Southport Newsletter July 2019 Foreword from the Chair Having reached the half way point in my term as Chairman it is, perhaps, a good time to pause to reflect where we stand as an organisation. The good news is that Southport U3A is in good health, measured not only by our finances but also by the continuous growth in membership (currently over 1,500 members), the continuous growth in the number of activities and the numbers of members enthusiastically taking part in those activities. This growth has occurred alongside an improvement in our governance, including publication of a Group Leaders’ Handbook and the delivery of a number of policies to ensure our growth and is underpinned by a consistent and prudent management ethos. To ensure that we move forward as an effective and efficient organisation we will shortly be fully adopting the ‘Beacon Management System’ to bring further benefits to our members in terms of accessibility and ease of membership payments. As a member of a committee steering our organisation, I am fully aware of the skills and commitment of the other members of that team. It is a testimony to their perspicacity, composure and mutual support that there is very little disagreement as to the way forward for our organisation. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the unsung heroes of Southport U3A who often give up their time to support us with no reward and often without any recognition. This obviously includes the Group Leaders but we can easily forget those volunteers who offer their commitment and support in the background such as the Minutes Secretary. It includes the meeters and greeters and beverage servers who arrive at the monthly meeting before 9am to set up. We should also recognise those who produce this newsletter, maintain the website and produce the OHPs at our monthly meeting, consistently and to a high standard. I have no doubt that with the current level of commitment, support and enthusiasm of our volunteers and the continued support of the membership as a whole we can continue to develop as an outward looking, proactive and vibrant organisation. Neil McMillan 1 Let’s Go! This is a very active group which has undertaken many outings. Here are accounts of some of them. A good lunch features heavily in many of their activities. Sefton Ranger Nature Walk on the Ainsdale Dunes June saw fifteen members from the group take a truly fascinating two-hour guided tour of the dunes. Setting off from the Ainsdale Discovery Centre we were led by Ranger John Dempsey, who really was so knowledgeable and enthusiastic on all aspects of plant and wildlife; it was a real eye opener as to just what can be seen by the expert eye. Walking through the ‘slack’, which is the valley between the dune ridges, we were shown species of orchids such as the Bee Orchid, Early Marsh Orchid and the Common Spotted Orchid together with other plants including Sea spurge (a member of the Euphorbia family, as is the Christmas Poinsettia), Eyebright, Milkwort, Birds Foot trefoil, and many more. In addition to flora our guide pointed out some local fauna, such as the Stonechat and the Reed bunting, and a large and very hairy caterpillar. The little moths flitting around we now know are called White Satin Moths. We even got to listen to a Natterjack Toad on the guide’s phone (my, they are loud) and shown how to distinguish a Natterjack tadpole from a regular one. All-in-all a really educational and fascinating trip. A walk in the dunes will never be the same again! A hairy caterpillar – big, isn’t it? Stephen Birchall A Walk through the Daffodil Fields “I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host of golden daffodils…” WORDSWORTH Yes, that was us – we chose the hottest February day ever recorded in the UK for our latest outing to Sefton Park to have a walk through the beautiful daffodil fields. We strolled in the sunshine around the park admiring the blooms. Around the lake and up on the slopes the grass was covered in magnificent daffodil blooms. Cameras and phones were put to good use as we all recorded the sights. We were led by our intrepid leader – Brenda – who seems to have an encyclopaedic knowledge of all things Liverpool. Following our walk, we retired – in true U3A tradition – to Elif Turkish Restaurant for a wonderful lunch before wandering back along Lark Lane to use our bus passes and then get the train home. Jim Hay 2 Canal Lunch in Chester On a perfect sunny day in May members set sail from the Mill Hotel for a great lunch and canal cruise. All aboard for lunch with the Captain Jacky Carter JCB Tour We visited the Worldwide Headquarters of JCB in May. Even the introduction to this visit took us by surprise. Tea and coffee in special JCB china cups and saucers in a sumptuous reception area! We were soon to realise that this visit was not to any old manufacturing plant. JCB is a British family owned business started in 1945 by John Bamford and still owned and run by the family. Employing 15,000 people around the world, it still maintains much of its manufacturing on the same site in Uttoxeter that it started on. The whole plant demonstrates their passion for quality and precision, even in such large industrial vehicles. The family also believe in looking after their employees in a whole variety of ways, from having full time doctors, nurses and dentists in the plant through to their own sports facilities. JCB visitor centre We were treated first of all to a tour around their state-of-the-art visitor centre with a whole variety of vehicles demonstrating the history and breadth of their range. They had even kept the original John Bamford office intact where he had entertained the Queen and many prime ministers as well as customers from around the world. This was a real demonstration of a truly successful British company. After all, we think of diggers as “JCBs” in the same way we think of vacuum cleaners as “Hoovers”. 3 Next came a tour of the huge manufacturing plant where we were able to see the whole process of manufacturing these enormously complicated vehicles. It was an extremely impressive sight (although we may not have understood all the engineering techniques!!). To see the creation of these vehicles as they moved down the production line was terrific. We were all very impressed with the attention to detail and the quality of the products that they are producing. Even the visitor merchandising shop contained a whole variety of high-quality products – some of which, of course, we felt obliged to purchase. A truly great visit. Jim Hay Hangar 42 Spitfire Museum It was a cold, wet and windy day when we set off for Blackpool in search of the Spitfire Museum. We knew it resided in Blackpool Airport, but this was a well-hidden secret from the normal airport visitors. Deep in the bowels of the airport lies Hangar 42 – until recently a derelict pre-war hangar used as a dumping ground for Jet2 and EasyJet. Yet four years ago a group of enthusiasts from the Lytham St Anne’s Spitfire Team took it over and after many hours of hard graft have converted it into the Spitfire Museum. After going through a series of gates we arrived at this old (cold and draughty) hangar which houses two Spitfires, (a Mark II and a Mark IV), a Hurricane and a replica of an American spy plane. In addition to this there is a multitude of aircraft parts and scores of things to read and photos to look at. We had a private viewing organised by Meryl Picktone-Blundell and our guide turned out to be extremely knowledgeable about all aspects of the planes, both from an engineering and a flying point-of-view. She was one of the founders of the museum and was able to give us a great amount of information about the planes, their pilots and how the planes were used during World War 2. Lots of photos were taken during the visit including some of our group who were able to sit in the cockpit of one of the spitfires. The day finished off with a well- received cup of tea in the Hangar’s NAAFI canteen. One of the aircraft on view Jim Hay 4 The Two Liverpool Cathedrals On a beautiful sunny day in February we visited the Metropolitan and Anglican cathedrals in Liverpool. Of course, these are two quite distinct examples of cathedral architecture and held quite different experiences for us. First, we visited the very modern Metropolitan cathedral (known to the locals as ‘Paddy’s Wigwam’). This magnificent round cathedral flies in the face of all accepted tradition and yet manages to create a wonderfully peaceful and serene space. After exploring the cathedral itself we entered the Crypt, which was built in the much more traditional style of Lutyen’s original design for the cathedral. The Crypt has been kept as a monument to his original design which was never completed. Next, we moved to the Anglican cathedral for lunch after which we had a guided tour of this much more traditional building. Our guides gave us a great insight into the history and story of the cathedral and, of course, were able to show us many things which you would never be aware of when visiting on your own.