BARNSLEY AND DISTRICT U3A

Internet: Barnsley U3A / Charity no. 1077654

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These are very difficult and challenging times for everybody and none more so than for our particular age group. However, despite this and the present U3A closedown, we have been absolutely overwhelmed by your response to our membership renewal process. Over 1,150 of you have renewed your subscriptions. Our concern now, though, is that with such support from our members, we have very little to offer by way of our normal activities. I know that a lot of you are having virtual meetings and using the technology to good effect but this is not what we are really about. The need for physical interaction is what the U3A movement is founded upon. However, video conferencing is a helpful substitute in the circumstances within which we find ourselves, and many members are building up new found knowledge and confidence in the technology, which will potentially also prove beneficial in the longer term.

Like many of you, I had never heard of ‘Zoom’ prior to March of this year but now I am logging in to it on a regular basis. The Executive Committee is meeting every two weeks on ‘Zoom’ and we are having regular Coordinators’ meetings. In addition, we have started to run the monthly meetings in this way. The July meeting got us off to a good start with around fifty members joining in. Then, at the August meeting we had over sixty tuning in to keep up to date with the latest news and to listen to a brilliantly interesting and entertaining presentation from two of our members, Andrew and Sue Green. You can read more about their presentation on pp 6, 7 & 8 in this ‘Buzz’.

Three months have passed since our last ‘Buzz’ was produced and, as I write in mid-August, we are still very restricted in our ability to open up our activities. With the exception of one or two outside groups, we are still in U3A lockdown but one sees that Government rules are gradually beginning to change and we want to be ready to set our groups ‘free’. In order to ensure our members’ safety and security, we are working to the advice set out by our U3A National colleagues after their lawyers have considered the impact of the Government’s rules. This helps us to ensure that we retain the necessary third-party insurance cover. All these issues provide new and complex challenges that all U3As will have to manage. This has consequently led us to decide to build our own local expertise so that we can support all groups in the preparation of the necessary formal risk assessments. The good news is that we have now appointed Trudy Atkinson as our Risk Assessment Officer to support all Group Coordinators through the process.

Another very important appointment that we have made recently is into our Development Officer position vacated by Joanie Tollerfield. Lynn Maloney has taken on this role and has got straight into action. You will be able to read an article setting out some of Lynn’s thoughts and ideas on pp 4 & 28 of this ‘Buzz’. I need, at this point, to propose a big vote of thanks to Joanie whose energy and commitment enabled us to create a number of new groups during her time in the role.

Can I also thank Robert Green and Sue Button for their years of outstanding leadership of Family History at Dodworth Library. They are now standing down but watch this space. Please see Page 46 for a new Coordinator request.

I started this message talking about the wonderful support we have received from all of you who have renewed your membership subscriptions. Such commitment ensured that, unlike a number of other U3As, we have remained open for business and we are intent on keeping in touch with you and telling you the latest news at regular intervals. In addition to our Beacon Messages and the interim newsletter, we have what is generally regarded as the best printed U3A newsletter around. I believe that our ‘Buzz’ is the best of the best and we want to ensure that every member receives their copy in a timely manner. This is why we have decided that it is appropriate to again post this new edition in preference to trying to arrange a collection process, which would be a logistical nightmare. I know that you will enjoy this latest edition; the response to the Summer edition was wonderful. Thank you!

I truly hope that when I am writing my next message, there is a lot more good news to talk about. In the meantime, we will post Beacon messages to keep you informed about any re-opening progress.

Take care, everyone, and keep safe and well.

Alan Swann

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Buzz Editor and Vice-chairman: Derek Bacon CONTENTS

P2 Chairman’s Message Welcome to the P3 Editorial / Contents / Winter Buzz deadline Autumn 2020 ‘Buzz’ P4 Re-opening of groups. Development Officer. I hope that you enjoy P5 Mary Brook at 100. Happy birthday! reading it P6-8 August Monthly Meeting; Sue and Andrew Green ‘Lockdowns of the Past’ and ‘Eyam’ P9 The Alan Swann Advice Page Once again, ‘The Buzz’ comes without its P10-11 Indu Kumar: My Covid Days usual group activities articles so is dependent P12-13 Our photographers in Lockdown: Norman Creighton on fewer contributors, but those articles P14 Mac McKechnie written for us to read have required much P15-17 Writers of The Third Page / John Hines poem effort and I believe that they merit your time. P18 Sue Rowley: My Dad’s War I am hoping that many groups will be offering P19 Birdwell Buddies / The Bun Run ‘post-lockdown’ articles for the Winter Buzz. P20 Table & Board Games / Upwords advert The articles range from the very deep and P21 Conversational French moving to the stunning, to the humorous. To P22 Book Forum 2 / UW advert every contributor, my huge thanks. P23 Spine-tingling moment: Passchendaele 2017 P24 Don Smith: The Match of a Lifetime The front cover is by Janet Simpson of our ‘Art P25 Mary Melling / Travel / Walking Cricket for Beginners’. Look closely; it combines P26-27 Our Artists in Lockdown: Margaret Hall humour, the pesky 2020 virus and our desire P28 Associate Member: Colin Hermitage to get back to activities. Thank you, Janet! P29 Stitches in Lockdown This quarter we feature two of our greatly- P30 Two U3A Projects: Making Memories & High Street valued Associate Members, Mary Brook on P31 Spine-tingling moment: The Valley of the Fallen her 100th birthday and Colin Hermitage. P32 Advert: Barnsley Municipal Funerals

The themes of ‘Humiliation’ and ‘Real-life P33 IMPORTANT: Guidance on Re-starting BU3A groups Spine-Tingling Moments’ were suggested to P34-38 BU3A Activities Calendar Sept - Dec (once permitted) P39 Venues & Buses me. I’ve tried writing one of each. Go on, you P40 27 Figures of Speech get writing, join in, let it all out! It’s cathartic! P41 Tuesday Walkers At Priory, in March, the man from the Co-op P42-43 Yoga advised us to pay NOW for our funeral and P44 Advert: BIADS then not bother dying! A new advertiser with P45 Theatre us, Barnsley Municipal Funerals, must have P46 Two humiliations (one, really!) been listening! Another new advertiser, UW P47 Easyfunding & SmileAmazon (Utilities Warehouse) could save you money. P48-49 Robert Green: A Scrap of Paper It comes recommended. P50 Development Officer / Cookery Corner

At my request, Don Smith has updated his P51 Jo Kasparek: Money Makes the World Go Round 2010 ‘Buzz’ article for us.

Some members are now meeting up in person as friends, abiding by government DEADLINE FOR THE rules. Walking Cricket is underway as a U3A activity with a full risk assessment completed.

Norman Creighton and Margaret Hall’s WINTER ‘BUZZ’: artistry is pretty special. Such talent in BU3A!

The back cover shows a few photos of BU3A FRIDAY 13TH NOVEMBER members meeting up as friends.

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RE-OPENING OF BU3A GROUPS POST-COVID Owing to the Covid situation, we have to comply with government rules and the consequent National U3A's guidance before we re-open any of our 130 groups. THAT GUIDANCE IS ON PAGE 31 OF THIS ‘BUZZ’, AHEAD OF OUR GROUP ACTIVITIES PAGES

The Committee is pleased to have appointed Trudy Atkinson as our Risk Assessment Officer.

Before re-opening a group, every Coordinator must contact Trudy Atkinson (see Contact Sheet) so that we can be satisfied that the Covid Risk Assessment procedures are being followed and that NO BU3A member will be exposed to unnecessary risk at future meetings.

FROM THE NEW DEVELOPMENT OFFICER Lynn Maloney

Since the beginning of Lockdown, life has certainly been strange. Being a member of BU3A has helped but life is still challenging. Many groups have been able to continue online through various platforms such as Zoom and it was good news to hear that some groups were finding ways to meet in gardens whilst following social distancing rules. A few weeks ago, I decided to take up a new challenge and offer to become the new Development Officer for our U3A. It is a good time to take on this role as I have time to gather my thoughts about the job and get a team together, though in that respect I am lucky that John and Ingrid Colley agreed to stay on.

I want to take this opportunity to ask everyone to think about our groups and what new groups might enhance our U3A. We are already very successful and I am confident that we will get back to regular face to face meetings and get togethers. I wish I knew when, but it will happen. This is a great opportunity to think about how to improve an already vibrant organisation. Please give me a ring with any ideas you may have.

We all know that any organisation such as ours needs volunteers to make things work. Volunteering does not have to mean taking on a role that daunts you. There are so many things members can do to help, from taking on the responsibility for tea/coffee breaks to deciding to become a Coordinator. I have always felt that our tea breaks are as important as the session. It is part of the social side of a U3A. It gives us chance to catch up and simply have a chat.

A few months ago, Alan Swann created a diagram for the Buzz which illustrated just how many people are involved in the running of BU3A. We need to add onto that number the people who help out in groups; taking the blue box subscriptions or helping out the Coordinator by presenting some of the sessions. I attend Beth Rudkin’s hugely-popular History group and a few members there give us the benefit of their expertise. Don’t let this virus stop us thinking. Don’t let it stop us challenging ourselves. Don’t let it win!

Pop-up Groups

Most of BU3A’s groups run continuously throughout the year. Some have a holiday, particularly in August, but we also have groups which run for just a number of weeks, such as Posh Puds. I like the idea of short-term (pop-up) groups. Not every idea can be sustained for months or years but that does not mean they are not viable ideas or that members would not be interested in them. A few years ago, I ran two sessions on Mindfulness and Relaxation. The members who attended enjoyed them, but it was not a subject for a long- term group. I suppose I just did not have enough ideas to run more than two sessions.

If you have an idea that would suit just a few sessions, please give me a ring and we can chat about it.

Some people just They say we’re now allowed to play sports with members call it lockdown of the same household but my wife is s**t at football because they can’t and I don’t want her on my team. How do I tell her? spell kwarunteen 4

MARY BROOK – 100 YEARS YOUNG!

Two years ago Barnsley U3A was the first U3A to launch Associate Membership as a pilot scheme for U3A, nationally; this allows those who have been our members for at least seven years to continue their relationship with BU3A when they are no longer able to join in with our activities. We are pleased and proud to now have 20 Associate Members; they pay nothing but they remain part of us by receiving ‘The Buzz’ every three months.

A very significant milestone has just been reached by our Associate Member, Mary Brook, who, on 28th July, reached her 100th birthday and, as tradition dictates, received a card from The Queen (left). All Barnsley U3A members add their congratulations now.

Mary was the subject of a ‘Buzz Portrait’ in the Summer 2019 edition, which is still available to read online on our website. Until quite recently, Mary was attending BU3A groups but she fell and broke her hip in April this year and had to undergo hospital treatment at the very height of the Covid-19 outbreak. Unsurprisingly, she came through the many inevitable difficulties and problems that followed and has now settled into Eboracum House in Barnsley.

The pictures to the left show her with her treasured card, receiving flowers (not the ones sent by BU3A) and having a celebratory drink!

Mary was born on 28th July 1920. She retains many fond and sometimes vivid memories of her childhood in Balby, Doncaster, of the school she attended, of the friends she made and of how her feisty younger sister, Betty, (top right) often stuck up for her. She finished school at 14 and her first job was ‘home help’ to a local lady with a new baby; she then worked in a dress shop. While in her teens, the family moved back to Barnsley where she learnt shorthand and typing at the ‘tech’. At home, she learned to sew and made her own and later her children’s clothes.

Mary went out with Harry, who organised a youth group where they listened to classical music, had topical discussions and went hiking. Then came the war and she joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service, spending time in Catterick and Prestatyn. She was desperately homesick and missed Harry very much.

In 1943, she married Harry at St. Mary’s in Barnsley and they had four children, Sandra, Roger, Susan and Adrian. When all the children had ‘flown the nest’, she had various part-time jobs until she later worked full-time for the council.

Sadly, Harry passed away in 1984. A huge shock to her; but ever resourceful, she looked after students at home and also worked as a carer. She now enjoys the great love of her children, 8 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.

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2020 BU3A ONLINE MONTHLY MEETING PRESENTATION via ‘ZOOM’, Monday 5th August

‘LOCKDOWNS OF THE PAST’ written and presented by Sue and Andrew Green

We are certainly living in unprecedented times. Delivering our presentation via ‘Zoom’ to the monthly meeting (computer image of Sue, left) is certainly testimony to that. However, being in ‘lockdown’ is not unique to us. People have gone into quarantine or ‘lockdown’ throughout history and it is something our ancestors will have experienced throughout the centuries.

They will have felt vulnerable as they faced diseases with no known cure, no effective treatment or access to any vaccination that would prevent them from catching it. They knew that face coverings would help, as would keeping socially distanced and meeting outdoors. Sounds familiar? It is interesting that with Covid-19 we are also experiencing this same vulnerability and that can make us feel closer to our distant ancestors, who faced the Black Death in the 14th century and plagues in the 16th & 17th centuries.

The Tudor and Stuart periods were punctuated by outbreaks of the plague. Looking back to ‘lockdowns’ of this era it is easy to find similarities and parallels which link them to us today. Queen Elizabeth I, for example, left London for safety and took up residence in Windsor Castle. Elizabeth II has done the same, although her name sake ordered gallows to be erected by the castle gates to deter anybody from following her to Windsor!

Past pandemics, like the Black Death, resulted in great social and economic upheavals, but they also inspired creativity, progress and discovery, which can be illustrated by the lives and work of Isaac Newton and William Shakespeare. Isaac Newton was studying at Cambridge University at the time of the Great Plague in 1665. Due to this plague, the universities, like today, were closed and students were sent home to work. Newton returned to Woolsthorpe in Lincolnshire to study in private. During this ‘lockdown’, Newton had an astonishing burst of energy and insights which formed the basis of his later work, including his work on calculus and optics. This is also the time when the falling apple (the actual tree, left) provided the lightbulb moment on gravity. Newton himself recognised this time as being pivotal in his discoveries, writing, “All this was in the two plague years of 1665 -1666. For in those days I was in the prime of my age for invention and minded Mathematics and Philosophy more than any time since.”

Plague also ran through the life of William Shakespeare (right). As an infant he survived an outbreak which carried away a large portion of the population of Stratford-upon-Avon. This throws up an interesting ’What if…’ question. The world would certainly have been much poorer for not having his work to enjoy. Plague outbreaks saw theatres closed, like today and this would have affected Shakespeare’s income, but scholars have also recognised that these closures provided a time for Shakespeare to be creative and write.

The 1590’s was a time of huge creative burst for Shakespeare (1564-1616). In just 12 months, the Chamberlain’s Men performed for the first time, A Comedy of Errors, Richard II, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Love’s Labour’s Lost and possibly the ‘lost’ Shakespeare play, Love’s Labour’s Won. Scholars believe all must have been partly written during the theatre closures of mid-1592 and mid-1594. Likewise, Antony and Cleopatra and King Lear are thought to have been written in 1606 which saw further closures.

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Before this, Measure for Measure, Othello and All’s Well that Ends Well were products of theatre closures in 1603 - 1604. An order from James I in the spring of 1603 closed the theatres as once again plague was rife. Going to the theatre was the pre-eminent form of leisure activity at the time with 20,000 people attending weekly. The tickets were cheap and the attendance high; 3,000 spectators was not uncommon with all levels of society represented. The closure of the theatres like today led to actors becoming unemployed. Our present Chancellor has put together an aid package of £1.57 billion to support the theatre, including furloughing staff.

In 1603 King James I had a ‘Rishi Sunak moment’ to support the theatre. Shakespeare and Burbage were co-opted to become part of the ‘King’s Men’. The King knew that the plague would eventually recede and the world would return to normal, when the theatre would be needed again. The King, through royal patronage, provided for the King’s Men financially. Burbage’s accounts show how he used this money to ‘furlough’ his actors so they would be able to return to the stage once the theatres had re-opened. Indeed, the very word ‘furlough’ which we’ve become familiar with over recent months has its origins in the 17th century. It is a Dutch word of a military origin, meaning ‘leave of absence’.

Eventually, in the spring of 1604, theatres re-opened with the following announcement, which makes interesting reading, “We think it therefore fit, the time of Lent being now passed, that your Lordships do permit and suffer the three companies of players to the King, Queen and Prince publicly to exercise their plays in their several and usual houses without any let or interruption except there shall happen weekly to die of plague above the number of 30 within the City of London and the Liberties thereof, at which time they cease and forbear any further publicly to play until the sickness be again decreased to the said number.”

As we look at the R rate and the weekly death toll of Covid 19, so they looked at the weekly death toll, too. Over 30 deaths and theatres closed, 30 and under then they could re-open. Theatres did re-open and there were audiences so they must have felt safe to attend. However, an unforeseen consequence was that new theatres built were indoor theatres so the season could be extended, and loss revenue recouped. This meant fewer people, so ticket prices went up and audiences became more elite, changing the demographics of theatre for the next four hundred years.

It is interesting to ponder what the long-term consequences of the Covid 19 pandemic of 2020 will be. Future historians, in several hundred years’ time, will look back to 2020 and debate the consequences of the social and economic changes that were made, but also discuss the creativity, progress and new discoveries it generated. I wonder what they’ll find. I wish I had a crystal ball, don’t you?

THE PRESENTATION CONTINUED WITH A TALK BY ANDREW GREEN ABOUT EYAM.

The Hadfields lived in a cottage near the church on the main street in the Derbyshire village of Eyam. He was a tailor. In the house with them was a lodger, an apprentice tailor George Viccars. Mr. Hadfield ordered cloth from London for him to make clothes for the people of Eyam. It arrived in the late summer of 1665, but it was damp. George hung the cloth over a clothes-horse in front of the fire to dry. Unbeknown to them, the cloth contained fleas from the city of London. As the cloth dried, the fleas multiplied in number. If fleas can’t find rats they find people to feed off. George Viccars was bitten by at least one of the fleas and soon showed signs of the plague. These symptoms were some or all of: shivering, vomiting, headaches, pain in the back, a persistent cough and a strange sweet smell in the nostrils. Within days George had died.

Over the next few weeks many more villagers died of the plague. Apart from the symptoms already mentioned, infected villagers had nasty sores on their neck, armpits or groin in the form of a red ring. People with the plague carried a small bunch of flowers up to their nose to ward off the evil smell; thus, the nursery rhyme ‘ring a ring of roses a pocket full of posies, atishoo, atishoo, we all fall down’. 7

The new rector, William Mompesson, and the previous rector, Thomas Stanley, discussed what to do. They decided on three courses of action:

1) Services to be held in the open air, with the congregation standing 12 feet apart. 2) Graves in the owner’s garden or on the moors, 6ft deep, not in the churchyard. 3) Nobody to leave the village until it was clear of the plague. Much praise must go to these men for making these vital decisions so early on.

Boundary stones were made and placed at the boundaries of Eyam and its surrounding villages. Holes were drilled in the top, large enough for a penny and vinegar was poured into them. Outside villagers donated food, left it by the stones and picked up the disinfected coins as payment.

These actions really worked. Only a couple of residents tried to leave and no one outside Eyam contracted the disease. So the sacrifice that everyone made was immense, especially as the deaths increased. During the winter months the number of deaths diminished but with the Spring of 1666, the deaths increased again; 78 died in August (below).

One evening, when Catherine Mompesson, the rector’s wife, was walking back to the vicarage with her husband, she started to cough, but dismissed her husband’s worried glances. She said, “there’s a lovely sweet smell in the air tonight isn’t there?” Her husband knew what that meant. Sadly, Catherine died a short time later. Her grave is in the churchyard (the only one allowed) but the stone mason spelt her name wrongly. If you visit, can you tell where the spelling mistake is?

One woman decided that she was going to leave the village. She walked to the nearby village of Tideswell. However, a guard on duty there stopped and questioned her. She denied she was from Eyam but the guard saw through this deception and shouted to the villagers of Tideswell where she was from. Hearing this, they shouted at her to clear off, threw rotten vegetables at her and saw her off back to where she’d come from.

The Talbot and the Hancock families lived a mile from the village and thought they were safe. But one of the children contracted the virus, which was caught by the children of both families and the husbands and Mrs Talbot. Only Mrs Hancock survived; every night for weeks she was seen digging graves for all who had died.

Margaret Blackwell had buried all her family, except her brother. One morning she felt dreadful. She had coughed all night, had been sick and felt cold; her brother thought she wouldn’t survive the day. But before going off to work, he cooked some bacon for a sandwich and then drained off all the fat into a jug. When he returned that evening, his sister was up and about, cooking his tea. Astonished, he asked her about her day. She had felt unwell but in a delirious state drank the jug of ‘milk’ and felt better almost immediately. Her brother replied that it wasn’t milk but bacon fat.

The population of Eyam was 700 and 260 of them died. However, few women died. Why was that, considering it mostly befell to them to do the caring and grave digging? Research on the ancestors of the surviving women of Eyam shows that their bodies had a gene called Delta 32 which prevents destruction of certain body cells.

Here is a 1666 treatment for the plague from the college of physicians: If there do a sore appear, take a live chicken or pheasant, pluck the feathers from its bottom, set its bottom to the sore and draw out the venom till the chicken or pheasant dies.

Great drama during our ‘Zoom’ meeting (right) when Sue applied a dead chicken’s bottom to her husband’s neck; a stunning, frightening moment! Andrew had plucked the chicken before the meeting and, thank goodness, there was no need for a pheasant plucker!

Finally, the message Sue and Andrew would like you to follow is: STAY IN THE VILLAGE KEEP 12 FEET APART DRINK BACON FAT MAKE SURE YOU HAVE PLENTY OF CHICKENS.

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THE ALAN SWANN BU3A ADVICE PAGE

1 Alan has many concerns about BU3A members’ lack of computer skills and misunderstanding of computer terminology. He hopes that the diagram (left) will help you.

2 Good etiquette is important so when Alan invites you out for an all- expenses-paid meal, please note the new correct mobile phone place settings at table.

3 On a zoo visit in August, Alan photographed this camel checking one of its options for lunch. Alan now advises us never to take little boys to zoos.

4 If you buy Corona(virus) beer, Alan advises that all other food and drink in your fridge must be kept 2 metres away and must wear face masks. Helpfully, he has taken a picture of his own secret beer fridge that Anne knows nothing about.

5 Alan took the amazing photo of two Great White sharks in the field opposite his house in July. He dealt with them in typically calm and brave fashion with his fishing rod. If you get invited to dinner, shark steaks are likely to be on the menu.

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MY COVID DAYS Indu Kumar The beginning I, like every Barnsley U3A member, have had to face a new, unique, very different challenge – Covid-19 Pandemic. It started at Christmas while the world was celebrating. Little did we know what lay ahead of us! There were bits of news filtering in showing people being ruthlessly dragged away on the streets in Wuhan. I was having a break from my many BU3A groups and enjoying Christmas and New Year with family in New York. We were all thinking, perhaps logically, ‘This will not happen to us’. Even seeing pictures of people in full protective gear and people dying, we thought “That’s in China. It won’t affect us.”

Reality And then the world suddenly woke up to the reality. The World Health Organisation declared a pandemic. This propelled us to panic-buy; hand-wash, soaps, toilet paper and flour. I desperately rushed to my supermarket only to find empty shelves. That was the last time I would drive there for many weeks. Then we were ‘staying at home’ to be safe and, basically, to stay alive. Life suddenly changed for everyone.

What it meant for me I’m used to driving to lots of groups: Tai Chi, Zumba, Choir, Ukulele, Walking, Creative Writing, Magic, Photography, Sequence dancing. How would I cope with ‘staying at home’? I don’t do that.

The worst days Then, tragic images of front-line workers. Having worked in A&E as a senior doctor, it was worrying to see colleagues being so brave on the front-line. Then, at the peak, the daily deaths of many of these vital workers. Senior doctors and nurses in emergency, intensive care and Covid wards; bus drivers and care-home patients quickly became victims. Heart-wrenching images and stories of no Personal Protective Equipment and family members unable to be close to the last moments of loved ones. Nightingale hospitals were quickly constructed and staff recruited. The care homes deaths leapt tragically. I was tempted to go back to work. But this would put me and a lot of people at risk. In the end I was on standby, would help if needed. BU3A members made face masks and bags for staff to carry uniforms etc safely home for wash. Then came the Thursday clapping. I’m told that that was a real morale booster. I live in a cul-de-sac close to BDGH. For 10 weeks, we all clapped and chatted. It was fascinating to see it.

Ray of sunshine Then, something to look forward to, VE Day. Our cul-de-sac decided we’d all bring our own coffee and cake. We sat on the dwarf walls opposite our houses and laughed in the warm afternoon sunshine. Afterwards, I went for a walk with my daughter to see how others were celebrating. I can honestly say we were the only ones sober!

Taking action For me, body-coach Joe Wicks is a life-saver. His simple daily 10-minute exercise regime with encouraging words like “Come on you can do it”, “It will lift your spirits”, “Let’s finish this together”, “It will make you healthy and happy” got me through the day and made me feel much better. Thanks, Joe! Doing the work-out outdoors had its added benefits. Fresh air made it easier and somehow quicker, too. The cotton-wool-white clouds floated by overhead and the sky seemed bluer and clearer than ever. No planes were visible or heard. The birds had the sky all to themselves and were happily singing and safely flying.

Help from nature Strangely, the birds now seemed to sing louder. Blackbirds on my rooftop and in my trees gave solo performances with full-throated melodies for the neighbourhood. Two goldfinches showed off their beauty, twittered away and were a feast to the eye. The two red-breasted robins sang their high warbling songs on my clothes-pole every evening. That was a performance to look forward to every day. At the peak of the pandemic, the roads were almost silent and the bird songs took over. My big back garden with conservatory proved a godsend. I spent all day here with my daughter, reading books, writing stories, listening to the radio and watching and admiring nature. Now I truly understand the meaning of what it means to ‘smell the roses’; never have I felt so relaxed and stress-free. Weekly Tai-Chi, slow and calming for body and mind really helped me. I tried to do a painting (with help from YouTube) and make an item of jewellery, on a regular basis. Again, the satisfaction of seeing the completed item is very rewarding at times like this and gives me a sense of achievement!

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My favourite group Writing has always given me great pleasure. Our Creative Writing group decided to keep up the fortnightly writing online, with a topic from our Coordinator. That kept me well occupied and got my grey cells active. It was a treat to read others’ exciting stories and to get feedback on my contribution. I looked forward to this a lot. I entered a National U3A writing competition just for the sake of participating and, of course, to fill my time. There is only one winner but as they say ‘It is the taking part that counts’. Again, this gives me a thrill to be doing something on a national level! I had to be very disciplined about the writing, which was a challenge.

I borrowed lots of books from my local library at the start of the pandemic. But before long I’d finished them all. After rummaging through my spare room, I found more un- read books bought from charity shops. I read fiction, crime, thrillers, romance, the lot; I read anything I can lay my hands on. As I write now, I’ve nothing left to read. Might have to go begging round my neighbours! Now I can’t sleep without my favourite companion - a bedtime book!

TV helped too! After an hour of afternoon Classic Corrie (can’t miss that), it’s time for our ritual daily walk. The first week, I walked with my daughter on the local streets. Then we ventured further onto the main road which was eerily quiet. The motorway traffic which I can hear day and night from upstairs rooms remained virtually silent, too!

Walks galore We were surprised to find a field just round the corner with ponies in. Then, two more fields were discovered, just a bit further on. The scenery from these was spectacular, showing the Barnsley green belt. I never knew about these at all in the 40 years I’ve lived in my house. A walk down the main road took us alongside Penny Pie Park which, sadly, despite much opposition is being transformed into a controversial roundabout. Noisy, well-hidden workmen behind tall fences. We often ‘bumped into’ (social distance 2 metres) neighbours and local friends doing the same as us. A lot of chatting on drives, too, and even some shouting across the road (definitely more than 2 metres!)

Corner shops Grocery shopping became a rare event. I’ve not done a weekly shop in a supermarket for over two months. Thank goodness for corner shops. For milk, when down to the last drop, and bread, when the last slice was eaten. Strangely, I didn’t really miss a big shop. We didn’t starve or even miss anything which begs the question, do we really need most items?

Discovered Zoom Early on, our BU3A ukulele ‘Stringalongs’ started Zoom meetings. Why not, I thought, and gave it a go. Best thing since sliced bread! You can see everyone but not necessarily hear them (ideal, I thought!) It’s a very good way to keep in touch, well a virtual way. Barnsley Singers met on Zoom, too, and even had a virtual concert in place of the real one which was cancelled due to Covid. We managed to learn new songs and had lots of fun.

Reflection I think I’ve pushed myself to do more during this time. I had a tick box at the end of every day which was challenging, fun and got me through the days. If someone had said to me at Christmas that something invisible would take over the whole world, keep us indoors and away from each other, I would have told them they were insane. But it did and we survived! Unfortunately, not all made it. The daily briefing with the deaths was heart- breaking. For me, the encouraging words of Joe Wicks, the hands-on hobbies, the writing, the virtual singing and ukuleles and the daily walks got me through it. I used to think I would never cope without going out to all my activities. It is definitely not the same as actually meeting friends from BU3A but if that is not possible, I now know that I will still survive!

FACEBOOK EXPLAINED JUST FOR YOU! Facebook helps you to make friends and get people to ‘follow’ you. Try it! Just go outside and tell people you meet what you’ve just eaten, how you feel, what you did last night, what you’re doing later and who with. Give them photos of your family, dog, holidays (very important), garden, car, meals out and so on. Listen to their replies, and tell them you like or love them. Just like on Facebook. It works! I’ve already got four people following me: two police officers, a social worker and a psychiatrist. 11

OUR PHOTOGRAPHERS IN LOCKDOWN: NORMAN CREIGHTON

Norman Creighton is one of our newest members. He joined specifically when he found that we were starting our Geology group, Barnsley Rocks, but just one meeting of the group and then, bang! lockdown! Maybe he’ll tell us more about himself and the career he had before retirement in a later edition but I asked him to let us see some of his exquisite photography. He has written interestingly about photography, just one of his many passions. If you like what you see on the next couple of pages, you could go to https://normsnotesnumber2.blogspot.com to see much more. He writes:

My left foot appeared, unexpectedly, in my first “serious” photo. A low level shot of my Dad leaning against his pre-war Vauxhall 14/6 taken on a Kodak folder with an iffy viewfinder. I was twelve. Things have not changed much and I am still wowed by the accidental nature of photography. Of mine anyway.

I don’t try to capture the ‘perfect image’ as that’s for those with more patience and deeper pockets. My guiding principles are ‘visual ambiguity’ and Stieglitz’s ‘The Equivalent’.

There is a story of the legendary Alfred Stieglitz (husband of painter Georgia O’Keeffe) talking to a man about one of his photographs: Man (looking at a Stieglitz Equivalent): Is this a photograph of

water? Stieglitz: What difference does it make of what it is a photograph? Man: But is it a photograph of water? Stieglitz: I tell you it does not matter. Man: Well, then, is it a picture of the sky? Stieglitz: It happens to be a picture of the sky. But I cannot understand why that is of any importance.

Basically, I believe (with Stieglitz) that the subject is largely irrelevant and it’s how the viewer (generally me) sees, or feels about the image that is important. It’s a licence to blur, distort, invert, flip, saturate or sharpen.

There is no “truth” in photographs; there never has been. The world was not black and white before Autochromes and Madame Yevonde magically made photographs coloured. Angus McBean and Man Ray did their best to distort reality while the f64 movement in America falsely promoted pure photography. A mere glance at an Ansel Adams enlarger will make the point.

In these days, where there are more photographs taken each day than in the previous history of photography I feel that there is just no point in recording another scene. Try to take an image that makes people think. If no one is bothered, never mind!

Forty plus years ago, I (misguidedly) hoped to get my wife interested in photography and invested heavily in Minolta film and digital cameras. I have naturally moved on to Sony and possess an unnecessarily large number of old Sony cameras of which the RX10 III is my current favourite.

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The U3A’s national magazine is called ‘Third Age Matters’ (TAM). This article on our ‘Mac’ is taken from the Winter 2019 edition; it should have been in an earlier ‘Buzz’. (Editor)

‘ANY QUESTIONS?’ A MAGICIAN AND A CRICKETER: MAC MCKECHNIE

I've heard you described as a 'mover and shaker' in the U3A. How do you feel about that? Well, you have to be, don't you! I'm not wonderful, I'm just doing the best I can. So how did you become a magician then? In the 1980s there was an employment crisis. I lost my job as a warehouse manager three times in four years. I said never again would I work for anyone else and decided on the spot to be a magician. What, just like that? Yes. I was also a DJ and I got a booking to do a children's party. The organiser asked if I could I do anything else, such as magic. I said "Of course I can", even though I couldn't. So I charged double for the event and booked a magician. On the day of the party, I was setting up my DJ kit and the magician did his bit, and I thought, "I can do that". Walking cricket has taken off big-time with groups all over the country. How did you get involved with that? I played cricket in the Army to quite a high level. It's been my great love. But as you get older, you can't keep up with the youngsters and you have to hang up your bat. Then, last year I was very ill with e-coli and nearly died. When I came out of hospital, I was overweight and, after some gentle prompting (earache) by my wife, I joined Barnsley U3A's walking football group. How did that go? I didn't like football. It's a contact sport and I kept falling over. After I'd picked myself up off the floor for the last time, I thought, "I wish this was cricket". So I searched online for walking cricket, but there wasn't any as such. So you made up the rules, then? Yes, together with Darren Talbot of Twenty20 Community Cricket in Surrey. I bought plastic bats on eBay and we played our first game on January 9 — all wearing coats! Is it only played by men? No. Walking cricket is suitable for any gender or age. Our oldest player is Eric, and he’s 92. You don't need any previous experience either — women who played rounders find they have transferable skills for cricket and really enjoy it. What's next for walking cricket? I'm working with ethnic communities in Bradford to set up walking cricket groups the Pakistani and West Indies communities adore cricket. On U3A Day next June, I have arranged with the England & Wales Cricket Board a Yorkshire U3A vs Surrey All Stars team - I'm trying to get Lord's for that! I hear you got an OSCA (Outstanding Services to Cricket Award) for the northern region and as a result were at the finals at Lord's. How did it go? I didn't expect to win and felt humble against finalists who had spent their lives painting their local cricket clubs or tending to the grounds, while all I do is wave a plastic bat around. But if someone invites me on a tour of Lord's, with a three- course meal and the chance of mingling with cricket's elite, I'm not going to say no! Is your wife Maureen in Barnsley U3A? Oh yes. She does a number of classes — Yoga (I call it kung-fu to wind her up), History, Spanish. Is Mac your real name? No, it's the name I go by. Can you tell me what it is? Absolutely not.

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‘WRITERS OF THE THIRD PAGE’ IN LOCKDOWN

Our dynamic, magical, cricketing Mac McKechnie formed our third Creative Writing group just before lockdown and decided to open it up temporarily to U3A people beyond our own Barnsley U3A as many U3As are ‘resting’. It’s been a huge success. Mac asked for some mini portraits and the following people responded enthusiastically.

JACQUELINE KNOX Knox U3A, Western Australia

My name is Jacqueline Knox and I live in the Dandenong Ranges (above) in Victoria, Australia. I belong to Knox U3A and as a volunteer manage their Facebook page and Website. I had belonged to the Craft U3A Facebook group for some time and after we were all suddenly forced into lockdown in March 2020, I was on Facebook and saw a link to a new U3A Facebook group: Keeping in Touch. I joined this group and from there found the creative writing group at Barnsley U3A that we now know as ‘Writers of the Third Page’. With some extra free time on my hands I thought it would be great to try some creative writing. I was so warmly welcomed and since I joined have loved the weekly challenge of creating stories from such a diverse range of ideas. I have found my creative thinking has been stretched at times, which is a good thing, and I am feeling more and more confident with my ability. Everyone who is part of Writers of the Third Page has been encouraging and supportive. We all enjoy reading each other’s stories and sharing our ideas. While my own U3A in Australia has been closed it has been great to explore Dandenong Botanic Garden something new and make new friends in my original homeland. It is strange how in life, one thing leads to another and you never know where it may end.

Hello, Buzz readers. I’m Yvonne McGowan, a member of Doncaster U3A. I joined ‘Writers of The Third Page’ because I like to absorb myself in fiction to keep my mind active and escape from reality. When I saw the Facebook page for Barnsley U3A Creative Writing Group, I realised this was just the activity for me. I enjoy writing but have never had the opportunity to test my ability and have it evaluated by my peers. The feedback given after each assignment is invaluable to help you improve or recognise your strong points. Reading other members’ work based on the same theme but with completely different story lines is interesting and thought- provoking. Writing the first chapter from a picture is quite challenging and gets the grey cells working. We all vote for the best ‘Author of chapter one’ and that is used for the chapter two assignment. Everyone has a different perspective with humour, excitement, sentimentality or perhaps a fast-paced mystery with an intriguing twist. We then provide constructive feedback and vote for ‘Author of the Week’. It all builds self-confidence and self-esteem to try something different next time. It’s good fun and educational as facts need to be researched to provide knowledge as well as fiction. It has kept me busy during the last few months and I hope it will continue. Thanks to Mac for building this group and growing it to create a wide-ranging diverse membership.

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Hello. I’m Carol Barton, a member of Cam and Dursley U3A in Gloucestershire. I joined U3A when I retired three years ago, hoping to find a writing group. As there was no such group, I started 'Writing for Pleasure'. We meet monthly and have continued to meet via Zoom throughout Lockdown. I read about 'Writers of the third page' on the U3A Facebook page and got in touch with Mac straight away. I have been a member for eight weeks and it is a great group with members from around the world, growing daily. The group has encouraged me to write more regularly (weekly) on a wide variety of subjects, including cows! I look forward every week, to reading all the different stories we come up with, starting with the same stimulus. Everyone in the group is kind and supportive. I hope to continue to be an online member even when we get back to 'normal'. Thanks to Mac for opening up the Barnsley group to us all.

Hello, BU3A Buzz readers. I’m Miall James; I live in Coggeshall, Essex, and I am a member of Witham (Essex) U3A. I joined your ‘Writers of The Third Page’ Creative Writing Group because I enjoy a writing challenge.

I’m an Essex man, of Welsh ancestry. Grew up in Essex then went north to Sunderland EVER so many years ago to study pharmacy. As well as that qualification, I gained a wife, a Lancashire lass, who was studying teaching there. I enjoy wine, my family, travelling, creative writing, draught beer, cricket, and the U3A (not in any particular order). Three children, seven grandchildren and a granddaughter-in-law. Eldest granddaughter is about to start a PhD course at Sheffield Uni.

I worked in community pharmacy for about twenty years, then moved to the NHS, where I was involved with services to the elderly, especially in Care Homes. Other than the U3A, I’m a Committee member of the local WEA and of our local museum and was for many years a trustee of Citizens Advice Bureau."

Hello, Barnsley U3A Buzz readers. My name is Linda Bettridge, I am a member of Cam & Dursley U3A. I joined ‘Writers of the Third Page’ Creative Writing Group because I love words and writing. Until moving to Gloucestershire most of my writing was designed to be spoken and I was a regular attendee of “open mic” nights. I joined this on-line group because I love and appreciate writing and words. Having the opportunity to become a member of this group was a very positive thing during the lockdown. The discipline of a deadline makes me focus and, given a subject, I am constantly amazed how my fellow writers can develop it. We’re a friendly and supportive lot!

Hello, ‘Buzz’ readers, my name is Pauline Blackmore, from Stafford U3A, but originally a Yorkshire lass from Leeds who moved south on marriage in 1970.

When looking for Magic Groups in the U3A, seeking someone to entertain us at our Christmas Lunch, I came across multi-talented Mac. He invited me to join the ‘Writers of the Third Page’ from many U3As, including Australia. This has enabled us, during these odd times, to spend useful hours engaged in writing, and in reading the stories which the members produce.

Having always worked, the last 27 years in Jobcentres, retirement to me was a revelation. The freedom not to get up at early hours is a very cherished one. The U3A was something about which I had read, but didn’t join until I was widowed. It would have been lovely to have both participated, there are so many ways to be involved and participate. After joining, I was encouraged to form a lunch group for people who live on their own. After three years, it was so successful that in April, if it had not been for lockdown, we would have welcomed our 100th active member to “Lively Lunches”. As we are often nearly 35 people for lunch, we have spread to twice a month and make lots of noise and chatter wherever we meet.

As one does, I became more drawn into U3A, joined the Committee and also greatly enjoyed initiating and running the New Members’ Coffee Morning. Sadly, like Monthly Meetings, they are all now suspended. As our Publicity Officer, I now feel the weight of trying to make sure that as we all hopefully return to some semblance of normality, we can still attract new members to this wonderful, vibrant group of people that is the U3A.

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Hello ‘Buzz’ readers, I’m Sandi Rickerby. I joined U3A 12 years ago when I retired. I’m in three U3As and fervently believe in lifelong learning. I’m a member of 10 groups and run three of them.

I am also the U3A Regional Trustee for the North East, so I am a member of the Board of Directors at the Third Age Trust and also look after the interests of all 53 U3As in my area. I live in Morpeth, a small market town in Northumberland. I have two children and two grandchildren, though they all live over 200 miles away from me.

I love to be busy, so, apart from the U3A, I am a member of the National Women’s Register, the WI and a Research Group connected to Newcastle University. I sing in two choirs, play steel pans in a group and play ukulele in a blue grass band. Outside of all this I lead a Circle Dancing Group.

Another love is travelling and since I retired I have visited 57 countries. One highlight was when I flew to America with a female friend, hired a car and drove Route 66 from Chicago to LA, without booking anything in advance. It was an amazing adventure! I am totally dedicated to successful ageing and have a very positive attitude to life, a ‘can do’ attitude and, of course, my glass is always half full. Cheers!

Hello Barnsley U3A Buzz Readers. My name is Sue Skelton and I am the wife of the current vice- chairman of Epsom & Ewell U3A. I joined ‘Writers of the Third Page’ in order to have an outlet for the creative part of my nature that was thwarted by lockdown. I'm fairly new to retirement so I was just getting into the swing of activities. I was in the process of writing up the notes for our next ‘Exploring Walk’; it was our turn to lead the walk in April. We like to write a story about the lives and times of the people in the part of London we're going to visit and the start of our April walk was to have been to China Town near Leicester Square, and we'd been up there just the week before lockdown.

Creative juices totally thwarted, I turned to the U3A ‘Keeping in Touch’ Facebook page. Mac was setting up a writing group, irrespective of which U3A you were in. The rest, as they say, is history; I'm thoroughly enjoying every minute, even though this week's assignment was a story about two ladies having a picnic in the middle of a field of cows!

DON’T WASTE YOUR PRECIOUS BREATH JUNE MORNING, EARLY John Hines Useful Acronyms for YOU? I woke ...heart ... thumping ... from an awful dream..... GGPBL – Gotta Go, Pacemaker Battery Low .... relieved that I was safe ... in my own bed ... GGLKI – Gotta Go, Laxative Kicking in still gasping, as I tried to calm myself. LMDO – Laughing My Dentures Out

Then ..... Mother Nature offered me her balm. BFFT – Best Friend’s Funeral Today

A blackbird started with his morning song, OMMR – On My Massage Recliner

(fit to impress a royal audience). ROFL – Rolling on Floor Laughing! DWI – Driving While Incontinent My heavy thoughts dissolved and soon were gone, IMHO – Is My Hearing-Aid On? unable to exist in that same space. BYOT – Bring Your Own Teeth ...... WNO –Wheelchair Needs Oil I let him entertain me as he chose, FWIW – Forgot Where I Was a luxury no sane man could refuse. BTW – Bring the Wheelchair A fool might close a window on ‘the noise’ WTP – Where’s the Prunes? and throw away a charm worth more than sleep. GHA – Got Heartburn Again TTML – Talk to Me Louder He freely gave his splendid repertoire, IWTF – I’ve wet the Floor

as maestros sometimes will for charity, FYI – Found Your Insulin and then fell silent .... having work elsewhere. OMG: Ouch, My Groin! ...... TOT – Texting on Toilet

Too ‘charged’ I could no longer stay in bed. ATD – At the Doctor’s At 4 o’clock I started on my day... OMG – Oh My! Gas! glad I’d been woken .... glad to be alive.

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MY DAD’S WAR Sue Rowley This year is the 75th Anniversary of V-J (Victory over Japan) Day, which marked the end of WWII. I have written this memory of the part my dad, George Money, played in the war.

My dad was born in London in 1921. After leaving school in the 30’s, he trained to be an electrician. World War II broke out when he was 18.

In April 1940, he joined the RAF’s 84 Squadron. While still training, he was sent as part of the British Expeditionary Force to fight the Italians who had invaded Greece. The subsequent German invasion of Greece in April 1941 forced 84 Squadron to pull out to Iraq and then briefly to the Western Desert in Egypt.

The attack on Pearl Harbour in December, 1941, signalled the entry of Japan into the war. In January 1942, 84 Squadron were moved to the Far East. My father was in Java on the eve of the Japanese invasion in February, 1942. They knew about the Japanese treatment of prisoners of war and were determined not to surrender. So they set out from Java in two lifeboats and a motor launch for Australia; the engine on the motor boat soon broke down. There was no chance of 50 men getting to Australia in two lifeboats, so they landed on a nearby island. The decision was made to take 11 men on one lifeboat and try to get to Australia and ask the authorities there to come and rescue them. George stayed on the beach for two months. Surveying the island, the airmen discovered the Japanese already had a garrison at the Western end of it! They returned to their beach and laid low, living off meagre rations and whatever else they could find. However, after seven weeks they were so hungry and ill that they had no choice but to surrender. What followed the surrender left my father with bitter memories.

The Japanese had had no idea that the British airmen were on the island but their initial astonishment quickly gave way to frustration and anger. For the first two days, the airmen were locked in a hut with no food. Every now and again one of the Japanese soldiers would come in and shout at them.

Meanwhile, after 47 days, the lifeboat had made it to Australia and a rescue was planned. The American submarine, Sturgeon (right), was sent to the Javanese beach but arrived too late, five days after the airmen’s surrender. So, George and his comrades spent three and a half years in captivity, always wondering if that lifeboat had made it to Australia. After a spell in notorious Changi Jail in Singapore, my dad was forced to work on the infamous Burma railway and was one of the men who built the bridge over the river Kwai. Of the 1,200 who left the jail with George only 720 were to return. Those left behind died from ill-treatment, neglect or malnutrition.

George’s parents learnt in July 1943 that he was in Japanese hands and in September 1945 they received a telegram saying that he was safe in Singapore. During his time as a Prisoner of War, there was no communication with fiancée and future wife, Pat (top, right). He was allowed to send just three cards to his parents. He returned home in October 1945, worked as an electrician and became a successful consultant engineer. He part-founded a branch of the Far East Prisoner of War Association and organised a visit to war cemeteries in Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand. He was also a member of the Royal British Legion, the RAF Association and the Java Club. My sister and I are proud to have often marched past the Cenotaph in the annual Remembrance Parade in London. My father died in 2012, aged 91. He never forgave or forgot the brutal treatment meted out to him and his companions during those dark days as prisoners of war of the Japanese, and in the real sense of the word he was a true survivor.

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BIRDWELL BUDDIES – from strange beginnings … Coordinator: Joanie Tollerfield

It is quite bizarre! I can honestly say even though none of the members of Birdwell Buddies have met each other in person due to the fact that our first meeting was to be on 26th March, 2020, the start of the UK’s Coronavirus lockdown, we have already built up a very special friendship with each other and I don’t think that we will ever forget ‘The Birdwell Buddies Covid-19 Lockdown Group 2020’.

As originator and then Coordinator of Birdwell Buddies, I decided to start a WhatsApp group for all our Birdwell Buddies on the 22nd of March 2020. Thirty-eight BU3A members had signed up for the group and as I write on 5th June, sixteen of us are chatting every day. Daily, there are well over 60 posts from members! We have shared ideas, swapped jigsaws, photographed and made videos of our walks and have posted them for all those who are shielding or self-isolating to see. There are photos of our gardens and plants, we have shared cooking ideas, recipes, crafts, quizzes and lots more over the past 12 weeks.

So, thank you to Mary for your wake-up call every morning and for tucking us all up in our beds at night. To Dianne, Sue, Renata, Margaret V, Margaret W, Val, Mary and Barbara for your videos and photos of your local walks, stunning flowers and gardens. Also to Joan for her brain exercise quizzes every day, to all who have listened and watched, and to everyone else who has posted to keep us entertained.

We celebrated St George’s Day, VE Day and D Day together in lock down but the biggest party yet will be organised for when we have our first meeting at Birdwell Community Centre as soon as we feel safe enough to do so, hopefully not too far away. I am so looking forward to getting together and putting faces to names.

ANYONE who wishes to join us will be very welcome; just give me a call via Contact List details

THE BUN RUN and CHARLES ELLIS at 80 Jo Kasparek At the start of lockdown, Marie Rusling of Monk Bretton Chapel, who is also our teacher at U3A Sequence Dancing, kept in contact with several isolated and vulnerable members of the Chapel and the Sequence Dancing group by phone.

Marie loves to bake so her next step was to deliver a selection of scones and cakes to these people on a regular basis. I joined her in this ‘bake and take’ venture and between us we now bake and deliver goodies to some 20 households across Barnsley.

On 4 July, Charles Ellis of the Sequence Dancing group celebrated his 80th birthday. He is pictured with a fabulous cake baked and decorated by Elaine Wright, also of the Sequence Dancing group. Marie and I delivered this cake to him and joined his family in wishing him a Very Happy Birthday. Our group Co-ordinator, Lynda Gensavage, had publicised his birthday on our Facebook site and lots of members posted cards to Charles, who was quite overwhelmed by such a wonderful surprise.

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TABLE AND BOARD GAMES - A Social Metaphor Coordinator: Martin King

One of my favourite books about chess is by the ex- Russian Grandmaster/World Champion Garry Kasparov, entitled ‘How Life Imitates Chess’. Another book I have just come across give an alternative, but much older, view as to the possible relationship between the ancient game and the nature of a ‘good’ society. Ascribed to Pope Innocent III (but probably not actually written by him), it was an attempt to reconcile worries that the Catholic Church had with games in general, especially those involving dice/chance, with its views on morality. This reconciliation was achieved by giving the game itself a moral purpose.

His writing included the lines: “The condition of the game is, that one piece takes another; and when the game is finished, they are all deposited together, like men in the same place. Neither is there any difference between the king and the poor pawn: for it often happens that when the pieces are thrown together promiscuously into the bag, the king lies at the bottom; as some of the greats will find themselves after their transit from this world to the next.”

Other ways in which the game of chess may be said to have messages for a ‘good society’ include:

 The most humble (i.e. pawns) can, through loyal service, achieve great things (i.e. be promoted to a piece of higher value, even the queen);

 Although most pieces have names that suggest historically male identities, (noting that this is no longer so in relation to bishops, nobles and fighting troops), the most powerful piece on the board has, since the middle ages, been a woman – the queen.

 With the single exception of the opening move, always white, there is no distinction in terms of power, status or opportunity between the black and white pieces;

 Players alternate in being white or black, so each has the experience/benefit of starting, as well as knowing what is it like to kick off a game (life?) from an advantaged and disadvantaged place;

 The purpose of the game is the protection of the king. The defeat of his opposition can only be achieved through the collaborative efforts of the entire team, irrespective of initial status or rank;

 And finally, as Pope Innocent indicated, once the conflict is done, opposing forces come together, as equals.

So, in times of significant social tension, be it around race, gender, economic inequality, educational opportunity, or simply the wider social consequences of personal actions during a pandemic (e.g. going out in an evening intending to get drunk), perhaps chess does have much to teach us. Just a thought!

SOME PEOPLE KNOW HOW TO GET IN THE BUZZ! Hello Derek. My name is Lilian Schofield. I am a BU3A member but I can no longer get to groups. I am wondering if anyone would like to play me at Up-Words on their i-pad. Perhaps you would be able to include this request in the next edition of the Buzz. Thank you, and may I say how great the Buzz is, the quality is superb. Please contact Derek Bacon for my contact details.

In a group of children I taught, there was one called Nosaj but I never knew why. I found out when I took them on a trip to a local climbing wall and Nosaj asked me for some ‘jackflap’ - Sue Rowley

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CONVERSATIONAL FRENCH (and of interest to other languages?) Coordinator: Gloria King

A few thoughts about ‘lockdown’ or as the French call it ‘le confinement’. We thought we had a system called ‘Test Track and Trace’; they have a telephone system called ‘StopCovid, which also has its critics.

Whilst thinking about the virus I found lots of French expressions both past and present which could help us to describe and perhaps help us more generally in these difficult times. It certainly has been a time ‘inoubliable’ (unforgettable). We might have ‘flâner’ (which means to wander without purpose). There have been times when we didn’t know which day it was and the French talked about lundidimanche, mardidimanche, mercredidimanche etc showing that they thought that every day was Sunday too!

We might have often thought ‘C’est la vie!’ (that’s life!) or, in the words of poet Jacques Prévert: Plus tard ce sera trop tard, La vie c’est maintenant which means Later will be too late, Life is for living now.

You might have had ‘Larmes de joie’ (tears of joy) when seeing family again in reality rather than on a screen. Perhaps it was that you Avoir la pêche (‘having a peach’, being in high spirits at the same time).

Some French writers of the past have offered illuminating advice:

 Victor Hugo wrote, Le bonheur est parfois caché dans l’inconnu - This means happiness is sometimes hidden in the unknown. We’ve had perhaps time to return happily to hobbies or to finish jobs we had left for too long.

 Jean Paul Sartre said, Nous sommes nos choix (We are what we choose).

 Guillaume Apollinaire wrote, Il est grand temps de rallumer les étoiles (It is time we lit up the stars again.) (Apollinaire died of flu in the 1918 pandemic)

 Henri Matisse (artist) said, Il y a des fleurs partout pour qui veut bien les voir (There are flowers everywhere for those who want to see them.) When Matisse was bedridden and still smoking he often burnt holes in the bedclothes with his cigarette. He got his housekeeper to sew little daisies over the holes!

Another saying relevant to us all must be avoir de la bouteille (the value, experience and wisdom that one gains with age – literally, having some bottle!)

Cordialement, Gloria.

An English cat called ‘One, two, three’ had a swimming race against a French cat called ‘Un deux trois’. Which cat won? The English cat because ‘Un deux trois’ cat sank!

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BOOK FORUM GROUP 2 Coordinator: Gloria King

We meet on the first Tuesday of the month at Birdwell. New members are very welcome. Please note that we discuss the book(s) read, or send e-mails, or have phone conversations about the book for the date shown, so we read the books in the month before the dates shown!

October 6: The Shepherd’s Hut by Tim Winton. The themes of the book are of survival, solitude and unlikely friendship.

November 3: Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. A crawdad is a freshwater crayfish. This is the story of a young girl who has been abandoned by her family and so lives on a marsh alone in the family home in the North Carolina coastal area. Owen’s descriptions are apparently powerful and demonstrate a knowledge of the wildlife of the area as well as an intriguing story line.

December 1: The Lying Room by Nicci French. Nicci French are a husband and wife team who have written this psychological drama. This is a thriller that illustrates what a tangled web we weave when first we practise to deceive.

January 5: Queen Bee by Jane Fallon. Jane Fallon is the long term partner of Ricky Gervais and was a TV producer, but now writes full time. Her books have been described as light, entertaining and humorous, revolving around women. Laura rents a studio flat in an enclave mainly of the super-rich, known as The Close, and observes the trophy wives. The Queen Bee (Stella) is described as having limited skills of ‘swanning about, bitching and spending money’. Stella sees Laura as a rival but eventually they become allies.

I have assumed that for the next few months we will not be meeting, but I hope that we will be back to normal as soon as possible. Watch out for announcements and KEEP READING!!

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REAL LIFE SPINE-TINGLERS PASSCHENDAELE 2017 Sue Green

2017 was the centenary of the Third Battle of Ypres, now referred to as simply ‘Passchendaele’, a killing-field of mud. With my husband, Andrew, I travelled to Ypres to pay my respects to my great uncle, James Couzins and to visit his grave in Duhallows War Cemetery, Ypres.

James was killed on the second day of the battle on August 1st 1917, so our visit coincided with the national commemorations held at the Menin Gate, Ypres and Tyne Cot cemetery. Both events were to be attended by the British and Belgian royal families as well as politicians. We had initially felt disappointed as we hadn’t been lucky in the public ballot to get tickets for the Tyne Cot service of commemoration, so instead we decided to retrace James’ final steps when the battle began. What we didn’t know then, was that this decision turned our visit into a very special occasion indeed, a real ‘spine-tingling’ moment.

We had done a lot of research before going and with the aid of old trench maps and the Battalion Diary we knew where James had spent the night before the start of hostilities at 3.50 am. He was in a front- line trench called Image Crescent, located close to Hill 60 and to a tiny place called Klein Zillebeke. The Battalion Diaries gave coordinates and so we were able to locate the area accurately.

As we were checking maps and notes, we balanced them on a wall next to some large gates which led into a long private drive. While we were studying them a gentleman asked us if he could help. We explained why we were there and what we were doing. The gates led to the gentleman’s home and he invited us to come into the extensive gardens, meet his wife and have coffee with them.

The gentleman was Guy Gruwez, Honorary Chairman of Ypres Last Post Association. Every night at 8pm at the Menin Gate, the fallen are remembered by the playing of the Last Post and wreaths being laid. Guy said that he was born in 1928 when Ypres was still in ruins and had been involved with this daily event all his life. For his dedication to this daily ceremony of remembrance he had been awarded the OBE by the Queen. He then told us that the previous night he had been presented to The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the King and Queen of the Belgians and they had all signed a commemorative book. Incredibly, he still had this book in his possession before having to take it back to the Cloth Hall and he brought it out into the garden to show us.

Guy then showed us photographs of his garden as it was at the end of the 1st World War with a network of army trenches crossing his land. We then shared our trench maps and documents with him. Unbelievably, where we were sitting, sipping coffee on a warm, peaceful morning, was almost exactly the spot where 100 years ago James went ‘over the top’ and into the hell of battle. I don’t think Guy and his wife (left, with me) could quite believe it either and they made a note of James Couzins’ details; they were moved to discover the name of a young man whose final footsteps would have taken him across what is now their land.

Before we left, Guy gave us some shrapnel-shot which had been dug up in the garden and fired 100 years ago. He also phoned The Flanders Fields museum and arranged for an archivist to help us with further research, as well as writing a note which we had to present to a steward at the Menin Gate Last Post Ceremony, which meant we could stand in a central position to remember James Couzins exactly 100 years after his death.

The trip to Ypres was an unbelievable experience, beyond anything we could have hoped for. It has helped us to know a bit more about James Couzins, and to pay our respects to a young man who, like so many, had his life taken away in such a brutal way.

A ‘spine-tingling’ day we will never forget.

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THE MATCH OF A LIFETIME Don Smith

Living to a ripe old age is becoming commonplace nowadays and when two fat ladies (to quote a Bingo term) arrived on my calendar in June, I wondered how I've managed to survive so far to become the silly old so-and-so that I now am. I suppose Fate (Life’s Referee) plays a big part in our survival and that's certainly true in my case.

Apparently, when I was born, I struggled hard to take my first breath and it took more than one good slap to change my colour from purple to a more acceptable pink. Perhaps the pretty nurse who did the slapping helped to persuade me to have a go at this life caper. Score so far: Me 1, Grim Reaper 0.

When I was two, I survived a fall from top to bottom of the very steep stairs in our two-up-two-down terraced house to suffer no more than a black eye and a few bruises. I don't remember the tumble but apparently I landed on my head, and that, of course, accounts for the person I've become! Score so far: Me 2, Grim Reaper 0.

The day before my seventh birthday, I decided to challenge a Jaguar car that was doing 60 mph. I managed to stop it, but only by letting it hit me. I remember seeing a galaxy of stars before I landed on a grass bank on the opposite side of the road. Luckily, I landed on my head and by now, of course, my bonce was becoming accustomed to taking these blows. Score so far: Me 3, Grim Reaper 0.

During the war, I was playing in a field one day with my brother and some friends when we found a small unexploded incendiary bomb. I think we must all have fallen on our heads at some time, as the decision was made to try to detonate it by sticking it into a dry stone wall and throwing stones at it. Before my brother and I left early to be home on time for lunch, our accuracy had been poor but after we left, a stone found its mark and the bomb exploded. My friends were very badly burned and scarred for life. Score so far: Me 4, Grim Reaper 0.

Shortly after the bomb adventure, a parachute was found close to a pond which served the local pit. Most of the villagers came out to help search for the parachutist, maybe a spy or a saboteur. Some pals and I were amongst the first on the scene but we soon found something that was far more interesting than searching for a long-gone German spy; a dead frog was floating just out of reach on the coal-black scummy surface of the pond. We decided it would be a challenge to rescue it from such a filthy final resting place. I was the tallest amongst us and therefore the one most likely to be able to reach out and grab it. As I reached the point of no return, the lad who was holding on to the bottom of my jacket lost his grip and into the pond I disappeared, with the dead frog firmly in my grasp. I've never been a swimmer but Fate decided, once more, that I should continue to pester people on this earth and somehow or other I managed to reach the bank and drag myself out with the aid of my relieved friends. They all thought I was a ‘goner’ and so did I. When I got home, covered in dried black mud, and faced my father, I was sent to bed, unfed for the day, not for the first time. Score so far: Me 5, Grim Reaper 0.

The next time the Grim Reaper and I competed against each other was years later in a hotel swimming pool in Ibiza. As I've said, swimming has never been my favourite pastime; the size of my backside seems to prohibit a good floating position. I have always been quite happy “swimming” in the shallow end, amongst the toddlers, whilst Mary, my late wife and an excellent swimmer, enjoyed herself in the deep end. For some inexplicable reason, I decided to “swim” down the pool to join Mary and was about half-way there when my backside decided to drop anchor as usual and down I went. I came up, for the first time of three, as you apparently do and shouted “Mary!” before disappearing into the depths. On rare occasions in our marriage, Mary did as I asked and fortunately this was one of those times! She was quickly on the scene but before my second descent, I just grabbed hold of her and down we both went. After probably thinking we were having a bit of a ‘frolic’ on the pool-bottom, a fellow swimmer realized we were in trouble and came to our rescue. He managed to fish me out and Mary, relieved of her burden, joined us at the side of the pool where we all enjoyed a large brandy. Score so far: Me 6, Grim Reaper 0.

I'm hoping the game of life will continue for a while longer, although I think we are now in extra time, thanks to a competent surgeon, who has told me that my heart should keep beating for a good many years. The Referee (Fate) will decide. The final score, Penalties excluded? Me 6 (or more?) Grim Reaper 1. Could be promotion!

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MARY MELLING Our very special long-term BU3A member, Mary Melling, has just celebrated her 90th birthday. By receiving friends at her home in small groups (see back cover), she was able to share her magnificently designed and decorated birthday cake. Shown left, the cake depicts wonderfully her Scottish heritage, her love of singing (she always sings unaccompanied and beautifully ‘The Star of Rabbie Burns’ at our BU3A Burns Night dinners), her love of books, of sewing and of nature. Happy birthday and congratulations, Mary, from everyone at BU3A.

TRAVEL Coordinator: Chrissie White

Yorkshire Rose Holidays have now refunded the monies paid for the cancelled Tutankhamen trip and Chrissie White has refunded the deposits paid for the cancelled Shrewsbury and Blists Hill Trip.

The Chester Canal with Sunday lunch day trip has been rebooked for 16th May, 2021. This trip was fully booked and all names and monies paid have been transferred to the new date.

We have provisionally booked for the Thursford Christmas Show next year, staying at the Dunsford Hall Hotel for two nights from Tuesday 7th December 2021. Further details will be provided when Yorkshire Rose are able to confirm the hotel and ticket prices.

WALKING CRICKET Coordinator: Mac McKechnie At last! Socially- distanced Walking Cricket has begun! BU3A Walking Cricket Group turned out in force at Dodworth with 20 participants (all individually risk- assessed), and how great it was to be back with old friends. Who won? It’s irrelevant! We were playing! (see back cover, too!)

If you come into the store

without a mask, we will have to take your temperature. P.S. We only have rectal thermometers. CHOOSE WISELY!

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OUR ARTISTS IN LOCKDOWN: MARGARET HALL

Margaret belongs to our Painting for Pleasure Group at Worsbrough and is “missing being together and painting”. But she is much more than just a member of Barnsley U3A. She has her own website and writes, “I am Chairman of Barnsley and District Art Society and one of my duties is to arrange a programme of demonstrations and workshops with professional artists and talented amateurs! This gives me a great excuse to visit exhibitions and open studios and try out new techniques in workshops, in order to make links with many artists. She always finds “such a lot of inspiration in flowers”. The beautiful picture, above, is called ‘Bluebells in Silkstone Wood’. The acrylic on canvas, below left, is part of a group of four individual studies; this one is ‘Sea thistle’. As Editor, I loved the variety that Margaret sent me. “Happy days!”, she wrote, when she sent them to me.

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‘Somewhere in France’ (above) was displayed in Rotherham’s Margaret was born and brought up Fitzwilliam and Hughes cafe. in Worsborough Dale and went to ‘Paradise’ (below) is one of six new large ‘Lockdown 2020’ canvases. Worsborough HS at White Cross. She studied in Durham and after some years came back home.

She spent happy years teaching in Barnsley primary schools - but this was cut short by illness and she had to retire quite early.

She joined Barnsley U3A as soon as she could and it has been a “life- saver”. She enjoyed being in our Art Appreciation group and in a

Book Forum and now concentrates on Painting for Pleasure and Drawing at Worsborough on Tuesday mornings.

She is fortunate to be able to spend as much time as she likes on painting, drawing and learning new art techniques. She loves to work on projects and exhibitions with local artists such as Barnsley and District Art Society, Northern Fringe and Hoylandswaine Arts. “Sheer bliss!”, she says.

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ASSOCIATE MEMBER: COLIN HERMITAGE

The Editor writes: I joined BU3A in 2017. At my first choir rehearsal I met Colin Hermitage. I then joined Thurnscoe Harmonic Male Voice Choir and he was there, too. Occasionally, I gave him lifts home and was always impressed by his recollections of a teaching career in Barnsley. Here was a real teacher who ‘got stuck in’ and ‘won’ with challenging children. I asked Colin if he would let me write about him in ‘The Buzz’; he agreed with some reluctance but for me, he is a bit of a hero. He is our most recent Associate Member.

Colin was born in Northfleet, Kent, in 1935 and has just celebrated his 85th birthday in lockdown without his family and friends around him, as he would have expected to do; Covid-19 took care of that, of course. In 1940, in order to avoid German bombings and The Blitz, he moved to Sheffield with his mother to live with his grandparents; his father was away serving in the Army. He went to junior schools in the Broomhill/Crookes area and won a scholarship to De La Salle Grammar School in Pitsmoor. His forte here was physical education as he was captain of football and recalls giving a gymnastics display at City Hall. In 1954, he joined the RAF and did two years’ National Service, partly at Celle Airbase, west of Berlin.

Back to civilian life in 1956, he was working as a TV engineer when he met Pat (also in BU3A, of course) who was doing teacher training and as they quickly became a couple, he started to consider the same thing with a PE focus. Within three years, he was trained and qualified; his specialisms were weightlifting, rugby, football, gymnastics, cycling and canoeing and for the latter, he built his own 2-man canoe and competed in and completed ‘The Devizes to Westminster 125-mile Marathon’ (left), still the world’s toughest canoe race!

His teaching career started in 1961, with posts in Doncaster and Sheffield, but the big step up came as Head of PE at Worsbrough High School. This school, previously known as White Cross was known to us all as ‘tough’, with over 50% of children on free school meals and many ‘problem families’. Such schools need ‘tough’ teachers and Colin’s encouraged ALL pupils to take part in physical exercise with walking, camping and canoeing as part of The Duke of Edinburgh Award. He was very successful, became a Trainer and Assessor and met the Duke of Edinburgh in person.

‘Disaster’ struck when he sustained a bad back injury when playing rugby for Barnsley. For a PE teacher, there can be little worse! Feeling compelled to leave the PE teaching area, he transferred to junior school work and after spells in Grenoside, Worsborough and Goldthorpe, he was appointed in 1977 as Headteacher of Hoyland Market Street Juniors. The subsequent addition of an Infants school to it made for “challenging but enjoyable and happy” years there with physical education and outdoor pursuits, as always, at the heart of the curriculum.

His back problems returned and after 17 years there, forced him to take early retirement in 1994. As an aside, it is interesting to note that some years later the school closed after a spate of pupil and teacher illnesses believed to be due to its construction alongside contaminated land in the 1960s.

Pat retired two years after Colin and they have travelled world-wide since then.

Colin’s health has deteriorated in recent years but he must look back on his commitment to Barnsley children and on his sporting achievements with real pride. I admire him enormously.

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STITCHES IN LOCKDOWN Coordinator: Suzanne Dinsdale

Our wonderful ‘Stitches’ Coordinator, Suzanne, always offers to show in ‘The Buzz’ what her impressive ‘stitchers’ have been up to in class and at home. She says, “in lockdown, we have been finishing UFOs (UnFinished

Objects), delving into our scrap

piles, dusting off our needles and

...... CREATING!” She sent me a dozen pictures of beautifully- made objects; I had the unenviable task of having to choose just a few of them to show you. I apologise to those whose pictures I haven’t chosen and I hope to include more in the next edition. The sewing machine embroidery could be the symbol of the Stitches group as they love hand- sewing and using their machines. I found a clear theme of animals in the rabbit doll, the elephant cushion, the fishy wall-hanging and the butterfly mixed-materials creation. Ed.

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MAKING MEMORIES: Creative COVID Collaboration Sue Stokes There is a call out to all U3A members to get involved in producing a national collage to celebrate the ways in which we have been using our craft activities during lockdown. The collage, formed of hundreds (hopefully!) of pictures of squares, individually designed and created by members and U3As across the country, will form a giant digital collage to be available in virtual and physical book form.

Contributions can be from individuals or collaborations with others – members of an interest group, across interest groups (e.g. you may want an art group to design it and a quilting group to make it). You may want to meet virtually to discuss your plans, or use a phone tree or post the square from person to person so that everyone can work on it.

There is a dedicated Facebook group: www.facebook.com/groups/u3acreativecovidcollaboration. U3A members can collaborate and share ideas to support each other during the creative process. Zoom sessions will be organised so members can support each other and learn from watching others make their squares.

You can also check out Craft U3A at www.facebook.com/groups/CraftU3A for ideas. The Craft U3A Facebook group is run by the U3A Craft Subject Adviser, Kelly Benton.

What to do:  Your squares must be 10 inches by 10 inches. You have free rein to use any colours, media or theme you wish  Take a picture of your finished square. We don’t need the original but please hold onto this as at some point we may be able to get them all together in a giant physical layout.  Suggestions for making your square could include ◊ Knitting ◊ Tiling or mosaic ◊ Crochet ◊ Leatherwork ◊ Card ◊ Metalwork ◊ Quilting ◊ Painting ◊ Beading ◊ and many others!  Possible ideas for the theme could include: ◊ the main success(es) of your U3A ◊ the area your U3A is in ◊ your favourite interest group(s) ◊ the initials of your U3A ◊ what inspired you to join U3A. ◊ the shape or geography of your region ◊ the main historical landmarks ◊ your ideas can be as broad and general as you want.

For more information: www.u3a.org.uk/learning/creative-covid-collaboration

U3A NATIONAL: HIGH STREET PROJECT. Please contact Lynn Maloney for more details.

In September a number of our members will be roaming the streets of Barnsley, Dodworth, Cudworth , Royston and Penistone conducting a survey of retail outlets on high streets. This is a national initiative designed to show what changes will occur on these streets in the next couple of years. Barnsley has been witnessing a regeneration but how will Covid 19 impact on our towns and surrounding areas? At the end of 2022, a report will be produced on the findings of surveys around the country. It will be interesting to see the changing face of our high streets.

JOHN & MARTIN U.P.V.C. DOOR AND WINDOW SERVICE ENGINEERS ADJUSTMENT AND REPAIR SERVICE

THE DOOR DOCTOR QUOTES FOR REPLACEMENT WINDOWS AND DOORS. STEAMY GLASS UNITS, LOCKS AND HANDLES, REPLACEMENT DOOR PANELS,

LETTERBOXES & HINGES, ETC (No call out charges) TEL: 07742080207/07722086250

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REAL LIFE SPINE-TINGLERS Derek Bacon

THE VALLEY OF THE FALLEN

I started learning Spanish at school when I was 13 and carried on learning and teaching it for the next 55 years.

I had been fascinated in the Sixth Form and at university by the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) and always wondered why Hitler had been able or allowed to use his Luftwaffe air force to help the Spanish dictator, Francisco Franco, overthrow the Spanish Republican government. The infamous German first- ever example of wave-bombing on the little northern Spanish town of Guernica on April 26th 1937, was repeated time and again in 1940 when London was ‘blitzed’ by the Luftwaffe. Should the rise of Hitler have been stopped in Spain? Could we have avoided the Second World War?

In 1940, Franco (right) ordered the construction of The Valley of the Fallen to commemorate himself and his victory. Over the next 18 years, a huge church (top left) was carved out of the granite hills 32 miles north of Madrid and the 450-foot stone cross was constructed directly above the church’s altar, way below. Thirty thousand bodies of the soldiers killed in the civil war lie behind the walls of the church. In 1975, when Franco died, his body was laid to rest inside the church, directly below the cross.

A visit to this place was a kind of ‘pilgrimage’ that I had to make; not out of admiration, of course, but out of curiosity and strong feelings. So, in 1976, our summer holiday was a drive through France and down to Madrid. The massive cross can be seen from over 20 miles away (left) and I recall glimpsing the top of the cross many times as we drove through the forest surrounding the site. My spine tingled, my body felt like it was shaking as I drove towards it. 36 years after its construction, I was at last going to be there. Visiting the graves of my heroes and my villains are always spine-tingling moments. This was a strangely fulfilling experience.

For many decades, I taught ‘A’ level students about the Spanish Civil War and took many school trips from Wath Comprehensive to the Valley of the Fallen. Students were always stunned by this visit, by the enormity of the whole experience; “spectacular but creepy”, one student said to me and I think that she summed it up pretty succinctly.

Franco’s body was exhumed and removed to a municipal cemetery in Madrid on 24th October 2019. The Valley of the Fallen site is an embarrassment to many modern Spaniards.

The tombstone of Franco in the Basilica of ‘The Valley of the Fallen’

Picasso’s and probably the 20th century’s most famous picture: ‘Guernica’ on display in Madrid

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GUIDANCE ON MEASURES TO BE TAKEN BEFORE BARNSLEY U3A GROUPS CAN RE-START

THIS HAS BEEN PUT TOGETHER TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE GOVERNMENT GUIDANCE. THIS IS AN EDITED VERSION FOR THE 2020 AUTUMN BUZZ

FULL GUIDANCE FOR SPORT AND OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES CAN BE FOUND AT

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-phased-return-ofsport-and- recreation/guidance-for-the-public-on-the-phased-return-of-outdoor-sport-andrecreation#organising-outdoor- sport-and-physical-activity-events

FULL GUIDANCE FOR INDOOR ACTIVITIES CAN BE FOUND AT

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-the-safe-use-of-multipurpose-community- facilities/covid-19-guidance-for-the-safe-use-of-multi-purpose-communityfacilities

SPORTS FACILITIES

Coordinators must ensure that they have details of how the facility providers have ensured that the facility is Covid- Secure and that measures are in place to ensure that all those using the facility do so in a way that is Covid-Secure. Where a national sporting body has provided guidance enabling community sports to re-commence, that guidance must be followed at all times. All Coordinators: o should contact the venue prior to commencing the interest group and should visit it to satisfy themselves of the ‘Covid-Secure’ conditions above o keep a record of how the building and its use is Covid-Secure o should keep a record of the date and time of using the facility and note on each occasion that the facility was complying with its Covid-Secure arrangements o should advise all members that they MUST use the facility in line with the guidance provided at all times, including the maximum numbers allowed to use the facility, and should keep a record of doing so

COMMUNITY HALLS

Coordinators must ensure that they have details of how the facility providers have ensured that the facility is Covid- Secure and that measures are in place to ensure that all those using the facility do so in a way that is Covid-Secure, including the maximum number of people that can be safely accommodated. All Coordinators: o should contact the venue prior to commencing the interest group and should visit it to satisfy themselves of the ‘Covid-Secure’ conditions above o review the venue guidance for Covid-Secure participation and capacity limits for the rooms with social distancing o give clear information about limiting the group size in line with these recommendations o keep a record of how the building and its use is Covid-Secure o keep a record of the date and time of using the building and note on each occasion that the building was complying with its Covid-Secure arrangements o advise all members that they MUST use the facility in line with the guidance provided to users at all times and keep a record of having done so

PRIVATE HOMES OUTSIDE Activity groups: o can meet in any outdoor space in a group of up to 6 people from different households o must continue to follow strict social distancing guidelines o should take hygiene precautions by washing their hands for at least 20 seconds as soon as they are home o should use their own hand sanitiser when attending the interest group o should access private gardens externally wherever possible – if a member needs to go through someone else’s home, avoid touching surfaces o should avoid using toilets in other people’s home when possible and wipe down surfaces as often as possible o should use disinfectant, wipe surfaces or door handles touched by people walking through their home o Should avoid sharing plates and utensils with people outside of their household

PRIVATE HOMES INSIDE No activity group can be conducted inside a private home at this time (Aug 8th 2020) 33

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VENUE BUS STAND

AGE UK BARNSLEY, 36a Queens Road, Barnsley S71 1AR

ALDER CLOSE COMMUNITY CENTRE: Off Longsight Road, Mapplewell S75 6JA 1 10

ARDSLEY BOWLING CLUB: Coronation Terrace, Off Doncaster Rd, Ardsley S715BE 219 21

ARDSLEY OAKS WMC: 680 Doncaster Rd, Ardsley, Barnsley S71 5EF 219 21

BARNSLEY BOWL: Carlton Road, Barnsley S71 2AZ 12 8

BIRDWELL COMMUNITY CENTRE: Rockingham Street, Birdwell S70 5TQ 2 / 66 / 67 1

BURTON GRANGE COMMUNITY CENTRE: Wike Road, Lundwood S71 5LT 32 16 CUDWORTH METHODIST CHURCH: Barnsley Road, Cudworth, Barnsley, S72 8SU 27 16 DARTON PARISH HALL: Church St, Darton, Barnsley S75 5HF 93 5 DODWORTH LIBRARY: High Street, Dodworth, Barnsley, S75 3RF 22 4 DODWORTH MINERS WELFARE CLUB: High Street, Dodworth, Barnsley S75 3RF 22 4 EMMANUEL CHURCH: Huddersfield Road, Barnsley S75 1DT 95 5

KING STREET FLATS: Waltham Street, Barnsley, S70 1JU 22X / 6 18 / 17

MANOR COURT COMMUNITY CENTRE: Westend Ave, Royston, Barnsley S71 4LN 57 13

MAPPLEWELL AND STAINCROSS VILLAGE HALL: Darton Lane, Barnsley S75 6AL 1 10

MONK BRETTON METHODIST CHURCH: High St, Monk Bretton, Barnsley S71 2PJ 57 13 PENISTONE BOWLING CLUB: Back Lane, Penistone S36 6DW 22 4 POLLYFOX COMMUNITY CENTRE, Pollyfox Way, Dodworth S75 3QR 22 4 PRIORY CAMPUS: Pontefract Road, Lundwood, Barnsley S71 5PN 27 17 ST JOHN’S COMMUNITY CENTRE: Church St, Penistone S36 6AR 22 4

ST THOMAS’S COMMUNITY CENTRE: Church St, Gawber, Barnsley S75 2RJ 92 / 93 4

SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH: Doncaster Road, Barnsley, S70 3HA 6/22X/218/21 18 / 19

STOCKSBRIDGE LEISURE CENTRE: Moorland Drive, Stocksbridge, S36 1EG 23 5

STAIRFOOT CONSTITUTIONAL CLUB: 466 Doncaster Road, Barnsley S70 3PW 222/226/X19 18 / 19

TESCO: Wombwell Lane, Stairfoot, Barnsley S70 3NS 22X 18

VALLEY COMMUNITY CENTRE: Manor Road, Cudworth, Barnsley S72 8DG 27 15

WESLEYAN REFORM CHURCH: Spark Lane, Mapplewell S75 6AA 1 10 WOMBWELL METHODIST CHURCH: Summer Lane, Wombwell, Barnsley S73 8HE 22 18 WORSBROUGH BRIDGE SOCIAL CLUB: Sheffield Rd, Worsbrough Bridge S70 5EJ 66 2 WORSBROUGH LIBRARY: Elm House Estate, Queensway, Worsbrough S70 5EN. 66 2

If you know that the above list contains incorrect information, please notify the Buzz team. For further information, contact BTI on 01226 213313 or Traveline on 01709 515151

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27 FIGURES OF SPEECH TO FIND Fab BU3A pen possibly available depending on his cheery or grumpy mood when perusing your answers

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TUESDAY WALKERS Coordinators: Helen and Syd Swift All walks will meet at 09:45 am for a 10 am start and will be approximately 5 to 6 miles long. We estimate that they will be completed by 1:00 pm. The walks vary in severity so please do check with the leader if you have any concerns about suitability. There is usually a nearby refreshment venue if members wish to socialise after the walk. Unfortunately, we have reached full capacity and are unable to take new members at this present time.

Date Meeting Place Walking Area Leader(s) 8 September Finkle Street TPT Car Park Hunshelf, The Upper Don Trail (approx. 6 Helen and Syd Wortley S35 7DH miles. Some uneven terrain, walking Refreshments: Wortley poles helpful) 22 September High Street, Gawthorpe Gawthorpe to Kirkhamgate Pam WF5 9QS More details to follow The walk takes in part of the Wakefield Refreshments: Local Way and the Rhubarb Triangle (5.6 miles) 6 October The Crown Ludwell Close Barnburgh Craggs Ann and John Parr Barnburgh, Doncaster DN5 7JQ Refreshments: The Crown 20 October Fishermen’s Car Park Wombwell Woods Robina Directions to be given Refreshments: Dearne Valley Farm Pub or KFC 3 November Rabbit Ings Car Park Rabbit Ings Lynda and Dave Refreshments: Break at Felkirk Church 27 November Car Park, Twibell Street S71 1DN Fleets Canal, Tinker’s Pond Charlie and Jean (This street is on the left, just below the entrance to the retail park) Refreshments: Local 1 December The Station Inn Silkstone Common Pauline and Robert Silkstone Common S75 4RB Refreshments: Station Inn Christmas Buffet. Cost to be notified. To be booked and paid for in advance. 15/29 Dec and 5 January No Walks MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL TUESDAY WALKERS Next Walk: Tuesday, 12th January 2021

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YOGA Group member: Eleanor Ingram Reflections Of A Yoga Group In Lockdown I (left, standing behind Yoga Coordinator, Joy) started yoga in my early 20’s in Worsbrough and moved on to classes at the Metrodome. I did Business Studies at college, demonstrated and ran courses on sewing and knitting machines, managed a printing shop, worked at CRS Living in Barnsley, then started a family. When my son was 5, I re-trained and became an NHS Medical Secretary for the Children’s Mental Health Service, which I loved and where I stayed until early retirement three years ago.

I’d tried in vain to find a good Hatha yoga group and had resorted to Pilates, but that didn’t suit me due to health problems. After retirement I was so happy to find BU3A and its Crafty Chat group at Penistone; I loved being with like-minded people who re-kindled my creative spirit, crocheting, sewing and learning rag-rugging! Imagine my delight when I then heard of Yoga at Worsbrough, I’d come full circle! I wasn’t sure what I was letting myself in for with Kundalini Yoga but soon found it was perfect for me, only going as far as our ageing bodies would let us; a relief! Plus, yogic-tea tea-breaks, good chat, meals out and a Christmas fuddle.

Weekly Yoga stopped in March and I remembered my grandmother telling me about Spanish Flu; was this similar? My grandma had survived two World Wars; I thought myself lucky not to have directly experienced any huge world crises until reaching retirement age. My son was in New Zealand and probably better off there than anywhere else!

In the Summer ‘Buzz’, I saw how other groups were coping and decided that I wanted to write about our Yoga WhatsApp Group that Joy, our wonderful teacher, set up at the start of our incarceration, posting all sorts of information and virtual classes to keep us going. It was no mean task contacting class members and asking them to express their experiences of the group and lockdown but I’m so glad I did as I received an abundance of comment.

David Hignett: After a career primarily in mental health – once a senior manager but I’m better now! I’m now on my own aside from four-footed persons. I’m into Cats – who know purrfectly well who’s in charge and it’s definitely not me! I see a few clients privately for therapy and offer self-help groups. An only child, I grew up in London. I did my degree in Literature and History. Social work happened when I realised I was more interested in people’s emotional responses to works than to the works themselves. My parents would have preferred me to be an accountant or lawyer! I moved to Barnsley in 1999 for an interesting job and enticing countryside. I love both the people and the place.

Long intrigued by Yoga, I’d never got "a round tuit" until joining BU3A in late 2019. I received a warm welcome; Joy's directions were clear and gentle! Seemingly innocuous exercises had a sudden profound effect on my body, mind and spirit. The open caring and intimate sharing was heart-warming.

Unable to access WhatsApp on my geriatric phone it has, nevertheless, been a hungry delight to receive Joy’s weekly emails with explicit instructions and exciting YouTube links; this has for me been far more than merely an alternative to solo walking, it has held me together and expanded me. I have felt enriched and uplifted. (David pictured,left, practising yoga.)

Jenny Stewart: Born in Huddersfield, I married at 21 and had two boys by 25! Around that time I found a Hatha yoga evening class at Shelley High School, went to give it a go and I have done yoga ever since. I’m 72 now.

In 1986 we moved to Barnsley and I went to classes in a room above the Conservative Club, then at the Metrodome, then at Living Well, now ‘Bannatynes’. Retiring at 51, I could take more classes. Last year I found Kundalini Yoga with BU3A and do this as well as Hatha Yoga. Yoga has kept

42 me fit and active and despite a cancer diagnosis 8 years ago, I returned to it six weeks after surgery and feel sure it made a big difference to my full recovery.

During this isolating pandemic, we have still been able to practise yoga with Joy. She has put lots of thought into lessons and meditations; the chat group’s sharing of interesting information, opinions and recipes helps when feeling depressed or down. Kriya Yoga lifts the spirits by the very act of sitting quietly and meditating and for me, missing my active lifestyle, classes have been a lifeline in helping to cope with not seeing family, especially weekly visits from my two little grandchildren. I’m in several BU3A groups; it will be great to get back to ‘normal’. (Facing page: Yoga group at Worsbrough before lockdown)

Malan Amonkar: I joined BU3A’s yoga and meditation classes last October and enjoy it very much. Joy’s WhatsApp group sends us Kriya sets and Joy has personally been in touch via phone and email about health and other issues. I would like to give special thanks to her and truly appreciate her willingness to offer help to the yoga group.

Margaret Vaines: Joy has been with us all during lockdown, helping us with our Kriyas and meditations at every stage. On WhatsApp we’ve been communicating every day, sending posts, photos, You-tube stories, and chatting. This pandemic has actually brought the group closer together and it's all thanks to Joy - our Leader!! My sister Betty enjoys the classes, too; Joy makes everyone feel so welcome, she says. (Margaret on left and sister Betty on right, socially distanced walking in Locke Park during lockdown with Joy taking the photo)

A few words from Yoga Coordinator Joy Nicholson

The Yoga Group entered ‘lockdown’ a week before the rest of BU3A. The classes were affected by most of our members being over 70, shielding or having underlying conditions. By the 17th March, our Yoga WhatsApp group was up and running. Yoga teaching on WhatsApp and Beacon has been from photographs in order to bring clarity to the recipe that is the Kriya, alongside advice on how to manage body safety at home. In the beginning we tried to maintain the classes at the original time each week and had a meet-up afterwards by video call.

Everyone on WhatsApp can look back easily, touch their screen, and an instant video-teaching plays. We have so much specialist information at our finger-tips. Yoga on WhatsApp has included holistic knowledge of herbs for health, organic gardening, veganism, Ayerveda, sourdough starters, world consciousness, new planetoids in the solar system and how to make masks and hand-sanitisers.

The yoga sets have supported our yogis in various areas. Here are a few examples:

Week 7 was ‘inner anger release’; this was when it became obvious that we could be in it for the ‘long haul’. Week 11 offered us a set for a ‘release of inner tensions’. Week 14 was the week to conquer our sleep problems and it definitely worked. Week 15 was a Kriya for the ‘elemental being’ inside each of us. It is one of many holistic Kriyas that work just as much upon the healthy psyche as on the healthy body. Every month we have had Kriyas for breathing, heart health and protection against diseases. A few small, precise exercises work a magic that is beyond reason. There is only one thing wrong, they would be even better in the company of friends.

On the 10th August a few of us met up in Cawthorne Park. Socially-distanced, we chatted and walked to a spot under a tree after thanking it for producing life-giving oxygen and shade from the sun. Joy proceeded to instruct us through the 5

Tibetan Rites; we managed 4 but it was well worth it, we felt fortified and enriched.

We so look forward to being back together for our weekly group when safe to do so. What a huge relief it will be and so wonderful to catch up with each other in person and continue our yogic journeys.

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BIADS (Barnsley Independent Alzheimer’s and Dementia Support) is an organisation formed by Barnsley people to provide support to those who have any form of dementia and their families and friends.

Since we are an independent group serving the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley we can guarantee that all funds raised and donations received will be used here in Barnsley

What Does BIADS Do? From our dedicated centre in Barnsley we provide support to those affected by dementia, their carers, families and friends by providing information, emotional support, social opportunities, meaningful activities and events. Through our range of services we hope to enable our members to live well with dementia in the community.

BIADS' Logo We have chosen the ‘tree of hearts’ to symbolise the ethos of our organisation. The trunk of the tree represents BIADS with our roots firmly in the Barnsley community. The hearts represent those people who have dementia and those who love and care for them. The branches are the services that BIADS offers – reaching out to support those affected by dementia in Barnsley.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?  Make a one-off donation  Make a regular donation  Offer your time and expertise  Become a member, please get in touch for a form  Join our ‘everyone’s a winner’ draw  Spread the word about BIADS’ work

BIADS' Dementia Support Centre, Joseph Exley House, Dean Street, Barnsley, S70 6EX

Email: [email protected] Phone: 01226 280057 Registered charity number: 1140201

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THEATRE Pat Dawson ‘WOLF HALL’ on BBC TV

This was an adaptation for BBC of two novels written by Hilary Mantel. We enjoyed watching it a great deal and it provoked us to research the author and discover what an interesting person she is in the way that she understands history and writes it. The title ‘Wolf Hall’ alludes to the Latin saying ‘Homo homini lupus’ i.e. ‘Man is a wolf to his fellow man’. According to Mantel, it also alludes to the home in Suffolk of the Seymour family called by them ‘Wulf Hall’. I thought it a topical subject because in the first episode, Thomas Cromwell (and the series is mostly about him) returns home after an absence to find that his wife and two daughters have died of, what was called at the time, ‘The Sweating Disease’. It was raging across Europe in Tudor times. Interestingly, the speed of onset, rate of progression and signs and symptoms of the disease were ‘flu-like’ i.e. acute fever, sweating, laboured breathing etc. very like those of Covid19! The sufferers at that time probably died of dehydration and pneumonia. That particular pandemic was thought to have entered England around the time that Cromwell was born, at the end of the Wars of the Roses, carried in by Henry VII’s invading army in 1485...and it didn’t die out until 1551! The Europeans of the day called it ‘Sudor Anglicus’ – The English Sweat.

One man in particular became linked to the disease, namely John Keys (right). Educated at Cambridge, he travelled throughout Europe early in his medical career, returning towards the end of Henry’s VII’s reign, having changed his name to Johanus Caius. The sweating disease was his opportunity to make himself known. He saw that it was mostly the wealthy who caught it and he benefited by ‘treating’ them for it. He left us his account of the sweating disease and it was published in 1556. His old college at Cambridge (Gonville and Caius College, left) adopted his name Caius (pronounced ‘Keys’) in his honour.

Meanwhile back in the 21st century, BU3A’s Theatre Group have had weekly ‘Zoom’ meetings (library image) from early in ‘lockdown’ thanks to Sandy, a very ‘interactive’ member of the group, whose idea it was and who got everybody organised. Suzanne and Bill then demonstrated that it is possible to share our presentations by including audio visual clips in our ‘Zoom’ meetings. Indeed, a large proportion of time in our meetings is taken up by members presenting what they have researched about every conceivable facet of live theatre and their critiques of productions.

During lockdown we actually have been having more meetings rather than no meetings and the group has kept its cohesion. We look forward to Pat Butcher’s Monday emails with suggestions about programmes to watch and discuss the following Friday. Also, because we can see each other, it is still fun to celebrate birthdays with a very discordant rendition of the hackneyed anthem besides getting a card through the letter box. Time passes so quickly from week to week and we eagerly anticipate getting together again at Priory to have a ‘fuddle’ and catch-up ASAP.

We have a nascent online PHILOSOPHY group. Are you fit to join it? You could win a fab BU3A pen!

ESSAYS (MINIMUM 30,000 WORDS, NO MAXIMUM, NO RUBBISH) SHOULD BE SENT TO A…

1. After a game of chess, the King and the pawn go into the same box. Discuss. 2. Kill one man and you're a murderer, kill a million and you're a conqueror. Discuss. 3. If God meant us to fly, he’d have made it easier to get to the airport. Don’t discuss; it’ll only make you cross!

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HUMILIATION (a real one) Derek Bacon One of the several genuinely humiliating experiences in my life happened in this school hall (left). I’ve never forgotten it. Over six decades later, it still makes me cringe.

Like lots of primary school pupils in the 50s, I was given a standard wooden Descant recorder and I was probably ok with that although I have no real recollection of playing it. A year later, I was given a dark-brown, plastic Treble recorder, a bigger thing! Then, in 1959, out of the blue appeared a clarinet! I remember travelling miles with my mum on two buses across Brighton to be taught by an old man in the organ loft of a church. I never made much progress. I never played at home and never owned a music stand to put music on.

But a fateful day came when the primary school music teacher said to me, “I want you to play a clarinet solo at the end-of-year concert. ‘Fairest Isle’ by Henry Purcell”. GULP! WHAT? BY WHO? ME?????

In that hall where, a year earlier, I had posed as a hopeless cellist in little white socks, the fateful day came. The stage was up, children sang songs, the choir performed a children’s opera, poems were read, all the proud parents clapped their little darlings. Then, at last, it was time for a bit of class, from England’s greatest composer, Henry Purcell. I was announced as the first pupil ever to own a clarinet in the school and they probably all clapped. Little did they or I know what was about to happen. Clarinets are loud and you have to hold the mouthpiece and its reed gently but firmly in your mouth to make a nice sound. But clarinets can squeak and squawk and squeal very nastily if you get it wrong. Well, I squeaked and squawked and squealed for two or three minutes completely unable to control my nerves, mouth, fingers and brain; hardly a single, acceptable, correct note came out; seeing my mum and dad in specially reserved seats on the front row certainly didn’t help. They must have been going through hell. I know that I was going through hell but I didn’t stop, apologise, blame the clarinet and leave the stage. No, the audience got the full piece but in a version that Purcell could never have imagined when he composed it! Afterwards, I walked up the hill to our house, lay face down on my bed and sobbed. Embarrassing! Pathetic! Horrible! Humiliated! Not a nice day.

HUMILIATION (a rude one) Alan Swann

Editor’s note: this episode in our popular ‘Humiliation’ series may yet be investigated by South Yorkshire Police’s Ancient-History Crime Unit. Do not read if easily offended.

As a Barnsley Grammar School boy, I spent lots of time in Barnsley Bus Station. In the fifth form, we lads noticed that there were girls there who walked to the Girls High School on Huddersfield Road. There wasn’t much conversation between the groups as the boys liked football and the girls didn’t. We very decently kept our distance. However, on one occasion, I had a close encounter with one of them. The bus station had stands with double parallel bars at about three foot and 18 inches in height respectively. In order to save walking up and down the length of the queuing lanes it was possible to duck under the top bar and over the bottom one to take your place behind the last person in the queue. On this particular occasion, I noticed a bunch of girls forming the queue so I decided to join them by ducking under the top bar in close proximity to their whereabouts. Unfortunately, as bad luck would have it, one of the girls had moved a couple of feet backwards away from her mates at the very instant that I was emerging from between the bars. My head went straight up her skirt! At first, I was disorientated as everything went very dark. After a minute or two, having realised what had happened, I ducked back down and removed myself from the appalling predicament that her stupid move had placed me in. My mates could hardly board the bus for laughing.

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AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY NEW (for Barnsley U3A that is)

What is it? The UK’s biggest Charity fundraising site. Simple to use and free.

How does it work? It turns your everyday online shopping into donations at no cost to you.

How much can you raise? The donation per purchase will generally be between 0.5% and 10%. Some retailers, including insurance and broadband providers, will pay a flat rate fee which can be in the £100s.

How can it help Barnsley U3A? If you use it when you shop online, it will provide us with a steady stream of donations.

Is it really free? Yes, you won’t pay a penny more when shopping online.

How can you help? Go to easyfundraising.org.uk, sign up and select Barnsley & District U3A as your nominated charity. Then, when shopping, you can EITHER go to the easyfundraising website, select the retailer you want to purchase from, then ‘jump’ to the retailer from easyfundraising OR (and this is much simpler), download and install the Donation Reminder onto your desktop, it just takes a couple of clicks, then whatever site you go into, if a donation is available, a drop-down box will remind you and you just then need to ‘activate the donation’.

Do you shop on Amazon? BU3A now has an Amazon Smile account. Similar to easyfundraising but only applies to Amazon purchases.

What is AmazonSmile? It is a simple way to support a charity every time you shop and it costs you nothing. You select the charity and that is stored in your Amazon account, then every time you shop for something that is eligible for a donation, your donation will be sent to that account.

Can I use my Existing Amazon Account? Yes, you can. You need to search in the Amazon search bar for Amazon Smile and a box will open up towards the top of the screen like this:

Amazon Smile – You shop. Amazon gives. When you shop at smile.amazon.co.uk, Amazon donates to your favourite charitable organisation.

About AmazonSmile | Change charitable organisation | Enable in mobile app Just click on the wording that starts ‘When you shop at ….’ And this will bring up a box to search for Barnsley & District U3A. Once you have done this your selection will be held for all future eligible purchases. Please remember that all purchases must be made through smileamazon to qualify.

SIMPLES

This is my step ladder. Time flies like an Hedgehogs – why I never knew arrow, fruit flies can’t they just my real ladder. like a banana share the hedge?

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A SCRAP OF PAPER – plus a little research Robert Green

In 2018 I was given a scrap of paper that someone had kept in their wallet for some time. As I read it I was struck by the stanza but what was on the reverse was more than intriguing for me. Little did I realise what a bit of research would uncover! With the help of a fellow U3A member, who has similar interests to me, we discovered that the stanza is the Epitaph at the end of a poem by Ralph Wilson Gilbert – ‘Requiem to a Rear Gunner’, “dedicated to his old ‘Oppo’ Sydney Fox and all those thousands of fresh faced youngsters who got the CHOP whilst on OPS, over the dark and hostile night skies of occupied Europe during the period from 1939 – 1945”. Gilbert was a Mid-Upper Gunner in a Halifax 111 bomber piloted by Allan Reynolds, part of 158 Squadron (right). They flew out of Lisset Airfield, near Bridlington, to raid the Trappes railyards outside Paris, two days before D-Day. The aircraft was shot down, Sydney Fox was killed, two of the crew became POW’s and four evaded capture. In 1939, Sydney William Fox was a 24-year-old printer from Biggleswade, having married Elsie Goodwin in 1938. He became a sergeant in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, his trade being noted as Air Gunner. Records note he was ‘killed on active service’ and is buried in Evreux Communal Cemetery in France. We have far more detail on this story and others that, hopefully, we will be able to share with you sometime in the future. (Full poem on next page)

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Requiem for a Rear Gunner

I feel relieved and happy, the moon is on our beam, Then suddenly the fighters are in among the stream, Combats break out on every side, the criss-cross bullets fly, I see four stricken bombers fall blazing from the sky.

As cannon shells come leaping, I watch the battle grow, A Halifax to starboard attacks a one-one-o. I see another aircraft about to meet its fate, A fighter closes in on him - a JU 88.

This is no even contest, no warring of the Gods, Our bullets can't match cannon shells, we know the desperate odds, I nurse my four sleek Brownings, with their belts of 303, And hold on to the 88, that's quietly shadowing me.

With twice our speed and half our size, we're lucky to survive, The only thing that we can do is weave and twist and dive, He takes a chancy pot-shot, his shells fall short astern, He's a little bit too eager to see our aircraft burn. David Fletcher, a highly-valued

I tell the skip to corkscrew, before we get the chop, member of BU3A’s Sequence Dancing And as we're diving steeply, I watch the fighter drop. made a momentous decision and decided to retire! Most of us retire in He very nearly vanishes into the hazy air, And then with startling suddenness, he fires a fighter flare. our 50s or 60s but not David Fletcher. He waited until he was Suspended on a parachute, it hangs above our tail, coming up to 80 and then Glowing with brilliant radiance, it makes the moon seem pale, remembered he shouldn’t be working! Crouched in my rear turret, well how am I to know, David shared a hairdressing business That the cunning Hun is waiting a hundred feet below. with his daughter so wanted to ensure We have no under turret, no one can see below, everything was ok with her. They have He sits there as we corkscrew, following as we go, been the hairdressers in Lundwood for An upward firing cannon, close by the pilot's cheek, many years. Is beaded on my turret, its code name SCHRAGE MUSIK. Now he will be able to take to one of Where ignorance is bliss they say, 'tis folly to be wise, his favourite hobbies, cruising. When Though soon I'll face the MUSIC in those unfriendly skies. government guidelines allow, he’ll be We have the flare behind us, suspended there on high, able to go anytime. And, obviously,

I watch it fading slowly from the corner of my eye. he’ll be dancing non-stop! From everyone at Sequence Dancing Once more the void is empty, all peaceful and unreal, Good luck, David! I call through on the intercom "Regain an even keel, You can straighten up now skipper, we've lost him I believe, Have a fantastic retirement! But don't fly straight and level, maintain a gentle weave".

No sign of JU 88 - No ME one-one-o's, Quite soon we'll be at the coast where the English Channel flows, I sigh and breath in deeply, with ill-disguised relief, When streams of white hot tracer come hosing from beneath.

My world dissolves around me, I take a fearful blow, My legs are ripped and shattered from the holocaust below, My Browning guns have vanished, my chest is torn and red,

My perspex dome disintegrates - I AM ALREADY DEAD.

EPITAPH My brief sweet life is over, my eyes no longer see, No summer walks - no Christmas Trees - no pretty girls for me, I've got the chop, I've had it, my nightly ops are done, Yet, in another hundred years, I'll still be twenty-one. 49

FROM THE NEW DEVELOPMENT OFFICER Lynn Maloney

FAMILY HISTORY AT DODWORTH LIBRARY ARE ‘ZOOM’ GROUPS HERE TO STAY? WEDNESDAY MORNING GROUP During lockdown, Barnsley U3A members have found ways The fortnightly Wednesday Morning Family of continuing to meet in some form or other. Outdoor groups History group at Dodworth Library needs a new are slowly starting up. Indoor groups have continued using Coordinator. This could be an existing member ‘Zoom’ or other virtual platforms. This is not the same as or a new member who is interested in meeting in person, but it has helped many members to stay genealogy. Perhaps the lockdown has whetted in touch with each other. your appetite for finding your roots. Or maybe What is exciting is that virtual meetings could be here to stay. you’re related to Harry and Meghan! The Coordinators’ Meetings will continue on ‘Zoom’ and one Coordinators are our lifeblood. This is an activity group is hoping to continue using this format. Keep important group. Lynn Maloney for more your eyes open for more information in the December ‘Buzz’. information. It’s looking interesting and good!

The claim was that if Two blondes walk into a building ...... you'd think at least one of them you can find the would’ve seen it. camel you are less Answering-machine message '... likely to develop If you want to buy marijuana, Alzheimer’s; the press the hash key...'

claim is untrue. Man walks into the psychiatrist’s in

Clingfilm shorts. The shrink says, 'Well, However, it is a I can clearly see you're nuts.' challenge to spot all the animals. Ice cream man found dead on the floor of his van covered with Fancy grabbing hundreds and thousands. yourself a BU3A pen? Police say he topped himself.

COOKERY CORNER Christine Palmer Delicious and so easy to make. This makes enough for 2 people.

LEEK AND POTATO SOUP

1 medium leek 1 small onion 6 oz potatoes (chopped into small pieces) 1/2 pint vegetable stock (or chicken) 5 fluid oz cream or milk 1/2 or 1 tsp salt (to taste) Ground pepper (to taste) Knob of butter

Finely chop the leek and onion, melt the butter gently in a saucepan, add the leek and onion and fry without browning for about 7 - 10 mins, stirring occasionally. Add the potatoes, stock, salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for 20 - 30 mins or until vegetables are tender. Liquidise the soup or pass through a sieve until mixture is smooth. Let the soup cool slightly then add the cream or milk and warm through thoroughly before serving. good leeks bad leaks Lovely with crusty bread on a cold Autumn day. YUMMMMMMYYYYYYYY!

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MONEY MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND QUIZ Jo Kasparek

1. ‘Money makes the world go around’ is featured in which musical? 2. Who had a hit in 1979 with the song ‘Money (that’s what I want)’? 3. Which racecourse hosts the 1,000 Guineas? 4. In which musical does the song with the lyrics ‘tuppence a bag’ appear? 5. Who had a hit in 1983 with ‘She works hard for the money’? 6. The song ‘Brother can you spare a dime?’, was written for which musical? 7. Name the 1964 Clint Eastwood spaghetti-western film with musical score by Ennio Morricone? 8. Which group had a hit with “Money’s too tight (to mention)” in 1985? 9. Who wrote the 1978 BBC Drama ‘Pennies from Heaven’? 10. Which duo had a hit with ‘Rich Girl’ in 1976? 11. Which is the world’s wealthiest organisation at around 25 billion USD? 12. What was Shirley Bassey’s huge hit from the musical ‘Sweet Charity’ called? 13. First performed in 1965, who wrote the play ‘Loot’? 14. Which 2014 Martin Scorsese film told of stockbroker Jordan Belfort - broker-cum- conman? 15. Name the Dire Straits’ song from ‘Brothers in Arms’ which ends “and chicks for free” 16. Born in 1942, how is George Bruno Money better known? 17. Why was the guinea withdrawn from circulation? 18. Name the money-related track on the classic album ‘Dark side of the moon’. 19. Which song received the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1955 and was written for a film of the same name? 20. Name the musical film, starring Tommy Steele, based on the novel, ‘Kipps’, by H G Wells. 21. Which 1976 Abba song ends with the words ‘it’s a rich man’s world’? 22. Who is the wealthiest woman in the UK? 23. Which group sang ‘Mirror, mirror’ in 1981? 24. In ‘Fiddler on the Roof’, Topol’s character, Teyve, bemoans his poverty in which song? 25. Name the 1986 film directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Paul Newman as Fast Eddie Felson alongside a young Tom Cruise.

Remember! You could win a coveted BU3A pen!

Alan Swann is our judge and his excellent and infallible decisions are final.

Appeals are not permitted, of course, under the recent ‘Alan Swann BU3A Emergency 2020 lockdown quiz rules’.

Please send your answers (see p?) to:

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Some BU3A people having fun with their friends! And a golfer about to hit yet another very wayward drive.

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