DISS U3A MONTHLY MEETING REPORTS the March 2014 Meeting Was Preceded by The

DISS U3A MONTHLY MEETING REPORTS The March 2014 meeting was preceded by the AGM (see separate report), following which Jean Croft gave a short talk on “The Pulham Market Millenium Tapestry”, which members have the opportunity to visit on the 26th March in Pulham Market Village Hall. To conclude the meeting, our own Mike Bowen gave a lively musical presentation entitled “Did You Jive In Fifty Five”, telling the story of British Rock and Roll from the early 1950’s to the arrival of the Beatles in 1963. For further information on Diss U3A, please visit our website or telephone 01728 627907. The next meeting will be on 3rd April at Diss United Reformed Church commencing at 10.30am. The guest speaker at the February meeting was Tony Diamond who gave a most interesting and illuminating talk on the life and work of writer Rudyard Kipling. Born in India in 1865, Kipling returned to England aged five and was placed in the care of a cruel and sadistic nanny. The young Kipling quickly learned the best way of avoiding her harsh treatment was to lie, realising early on that if the truth was not acceptable then the only option was to tell lies. When he returned to India a few years later it was this self-taught art of storytelling and the ability to be imaginative and inventive with the truth that brought him early success both as a newspaper correspondent and a writer of popular novels such as “The Jungle Book.” As his fame spread he used this opportunity to highlight causes close to his heart and he began to forge friendships with some of the great historical figures of the late 19th and early 20th century. Much of his work was inspired by the wars and conflicts of that period encompassing the problems in South Africa prior to the Boer War and ending with his fears of the rising popularity of the Nazi Party in the early ‘thirties. In desperate times, Kipling’s words could be relied upon to identify and inspire the mood of the nation. In this the 100th anniversary of the start of World War One, it is expected that many of Kipling’s poems written about that dreadful conflict will be used in the commemorations due to take place across the country in the coming months. His influence extends into the present day as many of the phrases originally written by him have passed into the English language and are regularly used in everyday conversation and the poem “If” written by him in 1910, remains one of the most popular poems of all time. The next meeting of Diss U3A will be on 6th March at Diss United Reform Church and will be preceded by the AGM which will commence at 9.30am. For further information on Diss U3A please visit the website or telephone 01379 642674. For those of us whose New Year’s resolution was to take more exercise, they needed to look no further for inspiration than our January 2014 speaker Chris Davies. A familiar figure often seen pounding the pavements in and around Diss, Chris told us of his ambition to complete 50 marathons. So far he has achieved a total of 42 and plans to have completed all 50 by 2017. At school Chris was a keen cross country runner and whilst serving as a bandsman in the army in Germany he was encouraged to take part in the Berlin Marathon. It was as a result of this experience that Chris’ interest in long distance running began. Since then he has taken part in marathons all over the world in places as diverse as Boston to Kathmandu and he is one of an elite group of runners who have completed the Everest Marathon, one of the world’s most dangerous runs, where only 100 of the fittest runners are allowed to compete. Although the course is mainly downhill, it is a feat Chris is not keen to repeat. Taking us through his training regime, Chris stressed that distance running is not for the faint-hearted, requiring months of dedicated training carried out in all weathers and conditions, bearing in mind that of the 100,000 who apply to run in London, only 30,000 are accepted. However all of those who do cross the line and receive their medals should be congratulated not only on completing the course but by also helping to raise the huge amounts of sponsorship money pledged each year for charity. The next meeting of Diss U3A will be held at Diss United Reformed Church on 6th February commencing at 10.30am. For further information on Diss U3A please visit our website or telephone 01379 642674. The subject of December’s meeting was STUDENT LIFE TODAY, organised by educationalist and local U3A member Richard Hewitt, who went on to introduce six students aged between 16 and 18 years of age from Diss, Hartismere and Langley Lodden High Schools. Each of the students gave a short talk explaining the changes that were now taking place in their lives following the transition from high school pupil to sixth form student, bringing with it the recognition of the need for self- motivation, independent study, the choice of subjects and realisation of the amount of work involved in A level study. All acknowledged how important the internet had become to today’s students and education in general. The years between 16 and 18 were also about personal development and independence in preparation for university. All the students spoke with humour and confidence and were happy to take questions from the audience, many of whom were no doubt comparing their own experiences of education in somewhat earlier years. The final speaker was Julie Bidwell, director of Suffolk Anglia Ruskin University, who concluded her talk by saying that in her experience education should continue throughout life and of all the skills that could be acquired the ability and desire to learn is one of the most important. She then joined Richard Hewitt in congratulating the students on a most interesting and entertaining presentation. The next meeting of Diss U3A will take place on the 2nd January 2014 at Diss United Reformed Church commencing at 10.30am. For further information on Diss U3A please visit our website or telephone 01379 642674. At the November meeting the guest speaker was Julia Sorrell who gave a lively and affectionate talk on the life and work of her father, the artist Alan Sorrell, one of Britain’s best known archaeological painters. Julia illustrated her talk with some of her father’s best known works, including his recreations of Stonehenge, Hadrian’s Wall and Hadleigh Castle in Essex. Alan Sorrell’s childhood had been troubled by ill health and a serious stammer which made him a poor communicator. However his early artistic talent gave him an outlet and he found employment as a commercial artist which led to a position at the Royal College of Art as an illustrator. Whilst there, he won a scholarship to The British School in Rome to paint for three years. After returning to England, he was observing a Roman dig in Leicestershire and was asked to do some archaeological illustrations for publication in the London Illustrated News and it was here that his interest and reputation for reconstructional drawing began. Following his service in the RAF, where his artistic talents had been put to good use, he started to receive regular commissions for archaeological illustrations. In addition to his works of Roman Britain his paintings varied from large church murals to Britain’s first power station at Hinkley Point. He became a regular contributor to the London Illustrated News and was often asked to go abroad to record subjects of historical importance such as the building of the Aswan Dam in Egypt. Alan Sorrell spent much of his life living and working in Essex where he continued to paint until his death in 1974. For further information on Diss U3A please telephone 01379 642674 or visit our website. The next meeting will be on 5th December at the Diss United Reformed Church commencing at 10.30am. The guest speaker at October’s meeting was Jenny Gibbs and her talk “A Turkish Shirley Valentine” was reminiscent of the film many of us are familiar with telling the story of a woman’s life-changing holiday. Until then Jenny had spent a fairly unadventurous life: marriage to a Suffolk farmer and holidays spent camping on her parents’ Gloucestershire farm were the sum total of Jenny’s globe-trotting lifestyle. Until 1993 Jenny had never been abroad and as a gift for her 50th birthday, her work colleagues arranged for her to go on a cruise (despite having a morbid fear of water). Being too polite to decline, Jenny flew to Turkey to join the ship. However, her imagined cruise liner turned out to be the size and style of a Norfolk Wherry. Regardless of her fears she allowed herself to be shown to her cabin where she remained for almost a week. Towards the end of the cruise and with the boat safely moored, Jenny plucked up courage to look outside and at that moment was immediately entranced by the scenery. The sea, sun and the light all worked their magic on her and at that moment Jenny resolved to come back to Turkey, not just for a holiday but to live. After returning home just long enough to leave her job, tell her family and buy a phrase book, she arrived back in Turkey and despite being unable to speak the language, having no job and nowhere to live, she was once again captivated by the sights, sounds and customs of the country and knew she had made the right decision.

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