Newsletter January 2017
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10TH EDITION FUN WITH FLOWERS WALKING GROUP SUMMER PICNIC START POINT SINGING FOR PLEASURE ENTERTAINMENT EVENING FRONT COVER - THE WILD FLOWER AREA AT ASHTREE GARDENS COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN CAROLYN SCHOFIELD TEL: 843638 VICE CHAIRMAN VERNON TAYLOR TEL: 856829 SECRETARY SYLVIA GRIFFIN TEL: 856956 TREASURER LINDA COTON TEL: 842258 MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY JUDY TYLER TEL: 842217 SPEAKER SECRETARY SHEILA HARRISON TEL: 854559 GROUPS COORDINATOR ANTHEA McWATT TEL: 581399 VISITS ORGANISER TONY WESTLAKE TEL: 531562 PUBLICITY ANITA DUNSTER TEL: 852452 WEBSITE RODNEY STRONG TEL:852255 COMMITTEE LIZ PLAYLE TEL: 853242 TEL: 857242 JACKIE STACEY NEWSLETTER EDITORS JUDY TYLER AND LINDA COTON WEBSITE. www.u3asites.org.uk/kingsbridgeestuary PRINTED BY JOAINE - SALCOMBE CHURCH OFFICE CHAIRMAN’S CHAT As always I would like to thank my fellow committee members and officers of our U3A branch for their professionalism and hard work, and to include very specifically Rodney Strong, who beavers away unseen collecting information and keeping our website up to date. I would urge those of you with access to the Internet to keep a regular eye on the website. It is also a pleasant duty to thank all the group leaders for the dedication and initiative with which our groups are run. More groups are READY TO ENTER emerging all the time, covering a variety of THE CAVES interests; a good reason to keep an eye on that website! Various new initiatives are in the pipeline. After Gill Matthews’ inspiring talk about Kingsbridge in Bloom the membership supported our proposal to sponsor one of their displays. This is now in hand and you should shortly be noticing the U3A logo in a prominent position by the taxi-rank. The Beacon System for managing our membership is coming on stream, and will be used for some communications with those members on the Internet, so please make sure that emails from Judy Tyler, Liz Playle, or Jackie Stacey (so far) are not condemned to ‘Spam’ on your computer. Finally we are in process of revising our constitution to reflect the Third Age Trust’s latest recommendations in order to apply for charitable status (a legal requirement for a branch of our size), and in the new year we shall be seeking the endorsement of the membership for the new draft. Watch this space.! We are always keen to encourage the participation of our members in the running of the branch, whether by contributing to the Newsletter, helping to run the monthly meetings, or making suggestions for speakers and outings (to name but a few), but at this time we would particularly encourage any recently retired solicitor among our membership to volunteer to cast an eye over our proposals for the new constitution. Would any such be kind enough get in touch with me? By the time you read this we shall already have had our celebratory Christmas dinner together, so I will conclude by wishing every member a very Happy New . WEBSITE www.u3asites.org.uk/kingsbridgeestuary I truly believe that for a website to be useful it must be up-to-date, so action is needed frequently. In our U3A many groups can explain their activities in general terms that don’t change much with time. Others have new information at least once a month and I am grateful to their group leaders for regular updates. We also have changing information about speakers at our forthcoming monthly meetings and details of future outings on the Events page. If you haven’t used the website yet please enter the address at the top here in the address bar of your browser. It’s worth it to keep in touch with all our activities. RODNEY STRONG TEAS AND COFFEES HALL ARRANGEMENT AT MONTHLY MEETINGS If you could help with refreshments at the monthly CONTINUED HELP FROM meetings, please sign the rota MEMBERS IS APPRECIATED BY or contact HELPING TO PUT OUT AND PUT TRICIA - 842507 OR AWAY CHAIRS AT THE MONTHLY MEETING BUNNY 843332 MONTHLY MEETINGS 10AM AT THE METHODIST CHURCH KINGSBRIDGE January 27th Tessa Spencer: Genealogist ‘Time Detective’ Finding out about your past Most of Tessa’s working life has been spent teaching reception age children. After living in England, Germany, Cyprus and France and bringing up a family, she and her husband finally fulfilled their plan to retire to Devon. Her brother started her interest in the family tree. Most people know about their parents and grandparents but what about further back? Where did you ancestors live and what were their occupations? All this information is now widely available on the internet and we can go back as far as the 1841 census. Parish records go even further February 24th Andrew ThompsoN‘Tavistock - 1000 Years of History’ Andrew is an Archaeologist and historian who has spent most of his working life exploring and interpreting the history and heritage of South West England. Earlier in his career he taught history in higher education. He has recently been appointed Tavistock Heritage Development Officer and is a consultant on the Tavistock Guildhall Project. His talk is a virtual version of his most popular guided walk. March 24th The Rt Hon Ann Widdecombe DSG ‘Life after Westminster’ Ann will talk about Strictly Come Dancing and the Strictly Tour, also the Royal Opera House and her writing career. ● PLEASE NOTE: This will be a TICKET ONLY EVENT. ● To be held at THURLESTONE PARISH HALL ● TICKETS WILL BE ISSUED ‘FIRST COME FIRST SERVED‘ AT THE JANUARY AND FEBRUARY MONTHLY MEETINGS. ● ONE TICKET PER MEMBER ONLY ● PLEASE LET US KNOW IF YOU NEED OR CAN OFFER A LIFT April 28th Nick Townsend ‘Born Free - A Seregenti Childhood’ Born in Tanzania, Nick spent most of his childhood in Masailand in Northern Tanzania. Masailand covered the Serengeti, Tarangire and Arusha national parks as well as the Ngorongoro Conservation area, Kilimanjaro foothills and Lake Natron. He will be talking about the encounters he and his family had with wildlife, in their home and garden but most frequently travelling around Masailand with his parents. He will illustrate his talk with photos’ taken by his father in the 1950’s and early 60’s, supplemented by some of his own when he returned to East Africa in 1973 and 2000. Nick completed his education and professional qualifications as a civil engineer in England He worked for thirty years in the Asia pacific region. Now retired, he and his wife live in the South Hams. May 26th AGM June 23rd and July 28th To be arranged A TASTE OF WHAT’S TO COME - proposed Speaker The History of Cosa Nostra, the Sicilian Mafia One can easily be seduced into identifying with the heightened sense of family, danger, ambition and honour in the portrayal of the mafia in films and novels. In truth the behaviour of the mafia is more horrifically brutal and its sense of “honour” more grotesquely distorted than could ever be part of a Hollywood film. The term “mafia” has come to be used for criminal organisations all over the world but few people have a clear understanding of the origins and development of the Sicilian original, “Cosa Nostra”. This talk attempts to explain how the organisation was born at the time of Italian unification and came to be embedded into the very fabric of Italian political life as the country emerged from the trauma of the Second World War. Richard Haigh, a retired head teacher is an amateur historian and lover of Italy in general, and of Sicily in particular. CHURCH VISITS Contact David Chubb Tel: 856386 We are coming to the end of another successful season of visits to some of our wonderful historic church buildings. As I write this we are planning a second trip to Plymouth Synagogue in November. The first was a great day out and a number of folk have asked for a further visit. We are likely to get well over thirty. Our remaining visits for the 2016/2017 season are: January - no visit February - Hopefully we can go to the beautifully restored church of St Peter in Plymouth, March - Ilsington Church April - Blackawton May - to be decided None of our trips would be complete without the lunch afterwards! May 2017 sees me having led the group for five years. It is time to hand over to someone else. Think about it please! I have thoroughly enjoyed the research, the buildings and the friendship of so many who have joined us. Much pleasure from learning about a way of life over the last eight hundred years which had probably gone on for ever. I am very happy to help the person who might like to take it on. DAVID CHUBB THANK YOU DAVID FOR ALL THE NUMEROUS VISITS YOU HAVE ORGANISED. SYNAGOGUE VISIT Yet another triumph for David Chubb was the visit to the Plymouth Synagogue. From the outside an unprepossessing building with no visible means of entry - did you know that Synagogues should be hidden away - neither did we! But the reveal was an eye-opener and the knowledgeable guide also a revelation. For the past 10 years the caretaker and guide of this building has been Gerry - not a Jew but one consumed with the desire to open to Christians and non-Christians a window in to the past and present history of Plymouth Jews. His enthusiasm was infectious and we listened intently to his tales. The purpose of this piece is to whet your appetite and leave you wanting to learn more so WATCH THIS SPACE in the next Newsletter WALKS WITH PUB LUNCH Our walks start at 10.15am, meeting at a pub or cafe where we have lunch when we finish.