York Newsletter
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York Newsletter Number 178 April 2019 www.yorku3a.com 15a Clifford Street, York YO1 9RG Registered charity number 1007843 01904 633726 Contents Page Chairman’s Remarks, 3 Editorial 4 Groups Co-ordinator 5 Scrabble, Croquet 7 Wild flower Review 8 Stained Glass Group 11 Wildlife Walks 12 Study Morning 17 YAHR Summer School 14 York University Library, YAHR U3A 2-Events 15 Crossword 16 Committee, Contacts, Office Opening 17 Saturday Morning Talks 18 Travel Group, Drax Visit Report 19 Report on Biscuit Factory Visit 21 Eyam Visit Details 22 Eyam Visit Booking Form 23 Front cover picture: Here we have the Ouse, flowing downstream under the busy Water End Bridge. The river is in flood so much so that your photographer could not get in front of the trees to take the photo. This point on the Ouse is where the Boat Trips going upstream of York often turn around. Printed on Recycled Paper 2 Chairman’s remarks My remarks this time are an elaboration on the email I sent a fortnight ago to all York U3A members whose email addresses we have. As many of you will be aware, our membership numbers have been growing steadily over recent years, although relatively few of the people in York who would qualify for membership seem to know about U3A. We are not short of numbers but, given the many opportunities for intellectual stimulation, physical recreation and friendship that our many U3A interest groups afford our members, your committee has agreed that we should collaborate in an initiative launched by the Haxby branch of U3A to make people in our area who are soon to retire more aware of what we offer. This will involve providing information about U3A to the larger employers in York who run pre-retirement programmes for their staff. We have been made aware that one potential outcome of this initiative is that some GP practices may start suggesting membership of U3A to potential members as a way of countering loneliness. Even without an initiative that seems likely to accelerate the growth in our membership numbers, we would need to plan for future growth. We have already reached a situation in which many new members are disappointed at finding that the interest groups they had been hoping to join are full. One of the great strengths of U3A is that all our activities are run by our members for our members. We already have wonderful teams of volunteers who look after the U3A office; who take care of the teas and coffees, the A/V set-up, and the front-of-house at our Saturday morning talks; who act as conveners of the 140+ different interest groups; who serve on the committee and manage their different portfolios; who look after the gardens; and who provide a variety of other ad hoc services for us. We are deeply appreciative of their efforts and could not function without them. But having all U3A activities run by members for members is also a potential weakness if not enough of us come forward to help with the running. One practical solution to having interest groups that are full, and groups that are growing too large, is for someone in those groups to take the initiative to start a spin-off group. What we are looking for is not specialist expertise so much as willingness to convene the meetings of the groups. Your committee is currently in the process of identifying additional venues in the city that are available for hire so that the lack of a venue is not a deterrent. It also seems very unlikely that all the interests of our nearly 1800 members are currently being catered for by our 140+ existing interest 3 groups, so some of the pressure on our current groups might well be alleviated by members taking the initiative to start new groups. In the interests of trying to make sure that the membership of our interest groups doesn’t become too static, the committee agreed at its February meeting that the Group Leaders should be reminded that membership of the different groups shouldn’t be automatically rolled-over from one year to the next but should be renewed afresh at the beginning of the U3A year each September. We are currently looking for volunteers to take on the role of Secretary to the committee, when Jean Haywood’s term of office comes to an end later this year, and the role of Office Coordinator from Carolyn Jaques, whose term of office expired last October but who has nobly agreed to continue in the role on a temporary basis. Carolyn’s role could become a job-share with one person taking on the role of Volunteer Coordinator, coordinating the work of the volunteers who work in the office for us, and another taking on the role of Office-Coordinator, overseeing the office functions (ordering supplies, keeping a log of keyholders, etc.), neither of which should be overly time-consuming. Anyone who thinks he or she might be interested in any of these roles should please contact any member of the Committee (contact details are in every Newsletter) or phone the office – 01904- 633726. Sorry to regale you with such extensive remarks, but we have reached a point where we seem likely to become victims of our own success unless more of our members are prepared to take on group leadership, committee membership and other volunteering roles. In conclusion, it bears repeating just how much your committee values and appreciates the contributions of all those of you who already spend time contributing to the success of our U3A branch. David Maughan Brown Editorial For the newsletter send your copy to [email protected] ideally in Arial font size 11 with no underlining except for e-links on or before 12:00am Monday 20th May. for the June 2019 issue, for publishing on Friday 31st May Or, post/hand your copy to: Newsletter, York U3A, 15a Clifford Street, York, YO1 9RG -same deadline of course Crossword This issue’s Crossword has been provided by Mike Heddon. Please send in your cryptic crosswords on a 13x13 grid. 4 Report from Groups Coordinator Proposed new groups Folk and fairy tales We think of fairy tales - not quite the same as folktales, but they overlap – as the stuff of the nursery, but they were never meant for children, and some are much too dark. Folk and fairy tales are often ancient, began before the written word became universal, and lie close to the roots of narrative. They have been changed by writing and continue to be re-told and re-interpreted. We would probably use one book of tales each term (to be agreed at a first meeting), usually obtainable inexpensively second- hand. If you are interested and want to find out more please contact Graham Frater at [email protected] IPhone/iPad Camera and Photography Group Would you like to learn how to take better photos with your iPhone/iPad? Would you then like to learn how to edit your photos to make them look even better? If you would then please register your interest. The plan is to meet fortnightly for 2 hours and watch short 10 to 15 minute videos and then help each other to practice taking better photos and editing. The videos include very basic and more advanced techniques about how to use the iPhone/iPad camera settings, editing features/Apps and using iCloud Photo Library. When people feel ready, we may then move on to more advanced editing using Apps including such techniques as: Straightening and cropping photos When to use filters Creating Sharp and Clear photos Brightness, Contrast and Histograms Highlights, Shadows and Editing Curves Adjusting Saturation and White Balance Artistic editing If this sounds like something you’re interested in, then please contact me: Carolyn Clarke, email [email protected] I look forward to hearing from you! Cookery for men This group meets in St Aelred’s Community Centre on the second or third Thursday of the month and has space for two new members. If you are fed up of M&S ready meals or your own two standard dishes, and would like to extend your repertoire of everyday cooking, why not send Alison Holmes a message on [email protected] to find out more. 5 Reinstated Table Tennis Group Venue: Railway Institute, Queen Street, York. Mondays 14:00 to 16:00 Wednesdays 9:30 to 11:30 Thursdays 14:00 to 16:00 Admission: £3 per session - to cover the cost of the room. All equipment is provided although, if you like, you are welcome to bring your own bat. No booking required but if you have any queries please phone John Walford 01904 621557. History of York and Its Suburbs Many thanks to Avril Appleton for running this very successful group for the last 6 years and to Meg Lowson for holding the fort for the last three months. Unfortunately, the group has now closed due to lack of a new convenor. If anyone is interested in continuing this group, either as it has been running or in a new format, please contact Alison Holmes on [email protected] . Playing Chess: All stages This group which meets at the leader’s home every other Wednesday from 2-4pm throughout the year, is seeking new members. If you have an interest in chess, either to start, revitalise or hone, please get in touch with the leader Elizabeth on 01904 707708. Opportunity for you to lead a group Learning to be retired No matter how eagerly anticipated, retirement, when it becomes a reality, can present some challenges.