The Hippopotamus
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Eastbourne & Wealden U3A ISSUE # 87 Registered Charity No.: 1184226 1st Quarter 2021 The hippopotamus, (commonly known as the hippo), common hippopotamus or river hippopotamus, is a large, mostly herbivorous, semiaquatic mammal and ungulate native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae, the other being the pygmy hippopotamus. Wikipedia Speed: 48 km/h (Maximum, On Land, Running) Trophic level: Omnivorous Encyclopaedia of Life Lifespan: 40 – 50 years Gestation period: 243 days Diet: Herbivore Mass: Male: 1,500 – 1,800 kg (Adult), Female: 1,300 – 1,500 kg (Adult) Page 1 of 12 Hello everyone, I hope you all had a good Christmas and I think we are all hoping that this year will be better than last year. We are still not able to meet in person, but some of you with the technology are able to meet each other virtually. When it is safe and we are permitted to do so, we will resume our Groups and monthly meetings. I strongly encourage all our groups to use the technology to meet where this is practical. Not every group can use Zoom to meet up with their group members, such as Crafts, Scrabble, Canasta, Photography and Music, but I am sure many others can. It won’t cost you a penny. Our Vice Chairman, Richard Sanders, holds the Zoom license for our u3a and is more than happy to schedule your meetings for you. You can then spend up to 24 hours without interruption!!! Please Group Leaders, give it a try. In the meantime, please keep well and safe, until we can meet again. Happy New Year to you all. Debbie Phillips DATE FOR YOUR 2021 DIARY Your Eastbourne & Wealden u3a committee have decided to try a zoom MEMBER MEETING on Tuesday 2nd February at 2pm (this will be our usual meeting day - first Tuesday in the month). We have engaged a speaker with whom some of you are already acquainted - Geoffrey Meads has been booked for a Zoom presentation on “Pevensey Levels – A Landscape Passed By”. Meeting details and ID will be forwarded to all members on e-mail nearer the date. Hope lots of you will join us for this presentation. Editor’s Contact Details: The deadline for submissions for the next Richard Sanders issue of the Windmill, due to be Email: [email protected] published the first week of April, is the Mobile: 07776 101228 15th March 2021. Page 2 of 12 Dear Editor, I see that the committee is encouraging members to embrace technology – and the use of Zoom for virtual meetings. So, I thought you might like to know of my experiences with this system. As you know, I am group leader of the Current Affairs Group and we have used Zoom for our meetings for several months now. This has allowed us to continue our discussions, while complying with the various COVID restrictions (there are more than six of us). You may have noticed the effect our continuing deliberations have had on national and intentional politics?!?! The practicalities of the system are amazingly simple. You download the Zoom app and then wait for the details of the meeting to be sent out by email. Then you simply click on the code in the email at the right time, and there you are, with other participants in that meeting all looking at each other on the screen. It works with a desktop PC as well as laptops and smaller devices such as iPads. (It will work with smart phones too, but the screen is too small). Obviously, this will not be of any use to some groups (virtual dining will have its limitations), but I would have hoped that others, such as musical appreciation and language study would be ideally suited to this. I might mention that in addition to the U3A, sorry – u3a - I am a member of three other local societies, all of which very successfully use this system to a greater of lesser extent, the genealogy, astronomy, and archaeology societies. In the genealogy society, of which I am secretary, we have also started to use it for committee meetings and intend to use it for lectures to the membership from the New Year. In some cases, we may well not return to actual meetings in the future. Sincerely, John Crane Dear Editor To the members in our u3a: I really hope that someone is considering taking over from me as Secretary in April. I have been Secretary for nine years and, according to our Constitution, I should have left our u3a committee years and years ago. Therefore, I am sorry to say that I must retire from the Committee even if I, or anyone else, does not want me to. Please, please give it some thought. Sandra Rowe Page 3 of 12 A COCKNEY - OR MAYBE NOT? My parents, both Londoners, moved to Eastbourne after the war. My brother and I are “baby boomers” born in 1946. Expecting twins, our mother was worried about complications. The Maternity Hospital in Upperton Road had a bad reputation regarding difficult births. So, as my mum’s parents still lived in London, she moved back with them three weeks before we were due. We were born at the University College Hospital, the maternity wing of which I have always understood was then in Gower Street. My mum always maintained that the hospital was within the Bells of Bow, namely St Mary-le-Bow in Cheapside, which made us Cockneys. Was she right? I have never queried it, and I have always regarded myself an Eastbournian. Am I, or am I not, a Cockney? I would love to know. John Riley SCRABBLE GROUP - are seeking a new GROUP LEADER After many years of hosting the Scrabble Group, and giving the members numerous enjoyable afternoons, Jill Hicks has, unfortunately (for us), decided to retire from the group. Therefore, when our u3a returns to normal activities, the Scrabble Group will not be available unless a new Group Leader is found. A Group Leader is a very satisfying job and Jill will be more than pleased to help her successor in every way possible. Should any present member (of either the group or indeed a new u3a member) be prepared to take on the role, please contact David Oakes (398072) our new Group Leader Co-Ordinator. by Roger Lee Doorstep conversation 2 Months later, on the door knocks Josiah I wonder if I am on their database He too wants to discuss the chosen Messiah Marked as a potential conversion case And repentance, damnation as well as hellfire A candidate for redemption and grace Underpinned by the teachings of Jeremiah. Destined for a much holier place. He possesses the most engaging smile As well as the latest bibliophile Featuring gospel passages on his mobile The latest Samsung, so versatile. Page 4 of 12 U3A Rambling Group In October we had our first walk since March and chose a lovely sunny day, starting from East Dean and walking into Friston Forest. Unfortunately, both our November and December walks were cancelled firstly due to the lockdown and then to keep away from others as much as possible to try and make Christmas as safe as we can for everyone. Let’s hope we can start properly again in the New Year! This is what I am proposing that we do for the start of 2021: January 8th - From Hampden Park Café to Shinewater Lake. A flat 5-mile walk, mainly on hard surfaces so it should not be too muddy. February 12th - From Eastbourne Youth Hostel, up to the South Downs Way, then towards the sea and back on the Jubilee Way. Some ups and downs, 4.75 miles. March 12th - From Butts Brow to Jevington. Some ups and downs, about 5 miles. Do not forget your Resident’s Card for parking at Butts Brow. We will be stopping at some point on the walks, so remember to bring a drink. We will be ensuring that we are Covid-19 secure, therefore 1. The leader will need to do a risk assessment before each walk. 2. Numbers will be limited to the leader + 15, so we will have a booking system (at least for the early walks so that we can judge numbers). Please contact me in the week before the walk if you would like to join us. 3. There will be a register of everyone who comes, for Track and Trace, and this list will be kept for 21 days. 4. All walkers should bring their own mask and hand sanitiser with them. Theresa Hancock | 01323-726685 | [email protected] Page 5 of 12 History of the Eastbourne Pier (Part 2 – final) Various traditional pier theatres were built over the years but after the last one was destroyed by fire in 1970, it was replaced by a nightclub and bar which remain to this day. On the landward half of the pier stands a fish and chip kiosk, an amusement arcade, and a fast-food outlet. Further out, as well as the club there is a cafe, a restaurant, a glassblower, a clothes shop, and an ice cream parlour. The tower at the end of the pier is often used as a viewing point during the annual air show. For more than a decade, the pier played host to the town's annual Birdman competition, which saw competitors jump into the sea in home-made costumes to see who could 'fly' the furthest. Six Piers Limited placed Eastbourne Pier up for sale in 2009, with an asking price of £5.5 million.