Borders University of the Third Age

Borders Bulletin

Volume 6 December 2019

Chairperson’s message

I can't believe that it is nearly Christmas - where has this year gone?

For many of us in Borders the weeks fly by because we are involved in so many activities. Our groups are thriving and with the many subjects on offer there really is something for everyone. We have also had

some very enjoyable trips this year thanks to our hardworking Travel Group. Our Speaker meetings have been particularly successful and Members' Meetings give us an opportunity to get to know one another better while having some light-hearted fun.

We are always keen to increase our membership and particularly to try

to address social isolation among older people. Our P.R. Group has worked very hard to promote and advertise Oswestry Borders U3A with displays in the library, posters in shops and other venues and Pat E Chairperson efforts to link in to GP Practices. We held a successful Interest Group

Fair which enabled groups to highlight the many activities on offer. U3A Network We are members of Community Connectors which is organised by the Social Prescribing Officer for Shropshire; it is a network of many This is a group of local U3As within disciplines who all have the same aim which is to offer support and to Shropshire and its surrounding address social isolation. We don't want anyone sitting at home feeling area. lonely and isolated when we have so much to offer, so if you can, The current members of the please spread the word and encourage your friends to come along; Shropshire network are: they are able to attend a couple of times before deciding whether to join us. Oswestry Borders is also a member of the Shropshire Network of U3A

Much Wenlock and I attend regular meetings. It is always useful to learn how other Newport Oswestry groups operate; we are all slightly different but have the same aim,

Oswestry Borders which is encompassed by the U3A motto "Learn, Laugh and Live". & Rea Valley Your committee works very hard to ensure the smooth running of our Wellington & District U3A along with many other volunteers. We need all our members to Whitchurch get involved and are looking for members to step up and join the Wolverhampton committee or volunteer in some other capacity. We also welcome your Wrekin views and suggestions on how we can improve the running of our U3A. Other U3A Networks We have had a really successful 2019 and I look forward to enjoying all There are several Networks within the activities and social events on offer to us in 2020. our U3A region, which covers the I hope you all have a lovely Christmas and a Happy and Healthy counties of Shropshire,

Staffordshire, , New Year. Worcester, Warwickshire and the Pat E, Chairperson

West Midlands.

Page 1 Interest Groups Borders Bulletin Volume 6

We now have 26 Interest Groups in Borders and many are taking on new French Groups members all the tim e.

In October we held the Annual Interest Group Fair which was really well attended both by current members and also by interested potential new members who had viewed the Display Boards in the Library which had been put together by the PR Group. The displays at the Fair were excellent and really highlighted the different groups. A big thank you to all those who helped make this a success, culminating in attracting several new members to Borders U3A and giving existing members a Both French groups continue to opportunity to find out more about the diverse range of groups they can function happily on alternate join, many members signed up to groups the may not have considered Thursday afternoons. We have before. I would like to give a big Thank You to all the Group Leaders had some new members joining because without you putting the Groups together we would not have us over the course of the year, such a varied choice of options or interests. Your time and organisation with the Beginners Plus Group are invaluable. Sally B has run the Garden Group for many years but is once again running at full having to step back from the role due to her many other commitments. capacity. With both groups, the She is very pleased that Gloria C, Jane A and Ann B are jointly stepping emphasis is on the spoken in to take over the running of the group. language, but we don’t forget the grammar and we use a A new group that started recently was the Felt and Fibre Group with course book to structure this. Elizabeth L, this was a short introductory course and proved to be very successful as was shown in the display at the IG Fair. Elizabeth is Beginners Plus Group arrived at the end of BBC “French starting a new course in January which will be an introduction to Experience I” in the Summer – weaving, please contact myself or Elizabeth or click this link: we proceed at a very gentle https://oswestrybordersu3a.wordpress.com/felt-and-fibre/ pace! - and we are now working with “ Easy French ” (publ. Another new group which is setting up is Environmental Studies, if you are interested in joining this group please speak to me or click this link: Usborne). The Intermediate Group is now working with https://oswestrybordersu3a.wordpress.com/environment/ “Voici” a second level course (publ. Hodder & Stoughton) To all members: don’t forget you can try any groups out at anytime why supplemented by a variety of not have a look at the website authentic materials. We https://oswestrybordersu3a.wordpress.com/ for all the groups, times and finished the year with a very venues. The groups are also shown on the Display Board at the back of enjoyable get-together for the Hall in the Senior Citizens Hall at our meetings. Please contact me if members of both groups: a bring-a-plate lunch including you wish to try out a group or fill in the form on the website. QuicheSpanish Lorraine Learners and Gateau de Savoie with a quiz on French If anyone has ideas about starting a new Group, it doesn’t matter how Christmas customs and word small please let me know and I will do everything I can to help get you games – in French of course – started. I would like to wish everyone a Very Happy Christmas and a to follow. Happy and Healthy New Year.

Liz H Interest Groups Co-ordinator

Gateau de Savoie

Two tables at the Interest Groups Fair Quiche Lorraine Catherine E Page 2 Borders Bulletin Local History and Aspiring Music Volume 5, Issue 2 Archaeology Makers

Our group focuses on archaeology Privacy generally and the history of the area Some of us continued to work around Oswestry and the Borders. on simple pieces for the keyboard and others Recent subjects of talks have included: composed simple melodies The process of joining a Who were the Celts?, "Iron Mad" John which we attempted to play Wilkinson, the , group has been significantly with varying degrees of Industries of the Morda Valley, Church effected by GDPR (General success.We talked about Street Oswestry and its inhabitants, Data Protection Regulations). rhythm and harmonies, the decrepit railways of Shropshire, particularly relating to different Our U3A has a responsibility Life here in the Iron Age, Dolforwen countries e.g. Calypso, to protect the privacy of our Castle, the Archaeologists, Howard members. This has meant Carter, Sir Arthur Evans, Sir Flinders some changes to the way Petrie and Dame Kathleen Kenyon. information about groups is displayed on the website. Most of these talks have been by members of the group, with Names are not written in full contributions from a few outside and all references to email speakers, including Mayor Sandy Best. addresses and phone Indian culture etc. numbers (should) have been In the summer months we have made removed. visits to Haughmond Abbey and Longdon on Tern aqueduct, Newtown Robin H textile museum, Dolforwen Castle and

the Bell Museum at Montgomery . Coffee and Chat Dave S and John S There is an open invitation to any member to join others for coffee on We also discussed the sort of 1 st and 3rd Monday mornings at music we enjoyed as Anti Ageing Aerobics 10.30 a.m. We currently meet at individuals.Two hours always the Willow Café in Willow Street. passes very quickly!

The recent IG Fair has The idea is an opportunity to just This group continue to meet at St generated more interest and meet and chat, as contact with Martins Community Centre each we welcomed 3 possible new other OBU3A members is often just Thursday morning with numbers members to our last meeting. at meetings and interest group fluctuating from 5 to 15. sessions, which doesn’t always allow much personal chat and Lynn R Bobby C getting to know each other.

For people who can’t manage

Mondays, there’s an opportunity to start up another Coffee Chat group. Numbers can be anything from two to 12.

Some of our instruments at the Interest Groups Fair Anne L

Page 3 Borders Bulletin Art ICT Volume 6

While the members of While group leader Jane D is away in Australia, Robin H has agreed to host the the reformed small Art meetings at his home in Oswestry on the fourth Tuesday of the month between group all agree our 10.30 and 12.30. There will be no December meeting because of the Christmas main goal is to practise holiday. drawing and painting, we also aim to keep Robin has asked members of the group to bring a device to the meeting, either a our morning meetings phone, tablet or laptop, together with a query or tip to share for mutual interest. casual, friendly and We’ve had a range of ICT discussions throughout 2019, which have raised more chatty. issues we need to explore - security, working with photographs to name a couple.

Shazam will find the Pl@ntNet is one of several apps Art group table at the Fair name of that music. Just which will try to help you identify

tap the icon on your a plant! You take a photo with We meet on the phone and Shazam will your phone and it will suggest a second Monday of listen and do the rest! number of possible candidates . each month at leader

Jane D’s home in

Oswestry. At these meetings individuals Robin is pictured at the IG fair attempting to demonstrate the music recognition

bring their own app 'Shazam', with plant book resource at the ready, to help demonstrate the resources and search speed and efficiency of a plant recognition app. continue to work on Jane D chosen subjects, using different art mediums - some will Scrabble for Fun sketch, while others work with acrylics and We continue to meet on the second Friday and the last Wednesday pastels, with oil of each month when possible, in members’ homes in Oswestry and waiting on the Morda. Our numbers have increased over the past year but new horizons. members are always welcome, including beginners. We have a relaxed attitude towards the game. The use of dictionaries and other aids is tolerated! We start at 2.00 p.m. and, with a break for refreshments halfway through, aim to finish about 4.00 p.m. If

Scrabble appeals to you, please get in touch with me for more details. Beryl D Oswald Book Group

We are very grateful Here are some of the books we read in 2019: for the donations of art

books to our growing Brief History of Seven Killings, Marlon James library, which we use The Night-watch, Sarah Waters regularly to pick up tips and inspiration. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou The IG fair in October The English Patient, Michael Ondaatje gave us an opportunity The Blue Flower, Penelope Fitzgerald to discuss our art work Olive Kitteridge, Elizabeth Strout The Horseman, Ti m Pears with other members of Daughter of Persia, Sattereh Farman-Farmaian OBU3A.

Jane D We meet at Oswald's Cross, (TableTable) on the 4 th Wednesday of every month.

Jenny W P age 4

Borders Bulletin Volume 6 Amblers

Poetry The Amblers are coming to the end of another year of exercise, fresh air and good chat. We have returned to many old favourites, and we M embers meet on the have also explored some new walks. These included a walk around

s econd Wednesday of each Knockin and another around Morda, both led by Beryl D. month at 10.15 for 10.30 am.

at Oswald's Cross, Oswestry The Amblers are coming to the end to read and discuss chosen of another year of exercise, fresh poems. Over the last year air and good chat. We have w e have discussed the Life and Poetry of Robert Bridges returned to many old favourites, and the Life and Poetry of and we have also explored some Gerard Manley Hopkins (both new walks. These included a walk poets born in 1844); we around Knockin and another studied The Ballad of around Morda, both led by Beryl D. Reading Gaol by Osca r

W ilde; and we searched for and read out poems on We had a summer lunch in various themes chosen by members, including Peace Gloria Cawood's garden at Crickheath, with a walk along and Tranquillity, Friendship and Love, Journeys, Fathers, the renovated stretch of the Games, New Generation Montgomery Canal. We shall Poets, Theatre and be having our Christmas

Memories. Breakfast at Battlefield 1403 with a walk afterwards. If this appeals to you, com e a long and give us a try. We Please contact us if you would like to join us on our walks. We are do have two vacancies for called the Amblers for a reason: the walks are not strenuous and they new members. are usually around two miles in length. The walks start at 10.30 on the first and third Thursdays in the month, and we always have Beryl D refreshments afterwards. Clare C

Singing

One could jokingly say that the U3A singing group is a conversation society which occasionally breaks into song. Not true, but it would reflect a basic truth….that U3A singers enjoy their singing but get on socially extremely well. In over 6 years we have built up an eclectic repertoire including traditional folk

tunes from several once-popular hits like Petula Clark's ‘Downtown’ and Tommy Steele’s ‘Handful of Songs’. Our sessions are held on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of most months, from 10-30 until 12 in the Seion chapel, Oswestry. We have a refreshment/chat break somewhere in the middle. Occasionally, we are invited to do a short concert. Miraculously, we have even been invited back. If you fancy joining us, just come along; we’d love to see you. (It’s worth it to see our pianist playing with gloves on in the Winter). David R Page 5 Organising Travel Borders Bulletin Volume 6

The travel group once again has had a busy and enjoyable year. We started by visiting the BBC Media City and Salford Quays. A fascinating glimpse into how programmes are made. Some members enjoyed having a go at presenting the weather and sitting on the red news desk couch.

A visit to Wood lane Quarry, Ellesmere to the Media City, Salford sand and gravel quarry and recycling centre with a guided tour around the nature reserve was very popular. Despite the weather it was an excellent guided tour. Arley Hall, gardens and the Garden festival in the summer was a relaxing day out and enjoyed by all. The visit to Worcester and the Cathedral followed and some of us enjoyed an excellent Rich wild life in Ellesmere French meal which took a little too long to be served. Those on their own walked round in a small group which made the trip extra special. We finished the year with a spectacular trip to the International Tattoo. We have had to cancel some trips due to lack of support which is disappointing for our loyal supporters. In 2020 we have ambitious plans to visit Monet’s garden, Rouen and Honfleur but are Arley Hall and gardens dependent on getting 30 people who have paid the £50 deposit by 31st January 2020. It should be good fun so let’s hope it goes ahead. Details on our web page. The Organising Travel Group needs more help to organise trips for next year. Some of our Group members have had to drop out for various reasons. So if you would like to come and help us you would be most welcome, Worcester Cathedral come and have a chat at our next Speaker/Members meeting.

STOP PRESS

Sign up now for our French trip to Birmingham International Tattoo Honfleur, Rouen and Monet's Garden Pam B

Page 6 Borders Bulletin Volume 6 Garden

It has been a busy year for the Garden Group, with some very successful visits to gardens. The first of these was on 11th February (yes, really!) when we went to Attingham to look at the snowdrops. The weather in the morning was unpromising – grey & wet – but our hardy

members persevered, and the afternoon turned out warm and sunny. The snowdrops were lovely and it was so warm we even had our tea and cake sitting outside.

In March we continued our members’ presentations on Winter Colour, with very interesting short presentations on Nandina domestica, Cornus sanguinea ‘Magic Flame’, Mahonias, Holly and Witch Hazel, viewing illustrations on Colin’s gigantic TV.

Nandina Domestica Cornus Sanguinea Mahonia Winter Sun Witch Hazel April was once again wet. We intended looking at the daffodils at Plas Dinam (home, still, of the family who built Gregynog). Fortunately our very hospitable hosts gave us a very informative tour of the house, which included copies of the art collection that was moved from Gregynog to , and Carole, our resident archaeological expert, was able to add more historical information. A couple of us actually saw the daffodils too!

The attractive garden at Kinton Grove,

Nesscliffe, was our May visit, on a nice sunny day. This was followed by a Sunday visit in June, to Hall Gardens, and in July Catherine E was kind enough to host our Summer Bring-A-Plate lunch in her lovely garden. It was so hot that we were glad of the shade that the gazebo provided for lunch (as usual, a feast). The December meeting traditionally is also when we plan our next year’s programme, but this year we had another important decision to make; I have decided to stand down as Group Leader and

Gloria C volunteered to take over as Group Co-ordinator, with Jane A handling money and meeting place bookings and Ann B handling the IT. Sally B

Page 7 Borders Bulletin Play Reading Volume 6

This year we have continued to pursue our usual pattern of reading aloud together an eclectic programme of plays, from Moliere (The Imaginary Invalid) to Pinter, taking in Chekhov

(The Proposal), Ayckbourn (Confusions) and Rattigan (The Browning Version) on our way.

We still meet at members’ homes and members prepare the readings by casting members in various ways that share out the parts. Otherwise, there is no advance preparation. Hence, members are challenged to discover the role they are playing whilst performing it, so personalities and voices develop on the hoof, which makes for half the fun.

Some of this year’s choices were selected for their wit and humour while others had more challenging subjects which inevitably provoke complex responses. We finish the year with a classic which still entertains, Hobson’s Choice, and our January choice is the less comfortable Diary of Anne Frank.

The group getting ready to enjoy Hobson's Choice.

Sandra H Page 8 Borders Bulletin Volume 6 Su nday Lunch

We started with a six month programme, which was not always practical as some pubs/restaurants had ceased trading before we could book them! Others were new to the business and it was decided best to let them settle in before venturing to a ‘new ownership’ venue. Once this was decided we now choose the next venue at the current lunch meeting. This has proved very successful (with the exception of one, unnamed, venue) It’s a course we shall follow as it gives everyone the chance to recommend their favourites. We try to keep within the bounds of Oswestry and not travel too far, especially in the winter months. This allows us to support local traders; something that is close to our hearts at least.

Our current membership is 14 with normal attendance about 8 to 10 per meeting Sunday Lunch group enjoying a meal and, as expected, is a light hearted and interesting get-together. New members at the Wynnstay, Oswestry, for their are very welcome. so come and join us for Sunday lunch by contacting Geoff A Christmas gathering. and/or Richard K. We meet on the third Sunday of the month.

Bowls Geoff A and Richard K Joan L organised the Bowls Group again this summer . After Film Goers the winter break the group started playing on Easter Monday, meeting every We continue to enjoy a wide variety of films, including "Green Book", Monday at 2 p.m. at the Bowl-

ing Green in Cae Glas Park. Two men—one white, one black—from The fine weather this summer wildly different backgrounds get thrown ensured that there were some together under unusual circumstances. very enjoyable afternoons in They learn from each other, change each

the park. The Bowls group has other for the better and discover now closed for the winter and that—guess what?—they’re not so different after all. will recommence in April. Joan has very kindly agreed to run the group for another season. "Wild Rose" Everyone is welcome to join. The cost is approx. £1.50 per Fresh out of prison, a Scottish session with free hire of woods. woman juggles her job and two children while pursuing her No previous experience is nec- dream of becoming a country essary. Joan will explain how to music star... play in her usual patient style.

Pat Evans

and "Judy ". Thirty years after starring in "The Spanish Wizard of Oz," actress and singer Judy Garland arrives in London where, she begins a whirlwind romance with musician Mickey Deans, her soon-to-be Renée Zellweger is Judy fifth husband...

We meet on a Friday night and watch our chosen film at Kinoculture, in Oswestry.

We usually meet for a pub meal before the film. Spanish classes are due to resume on January 10th We meet at my house on the 4th Wednesday afternoon to discuss the film and to and 24th 2020. choose the film for the next month. We are a small, sociable group and all are Pauline F welcome to join us. Please contact Liz H. (the Interest Group Secretary), for details, by clicking the link on our page of the website: https://oswestrybordersu3a.wordpress.com/film-goers/ Page 9 Jane A Borders Bulletin Volume 6 Book

Our group continues to meet monthly at members’ homes to share experiences of our reading and discuss a wide range of issues which arise from the nature of the books and our ideas about them. As before, the books are chosen in advance and borrowed from Shropshire Libraries Reading Group Library, our selections being made more than a year

ahead.

As always, our responses were very varied, reflecting both our individual views and interests and also the differing views on life the books presented. Mostly fiction but not told in traditional omniscient narrator format. Akenfield (Ronald Blythe, 1969) is a memoir, mostly of a series of detailed recollections of traditional rural life in Suffolk.

It made an interesting comparison with the fictional As I Lay Dying (William Faulkner, 1949), a harrowing account of a poor family’s odyssey across the Mississippi countryside to bury Addie, their wife and mother. Told in

turns by each of the family members, the novel ranges in mood from dark

comedy to the deepest pathos.

American Adulterer (Jed Mercurio, 2010) is also a novel but presents as a case history aspects of the life of JFK while President, featuring some of the key political decisions he made alongside his casual yet tortured sexual promiscuity.

Norwegian by Night (Derek Miller, 2012) has been compared to Huckleberry Finn and described as “part memory novel, part police procedural, part socio-political tract and part existential meditation”.

How else to summarise our book choices for 2019? National origin of the authors: one Scottish, four American, one French and six English. Gender: ten male and two female.

Sandra H

April October January 2020

Page 10 World and Barn Dance Borders Bulletin Volume 6

Dances attempted by the group Our group meets monthly every third Friday morning Alunelul, Romania from 10.30 am. to noon at St Oswald's Church, Bridge of Athlone, Ireland

Oswestry, Parish Centre. Broken Sixpence,

Circassian Circle, England

Circle Waltz, England Dashing White Sergeant ,Sco tland We have had a very successful and enjoyable year. Along with much Djatchko Kolo, Yugoslav ia laughter we have achieved (and remembered!) many more dances than we would ever have envisaged twelve months ago. Gay Gordons, England.

Hole in the Wall, Playford Frances, our humorous and patient instructress has incorporated not only English and Scottish items but also European dances – the music and steps Hull’s Victory, England/America being highly enlightening even to those who are more experienced dancers. Jovano Jovanke, Macedonia Oh Susanna, England/America Pleasingly, new members have joined us and we will always welcome Pravo, Bulgaria anyone who would like to come and along and give it a try. As I’ve mentioned before, if you can put one foot in front of the other, and laugh at Savila Se Bela Losa, Serbia the same time, our Group could be for you! Steam Boat, England

Stoke Golding, England

Seasonal Greetings and a Happy New Year to everyone. Syrtos, Greece Three Meet, England Margaret H Trgnala Rumjana, Bulgaria

Virginia Reel, England

Art Appreciation

2019 has been another varied and Sun and moon enjoyable year for us, starting with a visit from Robin Harvey in which we explored the connection MC Escher between art and maths through the prints work of M C Escher, and ending in our festive lunch. In between, we visited the Rennie Mackintosh Drawing Hands exhibition at the Walker Gallery and explored lesser known galleries in , including Ffyn-y-Parc at Llanwrst, a little gem. We have discussed paintings that evoke Charles emotion, tested our own knowledge of paintings, made our individual Rennie contributions on women Macintosh Impressionists and other ‘isms’ from Romanticism to Futurism with many more to come. Films and DVDs have also been on the menu. Finally, our year has ended on a sad note with the passing of Joyce

Whitehead who, before illness curtailed her activities, made some Ffyn-y-Parc Gallery, searching contributions to our Llanwrst meetings. She will not be forgotten.

Pat E Page 11

Borders Bulletin Volume 6 xxPublic Relations (PR) Group

This year the PR team has been looking into the individual U3As to determine how they objectives and local teamwork structures for collaborate and make their activities available to ‘Social Prescribing’ as we all felt there was a wider audience, including ’associates’ with potential in promoting the U3A within this other U3As in their town, cities and regions. initiative. We recognised that none of our posters There were many different diverse practices mention loneliness, and that national slogans across the national scene. about ‘laughter and learning’ might not appeal to Currently, OBU3A photographs are stored for someone just bereaved. We are currently drafting free on Flickr, a host website, where members a three-fold leaflet to address this, for distribution can view/download any new photographs. to local surgeries and hospitals. OBU3A Because of the 1000 limit introduced on this free packages are being produced for the Cambrian Care Co-ordinators, whom Melva D has been website, we purchased a hard drive to back up working with for some time as part of Social photographs. In addition, we are recommending Prescribing, and a range of national and OBU3A an upgrade on Flickr to allow unlimited number of leaflets are being considered for local surgeries. photographs, for a small annual fee. We shall be encouraging IG leaders to take more We have considered ways to keep our posters photographs of group activities to use on their IG more cost-effective and up-to-date. The current website pages. colour photograph layout has proved successful and its Programme of Events section is designed We updated our photo display for the week-long so that a replacement new events list could be exhibition, publicising OBU3A to the general added to posters at regular intervals. The posters public, at Oswestry library in October. It was are circulated around Oswestry at the usual encouraging to learn that several new people at venues, exploring new additions and popular the IG Fair said they came as a result of the pubs. As the parish councils supported our 2018 Library display. campaign with coverage in their online While numbers were slightly down on last year’s newsletters, we have sent them updates of the IG Fair, with less groups participating, we had poster. two new members join, plus some more potential Monthly press releases to local papers have members. The Deputy Mayor, Duncan Kerr, drawn in new members and whenever possible pictured with Liz H, IG Co-ordinator, attended we extend this publicity. The magazine ‘Oswestry and was very interested in all the stalls, and the

Life’ is now regularly carrying features on our Advertizer covered the event. speaker and members’ meetings.

Work continues updating the OBU3A website and

Facebook page to remove members’ surnames and contact details to comply with data protection and privacy regulations. On the website we are providing enquirers with contact links via on-line forms and there’s a messaging facility on

Facebook to contact our FB administrators. We will encourage more group leaders to make use of our Facebook page.

As our associate membership with OU3A ended Deputy Mayor Duncan Kerr being shown round the Interest this year, we were encouraged at the number of Groups Fair by Liz H our Interest Groups Coordinator associates becoming full OBU3A members. We’ll have a look at a possible date change and different Melva D and Pat B reported back on their formats for the 2020 fair. research into collaborative networking strategies developed between other U3As at National and In the New Year the PR team will be looking into the Regional levels. It appears that it’s really up to Healthy U3A checklist, distributed by our National Office.

Jane D

Page 12

Borders Bulletin Speaker Meetings Volume 6

2019 Speaker Meetings

Jim Almond at work ‘Nature in Focus’ – photographing nature. This talk includes Jan 2 information on equipment and technique and wonderful pictures of wildlife. – Jim Almon d , Shropshire Birder

‘Light Fantastic – a Thousand Years of Stained Glass’ - it’s Feb 6 history from the earliest examples to the modern day. – Keith Cattell

‘Three Shropshire Women Writers – Mary Webb, Edith Pargeter Mar 6 and Barbara Pym’ – Gordon Dickins, Author, discusses how their writing was influenced by the Shropshire Landscape 'The Extraordinary Flowers of Western Australia' - April 3 Dr Peter Llewellyn, British Wild Flower Society 'Secrets and Lies - What great masterpieces really say' - May 1 Sarah Gathercole

June 5 'Music from New Orleans to New York' - Roger Browne Early stained glass panel from Tettenhall Wood House July 3 'Herbs - grow them, use them and love them' - Cathy Preston

August 7 'Virtual walking tour of Chester City' - Stephen Shakeshaft

September 4 'Story Telling by Storyb odger' - Simon Martin

October 2 'Maps - Power and Perception' - Martin Carruthers

November 6 'The Story of the Gunpowder Plot' - Pam Johnson

Sarah Gathercole, Art Historian December 4 'The History of Christmas' - Philip Bowen

2020 Speaker Meetings

January 1 No Meeting - Best Wishes for 2020

February 5 'Shrewsbury's Three 18th Century Treasures' - John Butterworth

Western Australian flowers March 4 'The Hands of Genius - Art on a Minute Scale'- Graham Short

Stephen Shakeshaft, Chester guide

Mary Webb, Edith Pargetter and Barbara Pym Simon Martin, story teller

Guy Fawkes and fellow conspirators

Page 13 Borders Bulletin Members’ Meetings Volume 6

OBU3A Members’ Meeting programme continues to be well attended with a variety of activities. Each year we

set aside sessions for the

AGM in April and the Interest Groups Fair, pictured below, now in

October to give groups more time to prepare after the

summer.

Joining a group

All the Interest Group pages on the website now have a link to this page.

To join a group click the link on group page of the website or click the link below.

When you click Submit your request will be sent to our Interest Groups co-ordinator, Liz H who will pass your request on to the leader of the group you wish to join.

Alternatively please speak directly to Liz H at Speaker or Members meetings. Click this link to be taken to the page on our website shown above.

https://oswestrybordersu3a.wordpress.com/interest-groups-2019/

Page 14 Borders Bulletin Volume 6 Civilizations

The Civilizations Group has been very busy since it started in March 2019. We agreed to study various civilizations in date order, each person in the group looking at a different aspect (e.g. Economics, Political Organisation, Art, Religion) to present to the rest of the group. We started with the Aborigines, who date from at least 65,000 years ago and are often not counted as a civilization because they did not have writing but, we all agreed, a civilization that had a lot to teach modern day society about living in harmony both with each other and with nature. After the Aborigines we looked at Mesopotamia, from 3,500 – 500 BC, which certainly did have a type of writing, as well as highly developed architecture, warfare, trading and political systems. But it did not have the peaceful co-existence of the Aborigines!

Then came the Indus Valley, 3,300 – 1,900 B.C., where women, at least of the wealthier classes, seemed to be the ones who wore the jewellery.

We followed the Indus with Egypt, 3150 – 30 B.C., another civilization with very sophisticated architecture, political, artistic and economic systems but again, one which was constantly at war. Currently we are studying the Mayan civilization, 2,600 B.C. to c. 900 A.D. Again this civilization is constantly at war, but a remarkable feature of it is that it had no political unity, being

instead a collection of city-states with a common culture. Another remarkable feature is its degree of similarity with the In Memoriam civilizations of the Fertile Crescent despite the fact that they had no contact with each other at all. This year we have lost several of our U3A Family. We recognise their Our Christmas meeting is took place at the Greek Meze contribution to Oswestry Borders U3A. restaurant in Ellesmere – a rather erratic look at Greek They will be greatly missed by all who knew them. Our thoughts are with their food, but we’ll catch up on the rest of the Greek Civilization families this Christmas. in due course. We fondly remember - Meetings take place at the Group Leader’s home on the Joy Burgess 2nd Thursday of the month. New members are always Richard Burgess welcome. Derek Broadhurst Eleanor K Charles Stiles Joyce Whitehead Pat E

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