323 October 2020

1 CHAIRMAN’S REPORT Hello everyone, I trust you are all keeping well and bearing up under the strain. I have just heard (Thursday) the latest doom and gloom predictions from the “experts”. At least it can’t get much worse (can it?). It would be more reassuring if they could come to some sort of overall agreement perhaps and reduce the confusion. Here is some information from the recent AGMs which is relevant at the moment. The Third Age Trust AGM 29th September 2020 I “attended” the virtual AGM which was held last week. The system used was quite slick and similar to the Zoom presentations which we are becoming accustomed to nowadays. Approximately 400 (25%) U3As were signed up on line. There was no active video but only slides and audio for the presentations and announcements. There was also the advantage of having online voting by clicking your choice of options displayed on screen. After a short set period of time, these votes were counted and the result displayed. The process would take around 20 minutes for each vote. It commenced sharp at 10am with an introduction by Sam Mauger. Reports by the Chairman Ian McCannah and the Treasurer Richard Teare then followed. Ian said that the U3A might need to be more internet based in the future; the new Beacon database system would be rolled out next March; and a pilot for the new U3A radio podcast would be trialled on the 29th September on the YouTube channel. Elections then followed and were uncontested. The only change of interest to us was the election of a new East of England representative, Barbara Cordina, who was replacing Jeff Carter who had come to the end of his tenure. A proposal was submitted by the Executive committee that the membership fee for individual members should be increased to £4 from April 2022. The original suggestion had been an increase to £4.50, but this was considered too problematical. Other amendments were to increase to £4 from 2023, and to retain the fee at £3.50. These were defeated and the original proposal was passed by a large majority. This particular part of the proceedings was very drawn out, with online questions having to be recorded and sorted for most relevance before being answered. The final item was a presentation on the new Brand Image for the U3A. There was much concern about the falling membership numbers and lack of new U3A groups. The Covid crisis could mean even fewer joining with fewer groups and meetings taking place, with members deserting to other online associations with more attraction to their individual interests. Graphs were shown indicating membership by age group: 70+ 30%, 75+ 22%, 80+ 20%, meaning nearly three quarters of the members were in the oldest age groups. The under 50 groups were showing a serious decline compared with previous surveys. 2 Some of the decisions were: Remove “retirement” from the advertising to attract younger members. Expand the online shop from October to include more personalised merchandise. Employ a PR agency to further the Brand Image. Create a new logo with a modern design which can be changed by the individual U3As to accommodate their own wording and design. The meeting closed at about 2.30! A long morning/ afternoon. I feel that the lack of interpersonal communication and discussion was a shame, however one could at least have a cup of tea, eat lunch, read a newspaper or just fall asleep as and when required. The Essex Association AGM held on 2nd October This was a Zoom meeting and was speedily completed compared to the National AGM. 23 member groups attended the meeting. Chairman Sandra Randall stated that the completed study days had been very successful, but two (Ancestry and Study of Trees) had been postponed due to the Covid situation. No further dates for new study days had been determined for the same reason. The Speakers list was up to date and would include those who were operating Zoom presentations. Election of Officers was unopposed and included Sandra as continuing Chairman and Gwenda Cunnington as the new Treasurer. Barbara Cordina, as the new East of England representative (replacing Jeff Carter who had reached the end of his term,) gave an address during the following General Meeting which outlined plans for the future of the movement. Full details of both these AGM’s can be viewed via the relevant links on the National Website: https://www.u3a.org.uk/member-login Future Monthly meetings for our Group. As there is no likely return to our monthly meetings in the Canon Roche hall for the foreseeable future, we are proposing to introduce Zoom meetings. These will be held on the normal fourth Friday of the month, at the usual time. Many of our normal speakers are now giving these presentations, and we also have the opportunity of accessing speakers from further afield. We are approaching likely candidates at the present, and will keep you updated with details and how to access the presentations when available. 3 BASILDON AND BILLERICAY U3A AGM - FINAL REMINDER 2 pm - 30th October 2020 Thank you to all members who confirmed their acceptance of the Committee and our Treasurer's report. Details of our virtual (Zoom) AGM have previously been sent to all members via email or post, as well as appearing in our last newsletter. If you wish to take part in our meeting you will need to contact me to request details of the link you will need. Secretary 4 BILLERICAY HIGH STREET SURVEY The Autumn edition of Third Age Matters included an article entitled “Mapping the Future of Our High Streets” which explained the national U3A project looking at the state of high streets before and after the pandemic struck, with research being undertaken in September 2020 and again in 18 months’ time. I found this extremely interesting as I have lived on or very near Billericay High Street since 1971 and often discuss with family and friends changes that we have seen in this period. The article stated that it was not too late to get involved and I decided to contact the project leader to see what was entailed. A quick response informed me that I was the only person from Billericay and Basildon U3A to have shown an interest in volunteering for the project and was welcomed on board. I have surveyed all the retail spaces - over 150 - both occupied and empty, in the High Street (including Holly Court and The Walk), Chapel Street and the northern end of Western Road. This has entailed logging data for example on size, function, access to parking, whether eat in or take away (or both) for food outlets, and for empty sites former usage if known. I have also taken photographs of all these premises. The latter I thought might be the most daunting aspect but in fact took less time than I expected. I discovered that late Sunday afternoon was a good time to take photos without distractions of too much traffic or parked cars. However, I didn't manage to complete this in one go and had to return one weekday morning to complete for the deadline of September 30th, when I needed to wait frequently for traffic to pass in order to get a clear image, as I had to take the shot from the opposite side of the road. I was only asked once what I was doing by two very interested customers at the café when taking photos in The Walk and never by any retailers! 5 Getting to grips with the process of uploading all the information collected to the project site has been a little bit challenging, but I have completed most of it and have a couple of weeks left to meet the new deadline. This has been extended for data entry, maybe because of the increase in interest from U3As after the TAM article. I have enjoyed doing this while also filling some of my time now freed up by cancelled activities during this pandemic. And I can now confidently report on September 30th, in the area I surveyed, that there were still more estate agents (9) than charity shops (6) or even barbers (7) – but not if you include unisex hairdressers! 6 JAZZ APPRECIATION GROUP CHARLIE PARKER (1920-1955) aka ‘BIRD’ Miles Davis, the great jazz trumpeter and bandleader, said “The history of jazz can be summed up in 4 words “ Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker” Charlie Parker was the leading figure and instigator of the most significant development in jazz since the achievements of Louis Armstrong in the 1920’s. He was the only child of Charles and Addie Parker who had moved to Kansas City in 1917. Kansas City was an important centre of black American music in the 1920’s and1930’s. He began playing the alto saxophone in 1933 and worked occasionally in semi-professional bands before leaving school in 1935 to become a full-time musician. He developed his craft through practical experience, listening to older musicians, some of whom gave him informal tuition, in the competitive environment of the musical scene in Kansas City. In 1939 he moved to New York where together with a small group of mainly young black jazz musicians unhappy with their exclusion from the success of the white swing bands with their formulaic musical approach. The group met after-hours at Mintons Playhouse club in New York and worked through their ideas in informal jam sessions where they developed the rhythmic and harmonic innovations that became known as Bebop or Bop.

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