Halesworth and District

Newsletter July - 2021

What is the answer to this age-old question and the end of Lockdown?

Which book title gives us a clue?

Is it...... ?

or

After the further delay to some sort of normality, plus a recent complete soaking and a very dismal longest day, perhaps the following will bring a bit of cheer. For Father's Day this year, the Aldi supermarket chain launched a nationwide competition to find the best ‘dad jokes’ to celebrate the occasion. Here is a selection which might be told by a dad. Should they have gone to Waitrose for a higher class of joke? Who knows? Some of them are ‘corny’’ to say the least. You have been warned.....so here goes!

I was standing behind a customer at an ATM and he turned around and said “Could you check my balance? “....so I pushed him. His balance wasn't that great!

I was wondering why the frisbee kept looking bigger and bigger, and then it hit me.

Someone has glued my pack of cards together - I don't know how to deal with it!

Why did the scarecrow get an award? Because he was out standing in his field.

What do you call a blind dinosaur? A Doyouthinkhesaurus!

And the winner was – yes really!

"I once hired a limo, but when it arrived, the guy driving it walked off! I said 'Excuse me? Are you not going to drive me?' The guy told me that the price didn't include a driver so I had spent £400 on a limo and had nothing to chauffeur it!" And..

Raising our profile in North Your committee is busy planning for the full reopening of & District u3a. We need to attract new members and we would like to offer a broader range of activities to you. Do you have professional experience in marketing, publicity or design? If yes, we need your help!

We want our u3a to be more visible, attractive and accessible to potential as well as existing members. If you are willing to provide advice to our team please contact us at [email protected] to arrange a chat.

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From the Chairperson

Welcome to the July edition of our newsletter. In June we were treated to a most fascinating presentation from Dr Tim Pestell, Curator of Archaeology at Norwich Castle Museum. Tim told us about the history of the castle and how it has changed over the centuries. The castle had six defensive baileys, now of course long gone. It was also the gaol until the end of the nineteenth century. Tim showed us the detailed plans of the great project which is in progress to reinstate internal floors and walls. Completion is due in 2024 and will provide access to a vast new display and gallery area. In the meantime the galleries are open and there is currently an exhibition about renowned Norfolk artist, John Crome.

Your committee continues to organise events and to ensure that our activities carry on as best they can. I am pleased to welcome several new members and also to thank members who have renewed their subscriptions during June. We are looking forward to seeing you at the AGM in September, when we hope that we will all be able to meet at The Cut.

Monica Edmonds

Our July Meeting

This will take place on Tuesday 20th July starting at 2pm. We welcome back Mark Mitchells, a very popular presenter, who will tell us about the life and work of a famous local heroine, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson. If you wish participate in this presentation please email [email protected] and request joining information.

(1836-1917) Portrait of her in 1900 Before the Parisian Medical Faculty Her memorial in Church

Women in the 19th century were expected to say nothing, look decorous and leave decision making to their husbands. However a young girl in Aldeburgh would upset this tradition and begin a revolution which today is taken for granted. Born Elizabeth Garret, she was the daughter of the famous Newson Garrett who built the Maltings in Snape. Elizabeth decided to study medicine but the Middlesex Hospital refused to train a woman as doctor. Determined as ever, she studied French in order to apply for a medical degree at the Sorbonne in Paris. She obtained her MD in 1870. However, the British Medical Association still refused to recognize her qualification, finally accepting her some three years later. After many notable achievements especially in the long process of the emancipation of women, she retired to Aldeburgh with her husband and was elected Mayor of Aldeburgh. Another first! She is buried in the churchyard and on the centenary of her death a plaque was unveiled in the north aisle of the church.

Science Group. The July meeting will be on Thursday 15 July, rather than our usual fourth Thursday. Tony will be talking about Domestic Energy Options in the 2030s. This is likely to include consideration of hydrogen as an alternative to fossil fuel gas, and will cover other ways of powering our homes with less impact on the climate. The meeting will be by Zoom at 2:00 pm. We will be looking into the possibility of meeting in person in subsequent months. For further information please contact Ken at:

[email protected].

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Bird Watching Group. In June the group were at on a glorious calm and sunny morning and although birds were not there in vast numbers we recorded 25 species including Sedge and Reed Warblers, Great and Little Egrets and a Whitethroat. Four Common Seals were basking on the mudflats and several species of butterfly were seen. In July we will be visiting the SWT Carlton Marsh reserve. If you would like to join the group more information can be found on the website at https://u3asites.org.uk/halesworth/page/4027 or please use the 'blue bird' to send a message.

Sedge Warbler Reed Warbler Whitethroat

Lunch on Friday Group. The group has been meeting up again, albeit in tables of six. We have enjoyed meals at The White Horse in and The King's Head in . The July lunch will be at White Horse . If you would like to join us then more information can be found on the website at https://u3asites.org.uk/halesworth/page/4104 and you can make contact via the u3a website 'blue bird’.

Real Ale and Local Pubs Group. The group has changed the day of its meetings to the first Thursday of the month. Previously it was Tuesday but we are finding that a number of pubs are not opening on Mondays and Tuesdays. The group membership is now full as we expect to be using the Halesworth community bus for many of our trips and that has a capacity of 16. However, we are operating a waiting list and members on the list will be invited to join if there are places or if they are willing to make their own way to the venues. For further information please contact Ken at [email protected]

and yet more alcohol!

Wine Appreciation Group. Our June meeting was held in Holton village Hall; our first social event without Zoom for many months. All members and those on the waiting list were invited for a tasting of an eclectic selection of eight wines from four Halesworth retailers. The first wine, a Cava, was used to celebrate our freedom to meet and to wish a member a happy very significant birthday! The July tasting at the same venue will be a selection of eight wines from the Languedoc in the South of France, presented by a local supplier. The size of the venue with its outdoor space means that, following social distancing and other Covid rules, it will allow us to continue to invite all members and those on the waiting list and even accept a few new U3A members onto our list. Tony Langford.

The World Philosophies Group is intending to resume face-to-face meetings at The Cut on 12th July at 10.00am. This will be confirmed on the World Philosophies page of the U3A website forty-eight hours in advance. Please check before setting out.

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The ‘ComTech2’ group (Physical Computing) is intending to resume face-to- face meetings at The Cut on 21st July at 2.00pm. This will be confirmed on the ComTech2 page of the U3A website forty-eight hours in advance.

Computer Programming Sessions. The ‘ComTech2’ group will be offering group sessions to enable you to learn to program the new Raspberry Pi microcomputer (the ‘Pi Pico’). We will be working through the Official Raspberry Pi Pico Guide together. Copies of the Guide and all the necessary components will be provided. This is a joint project with The Cut Arts Centre. More information about the Pi Pico can be found at https://bit.ly/3danPlb. Look out for news at the ComTech2 page on the U3A website.

Walking Group. June saw seventeen members walking once again under

Covid19 rules for planned outdoor exercise, take to Friston between and Aldeburgh. Many completed their walk with lunch at The Old Chequers. Our thanks go to Jan Athis aided by Baxter for planning the walk.

Our next walk will be on Thursday morning 8th July at 10.30 when we will meet at the Beach car park for our usual four but less than five mile walk. Members can book lunch at The Ship. New walkers are always welcome to join the mailing list for occasional or regular monthly walks. For more details just contact Martin on: [email protected]

Bird Watchers at Iken under restoration

Two Possible New Groups?

Would you like to be part of a leisurely walking group, walking for 60 - 90 minutes, perhaps with your dog? It could include a refreshment stop en route. If enough people are interested a new group could start in September. All would be welcome. If you are interested, please contact Martin Stevens: [email protected]

One of our members, Melita Rouse-Skeet is ‘poised’ to start a Handicraft Group, but it has yet to take off due to the current Covid restrictions. Below are some examples of possible outcomes and the hope is that these few photos on page 5 may encourage people to sign up. So here is another group in the making and ready to go later in the year. If you are interested please let her know via Interest Groups Facilitator

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Examples of work from a possible Handicraft Group

The Genealogy Group continues to meet via Zoom but we are hoping to meet in person in the very near future. This will give us the opportunity to exhibit various artefacts such as registration certificates which are easier to view ‘in the flesh’. Our most recent meeting at the start of June centred around a census return which one of the group had circulated prior to the meeting. The discussion which ensued was hopefully useful to members who were new to the subject.

We have also been in contact with the group who are responsible for Walpole Chapel with a view to assist with their research. Hopefully this will be mutually beneficial to both groups and will certainly get our group involved in a local project The next group meeting will be on Tuesday Mike Carlill doing a bit of practical research July 13th via Zoom. amongst the tombstones!

And A Last Laugh! (with thanks to Phil Shiner, of Wanstead and Woodford u3a, based in East London)

The August Newsletter. Yes, not normally a busy month for the u3a, but with the lockdown hopefully behind us, there will be several groups preparing to meet again. If yours is a group that has been unable to meet and has plans to restart, please let me know in good time so that I have time to include the details on what might turn out to be a bumper edition, requiring a bumper effort on my part! Deadline 26th July please. Please send your information in Arial 11.

Contributions via: [email protected]

John Treadway