April Newsletter 2021
Spring blossom in the Editor’s garden.
MARCH VIRTUAL GENERAL MEETING
At our last Virtual General Meeting in March, Dick Fox gave us a Presentation entitled ‘A Trip Down Memory Lane with Mr. Fox’. This was a 25-minute Pictorial View of some of the many U3A trips that we as members have taken over the years, and it bought back many memories. On behalf of the Committee and Members I would thank Dick for all his time and effort that he put into it. Bernie Smith Speakers Secretary
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Nice to be out in the fresh air at Thameside Nature Park today!
Photo by Steve and Tessa Duggan
Our next virtual General Meeting on Zoom will be held on Thursday 8th April at 2pm. The meeting will be opened by our Chairman and will be followed by Diane Howells (one of our members) with a Pictorial Presentation entitled ’Darwin to Melbourne’ and it follows her trip across Australia (in a campervan) with her husband in 2009. The presentation will last approx. 30 minutes. More details and Zoom link have been sent to you by email
Membership
I would like to say thank you to all 346 of you who have renewed up to this point. It has been a more difficult process this year due to the lack of face-to-face contact. The £10 renewal offer is still open until April 30th if you are still wavering. Any problems with forms, please contact me, and I will try to help. Remember, if you renew after April 30th, you will be regarded as a new member, and will be charged our joining fee of £15.
John Green, 01375 676441
Page 2 Stanford-le-Hope & District u3a –April 2021 Newsletter Don’t forget that we need new committee members. We currently have 1 new candidate, but are losing 5 who have completed their time of office. You can still offer – get in touch with any committee member to help you.
Chairman’s Comments
Do you remember when all we spoke of was Brexit…oh happy days! But, we are where we are and it is what it is. As our vaccinations are now over 25 million life begins to stir for us personally and for our u3a. I think it is the same for most of us as week by week, we feel a little more optimistic, and we’ve even booked a UKation.
Although the very strong March winds almost spoilt it a little, the spring sunshine, lighter nights and warming days remind us that spring has sprung, with the March daffodils nodding in agreement to reinforce that good feeling. Our first step out of lockdown has allowed us to meet one other person, not of our household, for a walk and for a coffee. Our second step allowed the start of outdoor sports activities and using the familiar Rule of Six, many of our group activities can come out of hibernation.
We must always remember the rules that have served us well: mask, distance and hygiene.
I must say thank you to all who have renewed their memberships and our membership secretary John Green, reports that the uptake has been very strong. Many thanks to John for a great deal of work during these renewal months.
As we begin anew, we hope that most of our groups will restart BUT some may not. A year is a long time and things will have changed for some of us. It’s from our members that we need new groups or existing groups that are full, to be duplicated. Some leaders may need to change as well. There is plenty of help available so please don’t keep thinking about it, make it happen, just do it. We’re not getting any younger.
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Talking of getting older, did you know there’s a Haynes manual for retired pensioners? Don’t buy it as it’s only from the men’s perspective. I didn’t know I needed a manual to get older. A very old chap said to his wife, “I must confess that I was unfaithful with some redhead at the back of Woolworths in 1968, I was drunk at the time. His wife said, “That was me and so was I”. An old friend of mine told me that if he were a car he would trade himself in for a newer model. He said every time he coughs or sneezes, his radiator leaks and his exhaust backfires. They say you get OCD as you get older. I’ve checked hundreds of times and I don’t have it. The nurse said to the old lady, “I want a stool sample and a urine sample.” “What she say?” said the old lady. Her husband replied. “She wants your underwear”.
Good News. With our various media sources seemly intent on only reporting on the bad news from our trading and social relationship with the departed EU, there is a great deal of good news and here’s a couple of examples.
Good news No 1. Now no longer blanketed by the anonymous and indistinguishable EU flag, all British made goods must now display the Union Jack and experts believe that this simple move could add £3.5 billion to our outward trading economy.
Good news No 2. Our Secretary of State for International Trade Liz Truss submitted our accession letter to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans – Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). This will give the UK access to this fast-growing Free Trade Area, opening up Britain to more opportunities in these rapidly developing parts of the world. The CPTPP countries are Australia, Brunei, Chile, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia, Canada and Mexico. By opening up those markets, we are giving more prospects to British businesses by lowering barriers to trade, whether these are tariffs on products from cars to whisky, whether it is making it easier for digital companies to export to computer and financial technology companies. All of which will mean more jobs and growth here in the United Kingdom. Colin Munro Chairman
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A Handy Book Source With several of our groups interested in all that is books plus many of our members being keen readers of a great variety of topics, both factual and fiction this might be useful to know. One source of books that I have used for many years is Bibliophile. They are a British company based in Poplar, London. They sell out-of-print books on a massive range of subjects; many fascinating books at much reduced prices. Copy and paste the link below or type it in your search bar. https://www.bibliophilebooks.com/WebRoot/Store/Shops/Bibliophile/4DC1/ 304F/E927/3180/420E/C0A8/647D/D51E/C390webcat.pdf
Book Group Ann Bailey Dawn Lloyd Warne 01375461885 We had a zoom meeting in March. At present I'm hoping to get copies of The Essex Serpent. The filming of it has been spotted in Maldon, and at one time they were asking for extras. My acting career began and ended at school with Nativity plays! Thanks to Sue I had a good book week. Suffolk libraries were doing a question-and-answer session with several authors. I watched Sophie Hannah who writes the new Poirot stories, also Elly Griffiths, an author enjoyed by our group. She writes forensic archaeology mysteries set in Norfolk. The final one was Kathy Reichs, an American crime author. It’s always interesting to hear what inspires an author. At the moment, I'm re-reading the Almonds and Raisins trilogy by Maisie Mosco, thank goodness for Amazon and suchlike.
April Quiz 1. What is the April birthstone? 2. What is the April moon called? 3. Who wrote" Whan that Aprille with its shoures soote"? 4. Who died on April 23rd,1616? 5. Which current war-torn country gained independence from France in April,1946?
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6. Which US state joined the Union in April 1788? 7. What is the traditional flower for April? 8. What day is Earth Day? 9. Which country celebrates Anzac Day, April 25th 10 Which city was hit by an earthquake, on April 18th,1906?
DON’T FORGET TO CONTACT OUR WELFARE AND DISABILITIES OFFICER if you know of any member that is very ill or in hospital; or has passed away. Magda Norris 07484658131
When you contact Magda, she will require the following information. 1. The name of the member.
2. Whether they are hospital bound or at home. If in hospital please let us have which hospital and ward name if possible.
3. Their illness or incapacity if known. Their address we can obtain from our data base.
It should be noted that no committee member will visit any member at home or in hospital without an invitation. However, we would like to be kept updated as to our member’s progress. Also, if you know of any member who has passed away or has lost their partner, knowledge of this sad happening will help us to express our commiserations and support.
Page 6 Stanford-le-Hope & District u3a –April 2021 Newsletter Family History Sue Green 01375 676441 Peter Craggs
How did you find filling out the census? Once logged in I found it quick and easy although annoying that it was one question at a time. I wanted to print off my answers to put in my Family History box for my relatives who might want to see it before 2121 but I was not prepared to print off one page per question!
Completing the census online must be more accurate though. Previous census returns from 1841 -1911 that we family historians spend our time trawling through are copies, not the originals, in handwriting that varies from copperplate to a spidery scrawl and contain many obvious errors. These have then been transcribed again onto electronic databases, at piecework rates, maybe not in this country, so familiarity with our names and place names and fact checking is not a priority. This is what makes our research more like a treasure hunt and everyone researching will know the joy of the eureka moment after hours of searching with lots of different spelling possibilities when some elusive ancestor pops up. John has Norfolk ancestors and it took us a while to find people on one census where the place name of birth for the whole lot was Garmouth not Yarmouth.
I wonder if future generations will find it all too easy. There will be so many sources of information on every aspect of our lives out there via social media and government databases that there won’t be the same fun of the chase.
April Quiz Answers 1. Diamond 2.Pink moon{in America},other cultures call it egg or fish or sprouting grass moon 3. Geoffrey Chaucer Prologue to The Canterbury Tales 4. William Shakespeare 5.Syria 6. Maryland
7. Daisy 8.April 22nd 9. Australia 10. San Francisco
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Flower Arranging
Christine Lambert Linda Tilbury
Our theme for March was a design to suit a certain area in our home, or our favourite place (any point, building or area that makes you feel comfortable and happy.) So, it was our choice on style and colour and whatever we could buy or find in our garden. We had some beautiful designs and stunning colours with arrangements for garden tables and hallways. Spring flowers and flowers given as Anniversary gifts came in very handy and a selection of artificial blooms that were both rustic and gave texture were used to make our creations.
Linda did an arrangement of beautiful tulips in a variety of colours held by a criss-cross frame.
Monica did a posy arrangement with flowers from her anniversary; she placed a frame around them. The flowers were Gerbera’s, small yellow chrysanthemums and a purple flower.
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Helen made a lovely autumn arrangement in a vase, which contained green and browns. This included Teasel, berry’s, green foliage and white flowers and was placed in her hall.
Brenda’s arrangement was an afternoon tea made up of foliage and variety of different coloured carnation’s all in a cup, this was then placed on her garden table.
Christine made two arrangements of lilies and large white chrysanthemum with different types of green foliage, also from her anniversary.
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Carol also did a posy arrangement, with green foliage from her garden and white chrysanthemum and orange carnations. It was placed on the dining room table, as this reminds her of when family and friends use to come around to dinner. Let’s hope we’ll soon be able to do this again without any restrictions.
This was then followed by our monthly Zoom chat. Whilst we have maintained our monthly themes throughout lockdown, we are all so looking forward to getting together as soon as possible.
Text by Linda Tilbury and Carol Munro; photos from member’s phones.
Gardening
Madeline Beesley 01375 678576
Well, Spring has finally arrived and it has been lovely to have had some sunshine and to be able to go out into our gardens after what seemed a long winter.
April is the best month to sow your hardy plants such as poppies and calendulas but it is still a bit risky to plant out those tender plants such as petunias and zinnias as we could still get a very cold spell in the next few weeks.
If your outdoor pots which contain long term plants are looking a bit sad, now is the time to scrape off the top inch or two of compost, add some slow-release fertilizer and top up with fresh compost. This will encourage new growth.
The next few weeks is a good time to plant out your potatoes. Do keep them protected and out of the cold wind for a while longer.
Some things to look forward to.
The Floral Fantasia returns to Hyde Hall from 5th April. They will be showing the latest new bedding planting. You will have to book!
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The National Flower Show will be at Hylands House and Estate from Friday 21st May to Sunday 23rd May 2021. You will have to book your tickets!
Tip from the Old Gardener
If you have any cold tea left in your teapot your azaleas, rhododendrons and camellias will love it. Plant some marigolds in with your flowers and vegetables as most garden pests hate them. The excretion their roots give off can kill off lots of baddies in the soil.
Allotment News
March weather was considerably better than the conditions of January and February with lots of dry, sunny days. Must make use of the longer days to progress the allotment digging and weeding. I managed to get the shallots and onion sets planted, but, so far, they have shown little sign of top growth. They have however, grown roots as they are anchored into the soil if gently tugged. The patch for the potatoes is dug but the soil is still cold, so will delay planting for a few more days probably wait until after the Easter break. The shoots on the chitting potatoes have barely grown.
Across the width of the allotment and to one side, are a mixture of Blackberry type brambles. They were on the plot when I took ownership. One is a 'thorn less' variety with very sharp-tasting fruit. Good for jam. I have also identified one as an Evergreen Blackberry and another as a Tayberry. These have sweeter fruit but do have seeds (pips) inside. Each year when the plants are producing flowers and berries, next year’s growth arrives. The blackberries grow on this growth so the old brambles are best removed. The new growth is tied into the supporting wires. Blackberry brambles can be very vicious with sharp thorns that often penetrate my gardening gloves too easily, when pruning the brambles. A sterilised needle and a pair of sharp, pointed tweezers needed to remove the broken off bramble thorn!
The strawberry beds look a lot better now I have removed all the dead material and forked over the soil. Many of the strawberry plans survived the winter cold wet conditions and are already showing signs of growth.
The Chrysanthemum cuttings I took last month are showing signs of growth so I have removed the bottle top. Leave them a bit longer before potting in individual pots.
Page 11 Stanford-le-Hope & District u3a –April 2021 Newsletter The Cabbage and Cauliflower plants now have two true leaves so it’s time to pot them on in individual pots for a bit more growing before planting them in the allotment.
Same for the Tomato, Chilli and Pepper plants. Pot them into individual pots for growing on for the allotment. Much too early to plant out as they are not at all frost hardy.
A busy time preparing the allotment soil and growing on the plants before planting out. So best I get on.
Happy growing
Written by Madeline Beesley and Michael Farman
Marco Polo’s sad end and the loss of Magellen and Carnival cruise ships.
Never to return and docked in the mud at an Indian Scrap yard. With memories for many of numerious years of cuises from the Tilbury Cruise Terminal and for other of more recent cruises to Europe and almost to Norway. The loss of these old but great cruise ships will bring to an end any hope that there may have been that once again these fine old ships would take to the seas.
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Why was MS Marco Polo Scrapped? Just like many other older cruise ships, she became a victim of the global pandemic and the suspension of operations. The 55-year-old vessel was previously part of the Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV) fleet but unfortunately, the British cruise line went into administration in summer 2020 and the fleet went up for auction, and sold for $2,770,000. There was hope she would sail for Offshore Solutions Unlimited but sadly, she was scraped and beached in India. Four of the other former CMV vessels were also put up for auction and have now been sold to another line or for scrap. A third former cruise ship that sailed for the UK's Cruise and Maritime Voyages is heading to the scrap yard. The Magellan, built in 1985 for Carnival Cruise Lines, departed the anchorage near Oman in the Persian Gulf heading east to India, where she is expected to arrive during March. The Magellan was acquired during the auction of CMV’s former cruise ships, by the Greek company Seajets, which is believed to be making an asset play buying up surplus older cruise ships. Seajets paid just over $3.4 million for the Magellan, a ship that analysts had estimated would normally have sold for more than $8 million. The Magellan left England in December, first stopping at Malta and then heading through the Suez Canal to the Persian Gulf. It was rumoured that Seajets was hoping to find work for the ship as an accommodation ship. However, with the cruise industry remaining on pause, costs are reportedly mounting for Seajets after having acquired cruise ships from Carnival Corporation as well as the Columbus also formerly sailing for CMV. Not having found a charter for the Magellan, Seajets has reportedly sold her for a profit to the Indian scrappers.
Colin Munro (text and photos)
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Line Dancing 1 (Wednesdays)
Mary Jupp 01375 674623
Carol Lockyer 01375 674732
Prompted by Irene's poem last month and the fact that it was World Poetry Day on 21st March, here is a poem for this month.
A COVID LINE DANCE POEM
In 2020 spring started OK But then there came an awful day! Boris said social gatherings were banned Not just us but throughout the land.
From 11th March we no longer met We thought it temporary so didn’t fret; Just a break from our dancing, a laugh and a joke But we missed each other like other folk.
After a year we are still not back Let’s hope we don’t all lose the knack! No, when the music starts up again Our brains will remember a familiar refrain Our feet will know what steps to take Even after this long break
The news was grim, so many died But we were safe if we stayed inside. We followed the rules right to the letter Knowing in time it must get better!
One of the things worth a mention; The gardens all thrived with more attention; Puzzles, crosswords and books were read But all that time the virus spread.
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In real life we must social distance So now it’s just a virtual existence. It’s changed the way some things are done Like shopping, learning, work and fun.
Once the vaccine was about This could be our exit out; Eventually, slowly, our turn came And, at last, they called our name.
‘Have you had yours?’ the people said “This will help to stop the spread”. I know it will but don’t know when… But our line dancing will start again. Mary Jupp - March 2021
An open
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Photography
Jenny Lees 01375 360786 Chris Henderson
Chris Henderson’s garden in the Spring sunshine.
Play Reading , Beverage but no cake!
Deb Foster 01375 677971
On Thursday a few of us had another zoom chat and for the first time accomplished reading a play together. Surprisingly I managed to share, on my computer screen, the script which I had found on the National u3a website Fall for Grace written by Jean Cowgill set in West Yorkshire was a short, uncomplicated play, perfect for our first attempt. Now we are keen to try another!
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Here we are with the shared page of the play; screenshot by Diane Howells.
Quiz Group
Sue Green 01375 676441 Ann Bailey
All about Spring As Spring has finally arrived, I thought a look at spring film things would uplift us ready for the better weather 1 1948 -Stars Judy Garland and Fred Astaire ““The thrill that comes with spring / when anything could happen” is part of the lyrics to one of the songs of this musical. 2 1986-Stars Matthew Broderick-Spring has sprung and school is not a priority 3 2012 -Stars Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones. After thirty years of marriage, a middle-aged couple attends an intense, week-long counselling session to work on their relationship. 4 1945-film musical -Stars Jeanne Crain and Dana Andrews -one of its popular songs is “It might as well be Spring” 5 One line of a famous Beatles song is “Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter”. What is it? 6 Tiny Tim had a hit with this spring themed song. What is it?
Page 17 Stanford-le-Hope & District u3a –April 2021 Newsletter 7 Frank Sinatra was as “restless as a willow in a windstorm”. What song does this come from? 8 What Mel Brooks film did the song “Springtime for Hitler” come from? 9 This singer has a very famous song was “Dancing in the Dark” in 1984. 10 The song, ‘Younger Than Springtime’ features in which Rogers and Hammerstein musical?
On behalf of the Wine Appreciation Group.
Graham Hodgson 01375 675588
Whilst the last twelve months have been difficult, I have continued to appreciate my occasional bottle of wine, usually spread over a couple of days. As I write I am waiting to collect wine from the harvest of my row of vines which I lease from New Hall Vineyards at Purleigh, close to Chelmsford. Some of my friends have joined me in this enterprise and we are paying under £4 a bottle for some very good dry white and medium dry white wines. For the second year running it has been a very good harvest.
But far from Purleigh I recently read an article in the Daily Telegraph about wines from Austria. Wines from Austria you may say, when do you see Austrian wines in your supermarket, certainly for me not very often. More about that later.
So, humming a tune from The Sound of Music, here we go. The most popular Austrian white grape, almost half of all the white grape vines in the country, is the Gruner Veltliner. Austria makes white and red wines that are sappy (mawkish) and refreshing and can be thrillingly precise, perfect for spring. Whites that are hard to find outside the country, such as welschreiesling, riesling and weissburgunder (aka pinot blanc); and reds including zweigelt, blaufrankisch and St Laurent. An incentive to try more Austrian wine is that they're becoming easier to find. Most supermarkets sell a sub-£10 gruner: it’s such an easy style to love - all grapefruit and radish, the perfect fridge-door white. Apparently, Waitrose now stocks 11 different Austrian Wines. (note to Graham, give Sainsbury's a miss one week and try Waitrose).
Now for a bit of history. At the beginning of the 20th century, Austria-Hungary was a huge wine producer. After World War One Austria's boundaries were redrawn and it lost a lot of its vineyard empire. After the Second World War more vines were planted building to a peak in 1980 when their wine industry was focused on cheap mass-production.
Page 18 Stanford-le-Hope & District u3a –April 2021 Newsletter Then came an incident which I will not dwell on for too long, but we wine aficionados will remember and that was the antifreeze scandal. There was a rush to get rid of all the tainted wine and one guy dumped 4,000 gallons of the stuff into the town sewer which didn't do a lot of good.
Things are much better now with more than 15 percent of Austrian vineyards are organic, one of the highest in the world. Austrian wines have now reached a high standing, often have a very fashionable quality with a pert acidity and a fine structure which will be found in the white pepper and radish notes of gruner veltliner a grape that can be a beautiful match for sushi, white fish or chicken cooked with lemon grass and chilli, not to mention the classic Wiener schnitzel.
Red grapes are on the up in Austria and count for almost a third of Austria's vineyards. Zweigelt being one seen more often.
So, a couple of wines to look out for: M & S Classics No. 30 Gruner Veltliner Vom Loss 2019, mouth-watering refreshing notes of green apple at £8.50 a bottle; Weingut Brundlmayer Ber-Vogelsang Gruner Veltliner 2019 in Waitrose, goes with sea bass cooked en papillote, a bit expensive at £18.99.
I hope that has given you a few ideas for trying wines from a different country like Austria, hopefully I got the spellings right, don't they have long names, sorry I couldn't work out how to put the umlauts in. If you do find and try the Austrian wines please let me know. The hills are alive with the sound of corks popping......
Answers to Film Quiz 1 Easter parade, 2 Ferris Bueller’s day off, 3 Hope Springs, 4 State Fair 5 here comes the sun, 6 Tiptoe through the tulips,
7 It might as well be Spring. 8 The Producers 9 Bruce Springsteen 10 South Pacific
Page 19 Stanford-le-Hope & District u3a –April 2021 Newsletter Gardeners beware: Brown stink bugs are among the 'future threats' to our gardens. The full BBC article of 11th March can be viewed via:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-56366107
Good Bug Bad Bug Common Green Shield Brown Stink Bug
The three sightings so far have been in Essex, Surrey, and in the Natural History Museum's Wildlife Garden. Just to worry you further here’s a scary list:
Top 10 pests 2020: Top 10 diseases 2020: Slugs and snails Honey fungus Vine weevil Pear rust Box tree caterpillar Leaf spot and canker of Prunus Ants Rose black spot Woolly aphid Bracket fungi Glasshouse red spider mite Powdery mildew of Prunus Fuchsia gall mite Blossom wilt of fruit trees Glasshouse thrips Rose powdery mildew Rosy apple aphid Phytophthora root rot Capsid bug & glasshouse mealybug Brown rot of fruit
But none of this puts us off so just Carry on and Keep Hoeing.
Colin Munro
Page 20 Stanford-le-Hope & District u3a –April 2021 Newsletter Scams Latest updates show that scams are still with us so take care. Emails are the source of many. Check the spelling of names carefully and remember that banks never ask for your details. In fact, presume it’s a scam if you have not initiated the contact and check using a phone number you already have (not the one on the email).
Scammers use well-known names such as Amazon, the Tax Office, T.V. Licence Renewal …… anything. Even some branches of the u3a have been targeted.
Another source can be social media, Many of our members have had their accounts ‘borrowed’ to send extra requests to be their friend , even sending pictures of hol;iday destinations and inviting you to reply. Just delete what you don’t recognise and definitely don’t open anything you are unsure about.
Take care everyone!
Chris Henderson
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Interest Groups Timetable Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday W am Gardening Boules(Springhouse) Tenpin Bowling. Boules (Hardie Park) e Lunch & Chat. e k 1 pm Quilting. Mixed Family History (computer) French Lunch & Chat. O.B.M & Craft. British Sign Lang. conversation. Car E. Canasta. Golf Italian Ukulele. Beginners. Boules pm (Springhouse.)
W am London Line Boules(Springhouse). Boules (Hardie Park) e Walks dancing 2 Line Dancing Photography e k 2 pm London Spanish BS Language. SLH & District Photography Walks Canasta. U3A General Ukulele. Meeting Boules pm(Springhouse). W am Sketching Boules(Springhouse). Rambling Boules (Hardie Park) e &Painting Line Dancing. Gallery Visits. e k 3 pm Singing for Italian Family History. French conv. Gallery Visits. Fun. Beginners. BS Language. Wine Book Club. Golf Canasta. Appreciation. Ukulele. Boules pm(Springhouse).
W am Line Boules(Springhouse). Ambling Birdwatching. e dancing 2 Line Dancing. Boules (Hardie Park) e k 4/ La st pm Local History Spanish BS Language T.C.& Play Charity Craft Canasta Reading Ukulele French conv. Boules pm(Springhouse).
Page 22 Stanford-le-Hope & District u3a –April 2021 Newsletter SCRABBLE and CRIBBAGE meet on Tuesday every 2 weeks. Play reading 1 is every 6 weeks. Places of Interest is every 2 to 3 months. This table is just a general guide to help members and potential group- leaders plan. Events such as Bank Holidays and group trips may result in a particular monthly meeting for a group being cancelled or the date being changed. Check with the group leaders to confirm that a scheduled meeting is going to occur. Stanford-le-Hope and District U3A does not accept any responsibility for errors or omissions in this publication. You are advised to verify details including dates, times, venue and costs with the organiser of any event. The views expressed may not represent those of this U3A. Please seek permission before using any material in part or in whole.
Contact Details for Interest Groups
(*) = Full, (+) = Some spaces left in the group, (n/a) = members can turn up and join in, (bk) = members can take part but will need to book in order to do so. This is correct at the time of going to print. For updates contact the Interest Groups’ Co-ordinators. Apart from a very few exceptions you must be a current member of our U3A to take part in our Interest Groups. Group Leader Phone Email Ambling(n/a) Tessa 01375 670212 Duggan Jenny 01375 676338 Radford Bird Dave Snow 07490 069740 Watching (n/a) Book Group Ann Bailey (+) DawnLloyd- 01375 461885 Warne Boules(Wed. Jean Jardine 01375 679410 am) (n/a) Dave Jardine Boules (Wed Paul Brice 07788452852 pm)n/a Boules Colin&Carol 07770854318 (Friday) (n/a) Munro British(*)Sign Jenny 01375 676338 Language Radford Canasta (+) Pauline 01375 462232 Kerridge
Page 23 Stanford-le-Hope & District u3a –April 2021 Newsletter Charity Jean Jardine 01375 679410 Craft(+) Cribbage John Green 01375 676441
Drawing and Margaret More Schofield Family Sue Green 01375 676441 History (+) Peter Craggs 01375 643749 Flower Christine 01375 678131 Arranging(+ Lambert Linda Tilbury 07928221626 French Diane Conversation Wallace (*) Gallery Visits Jenny Lees 01375 360786 (bk) Chris Henderson Gardening Madeline 01375 678576 Group (*) Beesley Golf(+) Paul Brice 07788 452852 Holiday Jean Jardine 01375 679410 Travel (bk) Carol Smith 07845 233640 Italian (*) Ron White 01375 673561 Line Dancing Mary Jupp 01375 674623 1 (Wed) (*) Carol 01375 674732 Lockyer Line Dancing Carol Munro 2 (Tues) (*) Sue Moss Local Barbara 07748 151735 History(+) Ward Any trips (bk) Local Diane Research (+) Wallace Sue Green 01375 676441
London Dave Snow 07490 069740 Walks (*) Brian McDonald Lunch and Chris Brown 01708 852023 Chat (bk) Mixed Craft
Page 24 Stanford-le-Hope & District u3a –April 2021 Newsletter (+) O. B. Graham 01375 677425 Motorcycle & Edgings Car
Places of Colin & Carol 07770 854318 Interest (*) Munro Play Reading 1 Julie Coker 01268 931850 (*) T. C. &Play Deb Foster 01375 677971 Reading (*) Photography Jenny Lees 01375 360786 (n/a) Chris Henderson Quilting (+) Carol Smith 07845 233640
Quiz (n/a) Ann Bailey
Ramblers Chris Gomm 07905 117622 (n/a) Scrabble (+) Magda Norris
Singing for Julie Coker 01268 931850 Fun (+) Ann Bailey Intro to Chris Gomm 07905 117622 Spanish (*) Sunday Pauline 01375 679571 Singles Thorpe Ten Pin Jean Jardine 01375 679410 Bowling (n/a) Trips – Day & Chris Gomm 07905 117622 Theatre Jean Jardine 01375 679410 (bk) Ukulele (+) David St Pier 07388 280143
Wine Graham 01375 675588 Appreciation (*) Hodgson Jean Jardine 01375 679410
Page 25 Stanford-le-Hope & District u3a –April 2021 Newsletter
Interest Groups Co-ordinators: Paul Brice 07788 452852 Jean Jardine 01375 679410
If you have an idea for a new interest group, or would like to lead (perhaps as part of a team) a completely new group or another version of an existing group (in order to eliminate a waiting list) please contact Paul or Jean.
Please let your interest group leader know if you no longer wish or cannot attend their group on a permanent basis or are likely to have a prolonged absence. Your name can be taken off a full group’s list if you have not attended for 3 months without notifying the group leader, and you can then be replaced by another member who is on the waiting list for that interest group
At the moment we need a leader or pair of leaders for the Mixed Craft group because of the illness of the present leader.
Stanford-le-Hope & District U3A Dates for your Diary
Date Type of Event Details
8th April 2021 Zoom General Diane Howell’s exploits in Australia meeting
26th April 2021 Zoom Committee
2nd May 2021 Print deadline For May Newsletter
9th June 2021 Annual general By Zoom Meeting
Page 26 Stanford-le-Hope & District u3a –April 2021 Newsletter Contact details for Stanford-le-Hope and District U3A Chairman – Colin Munro Vice-Chairman/Speakers – Bernie Smith Treasurer – Graham Hodgson Assistant Treasurer – Jean Jardine Secretary –Davina Brown Membership Secretary – John Green Deputy Membership Secretary – Richard Fox Website Administrator – Michael Farman Website Administrator – Christine Gomm Newsletter Editor – Chris Henderson Advance Notice Email Co-ordinator – Paul Brice Interest Groups’ Co-ordinator – Paul Brice Welfare and Disabilities Co-ordinator – Magda Norris Buddies – Maureen Nicholas Policy Documents Administrator – Michael Miller Deputy Speakers Secretary & General Meeting Co-ordinator- Kevin Brice
Stanford-le-Hope and District u3a Website https://u3asites.org.uk/slh
National u3aOrganisation: National Office www.u3a.org.uk Tel 020-8466-6139
Printed by the Diocesan Print Unit, 53, New Street, Chelmsford, CM1 1AT
Page 27 Stanford-le-Hope & District u3a –April 2021 Newsletter