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Hastings & Rother Newsletter www.u3asites.org.uk/hastingswww.u3asites.org.uk/hastings----rotherrother Charity No: 1097214 Spring issue 2021 Message from the Chair Welcome to this first newsletter of 2021. As well as the usual printed copy, those with email access will also receive a pdf version for comparison, as we hope where possible to implement this change later in the year. Hopefully there have been no technical glitches and you have been able to access the pdf as intended. An online version will also be available via our website. It is also intended that the next edition will be similarly distributed and we plan to be able to include a selection of your feedback (see page 3), which we very much hope you will provide. The list of issues included is not exhaustive and feedback on any aspect is welcome. Personally, I hope that the email pdf version will be to your liking and that at the AGM you will support the switch over from printed to online and in due course this becoming the default position. I would add that those members who do not have an email address, or who cannot access the website version, will still receive a printed copy at no additional cost. Having canvassed other u3as around the country it would seem that we are very much out of step in still producing a printed newsletter for all members. For your information I would advise that the current cost of producing four newsletters per member is £6.48 per annum, which will almost certainly increase over time. This method is also resource intensive and not very environmentally friendly in this day and age. Whilst some u3as have effectively moved to a 2-tiered membership by charging extra to receive a printed version (regardless of circumstances) it is not intended that we would follow suit. If we are able to move to an email pdf version as the default position then we would be able to release funds to improve other aspects of u3a membership, including: greater use of paid for venues rather than members’ homes, sponsorship/attendance at local events in order to promote our u3a, and holding larger events for members with some form of subsidy. So, until the next time, stay safe and please provide your feedback in good time for the next edition . George Webster Future Zoom Speaker Meetings Monday 12 April 2021 – Ian Gunn: HERE COMES THE FAILED BANK MANAGER! NB Time is 2pm for a 2.30pm START The title of Ian’s talk reflects what was shouted at him by a prisoner on the first day of his life as a junior governor! Ian has many stories about prison culture and he will introduce you to some unusual characters he met during his career. Ian is an enrichment speaker for an agency providing speakers to cruise lines. His specialist subjects are crime and prisons and he has a unique perspective on life 'behind bars' because he was a prison governor before retiring five years ago. In his presentation Here Comes the Failed Bank Manager, Ian will take you into the fascinating world of prisons, with stories about his time as a governor . Gail Oswald Times for all following meetings are 10.30am for 11am START Monday 26 April – Melanie Gibson-Barton: BRUGES: MORE THAN JUST CHOCOLATE ! This colourfully illustrated and wide ranging informative fun talk in which Melanie shows there is much more to be seen in this beautiful city. Bruges in Flanders, Belgium, is where she enjoyed her second home for more than 20 years; a city which is best known for its chocolate shops! Melanie will set out to prove that the Gothic city represents more than just this popular delicacy. Many audience members will have visited Bruges and this talk may well bring back memories, and also show that there is much more to see in this city to inspire a return visit to explore it further. Babs Spackman Wednesday 12 May – Hazel Griffith: GRACE KELLY: PERFECT PRINCESS OR AMAZING ACTOR? Hazel had a career in banking but 20 years ago, she decided to make a lifestyle change and leave that stress behind. She has now discovered a role that combines her love of travel and photography with her skills as a presenter and researcher. She usually spends a lot of her time as a speaker onboard cruise ships. When not sailing, Hazel is in demand for talks to local groups such as u3a, National Trust and PROBUS groups. She enjoys dancing in her leisure time. During the lockdown of 2020 she used the time to develop her portfolio of talks. Hazel is going to speak to us about Grace Kelly, who lived a fairy tale life - or did she? Hazel explores her childhood, the relationship with her father, how she became an actress and then found the role of her life. Gail Oswald Monday 24 May – Kevin Gordon: VICTORIAN GRAVEYARDS Kevin has spent many hours in old graveyards in and around Sussex photographing dedications, family names, interesting facts from old gravestones. These date back from Roman times and many bear hidden symbolism; others humorous messages and drawings depicting cause of death! One such illustration was of a young girl killed by horse and cart. Gravestones are very useful to us today as they can often be of assistance when researching family trees. Has your family lived in the same parish for many generations? If so, get inspired to visit your local churchyard and discover your ancestors’ secrets! Babs Spackman 2 Future Zoom Speaker Meetings continued Monday 28 June – Bernard Lockett: SOCIAL AND POLITICAL SATIRE OF GILBERT AND SULLIVAN This was originally booked for February’s talk in 2020, but Bernard was unable to attend due to problems delaying him at the International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival held in Harrogate, of which he is a Trustee. Bernard’s fully illustrated talk will consider the vast amount of social and political satire covering these G&S theatrical works of their era – the historical back- ground and reasons for comment. He will take a wry satirical look at much of what was said, as it is just as relevant today as it was in Victorian days – dull MP's, for example, and a House of Lords that makes one wonder what do they do today – very little? Babs Spackman Newsletter Proposal ——— Feedback Thoughts We plan where possible to implement a pdf version of the newsletter later in the year for those with email access. We would particularly welcome your feedback on the following issues, or any other aspect: 1. Was the pdf version easy to open and readable? 2. If you were to opt for a pdf version in the future would you print it out as a matter of course? 3. Would you be happy to receive only a pdf version in the future? 4. Would a membership discount of say £3 p.a. make you more likely to support receiving a pdf newsletter rather than a paper version? Please let us have any thoughts and comments. Send to: [email protected] Speaker Meetings on Zoom Our additional speaker meetings via Zoom have been well attended and Gail is to be thanked for organising these, in fact she has organised further exciting talks for April & May to complement our regular speaker meetings. For those members who have never attended one of these talks, it is essential that you download the application when prompted to do so when first opening the link. You will not normally need a passcode, once the app.is installed you will automatically join the meeting, you just have to click on ‘join audio’ or ‘join video’ when prompted to do so. For future meetings opening the link will send you direct to the meeting and you just have to accept the ‘join meeting’ prompts. George Webster 3 Christina Rossetti (1830(1830----1894)1894) Christina had the quintessential Pre-Raphaelite face: spiritual, brooding, inward-looking, beautiful with a halo of dark hair. The artist was Dante Gabriel Rossettti, her brother. They were part of a clever, literary Bloomsbury family where all things Italian were revered. There were four children and their parents were Italian political exiles who believed in the importance of art, poetry and high culture. Unusually for the time, Christina was as highly educated as her brothers and no pressure was put on her to marry. She turned down three proposals, perhaps fearing that her vocation as a poet would be stifled by domesticity and child-bearing. In the Bleak Midwinter , Remember and Goblin Market are among the most popular of English verses. It is a tribute to this most subtle of poets that her work goes fro m the sensual to the sacred, from the seemingly childlike to the profound. She was also revered in her own lifetime. She published four volumes of poetry, two books for children and a collection of short stories. Hastings was popular with the Pre-Raphaelite painters and people recovering from illness. Doctors recommended the sea air, prices were low and the coming of the railway meant that visitors could scurry back to London when they pleased. Christina came to the town in 1864 when she was convalescing and it became a special place to her, as it was to Gabriel. She made a prolonged visit, staying at 81 High Street, and wrote: ‘ Perhaps there is no pleasanter watering place in England… than Hastings and the Sussex Coast.’ In 1873, Christina returned with her mother, to whom she was utterly devoted. According to her brother, William, with whom she frequently stayed, her deep affection for her family rarely wavered.