EDITOR’S CHAT We have been lucky with a relatively mild winter this year and I’m beginning the think that spring is on its way and will be here soon—I heard a thrush singing its heart out as I walked the dog this morning. Spring is a time for renewal and in West Wolds U3A that is true as well. We have gained many new members in the last year and they are bringing fresh ideas to our learning organisation. In particular Steve McCarthy has some great initiatives to update our website making it more informative and interactive, your committee is looking forward to exploring these with him. In the meantime please help your editor to make the quarterly a worthwhile and interesting magazine showing others what the West Wolds U3A can do for them Best wishes from Geoff COPY DATE FOR THE JUNE 2015 ISSUE Articles for the next edition should reach the editor no later than 26 May 2015 Send it to gcg@sunny-side.ws or phone me on 01673 842 287 Cover Picture
A summer day near Biscathorpe in the beautiful Wolds of Lincolnshire
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT Our U3A continues to thrive and attract new members. Since our last event to welcome new members we have gained another 55. Those of us greeting each month realized we had seen quite a few but 55 came as a bit of a surprise never the less. Welcome to you all and we hope you find West Wolds U3A as interesting, enjoyable and welcoming as we did when we joined. We are holding another gathering for new members on Page 2
Sat 14th March at my home and we hope new people meet each other and have the opportunity to ask questions and make suggestions for new interest groups. I repeat myself, intentionally; U3A is a self help organization and relies totally on membership participation so new and more established members do not be backward in coming forward to run groups, join next year's committee or generally help out at our monthly meetings. This year I can leave Speaker Finding for 2016 and looking after this year's speakers to Joy Mycroft which will be the first time in three years I have not had to do this, so thank you Brian Ward for finding this year's speakers and thank you Joy for agreeing to take on your new role. Eunace Hughes has joined us on the greeting team and has joined the band of committee members who get the hall ready each month, so thank you all. Best wishes from Gail
FAMILY HISTORY This group currently meets at 10:00am on the 2nd Friday of each month in Wragby. However, due to a fall in numbers there will be no meetings in March or April. The next meeting will therefore be at 10:00am on Friday 8th May. There will be a sign-up sheet on the table at the March and April General Meetings to assess the level of interest in Family History, particularly amongst new members and those who have moved beyond the beginners stage with their research. If there is insufficient interest in continuing with a regular monthly meeting I shall be happy to be contacted by email for assistance with specific problems or brick walls with your research. Please Note: this does not affect the “Family History - Beginners Group” which will continue to meet at 10:00am on the 1st Friday of each month at Jacqueline Reid’s house in Market Rasen. Steve Field Page 3
DINNER IN MARRAKESH ... Well, almost! The February visit to Louth theatre was preceded, by way of an experiment, by an early dinner at Marrakesh, a Moroccan restaurant in the centre of Louth, and which was a surprise to all the twenty four members (except me as the organiser!), who partook of the meal prior to attending Noel Coward’s ‘Private Lives.’ Dim lighting and Moroccan music greeted us all, and we sat down to mezzes, salad, thick Moroccan bread, shrimps in spicy tomato sauce, and finally a chicken tagine. A glass of wine completed the meal. The restaurant owners obviously saw us as a bunch game for a laugh, and the appearance of a fez on my head was followed by belly
dancing sparkly skirts and jackets, which also graced Roger. All we needed was a lady prepared to join us and we would have been U3A’s recreation of Wilson, Keppel and Betty. Needless to say, the May visit to see the ‘King & I’ will also be preceded by a meal at the same restaurant, but is planned to be more elaborate (and hence slightly dearer) but will still be optional, and hopefully just as much fun. Knowing what is in store this time, perhaps a few more people will bring along their belly dancing clothes and show us what it is all about? After all, Roger and I have had no training whatsoever in this art form!
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Brian Ward
After a meal in Marrakesh, there’s a need to keep fit. Alternatively we can always walk!
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General Meetings 2014 APR 9 Lincolnshire Film Archives: Local History Preserved on Film MAY 14 Colin Lusby: “Photography with Morning Coffee & Afternoon Tea” JUNE 11 The Workshop Players: ‘Talking Heads’ style monologues
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Local History Programme 14th April - Stuart Sizer - "Angels and Demons" - church architecture lecture 12th May - walk around Middle Rasen with Caroline Foster 9th June - walk around Caistor and visit its Heritage Centre with Brian Ward
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THE WEST WOLDS QUARTERLY DIARY INSERT Remove this insert from your magazine, fold along the lines indicated
COMMITTEE & MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES Chairman Gail Dennis Tel: 01673 843575 galedennis@btinternet.com FOLD
General Meeting Reception Lyn Henry Tel: 01673-843851 lynhenry@btinternet.com Marion Blackstock Tel: 01673 849208
Treasurer & Membership Secretary Barry Dukes Tel: 01472-852454 lindumwold@btinternet com
Website, Magazine & Printing Geoff Goddard Tel: 01673-842287 gcg@sunny-side.ws with assistance from Ken Reid Tel: 01673-849490 ken@kmreid.free-online.co.uk
Secretary & Third Age Trust Contact Sheila Nash Tel: 01673-866569 thenashes60@hotmail.com
Visits and Speaker Finder Brian Ward Tel: 01472 852273 briandgill@btinternet.com
U3A Network Contact Mandy Murphy Tel: 01673-860893 mandy1390@yahoo.co.uk
Publicity David Oliver Tel: 01673 880188 david.g.oliver@btinternet.com
Groups Coordinator Ken Howitt Tel: 01652-678490 kenhowitt@btinternet.com FOLD
General Meeting Catering Margaret Cromack Tel: 07711-112171 margaret.cromack@btinternet.com
New members Joy Mycock Tel: 01673 818326 joypatrick1950@googlemail.com Eunice Hughes
Archivist and Greeter Paul Davison Tel: 07746-626482 davison216@btinternet.com
Why not visit our website at http://community.lincolnshire.gov.uk/westwoldsu3a Page 7
INTEREST GROUPS WEEK
Monday
Tuesday
10:00 German
10:00 Bead & Wire Jewellery
14:00 Bridge 14:00 Recorders 14:00 Digital Photography
14:00 Film 14:30 Spanish
10:00 German
10:00 Local History
13.30 Card Craft 14:00 Bridge
14:00 Art 14:30 Spanish
10:00 German
10:00 Country Walks 10:30 Strollers
14:00 Bridge 14:00 Recorders 14:00 Digital Photography
14:30 Spanish 19:00 Film
10:00 German
10:00 Music Appreciation 10:00 Armchair Travel * (*Last Tuesday of month)
14:00 Bridge
14:00 Art 14:30 Spanish
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
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MONTHLY TIMETABLE Wednesday
10:00 Country Walks 10:30 Strollers
10:00 Embroidery 10:00 4 Mile Walkers 12:00 Luncheon Group
Thursday
Friday
10:00 French 10:00 Patchwork * 10:00 Keep Fit
10:00 Beginners Family History 10:00 Latin
14:00 Drama 14:00 Patchwork *
14:00 Scrabble 14:00 Biblical Hebrew
09.45 GENERAL MEETING Festival Hall Market Rasen Everyone Welcome Tea, Coffee, Event Notices Guest Speaker
10:00 Family History 10:00 Latin
14:00 Paper Engineering
14:00 Poetry Jazz & Swing Enjoyment 6.30 in the summer 2.30 in the winter
14:00 Drama
10:00
Telling our Stories
10:00 French 10:00 Keep Fit 10:00 Patchwork *
14:00 Readers
14:00 Drama 14:00 Patchwork *
10:00 Embroidery * (*Last Wednesday of month)
10:00 Cross Stitch 10:00 Keep Fit* (* And 5th Thursday of the month, if there is one)
14:00 Beginner’s French 14:00 Knitting and Crochet (Oct—April)
14:00 Drama
10:00 Latin
14:00 Biblical Hebrew 14:00 Scrabble* (* And 5th Friday of the month, if there is one) 10:00 COFFEE MORNING Jossals, Market Rasen All welcome 10:00 Latin 14:00 Mah Jong 14:00 Paper Engineering
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INTEREST GROUP CO-ORDINATORS ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS COMPUTING Lynn Henry 01673 843851. ARMCHAIR TRAVEL Cynthia Bunch 01673 844661 ART Gillian Anderton 01673 844382 BEADING AND WIRE JEWELLRY Jacqueline Reid 01673 849490 BEGINNERS’ FRENCH Gail Dennis 01673 843575 BRIDGE Bryan Storey 01673 849625 CARD CRAFT Cynthia Burke 01673 849506 CROSS STITCH Ann Field 01673 857529 CYCLING Heather Barratt 01673 849393 DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY Joy Mycock 01673 818326 DRAMA Gail Dennis 01673 843575 EMBROIDERY Pat Hage 01673 849447 FAMILY HISTORY Steve Field 01673 857519 FAMILY HISTORY – BEGINNERS Jacqueline Reid 01673 849490 FILM GROUP John Bartlett 01673 857480 FRENCH Pat Spolton 01673 828568 FRENCH (BEGINNERS) Gail Dennis 843575 GERMAN Jo Howard 01673 862015 JAZZ AND SWING ENJOYMENT Brian Ward 01472 852273 KEEP FIT Dawn Stopper 01472 851133 KNITTING AND CROCHET Sue Jacobs 01673 828898
LATIN Gwen Parsons 07749 044413 LOCAL HISTORY Jean Childs 01472 859347 LUNCHEON GROUP Pam John 01673 844260 MAH JONG Reid 01673 849490 MUSIC APPRECIATION Ron Jones 01673 843438 PAPER ENGINEERING Lyn Henry 01673 843851 PATCHWORK Lyn Henry 01673 843851 POETRY Eva Smith 01673 842218 READERS GROUP Audrey Storey 01673 849625 RECORDER GROUP Geoff Goddard 01673 842287 SCRABBLE Audrey Storey 01673 849625 SINGING TOGETHER Heather Barratt 01673 849393 SOCIAL MEDIA Steve McCarthy 01673 308364 SPANISH Alison Atkinson 01673 849979 TELLING OUR STORIES David Atkinson 01673 849979 THE 4-MILERS Mary Ellis 01673 842584 THE 9-MILE HIKERS Helen Wilson 01673 828315 THE COUNTRY WALKERS Ken Howitt 01652 678490 THE STROLLERS Cynthia Burke 01673 849506 VISITS Brian Ward 01472 852273
THE GROUPS CO-ORDINATOR IS:KEN HOWITT 01652 678490 kenhowitt@btinternet.com LIFTS: If you do not have transport it is usually possible to arrange lifts to the various venues. A contribution to the cost of fuel is also welcome.
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An Odd Day Out! In a competition for unusual outings I think our drama group would be hard to beat. We met at 10am on a snowy Thursday morning (29th Jan) complete with packed lunches (Elaine had baked a cake to share) and we set off for our destination. Less than half an hour later we arrived at The Broadbent Theatre. Were we going to see an early show? No!! We went into the kitchen and found the basin, mops, dusters brushes and dust pan and set to, to give the theatre a good spring
clean before the pantomime performance on Friday evening. By lunch time we were all done and dusted and the theatre was spick and span ready for the first audience. We then enjoyed our lunches and of course a good natter. The cake was delicious. As a reward for our hard work we were allowed to have a bit of a play on the stage and pretend we were real actors, before setting off for home. We know how to live!! Marion Blackstock
Come on Group Leaders Keep us up to date please You must have some interesting things to say about your activities but, in spite of constant requests, we don’t get many reports from you.
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New Cycling Group
All prepared with helmets a top, yellow jackets upon, shoe laces fastened, bicycle bells attached eagerly lined up for our first group cycle ride. This ride was to dust down the cobwebs, prepare our bikes and get used to cycling together. With Heather our leader up front, first aid kit secure. John Haywood attached with whistle our back marker we set off through Willingham Woods in great style. Along the compacted gravel such a crisp and clear day we went to the Tealby Road returning on a different route. We had little mishaps negotiating bends and locating the depth of a dyke.
Thirty five enjoyable minutes soon passed. Infact some of us retraced our wheelings for a second time around. Everyone chatting ad socializing brings out first cycle ride to a close. Our future plans along with local routes are more adventurous going for water railway traffic free routes. We can't wait – calling all cyclists to join. Look on: http:// community.lincolnshire.gov.uk/ westwoldsu3a/index.asp for further cycle rides or visit our table on the second Thursday of each month at Market Rasen Festival Hall at 9.45am to join our group.
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Photographer: John Haywood
AH… THE GOOD OLD DAYS In the Good Old Days, the Victorian and Edwardian Traveller was a person of substance, and someone whose custom was eagerly sought, being courted by hotels wherever he or she went.
afforded those who arrived at the station. The Gordon Arms and the White Hart were both providing this service in the 1880s, but the earliest provider was either the latter hotel, or possibly local Grocer Edward Towler, who was apparently It became the custom in many offering a service in 1853; the towns for the main hotels to versatility of Victorian tradesmen provide a horse drawn carriage knew no bounds! By the early to attend the arrival of trains at 1900s the Great Central Railway the local station, to entice the weary traveller into their carriage was charging 1/- p.w. to those hotels providing the service, both and thence into the hotel which the Gordon Arms and White Hart provided it. Market Rasen, sleepy little town that it might be, appearing in the station’s rent was not to be left out by this form records, this charge being for the facility to stand at the station of enterprise, and we find that, after the arrival of the railway in entrance in order to ‘ply for hire.’ Brian Ward town in 1848, this service was
West Wolds Website New Webmaster Steve McCarthy has taken over the West Wolds Website. It’s currently at the same address and you can find it by using Google to search for West Wolds U3A. He has some exciting ideas for a complete revamp of the website which will be up and running sometime in the future—watch this space! Contact Steve on 01673 308364 or email steve@pigyard.com Page 13
Visit to JCB complex as you would expect for such a huge multinational corporation, covering operations in 18 countries and still a privately owned company run by Lord Bamford, the grandson of the founder Joseph Cyril Bamford – JCB. I had arranged that we started the tour with lunch, as JCB are renowned for their hospitality, hardly surprising, in view of Lady Bamford being the wife of the “Boss” Our trip to JCB started at the Tesco of JCB. Lady Bamford started and store in Market Rasen on a crisp runs Daylesford Organic food, with March Monday morning. We were a shops and farms in Gloucestershire party of 23 all eager and ready for and an outlet in Selfridges in the off. The question the driver London. On arrival were shown into Ashley posed for us, was should we the restaurant, ready for lunch, our like to go by the direct or the scenic tables for six were smartly laid out route, what a question for a Monday with glasses and china all with the morning at 08:30. We or should I say company logo. A set lunch had been I chose the scenic route as we were prepared for us and it was delicious. not booked into JCB until 12:00, so I The meal was rounded off with thought we would have plenty of coffee and yes you guessed it JCB time. I was not to know that our very individual chocolates. comfortable 29 seater coach was On completion of lunch we were somewhat underpowered for the up split into parties of eight, each party hills and down dales of the was allocated a guide, who Derbyshire countryside! Our planned stop for coffee and comfort proceeded to kit us up with at Matlock Bath, turned out to be for headsets, high visibility jackets and eye protection for those who were comfort only, however, we did see some lovely countryside during our not wearing spectacles. Our first stop was the theatre where we were scenic drive. Notwithstanding shown a promotional video about Ashley got us to JCB in time for the JCB, followed by a welcome video start of our visit at noon. from Lord Bamford on the origins The world Headquarters of JCB are and ethos of the company. The at Rocester near to Uttoxeter in cinema was very plush and would Staffordshire, it is an enormous not have been out of place in Page 14
Leicester Square. Each of the three parties were then taken upstairs to the “World of JCB”, which was a vast collection of the company’s machines and of particular interest the were very first JCB products. It was stressed to us that the display was not a museum but a showcase of how and why JCB had developed over the years. There were some fascinating displays and exhibits interspersed with video displays, the whole ambiance of the exhibition was first class with superb lighting and novel ways of showing the many machines that JCB build. One fascinating fact that my parties guide explained to us was that each JCB machine is paid for before it is even manufactured, a canny move by the Bamford’s. The world of JCB ended with a visit to the shop, where there was some very good and attractive merchandise on sale. The World of JCB was then followed by a tour of the production line, we were asked not to take photographs on the shop floor as there were some aspects of production which are protected. Automation takes a big part in any
plant manufacture these days, and JCB was no exception. My abiding memory (bearing in mind my past life as an engineer) was how good it was to see that the UK still produces machines of this calibre, quality and complexity. The JCB is a fine product and well deserves its highly regarded reputation. The tour finished with the return of our headsets and high viz clothing, then a welcome cup of tea and biscuits. It was time to leave, the visit had flown by and without exception all the people at JCB had been welcoming. For our return to Market Rasen, we all agreed that we should go by the direct route, if there is such a thing crossing the country from west to east. I think I can say for all that we enjoyed our away day to JCB. I fired off a thank you e-mail to Sue, who was my liaison JCB, to thank her and all the staff for an outstanding visit. David Oliver
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