Croxley Chronicles June 2020 ______
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Croxley Chronicles June 2020 __________________________________________________________________________________ Dear Croxley Green U3A members, Well, here we are, still in lockdown. Hopefully we all getting used to our new lifestyles and finding ways of using the excess time we have on our hands not just productively but also enjoyably. As you know, we met – it seems months ago but it was actually only six weeks - as a committee on Zoom and discussed how we could best move forward in these times: Firstly, the AGM is postponed until we can meet in the normal way at St. Oswalds Church Hall – who knows when this might be! Secondly, we hoped that interest group members will continue to keep in touch with each other either by phone, text, email or video link wherever possible and indeed that seems to be the case for hopefully all of you. Please do not hesitate to phone any member of the committee if you haven’t had, and would like, contact with your U3A. Thirdly, we promised to keep in contact with you by issuing more frequent newsletters and also sending a quiz every so often. This is where I come in, as newsletter editor, so I have to start with an apology that it has taken me so long – I’m afraid the good weather proved too tempting! Thank you to those of you who have sent in contributions (see below) and thank you also to the Wanstead & Woodford U3A who have been sharing their bulletins with the Herts U3A Network – these will be going on the website for you to enjoy. Nationally, the U3A has been considering how to maintain the whole ethos of the U3A, which is quite challenging when we’re unlikely to be able to meet in person for some time. The Third Age Trust offers many opportunities nationally to communicate online with their more frequent newsletters, Facebook and Twitter accounts and other forums. Details are on the national website, www.u3a.org.uk. Do sign up for their national newsletter as this gives details of national events and advice; you could join their Facebook U3A site - "Keeping in Touch". This is a private group and to join you just need to give your name and your U3A. Huge numbers of members are sharing beautiful photos, poems, stories, quizzes and many other items. Many of our local interest groups are now using technology for their meetings and this appears to be working well although I think all would agree that these interactions have distinct limitations! We did discuss as a committee whether it was feasible to hold monthly meetings using Zoom or similar but decided that one of the main ‘draws’ of our meetings (apart from the interesting talks that our Speaker Secretary invariably organises!) was the opportunity to socialise which of course wouldn’t really work online with larger numbers. However, this will be reviewed as the national situation develops. Very best wishes to all, STAY SAFE AND WELL, and I will try to keep in touch on a more regular basis! Irene Dubuis POETRY GROUP During Lockdown members of the Poetry Group have been posting poems on email for other members to read and I have compiled an anthology from their contributions for the first few weeks. I know that a lot of people have been walking in Croxley Woods as their daily exercise and the bluebells have been particularly lovely this year. One of our members chose this after walking there (now perhaps a distant memory, but a lovely reminder of a spectacular show this year – Irene) The Bluebell by Anne Brontë A fine and subtle spirit dwells in every little flower, Each one its own sweet feeling breathes With more or less of power. There is a silent eloquence in every wild bluebell That fills my softened heart with bliss That words could never tell. Yet I recall not long ago Whence came that rising in my throat, A bright and sunny day, That dimness in my eye? 'Twas when I led a toilsome life Why did those burning drops distil - So many leagues away; Those bitter feelings rise? That day along a sunny road O that lone flower recalled to me All carelessly I strayed, My happy childhood's hours Between two banks where smiling flowers When bluebells seemed like fairy gifts Their varied hues displayed. A prize among the flowers, Before me rose a lofty hill, Those sunny days of merriment Behind me lay the sea When heart and soul were free, My heart was not so heavy then And when I dwelt with kindred hearts As it was wont to be That loved and cared for me. Less harassed than at other times I had not then mid heartless crowds I saw the scene was fair, To spend a thankless life and spoke and laughed to those around, In seeking after others' weal As if I knew no care. With anxious toil and strife. But when I looked upon the bank 'Sad wanderer, weep those blissful times My wandering glances fell That never may return!' Upon a little trembling flower, The lovely floweret seemed to say, A single sweet bluebell. And thus it made me mourn. Another person was about to go down to her greenhouse to sow seeds and this prompted her to share this with us: The Seedshop by Muriel Stuart A cedar in this narrow cell is thrust That will drink deeply of a century’s streams; Here in a quiet and dusty room they lie, These lilies shall make summer on my dust. Faded as crumbled stone or shifting sand, Here in their safe and simple house of death, Forlorn as ashes, shrivelled, scentless, dry- Sealed in their shells, a million roses leap; Meadows and gardens running through my hand. Here I can blow a garden with my breath, In this brown husk a dale of hawthorn dreams; And in my hand a forest lies asleep. Netti Smallbone Lockdown U3A Quiz: May 2020 (Thank you to Chris Jones!) Five rounds of 10 questions. Subjects may or may not change each month. You may consult with other members of your household but must maintain social distancing from Mr Google and his friends. Answers in the next bulletin! Geography 1/ Which river flows though Rome? 2/ Which European country has the longest coastline? 3/ What is the state capital of California? 4/ Which famous monastery is located on Holy Island? 5/ What is the highest peak in North America? 6/ Which two cities are linked by the M8? 7/ Which island was originally named Van Diemen’s Land? 8/ Which Asian country is bigger than France, Spain and Germany combined but has a population of a little over two million? 9/ The Pembrokeshire Coast and Snowdonia are two National Parks in Wales. What is the third? 10/ Which two countries are linked by the Brenner Pass? Literature 1/ Who wrote The Handmaid’s Tale? 2) Which War is featured in Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks? 3) One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich was the first work by which dissident writer? 4) What is the novel, later filmed, which features a painting by Vermeer, set in the Dutch city of Delft? 5) To which book was a judge referring in 1960 when he asked a jury whether they would allow their wives or servants to read it? 6) Which Greek island is the main setting for the novel, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin? 7) Which two cities provide the setting for Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities? 8) Who throws herself under a train after seeing her lover, Captain Vronsky, saying goodbye to another woman? 9) Which private boarding school in Dickens’ Nicholas Nickleby is callously controlled by Wackford Squeers? 10) Which Chorleywood author of historical fiction, including the Emperor and Conqueror series, became the first to top the UK fiction and non-fiction charts at the same time? Cinema 1) What was David Lean’s romantic weepie, based on Noel Coward’s play, Still Life? 2) Who succeeded Marlon Brando as the head of the Corleone family in the Godfather movies? 3) What film begins with the words: “I owe everything to George Bailey. Help him, Dear Father?” 4) Which film ends with the words: “I do wish we could chat longer, but I’m having an old friend for dinner?” 5) In which film, seeing Meg Ryan apparently experiencing great pleasure in a restaurant, does a character say: “I’ll have what she’s having”. 6) What was the last black and white film to win an Oscar for Best Picture? 7) Which is the only film for which John Wayne won an Oscar? 8) What is the title of the 1971 film in which Clint Eastwood plays a DJ? 9) On which street was there a miracle in the Christmas movie with Richard Attenborough? 10) Who won an Oscar for Best Actress in the 1980s, more than 20 years after she topped the singles charts as a singer? Music 1) Which artist had a hit with Rubber Ball? 2) Which Beatles song includes the lyrics: “On the corner is a banker with a motorcar/ the little children laugh at him behind his back”? 3) Thomas Arne’s opera, Alfred, brought which jingoistic tune to the British nation? 4) Which backing singers worked with Elvis Presley through the 60s? 5) Which song, sung by which artist, begins: “It’s nine o’clock on a Saturday, the regular crowd shuffles in”? 6) Who were the first band to reach Number One in the British charts with their first three singles? 7) Which operatic heroine worked in a cigar factory? 8) Which Rodgers and Hammerstein musical begins in heaven? 9) The first four notes of which of Beethoven’s symphonies were used in BBC broadcasts to occupied Europe during the Second World War? (And you can always guess a number) 10) Who composed Rhapsody in Blue? General Knowledge 1) What is a kippah? a) a fish b) a cap or c) a small boat.