboodle and the slightly zany Paws for Thought Café, where you can drink in the company of cats, if that’s your thing. Newcomers are Frock in Bell Street, for dress hire; and Cork & Bean in Latimer Walk, a café and wine bar.

Catering to our modern way of living are three computer or mobile phone services, three vaping shops, two or three photocopy shops, as well as those for health food and Chinese herbs and treatments.

The vibrant music scene in Romsey is reflected in Hayes Music selling instruments and Hundred Records selling records, CDs and books.

Service shops abound, especially estate agents, hairdressers and beauty salons. Charters Estate Agents were just about to move into the premises vacated by the Romsey Advertiser, a sad loss 5

but again reflecting changing trends. Men are fighting back with three dedicated male barbers in addition to their clothing shop! We also have Hays, an independent Travel Agent.

These mostly smaller shops and businesses find their niche among the larger chains, notably the supermarkets Waitrose, Southern Co-operative and the discount Aldi, as well as Boots, WH Smith and Oasis.

As befits our old market town, there are businesses catering for the farming hinterland, notably Moles Country Store and the Saddlery.

Animal needs are covered by Pets Corner in Dukes Mill. Romsey town has an elderly population which probably accounts for the thriving Mobility Services in Abbey Walk. When we run out of time, two funeral directors are on hand!

Before then, let’s celebrate our restaurants, which cater for most tastes: British, Chinese, French, Indian, Italian and Thai, although this last is about to close as I write. Add these to the many pubs that serve food and we are spoilt for choice. A café culture is also emerging accelerated perhaps by the pandemic as eating outside became more popular. This is especially true in our new Palmerston piazza where so many have been soaking up the sun and the en fête atmosphere. Shoppers have also had the benefit of part-pedestrianisation of The Hundred which is under discussion as a permanent feature.

We have some architectural gems, not least The White Horse Hotel: a hostelry has been on the site since 1500. Apart from this and the Palmerston Rooms there is a lack of accommodation in the town, further depleted if the vacant Abbey Hotel is to be given over to Kutchenhaus and flats. Other buildings of architectural interest include the old Manor House (now Prezzo); the elegant bow windows of Bradbeers’ restaurant, once the Dolphin pub; the 15 th 6

century Tudor Rose; the Market Mews, next to W H Smith, its medieval architecture desperately in need of some TLC; the early 19th century Pinchpenny House, one of the few empty properties, vacated by Marie Curie charity, and the old Swan Inn, now the Conservative Club.

What of the future?

Online shopping and banking, and working from home, all accelerated by the pandemic, will probably continue and our high streets will need to adapt. We shall lose some shops: Carphone Warehouse was an early casualty. With HSBC and Santander no longer in the town, the banks seem especially vulnerable; TSB has recently announced further closures. Most of us were brought up believing in the solidity of the banks, and the thought of these substantial Market Place buildings becoming empty is sad to contemplate. Will the likely future change of use of our streets force Romsey Future to revisit their development plans for the south of the town?

In the longer term, we must cope with climate change and stop using up precious resources at such an alarming rate. Let’s pause to consider the many charity shops in Romsey, two of which have recently closed. Often criticised as being a favoured sector, they contribute to the recycling that is so desperately needed and, of course, collect money for good causes. One or two have tasteful windows; others delight in a more jumbled appearance and one is more like a street market.

Many thanks are due to those who came forward at short notice to take part in the survey. The national project leader thanked us for a splendid contribution.

We look forward to the next stage. If you would like to help please contact: rogersmadeline33@gmail.com or 01794 513040. Our conclusion: ABOVE ALL, SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SHOPS AND SERVICES

Shirley Rogers, October 2020 (Any inaccuracies, and the views expressed, are the author’s!)

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QUESTERS - The Update For those who are not already members of this group, we organise nine day-trips per year to places of varying interest. We only hire one coach (53 seats) for each trip and popular destinations sell out very quickly. This year we visited Denman College in February and the SS Great Britain in March. The April trip to Banbury to visit the canal boat dry dock in their museum and, after lunch, Broughton Castle could not happen. When we have some idea as to how 2021 is going to turn out, we shall either run the trip in February or March, or make refunds before the end of March.

Questers has been running for just over 20 years, and has visited some amazing places. It has always been a popular group, now with about 150 members. Your current committee has rationalised the conditions, determined where trips are not well supported and listened to what members say. We send out three newsletters per year, each containing information plus booking forms for 3 trips. We organise a Christmas lunch in December, which is subsidised from the small ‘profit’ we make. Unless lunch is included, we try to keep each visit to a maximum of £30 each for the cost of the coach, driver’s tip and entry fee to the venue. The four pick-up points are: Bedes Lea, North Baddesley; Halterworth Lane & Hillier Court, Botley Road; and Romsey Bus Station.

What next? We need some ‘new blood’ to help run Questers.

Your trips are organised now by five people: four aged over eighty, and three who have been involved for the last 13 years! It is time for the majority of us to step down and let ‘younger’ members take over. We will of course support and help you all the way.

We hear how much members really enjoy the visits and, apart from the trips themselves, they get to know so many other U3A members, going to places we would possibly not visit ourselves.

The perk for being an organiser is the opportunity to sit at the front of the coach - or at least that is the way we have done it!

PLEASE consider if you could be involved. Contact me for more information on 01794 514597 or at liz@lizholloway.f2s.com, or any other member of the team.

Liz Holloway

The survival of the group needs YOU to offer to help.

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OPERA and CLASSICAL SONG Zoom has continued to be the lifeline that has enabled us to meet safely. At the beginning of the year it was little known, focussing on the needs of big business; suddenly, with coronavirus, demand exploded and it is quite extraordinary that the company were able to keep up with that demand while greatly enhancing user security. It seems a new way of life that is likely to continue, even after Covid-19.

In August we watched an excellent production of Bizet’s Carmen, from the Royal Opera House, with Caterina Antonacci as a suitably smouldering Carmen. Bizet came up with the idea of using Mérimée’s novel Carmen as the subject, precipitating the resignation of two directors of the Opéra Comique in protest. The most shocking features of the opera were Carmen’s blatant sexuality and her readiness to discard men like picked flowers. The cigarette girls flirt, fight and smoke on stage and Carmen herself is murdered by her ex-lover at the final curtain. At the premiere the press and a section of the audience were outraged.

Nevertheless, the opera ran for 48 performances, though Bizet died on the 33rd. Outside Paris, the opera was a huge success and today, precoronavirus, the opera was one of the top ten that, together, accounted for almost 70% of live opera performances.

Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin was our subject for September, in a production from the Metropolitan Opera. The young and naïve Tatyana, played by René Fleming, develops a crush on neighbour Onegin, the velvet-voiced Dimitri Hvorostovsky, and writes him a passionate letter.

She is cruelly rejected, only to turn the tables on him later. Based on Pushkin’s verse novel of the same title, the opera is also autobiographical. The growing popularity of Tchaikovsky’s music had focussed public attention on his homosexuality which, though illegal in Russia, was tolerated among the upper classes. To forestall gossip, Tchaikovsky married a former student of his, Antonina Mulyukova, who had suddenly written to him after five years declaring her love. The marriage was disastrous, lasting just twelve days before Tchaikovsky, threatening suicide, was whisked abroad by his brother. Tchaikovsky’s patroness Nadezhda von Meck, whom he never met, wrote The thought of you with that woman was unbearable. I hated her because she didn’t make you happy; but I would have hated her 100 times more if she had.

Tchaikovsky emphasized the pain and suffering of individuals whose relationships were distorted by societal differences. In the opera, Tatyana is a symbol of unfulfilled love, a heroine as vulnerable as Juliet, and her innocence is shattered. She is transformed, from the ingenuous

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adolescent of the letter scene, to a mature but unhappy woman, who finally is strong enough to dismiss the man she undoubtedly loves.

For October, members of the group were asked if they wanted a more, or less, demanding opera. They bravely chose something more demanding! This was a film of Benjamin Britten’s opera Peter Grimes, staged on the beach at Britten’s town of Aldeburgh, in Suffolk. Britten was a child prodigy and also homosexual. A committed pacifist and strongly left wing, he moved to New York in 1939 but returned to the UK in 1942, where he was officially recognised as a conscientious objector.

Peter Grimes was Britten’s first full opera and it is based on a section of Crabbe’s poem The Borough, which is set in Suffolk. Britten saw the fisherman Peter Grimes as being an outsider in society, like himself.

This new opera by a then relatively unknown composer was boldly chosen for the reopening of Sadlers Wells Opera (subsequently English National Opera) in 1945, with Britten’s partner, the tenor Peter Pears, playing Grimes. At rehearsals, the opera met fierce hostility from members of the company. Worn out from four years of provincial touring, they considered the modern score unattractive, unsingable and unplayable. Nowadays the score does not seem particularly modern; indeed, part of Britten’s skill is his ability to present old musical forms in a new way. The opera opens direct into the coroner’s inquest into the death at sea of Grime’s workhouse apprentice. The court’s verdict is accidental death, but the population, with the exception of the school mistress Helen Orford, blame the death on Grimes, who is ostracised.

From the outset the opera is a strong ensemble piece, with the many minor characters easily recognisable from modern life today. The chorus emphasize the mood of the population, the sea provides a moody backdrop and the whole is unified symphonically through the well-known sea interludes. Tension on the first night was high. There was a stunned silence at the end of the performance, followed by rapturous applause.

The critics and audience were ecstatic, the opera being hailed as the first great English opera for 300 years (i.e. after Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas).

No longer could England be condemned by European nations as the land without music. Within three years, the opera had been staged at Covent Garden, in the US and in many European countries. Our group greatly appreciated the opera, some wishing that it could be shown again. To this day Peter Grimes remains one of the most successful operas of the 20th Century and it led to a strong revival of English opera.

The November meeting of our virtual opera group is on Verdi’s Il Trovatore.

Michael Ward

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WINE APPRECIATION During October, sixteen members enjoyed a video and tasting of wines from the Loire Valley – in particular Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc from various appellation sourced from Waitrose, Majestic and Luc’s shop on the corner of Latimer Street. Several bottles (mostly red) were enthusiastically enjoyed, although a couple of white were deemed a bit tasteless!

Members are now practised at enjoying chatter and wine on Zoom. One member recommended avoiding any wines from Saumur due to its proximity to a nuclear power station, with mist drifting downwind over the vineyards. This advice was too late for me, having enjoyed considerable quantities of sparkling and rose from that region in the past, combined with the fact that currently I was drinking a Cabernet Franc from Saumur!

In France this red wine is served slightly chilled. Plans are in hand for a blind tasting in November, so you can look forward to hearing how that will be achieved.

Memories were also shared of the historic city of Nantes on the River Loire; surrounded by vineyards producing the famous Muscadet white wine, it has many attractions.

In 2007, on the Île de Nantes, the island in the city’s centre, the western part was transformed into a leisure and cultural destination, with bars, restaurants and nightclubs, along with an artistic and cultural project called Les Machines de l’Île. Fantastical contraptions are created using a huge range of materials, including steel, leather, wood, glass, fabric and metal. These machines then ‘come to life,’ captivating audiences: a 12 metre Mechanical Elephant out on a stroll, with 50 passengers on board moves along at between one and three kilometres an hour, piloted by a driver who regales passengers with stories about the creature, and gives the occasional spray of water from its trunk onto passers-by.

To see a mechanical elephant lumbering down the street is an engineering marvel that combines ingenuity and whimsy, blinking its eyes, flapping its ears and waving its trunk; this incredibly life-like creature appears to stride along on fully jointed powerful legs.

Jan Moody

*** This Wine group is at capacity but a new group can be started if there is enough interest - and a leader! Contact Margaret, Jo or Derek. ***

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Interest Groups News : November 2020 There are several changes of group leaders over the last few months: Current Affairs: Aelred Derbyshire has taken over from Alan Fowler.

Games Friday: Doris Snowdon has taken over from Elaine Rockell.

Painting 2: Glenda Taylor has taken over from Chris Jessup.

Canasta: Jane Rogers has moved away; no new leader has come forward.

We would like to thank the outgoing leaders for all their hard work and commitment and wish the new leaders success in running their group.

In both Mah Jong & Creative Writing, the leaders, Jean Snowsill & Colin Crang, have sadly passed away this year. We would like to pass on our condolences to their families and thank them for the work and dedication they put into running their groups so enthusiastically.

Theatre Trips: Elaine Rockell has run this activity for many years and hundreds of people have benefitted from all the time and effort she put in to organising many trips to various theatres in the area, including The Mayflower, Southampton; The Playhouse, Salisbury; The Watermill, near Newbury and the Chichester Theatre.

After all this time, she has decided to retire from being the organiser of theatre trips and spend more time doing other things.

We are therefore looking for several people to take over this interesting ‘group’ to form a small committee to continue Elaine’s good work.

Volunteers are welcome to run the activity however they wish, but it will need one main person to deal with the financial side of things. Jo and I will be able to support the theatre team in whatever way is required, so don’t let lack of experience deter you from volunteering. You don’t need to have been on previous trips to qualify for these roles, just have an interest in theatre generally. Even though we won’t be able to go to the theatre for a while yet, we would like to at least get the administrative matters sorted out as soon as we can. Please contact one of us, if you think you can help (details below):

Jo Morgan : 01794 514134 Margaret Marchbank : margaretmarchbank@btinternet.com 12

WHAT DID I ACHIEVE DURING LOCKDOWN? This question was posed in an email from the Low-down in the Lockdown team and, yes, I can answer it! For those of you who don’t know me, you need to be aware that I am a keen family historian; in fact, I help Graham Woodbury run our U3A Genealogy Group. Lockdown gave me the ideal opportunity to do something I had been thinking about for a long time.

To me, there is not much point in researching family and ancestors if nothing is done with the findings. Too many of us collect the ephemera of documents, photographs, letters, newspaper cuttings, scribbled notes and the like, merely putting them into files, boxes and suitcases! What we should be doing is sharing the proceeds of our labour. Don’t get me wrong, a good many of us do just that.

Some create a family tree on huge sheets of paper; some create photo albums to tell the stories of their forebears; some actually write a book.

I launched my own website!

Admittedly it was achieved with not a little, but a lot, of help from my younger son. He is a website-builder, after all, so why not make use of his expertise? The idea was to share with my family, relatives and those friends who may be interested, stories based on my genealogical research. The added attraction was that, whereas a book has to be complete before publication, with a website you can add stories and photo galleries as and when they are ready. It is, as they say, an ongoing project and, at the time of writing this, 36 stories have already been uploaded!

Deciding on a title was perhaps the most difficult part but, with a nod towards Gerald Durrell, I came up with just the thing: My Ancestors and Other Family. Pictured here is the home page and that’s all you are going to be privy to at this moment, but if you are a member of our Genealogy Group you may be given a tour around it in the New Year!

Kay Lovell 13

WHERE IN THE WORLD WERE MY FAMILY? Gill of the Romsey U3A Communications team recently asked members if they had made discoveries or reconnected with people during lockdown and I was inspired to write my story.

It started three years ago in Romsey library, where I saw a new book on special display: Genealogy - Essential Research Methods. I thought, "How interesting, I've often wondered about doing some genealogy." I borrowed the book, read to page 20, followed a reference to the ‘Guild of One Name Studies’ and found my Yorkshire mother's maiden name. I emailed the researcher and within 24 hours he had sent me an incredibly detailed 36 pages of my entire Yorkshire family tree going back to 1678!

One result of this was finding an aunt in Beverley, my mother's sister, whom I did not know existed.

I was astonished and delighted by this treasure trove, obtained by a few computer clicks and an email. My appetite whetted, I decided to explore my father's history, which I had thus far avoided as being too painful. Now in my 70s, I discovered that I can cope better with the horrors of Nazi Austria. I was born in Bradford, Yorkshire, in 1945. My parents split up when I was eight, my father vanished and my traumatised Viennese grandmother never spoke to me about what had happened to the family. I was setting off on a journey of discovery that would end three years later in a visit to the Austrian Embassy in Belgravia with an application for joint citizenship.

During this journey into the unknown, I uncovered my sophisticated and wealthy family's flight from Vienna to England, via Switzerland, with all their possessions lost. There were documents from the Vienna Archives signing over their lives’ assets to the Nazis, on papers stamped with swastikas and ‘heil Hitler’. There had been properties in Vienna and a holiday house on Lake Attersee. My grandfather's business had been appropriated, and all details are in the American Army database, Fold3.

I found details of my grandfather's arrest and internment on the Isle of Man in 1939, from where he joined the Pioneer Corps, and my grandmother's domestic service in Manchester. I found their relatives who had escaped from Vienna to Pointe-a-Pitre in Guadeloupe, to Port of Spain in Trinidad and to Shanghai in China, thence on to Israel and Manhattan, USA. I obtained my father's military history, starting, age 18, at Kitchener Camp in Kent, in one of the first Pioneer Corps units. His unarmed unit was the last out of Dunkirk with the British Expeditionary Force and he saw service in many theatres of war, including Monte Cassino.

In June this year I decided to have a last concerted effort to find my lost cousins and inform them of this amazing story. We are now all in our 70s, our fathers were brothers, fleeing their home in January 1939. I have known

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all my life that there was a “David” and a “Carol” (not their real names), my uncle's children, but I had never met them because all our families tragically fell apart in 1953 and the two Viennese brothers went their separate ways overseas. I had been searching for three years, mainly in Australia and USA, where their father went, using several genealogical resources, including Findmypast and Ancestry. I had drawn a blank: I did not know where in the world they were, or their surnames. I found that their mother's maiden name was Ward, the same as my married name, an added confusion.

Using a completely fresh approach, I first bought their parents' marriage certificate from the General Register Office (GRO). This revealed a marriage witness, Zara Ward, whom I realised was their mother's sister. I found Zara had married a Mr Washington and had two children. I found these children's addresses in Findmypast, and wrote a short letter to the son, who lives in Yorkshire. I hoped that he would know where they were, but I did not really expect to hear back from him.

Two days later I had an email from my cousin Carol in Toronto, and later that day another email from her brother David in Jakarta, Indonesia. David had not even known of my existence, although Carol knew that there had been a cousin Yvonne.

This is wonderful, and we are now catching up on 70 plus lost years via email and WhatsApp. I feel that I have always known them. Carol has a good life in Toronto with her family. David runs a business in Jakarta that makes oil drilling equipment. He has been there over 40 years and has an Indonesian family. His son is currently reading Engineering at Warwick. Toronto and Jakarta share our difficulties with coronavirus; David has only been out of his house once since February!

They did not know my part of our family history because all three of us have had a very different life trajectory. I was able to tell them that they are eligible for joint citizenship with Austria. They and their children are now exploring the application process. I am sharing all the family documentary evidence I have amassed. It will be wonderful for the young members of our family to be able to remain within and work in the EU if they wish. So many doors will be open to them.

I am a lass from Yorkshire, and remembering my grandparents' sorrows, I thought very hard about applying for the Austrian passport. I consulted people in the same position, including some whose relatives had also been at Kitchener Camp in 1938 and 1939. I decided that if my grandparents were here now, after 80 years of change in Europe, they would accept my decision. I may never return to Austria, but the young people in our families value dual citizenship with no strings attached. I think our fathers and grandparents would be pleased with that outcome.

Yvonne Ward

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THE HURSLEY LADS In 2014 (revised 2018) I wrote a book about the men on the two principal War Memorials in Hursley.

The book contains detailed information about the men who died in The Great War and about their lives when they lived in the parish, and lists all the men from the area who went to the War, including: Corporal Thomas Edmund ALDER TONG – 1st/4th Dorsets, died in 1916, who had lived in Romsey Extra then moved to 109 Middlebridge Street, Romsey; and his brothers Pte Benjamin W ALDER TONG - 4th Gloucestershires and Pte George TONG - 1st Dorsets who both survived the War. It also includes mention of the Hursley women who were particularly involved in War work, such as VADs. It is not a military history, although a little about their service in the armed forces and the location of their deaths is included.

The book costs £8.00 and all proceeds (except postage) go to The Royal British Legion. It is on sale at the Hursley Community Shop or from me.

Antonia Stickland

PASSPORTS AROUND THE WORLD – DID YOU KNOW? • Passports were traditionally issued in French, which was historically the language of diplomacy, and at least one other language.

• The text on Swiss passports is listed in five languages - German, French, Italian, Romansh and English.

• The World’s best passport, in terms of travel freedom, is from Sweden, which gets you into 186 countries and territories, ranking it 6th in the world.

• Turkey has the most expensive passport in the world with the United Arab Emirates having the cheapest.

• Passports are issued in just four colours globally: Red, Blue Green & Black • The Finnish passport works as a flipbook: the inside pages contain drawings of an elk that when flipped rapidly show the elk in motion.

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MY LOCKDOWN? - PRODUCING MUSIC Members may be interested in what I’ve been doing during lockdown.

My paternal grandfather was a miner in the Rhondda all his working life, but he also played the piano and wrote music (he qualified as an Associate of the London College of Music). Back in February a cousin gave me some of the books of his piano music, mostly handwritten but one actually published. Not being that competent a pianist I thought it would be more interesting to get the music onto my computer: I have software that allows me to write music using standard notation. I can then get the computer to play it, but I can also generate MIDI files that I can transfer to my electronic piano and get it to play them. The result was that I could listen to music written 100 years ago (the published piece was copyright MCMXX) now played on an electronic piano via a MIDI file on a USB drive. I also converted them to .mp3 files to email to my cousins.

I transcribed three pieces, two waltzes and a sonata; the sonata being three movements, that was a total of five tracks. There was a lot more but it was mostly church music, hymn settings etc., and I left those.

Transcribing the pieces was a slow process but the results were worth it.

Eventually I decided to create a CD from the .mp3 files, including cover art using old photos of my grandparents. I sent the CDs to my cousins and, by way of a thank you, I was sent two more books of music, a collection of 16 melodies and marches, plus a duet for piano and clarinet.

They were clearly concerned that I would have nothing to do during the second wave of the pandemic! I am currently working on these.

As a ‘taster’, you can listen to a waltz, ‘I Thought the World of You’, and a march, ‘On Parade’ through YouTube (courtesy of Dave Lovell). If any members are interested then I would consider providing more later; the sonata and duet are both quite long, but probably the stronger pieces.

One caveat regarding the .mp3 file is that it is computer generated and hence synthesising a piano, so it is never going to be as good as the real thing. The object of the exercise was to capture the flavour of what my grandfather had written, as I had never heard any of it before I started this exercise.

As well as the .mp3 files, I have also generated .pdf versions of the sheet music. If any pianists out there are interested in giving them a try, please contact me.

Mike Tudball

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Am I John Ruskin’s Great-Great-Granddaughter?

Thank you to all my fellow U3A members for inviting me to share my family history story via Zoom. I was fascinated by the follow-up emails and letters generated, and very grateful to all those members who took the time and trouble to respond to me individually. Feedback like this is the lifeblood for an author as it helps me keep in touch with my audience.

It is amazing how a mysterious girl in a painting can unravel so much information and debate. I had no idea how long and complicated my task would become and, like most researchers, realise that I have only filled the gaps with my assumptions; there may be different interpretations to those I have drawn. My research took me all over the country: to the John Rylands Library in Manchester, Ruskin’s home at Brantwood in Cumbria, the Woodhorn Archives in Northumberland, Newcastle University Library and the Tyne Archives in the Discovery Centre in Newcastle. I have consulted biographies of John Ruskin and many other sources in my determined search for the truth.

After unearthing all this information, I felt inspired to write a novel which would let my readers’ imagination fly, whilst planting them firmly in the Dickensian world of Isabella, John Ruskin and Mabel Evelina.

The story is narrated by a Canon who is plunged into the brothels of Brussels where his companion George, a reformed criminal, ends up fighting for his life after having been attacked by his former gang. As a metaphor for Ruskin, the Canon’s heightened social awareness leads him to unravel the tale of deception and betrayal associated with Mabel’s illegitimate birth. When his personal life disintegrates, he is saved by a girl called Rosalind who not only rescues him from his desperate plight but demonstrates her own concern for righting society’s wrongs.

Some readers describe ‘Ruskin’s Copper Shadow’ as a love story. Others refer to it as a reckless adventure exposing the true extent of the hypocrisy that riddled Victorian society.

Many say it would make an ideal Christmas present. I would welcome your views as I prepare to launch my second historical fiction book entitled ‘Stepping on Orange Sand’.

Signed copies of Ruskin’s Copper Shadow are in WH Smith Romsey, or paperback/e-book at Amazon. Contact me at Jennifer@wineberg.co.uk .

I look forward to getting to know more of you as soon as I become an established member of U3A. Jennifer Wineberg

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WHAT DID I ALSO ACHIEVE DURING LOCKDOWN? Not to be outdone by my wife, Kay, who launched her own website, I launched one too! Like hers, mine was also achieved with not a little, but a lot, of help from our younger son who is a website-builder.

My idea was to share with anyone who has an interest in WWII, and particularly an interest in the plight of Prisoners of War, the story of the forced march westwards in the first months of 1945. Having worked for Ordnance Survey during part of my career, the central component of the story is a map I created from personal accounts of POWs.

You will find the website at www.lamsdorflongmarch.com. It describes the events leading up to the forced march using diary entries, written stories and published books to describe the experiences of just 48 of the tens of thousands of men, including my father, who were subjected to the depths of human suffering and harrowing experiences that stayed with them for the rest of their lives.

Dave Lovell

BIRD WATCHING David Hosking reported that the RSPB AGM was interesting, inspiring and concerning in equal measure. A new problem is now concerning environmental organisations: a halt in Eco Tourism is forcing local third world communities back into deforestation, and hunting and poaching is becoming more prevalent again. There was also a motion passed on applying more pressure to the hunting community which is definitely a hot topic at the moment. Wind farms were also debated a lot as clearly this is the future direction of our energy policy. The RSPB is supportive, but also concerned about the negative effects if the sites are on key migratory routes or breeding sites.

He also suggests a viewing of the Bird Opera on YouTube.

Simon Nickols sent a photo of his Wilson's phalarope sighting at Keyhaven on 18 October, the only rare bird sighting in the whole country that day. I was with a Rambler birding friend who was encouraging me to look out for it as not only a rarity, but a bird that could not be anything else. My sort of bird.

Enjoy your birding.

Sheila Holmes

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SNAPPERS update In the August Newsletter we announced that, during the current situation, the members of Snappers photography group would hone their talents by holding a monthly, two-subject competition. Here are our latest results:

JULY:

‘Birds of a feather’

and

‘Yellow’

Something I Said?

Swan Family

Just add Gin

SEPTEMBER:

Hungry Ladybird

‘Up Close’

Hydrangea

Spaghetti

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OCTOBER:

‘Still Life’

and

Floating Fuchsia

‘Trees’

Must be Gin o’clock

Twisty Lookout

Swamp Cypress

Keeping active and having something to look forward to is paramount at the moment. With this in mind, we have set ourselves a Winter Project to run parallel with the monthly competition:

It’s a Black and White World.

We will be putting the results of our work on a photo viewing website, which will be accessible to all Romsey U3A members who have internet access, during the first quarter of next year.

If you would like to improve your photography and take that 'special' photo... come to Snappers!

We are open to all standards of ability and type of camera, even phones.

One to one help is also available.

Contact me at: mb_driscoll@hotmail.com

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Mike Driscoll

TABLE TENNIS With social distancing and hygiene restrictions in place, as set out in the government rules as well as by Table Tennis England, TABLE TENNIS IMPROVERS resumed play! Formerly held at The Rapids, we met in the lovely new community hall at Abbotswood from 1-2.30pm on a Monday afternoon. Super new tables, a wonderful smooth floor and excellent air circulation greeted us at our new venue. Under the careful supervision of our fearless leader Juliet Austin, thorough sanitisation rules are scrupulously followed for all the equipment, and we stick to our ‘bubbles’ of a maximum of 6 people in a group, playing singles games.

Juliet runs a booking system to ensure we stick to numbers and keeps a register of participants in the hall to meet the track and trace requirements. Best of all, much fun and laughter is shared and members are delighted to be back playing table tennis! Masks are worn when sitting between games and, “Don’t touch our ball.” is heard! And we are getting fitter, especially if a group contains only 4 people and we keep on playing each other for 90 mins with no breaks!! We are all grateful to Juliet for encouraging us to get back to play, and for ensuring we stick to the rules.

Now with the 2nd lockdown underway, we are eager to start up again as soon as we can — hopefully in December.

I’ve played (not that well) for close to 55 years but I was surprised to read recently that in Victorian times Whiff-Whaff, more commonly known as table tennis or ping-pong, was played among the upper-class as an after-dinner parlour game. It has also been suggested that makeshift versions of the game were developed by British military officers, in India around the 1860s or 1870s, who brought it back to Britain with them.

Apparently they played with a row of books stood up along the centre of the table as a net; two more books served as rackets and were used to continuously hit a golf-ball. Ouch, it must have been down to all that India Pale Ale! “It’s fast and demands quick reaction and therefore a good way of staying fit and active.” Thanks to our three group leaders - Juliet Austin, Roger Farmery and Bob Wren.

Janet Moody

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The Black Forest Beckoned Nineteen strangers arrive at Terminal 5, Wondering who we will meet.

Will it be safe in the airport lounge?

Will they have cleaned my seat?

The Tour Manager is there!

We feel more secure.

After months of anticipation Abroad we will venture.

Covid has changed the arrival plans, A much longer journey by bus.

Basel and Zurich no longer deemed safe.

Munich now the airport for us.

Lakes, mountains, cuckoo clocks, cakes full of cream.

The holiday is over, we must pack and go.

New friends made, new experiences, it was such fun.

But was it sensible? Only time will show.

Gill Hodge

LOCAL UPDATES ROMSEY ABBEY and THE PLAZA have put their events on hold until early December; check their websites for information.

HAMPSHIRE LIBRARIES are closed for browsing but you can still access other services including: ‘click and collect’ for their Ready Reads or reserved books; renew or return books and access their digital library. Or join their virtual book club - Digital Readers Facebook group - to read and discuss a ‘book per month’.

BULLETIN 12 will be returning on 9 December. Make sure you find your copy in your inbox or through your letterbox!

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With All Good Wishes for Christmas and the New Year

from Your Committee ‘Romsey Christmas Lights’ by Mike Driscoll

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