Newsletter

Issue No. 94 March 2020

At the February general meeting our Guest Speaker entertainment was supplied by Steve Allen, who summoned up his alter ego Eli, born 1837 in the Black Country, to lead us through his personal view of the changes in Britain during the Industrial Revolution of the 19th Century. These were illustrated with pictures and songs, some of which were invited to join in. Along the way we heard about the introduction of the factory system at water powered cotton mills in Derbyshire and how the invention of the rotative steam engine led to the industrialisation of the Midlands (cue “Dirty Old Town”). The poor living conditions and the use of child labour in the new industrial towns was touched on although this helped Britain gain 50%of the world textile trade. World trade was a reason for the importance of merchant shipping and the need for fast clippers like the Cutty Sark to quickly transport high value goods (cue “Drunken Sailor). Transport was revolutionised, firstly by the construction of the canal system and latterly by the coming of the railways, both achieved with the hard work of the hard-drinking Navvies. Eli’s discursive talk also mentioned the end of the Napoleonic wars (cue “Over the Hills”) and the Crimean war, especially the revolutionary work of Florence Nightingale (cue “Auntie Maggies Remedy”) Eli kept us all entertained with his tales and songs until we sang a last song together (“So long It’s been good to know you”) after which he handed back to Steve with enthusiastic applause from the audience.. Nick Clark

An opportunity for new members, and anyone wishing to find out more about the U3A, to meet and have a chat to some committee members and group conveners in a smaller less formal setting than the monthly meeting. Tea or Coffee is for sale and the meeting will take place at the Willowbrook Pub at 10:45 - 11:45 am Thursday 26th March Morley 07960 461942

The http://u3asites.org.uk/carlton-gedling/home Page 1 Newsletter There is a lot of information being produced about coronavirus, so please follow the government guidelines, and ring 111 if you have any problems.

What I would like to say though from our U3A point of view is that if you have recently returned from an area that has been identified as having the virus, then please DO NOT attend a meeting of a group or a general meeting until you have been away from that area for the prescribed isolation period.

Should things escalate and we need to cancel the general meeting along with emailing you all there will be a notice on the website. Should group meetings be cancelled then you will be contacted by the group convenor. Richard General Meetings Thursday 19th March 10:30 - Paul Stafford - “Visit to North Korea” Of all the countries Paul has visited, North Korea was the most unusual, bizarre and astonishing. He shares what he learnt from the visit with stories, experiences and humour.

Thursday 16th April 10:30 - John Smith - “Decoding Human Behaviour” A guide to people watching. Discover how people unconsciously signal their true feelings through their body language.

New Groups? Actually, it is not that scary, nobody has requested a software development interest group for our U3A…yet! However there have been requests for a BASIC COMPUTER SKILLS GROUP. Would you be willing to run such a group?

Another request is for a SPANISH CONVERSATION group. We need someone to convene this group, but despite my name, my Spanish is limited to ‘paella’. So, we need a Spanish speaker or someone to organise learning together. My role is to support anyone who would like to establish a group, so if you are interested please get in touch. Thank you Maggie Martinez [email protected]

The Page 2 Newsletter Anyone for PICKLEBALL? It’s the USA’s fastest growing sport and is particularly popular with seniors as it is played on a small court with paddles (similar to large table tennis bats) and plastic balls. Pickle ball is much easier to play than tennis. Rachel, a tennis coach, will teach participants for an hour with a charge of £5 each. The U3A Pickleball session will be held outdoors at Mapperley Park Tennis Club, 7 Mapperley Hall Drive NG3 5EP, time and dateTBA If you’d like to come along and try Pickleball please contact Maggie Martinez 0755 451 8444 or [email protected]

MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL – from April It’s approaching that time again! Following another fantastic year of Carlton & Gedling U3A activities, we would like to give you advance notice that your annual membership expires on 31st May. To reduce excessive queuing, we start the renewal process at the General Meeting on Thursday April 16th, followed by sessions in May and June. Happily, we have yet another great reduction in the subscription at £10 for Full Membership and £6.50 for Associate Members.

The membership team will look forward to seeing you in the small meeting room on the right of the main corridor (just before the Main Hall) from 10 to 10.30am and in the Coffee Break. As previously, a pre-printed form will be waiting for you; Please check all your information is up-to-date (altering as appropriate) before adding your signature. We do accept cash but it does help us to process renewals more efficiently if you can pay by cheque. Your new membership card will be handed to you on the day.

Online renewals are available via the website from 6th April – please see the Membership page for instructions. In this case, membership cards can be collected at a following General Meeting. Please note that, if you live at the same address as another member, you can subscribe together – unless you both claim Gift Aid in which case renewal should be completed separately.

Sue Morley

Photo Opportunity Having your photograph on your membership card is a great way for your Committee and Group Convenors to put a name to a face. At the March General meeting you can have your photo taken by a member of the Photography group to be put onto your 2020/21 membership card. If you already have your photo on your current card there is no need to have another one taken, unless you would like to change it. Alternatively, if you would prefer us to use a photo of your own you can email it us at [email protected]

The Page 3 Newsletter New this month is Identical, the world stage musical premiere of the classic study of twin Theatre visits girls, separated at birth, reunited by chance at a summer camp 10 years later. In an attempt to get to know their parents and reconcile the two halves of their family, they decide to swap and lead each other’s lives. This twin-sational new musical is based on the novel The Parent Trap by Erich Kastner.

It’s the Classic Thriller season 2020 at the Theatre Royal. How else can you get to see four entertaining thrillers in the best stalls seats for just £66? Second thriller in the season is A Sting in the Tail. Successful playwrights, Max and Nigel, are struggling for inspiration, and their financial resources are rapidly dwindling. Desperately searching for a new idea for their next play they decide to imagine a victim first and then fit the mystery plot around the dead body. “We need a victim the audience would cheerfully hate,” says Nigel…….as his wife Ann, walks into the playwrights’ studio. Once Ann is selected as the fictional murder victim, the two writers draw on all their experience to construct a real life murder. Other productions in the season are A Murder has been arranged, Kiss of Death and The Final Twist. Classic Thrillers are playing on 4 consecutive Wednesday matinees from July 15th. Enemy of the People Nottingham Operatic Society present their first ever production of Frank Loesser’s joyous 1950 musical comedy, Guys and Dolls. Set in 1940s New York, this is one of the funniest, most joyous musicals in Broadway’s history, and has been seen many times in the West End. This new production is full of New York gangsters, Broadway showgirls, high-rollin’ gamblers and a holy-rollin’ Salvation Army band. With a sequence of sure-fire musical hits, this promises to be a night of musical theatre to remember. We still have a couple of tickets for Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda. This is drama, focused on the political and personal rivalry between two queens. Three hours long, this is a delicious period production with frocks galore.

The National Theatre broadcast of The Welkin is about one woman’s life in the hands of 12 other women in Puritan . A young woman is sentenced to hang for a heinous murder. When she claims to be pregnant, a jury of 12 matrons are taken from their housework to decide whether she’s telling the truth, or simply trying to escape the noose. With a mob baying for blood outside, the matrons wrestle with their new authority, and the devil in their midst.

We have managed to obtain a few more tickets for which is based on the imagined meetings between the Queen and Margaret Thatcher. Moira Buffini’s sparkling and insightful piece cleverly explores the nature of history – and what might have gone on behind closed doors at the weekly meetings between the Queen and Mrs Thatcher.

So bring your cheque books and diaries and let’s go to the theatre. Paul Martinez

Collect Tickets: Mama Mia! Thursday 2nd April, at 2.00pm: As You Like It, 2.30pm Saturday, 28th March; Oliver Twist Thursday 23rd April,1.30pm Theatre Trips on offer: Opera, Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda, New York Met Live Broadcast, 12 noon, Sunday 10th May, Broadway Cinema, (£15), Organiser Paul Martinez. Sign up and pay for tickets.

Broadcast Drama, The Welkin, 7.00pm Thursday 21st May, Broadway Cinema, Organiser Coleen Bee, Last chance to snap up tickets Continued over …

The Page 4 Newsletter Drama Piaf, Saturday 23rd May 2.30pm, Nottingham Playhouse, Theatre Visits cont.. (£7.50) Organiser Basia Arch Sold out.

Drama Handbagged 2.30pm Saturday 20th June at the Lace Market Theatre (£11). Organiser Janet Whitchurch. Last chance to snap up tickets

Four Classic Thrillers, A Murder has been Arranged (Wednesday 15th July); A Sting in the Tail (22nd July); Kiss of Death (29th July); The Final Twist (5th August), all at 2pm, Theatre Royal, Organiser Linda Spencer. Sign up and pay for tickets.

New Musical Identical 2.30pm Saturday 15th August, Nottingham Playhouse (£7.50). Organiser Basia Arch. Sign up and pay for tickets

Musical Guys and Dolls, 2.30pm Wednesday 28th October, Theatre Royal, (£tbc). Organiser Linda Spencer, Sign up and pay for tickets Theatre reviews Servant of two masters” by Carlo Goldoni. Lace Market Theatre Did I enjoy this play? I can tell you that I sat through the whole thing with a grin on my face! Yes, I loved it. And I thought it was so well done! The programme notes tell me that the style of this play, written in 1745, was “Commedia dell’arte”, which, of course, I had to Google when I got home! By the eighteenth century, Commedia dell’arte was a highly developed comedy art form for touring troupes of players, involving improvisation, slapstick, audience participation, minimalist staging, dance, witty dialogue, musical numbers - a bit of pantomime really. So, well done Lace Market Theatre, a tick in every box! Carolyn Broadhurst Moonlight and Magnolias The Playhouse struck gold with this production. It was vibrant, innovative and current. The four protagonists brought to life a play of two halves. Part 1 was an hilarious script, riddled with action, one-liners and pithy comments on the society of the time. I haven’t been to a stage play so full of belly laughs in a long time – a very sophisticated slapstick, performed with exquisite characterisation and immaculate timing. The audience laughed aloud throughout the first half.

This does not, however, downplay the very serious messages of racial inequality prevalent in the southern states of America, paralleled by the very obvious second-class status held by the influential and affluent Jewish entrepreneurs of Hollywood’s movie-making community. Whilst the humour spilled over into the second part these very serious views were faced into boldly as they argued and debated the sense of trying to turn this book into a block-buster film: “You’ll never get a movie out of it!”

Who would have thought that so much could be packed into a story line that had three men locked in a room for five days intent on writing a script for Gone With the Wind .. and the scriptwriter had never read the book!

The remarkable and versatile performance of Joe Alessi as the producer kept the audience on the edge of their seats. The script writer and producer (Dan Fredenburgh and Oscar Pearce) were a perfect foil, grudgingly sucked into his vision to create one good film. But the gradual decline of the efficient secretary, Hayley Doherty, was a sterling performance – her few short entrances as she became more frazzled and disheveled brought substance of time and the reality of life beyond the locked door.

Well, they did get a movie out of it and they most certainly got a spectacular play out of the mammoth task it became. The silver screen was described in a giveaway line as the only time machine ever built. Take me back in that time machine now and I would happily watch the performance again. Colleen Bee

The Page 5 Newsletter Trips and Visits

MELTON MOWBRAY CHEESE FESTIVAL May 2nd Members who signed up for this event will be emailed shortly with further details. If for any reason you are now unable to go please let me know, preferably by email’ as I am in the process of sorting out tickets which need to be purchase in advance for this event.

Tickets will only be on sale at the March General meeting,

Lesley Mosley

Buxton has been attracting visitors since the 14th century, initially for its world famous waters. The attractions today include the architecture, especially the magnificent Georgian crescent built by the Duke of Devonshire. There are the stunning pavilion gardens which hopefully will be at their best in early June. Also "Buxton has a wealth of independent and high street shopping opportunities" according to the tourist website. Around lunch time we will head to Bakewell, the Ancient Capital of the Peak, The traffic free labyrinth of streets and alleys in the centre houses a host of shops and cafes. The All Saints Church dates from the 12th century but includes some Saxon remains as well as many tombs of the great and good of times gone by. Just behind the church is the Old House Museum with artefacts from local life including a Tudor toilet!

COST £11 Leave Richard Herrod at 8.15 for Buxton, Return from Bakewell at 4 pm. TICKETS ON SALE AT MARCH MEETING Sue and Noel Lake

On Friday 21st February Trips and Visits review we set off for the ancient town of Wakefield. Set on the north bank of the River Calder and famous in medieval times for it's cloth finishing, handloom weaving, also as a raw wool merchants centre and for it's coal workings, Wakefield is well situated, being nine miles from Leeds. It has a beautiful Mediaeval Cathedral with a stunning altar and blue ceiling. It also has a museum telling the story of it's industrial past. Wakefield is famed for its Rhubarb for which they have a Festival each year. This was the main attraction of Continued over

The Page 6 Newsletter Trips and Visits continued

the day and you could purchase some the sort of things you might expect it to be made out of, such as biscuits, muffins, cake and pies to purees, jam, fudge and boiled sweets (who of us doesn't remember rhubarb and custard?) To the unexpected - cheese, chocolate, sausage rolls and gin. Plus of course the real thing; which at this time of year is the lovely pink 'forced' variety grown in the dark. I noticed quite a bit of this poking out of shopping bags on the coach home. The main exhibition in the covered market place demonstrated how you can actually hear rhubarb growing (No, I haven't been on the Rhubarb gin, honestly,) a soft crackling noise. There is a surprising variety of shops and cafe's and the wooden cabins set around the town centre promoting the local fayre and crafts were excellent. The weather, although blustery, stayed pretty dry and there was even a glimpse of sun. Organised by Lesley Mosley and with helper Anne Richards (many thanks Ladies) this was another excellent day out.

Sally Bailey

Interest Groups

Opera from the New York Met Opera Study Group Agrippina By Georg Frederick Handel To give an outline of the complex plot of this opera, let alone a flavour of the music and acting in the allocated 300 words would be nigh on impossible. Suffice to say, even the most sceptical member of the audience could not fail to be won over by the combination of beautiful singing, dramatic acting and a black comedy plot which is as relevant today as it was when written in 1709 or in Imperial Rome. The opera satirizes ambitious politicians with Emperor Claudius the great buffoon, sung by bass Matthew Rose bearing a striking resemblance to a number of modern heads of state. A Joyce di Donato comedy of hypocrisy, greed and sexual manipulation sums up this opera, The empress Agrippina, brilliantly sung and acted by the Mezzo soprano Joyce di Donato plots to install her son Nero on the throne in place of her husband Claudius. Nero provides the first shock for anyone new to the world of Baroque opera; he is sung by the mezzo soprano Kate Lindsay. Originally the part would have been sung by a castrato!. Agrippina’s plot is thrown into disarray when she learns that Claudius intends to name his army commander Ottone, sung by counter tenor Iestyn Davies, as his successor. To counter this, Agrippina exploits a love triangle involving Poppea, beautifully sung and acted by soprano Brenda Rae, Ottone and Claudius. The Director David McVicar turns this into an hilarious soft porn romp. For the historical record, Agrippina poisons Claudius to get Nero on the throne but the ungrateful son then murders his mother. David Dobbs

The Page 7 Newsletter V E Day Anniversary – May 2020 Monday 4th May 2020 The History Study Group are celebrating VE Day with A Living History Event If you, or one of your relatives has memories of V E Day then We Need You ! Please would you join us for the afternoon to share those memories You would only need to talk to a few people at a time sitting at tables (no big presentations or speeches) – we just want to hear, first-hand, how you and your family celebrated. If you are willing, please make arrangements with Lynne Jaremczenko, Noel and Sue Lake or Coleen Bee. Also, if any U3A members or their relatives have photos or any WWII memorabilia that they could lend to us for the occasion please let me know – we would be very grateful. In particular if anyone has an original Ration Book that we could borrow for the occasion, please let me know Lynne Jaremczenko 07771 801 957 (photo courtesy of the Imperial War Museum)

In February dehydrated, so by putting we watched an shallow containers with Greenfingers episode about pebbles and water around cottage gardens the garden, bees will have from the BBC production called the ‘The Geoff somewhere to land while Hamilton Collection’. they drink. As Spring is on the horizon, we had a raffle Greenfly and where four members won a small pot of miniature blackfly on your daffodils. Members were challenged to name the vegetables and 10 most popular spring bulbs according to the flowers can be programme ‘Love your Garden’? (Ans: alium, controlled by spraying bluebell, crocus, daffodil, hyacinth, iris, lily-of-the- with a garlic wash. This valley, snowdrop, tulip, winter aconite) will also work to keep slugs off hostas. Boil two crushed cloves of garlic in 2 pints For our March meeting, John from John Cullen of water for 4 minutes then leave to cool. When Gardens gave a very interesting talk about how he ready to spray, mix one teaspoon of the garlic got into gardening and now runs a nursery in mixture in 5 litres of water – about one watering can Lincolnshire specialising in plants to encourage - and spray onto plants in the evening to make pollinators. These are the bees, butterflies, moths them unappealing to pests. There was also a sales and more. Different bees are attracted to flowers table with a range of plants from the nursery. according to their size and length of their tongue to Thank to Barbara Birch for finding this super reach inside the flower. The spots on the inside of speaker. flowers such as foxgloves are there to guide the Nicola Dandie bee to the nectar deep inside. Bees can become

The Newsletter is published by The Carlton, Gedling & District U3A. (Reg. Charity No. 1157211) Views expressed are not necessarily those of the U3A or Editor

The Page 8 Newsletter Railway Appreciation Group So far the group has met twice this year, on both occasions in parallel with members of the newly formed group from Arnold U3A. In January We attended the Winter Steam Gala at the Great Central Loughborough. traveling by train and vintage bus. There were ten engines in steam to greet us, sufficient to keep up a good display of passenger and freight trains up and down the line during the day. We all agreed it it was a day well spent. This month we have had an indoor meeting where after watching some railway DVDs we had a fruitful discussion about future outings and meetings. This year we plan to include trips to the Nene Valley Railway, and Barrow Hill Roundhouse. We also all hope to see the exhibition which celebrate the 50th anniversary of the closure of Colwick Yard and Loco Sheds at the Crossing Social Club on the 11th April. Nick Clark Grumpy Old Men

Lots of things to raise the hackles this month, some old, some new. We’re keeping a watchful eye on the smart motorway story and this month we hear that some lorry rescue services will not deal with a breakdown until the access has been made safe by police. Also it seems that the automatic system meant to detect a stopped vehicle is only 90% effective, and so far only installed on a small section of the national smart motorways. We wonder how the review is progressing Meanwhile, electric scooters are becoming popular and seem to be used on either the roads or pavements by choice. Some of these can do 30mph, definitely not for pavement use and illegal to use on the highway. The Department of Transport has belatedly woken up to the situation and is considering treating them like electric bicycles - limiting speeds to 16mph, banning them from pavements and allowing them on the roads if fitted with lights and reflectors. Watch this space. We read that to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 we need to replace all gas home heating systems with heat pumps, and put 10,000,000 electric cars on the roads. We can’t quite work out where all the carbon-free energy to drive these pumps and recharge these cars is going to come from. It’s not likely to be nuclear. A couple of possible denials of justice were discussed, A police driving instructor drove at up to 122mph through red lights on a private visit to his son’s college. He was cleared of 16 motoring offences when he claimed that he was “carrying out a self assessment of his driving skills” which exempted him from traffic rules. Taking the PC surely? Also a disgraced surgeon has gone to jail for carrying out unnecessary surgery, and has to pay back his legal aid. Hooray! But, the boss of the NHS trust that tried to cover up this scandal was able to quit with a £2.7m pension pot and within two years is working for the NHS again. Boooh!

That’s enough for this month, so we leave you with this thought, courtesy of our Illustrious convenor..

If at first you don’t succeed - then skydiving’s not for you.

Tarra 2

The Page 9 Newsletter What do juggling balls, a yoyo and a slinky spring have in Wellbeing Group common with wellbeing. Well, we found out at our last meeting. For our March wellbeing group (17th) we will be doing a mixture (time permitting) of meditation, mindfulness, Susies gentle zumba, movement to music (cha cha based) a bit of gentle stretching and some fun co-ordination stuff again. Oh, and a brief introduction to a very gifted exponent of living in the present - Eckhaart Tolle. IMPORTANT - Please remember that Mark and Susie have various commitments over the coming few months and can’t be sure of “free” days. So there will be no Wellbeing classes for April and May. After that please refer back to the newsletters to see when we are able to start up again. Mark and Susie

The Music of Sir Arthur Sullivan Classical Music Appreciation presented by Paul Cox. Almost anyone who has even a nodding acquaintance with classical music will know of the musical partnership between Sir Arthur Sullivan and W.S. Gilbert which resulted in the Savoy Operas but asked to name compositions by Sir Arthur Sullivan as the sole author frequently results in blank looks. Now, thanks to Paul Cox, we know that in addition to the 14 Savoy operas written to librettos by W. S. Gilbert, Sullivan also wrote a further 10 operas, 11 major orchestral works, 10 large scale choral works, incidental music to several plays and numerous songs and hymns. Like so many composers of merit, young Sullivan came from a musical family, his father a clarinettist was bandmaster at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and by the age of 13 he was proficient in playing the full range of wind instruments. In 1856,at the age of 14, the Royal Academy of Music awarded Sullivan the first Mendelssohn scholarship which allowed him to study for two years at the academy. This scholarship was extended for a further year which allowed him to study in Germany at the Leipzig conservatoire. Paul’s presentation opened with Sullivan’s graduation piece from the Leipzig conservatoire in1862, the incidental music for Shakespeare’s The and performed some 20 months after his death in Tempest. This performance at the Crystal palace 1900. The Te Deum ended with, what is now, the brought him overnight fame in the world of Victorian well known hymn “Onward Christian Soldiers” .The music. shadow cast over the celebration was lost on the Paul then presented us with a range of Victorians, there being no mention of the 28,000 symphonic and instrumental music, secular and white and 20,000 black civilians who died between religious cantatas, oratorios and marches. 1901 and 1902 in concentration camps established Sullivan’s last complete work and the finale of by the British army as part of Earl Kitchener’s Paul’s presentation was the Te Deum written as a scorched earth policy. thanksgiving for the end of the Boer war in 1902 David Dobbs

The Page 10 Newsletter Visit to St. Paul’s Church, Daybrook. Sixteen members of our group visited St. Paul’s Religious Architecture Church, where we were given a warm welcome by Reverend Sally Baylis, vicar, who was on-hand to answer any questions. Before the church was built, June 1896 – 1898, services were held in a Mission Church built in 1880, being dedicated in January 1890, a daughter church to St. Mary’s Church. It later became the Church Hall. John Robinson, founder of the Home Brewery donated the land on which the “big” church was to be built. Colonel Seely provided the finance, to start building work in June 1893. The Total cost of building the church was £26,000. The church was dedicated in February 1896, and the tower completed in 1898. The tower contains eight bells, casted by Mears & Stainbeck. The clock on the west side of the tower is by Gillet & Johnson (c1900). The Pulpit and Font are of white Mansfield stone with marble shafts. The pulpit has three panels containing carved groups. At the angles are carved canopied figures variously depicting the Saints Paul, Peter and John. The font, a heptagonal basin has carved canopied figures at the angles representing Truth, Faith, Hope, Charity, Courage, Industry and Purity. Behind the font is the First World War Memorial unveiled in 1923, and designed by Ninian Cooper. At the top is a crucifixion with two mourners “Remember the men of Daybrook who gave their lives in the Great War 1914-1919”. The Organ was built in 1896 by Augustus Gern, foreman to Cavaille-Coll, a great European organ builder. It was original water powered, with a hand-blowing device as a back-up. Restoration was carried out in 1924 by John Compton of London, and in 1950 and 1967, when it was virtually rebuilt by Roger Yates, who provided all- electric action and complete tonal revision. Mike Johnson History Study Group Our February meeting focused on British Streets known for their Historical significance. I was expecting The Fosse Way, The Royal Crescent, Fleet Street or even Carnaby Street but, as always, our members surprised me with the eclectic and unusual choice of subjects to talk about. The Pantiles in Tunbridge Wells – David spoke from personal experience of this beautiful street in Woking Mosque the spa town. Brian introduced us to the beginnings of the A5. In 1801 when Ireland and England united, the John gave us Oriental Road – his curiosity had route from London to Dublin was precarious. been raised when he worked on this road in Thomas Telford was commissioned to survey the Woking. The only clue to the name of the street is route (from horseback). As a result the road from the Mosque, built in 1889. It was the first, and London to Shropshire (the old Roman Watling sadly last, building intended to be an institute of Street) was improved, the tracks through Wales learning incorporating the Mosque, a Synagogue, straightened and the Menai Bridge built. a Church and a Temple The visionary to plan this Pat told us about “The Avenue” a 3 km track was a British-Hungarian Jew, Gottlieb Leitner who leading from the River Avon to Stonehenge in the had spent most of his life in India and had founded Neolithic – this can still be seen and is classed as the University of Punjab. a scheduled monument. Continued over

The Page 11 Newsletter Pearl told us and shown on the oldest road map of Britain, the History Study cont.. about her home Gough Map dated 1360. town of Ludlow Finally Coleen used St Peter’s Street/Square and painted a picture of a walk round the town in Manchester to recount the 1819 event “the centre incorporating all the historic and Peterloo massacre” that took place on St Peter’s picturesque street names – Temeside (River Field where the square now stands. Teme), Friar’s Walk, Tower Street, Narrow Street, Next Meeting March 2nd – Historic foods and Buttercross, Market Street, Castle Square, the occasions they were used for. Broad Street, Silkmill Lane ……. My own contribution was “The Old Way”, a Lynne Jaremczenko pilgrimage route from Southampton to Canterbury

Icy weather and colds meant only sixteen Grouchy Girls Grouchy Girls at The Willowbrook for February’s meeting. We had a change of format i.e. a fun sesson in February instead of at Christmas. So, coffee and chat followed by 9 of us staying on for lunch. I hope everyone enjoyed themselves as much as I did! We’ll be back on Tuesday 10th March at 10.30 for some more grouching, so come and join us to discuss celebrity status, holidays in the U.K. and ways to stay positive, despite the news bulletins. Maggie Martinez

The February meeting was dedicated to Portraiture. These Photography examples are by David Colyer

The Page 12 Newsletter Five Miles and a Cup of Tea Nineteen walkers including three new members set up from the 508 Cafe by the children’s playground near to the entrance to Wollaton Park (the cafe is sited in the park’s last remaining Second World War hut and is named after the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment who camped in Wollaton Park in 1944). We passed by the main stable block and museum and walked around the lake to Derby Road before entering Nottingham University grounds. From here we walked around the Highfields boating lake to the lakeside cafe area before climbing up to the north entrance of the university. We then returned to Wollaton Park via Lime Tree Avenue with a quick look at the gardens and spring flowers near to the Camelia House. Eleven of us stayed for refreshments in the 508 Cafe. We were lucky with the weather and ground conditions and had the added bonus of spring blossom, crocuses and early daffodils.

Next walk. Tuesday 24th March 2020 Colwick Park. To be confirmed after an inspection of the ground conditions as a result of the recent weather. Terry Bartram

Striders Walks

February The recent rains having made footpath walking positively dangerous the Striders group took to the tracks round Newstead Abbey Grounds. The weather had ignored the dire forecast and provided us with sunshine rather than showers. We were given lots of opportunities to engage with local history such as the dissolution of the monasteries (the Abbey ruins), the development of parks and gardens (the abbey grounds), the decline of the mining industry (the old rail beds and spoil heaps) and the early industrial revolution (the Leen valley and Papplewick mills).

March Keith Sherratt This month’s walk is a 7 mile walk involving 2 steady climbs in the area around Eyam. Some of the walk is on roads but there may be one muddy stretch. Meet at Ranmoor Road car park at 9.00am on Thursday 26th March and bring a packed lunch .

Brian Shield

The Page 13 Newsletter one of the best cricketers of his Local History generation and was hailed as Gedling – A Sporting Village such by W. G. Grace. He lies in Our February meeting was another talk, this time All Hallows’ given by our own Neil Kendrick on the sporting graveyard roughly history of Gedling, based on the research he carried a cricket pitch out for his two recent books on the subject. length from Arthur Shrewsbury, a Neil commenced with a brief life history of himself, world class recalling how a 6 page pamphlet celebrating 100 batsman. He years of school cricket turned into a 5 chapter book, tragically took his and this led to a regular column in the parish own life, wrongly magazine and subsequently the publication of thinking that he several books about Gedling, including two about its had an incurable sporting history. disease.

The first tale concerned Neil then went on to talk about some local venues, Gedling Colliery FC (now such as the Phoenix Boxing Club, now located on Gedling Miners’ Welfare) Burton Road, which produced Carl Froch most and their exploits in the FA famously. Neil mourned the loss of many grounds, Amateur Cup of 1953-4 such as Blackhill Drive cricket ground, He also against then-holders mentioned that Carlton Le Willows school hosted Pegasus, one of the most county representative games of cricket and famous names in amateur testimonials for Derek Randall & Tim Robinson. We football at the time. A learnt of the Cooper Cup – a knock-out charity home crowd estimated to cricket competition started in the 1930s, which have been about 7500, continued into the 1970s, with a brief revival in saw the Miners put up a 1988. Sadly, the cup itself has not been seen since. brave fight, but succumb to a 2-6 defeat. Two years I don’t have enough space to cover everything that later Bishop Auckland won 4-1 at Plains Road, and Neil spoke about – but it can all be found in his two a member of our audience told us later that he had books! Our thanks go to Neil for a fascinating played in that match! presentation.

Next, we heard about Alfred Shaw, who was born in This month we visit St Mary’s church for a guided Burton Joyce and bowled the first ever ball in a Test tour – contact us if you’d like to add your name to match (he was also the first bowler to take 5 wickets the waiting list for this, as it is now fully booked. in a Test innings. Shaw also organised the first British Isles rugby tour of Australia. He was certainly Graham Palmer

Knit and Stitch (formerly Textiles Group) Our first meeting as the renamed Textiles group to Knit and Stitch went well. This group aims to be a bit of a craft circle for all matters relating to knitting, crochet, cross stitch, embroidery, quilting etc.,. In amongst the chattering and clacking of needles the members share their skills with each other - so if you need some help with a pattern or a technique or if you would like to learn the basics of the above, then please come and join us. Everyone welcome. This month we discussed making knitted and crocheted incubator hats for the QMC and City Hospitals neo-natal units, and it was decided that we could do this as an on-going project. If any members would like to help our group’s project please contact Jackie or Jeanette for patterns.

Jackie 079719731120 Jeanette 07758285352 Jackie Burton

The Page 14 Newsletter Birdwatching ATTENBOROUGH NATURE RESERVE On a sunny and cold Friday morning, sandwiched between storms Ciara and Dennis, we were fortunate to have an excellent visit to our wonderful Nottingham nature reserve, where we saw a good variety of water birds from the comfort of one hide. There were clear sightings of a group of shovellers and wigeons, a pair of goosander and the very striking goldeneye, as well as gadwells, great crested grebe and grey lag geese. On the way to the hide, we came across the distinctive Egyptian goose and enjoyed watching the Goldeneye long-tailed tits feeding and several reed bunting perched obligingly in the same tree. The sights and sounds of lapwings flying and settling in the scrapes provided entertainment for all. We retired to the café, defeated by the cold wind which started in the early afternoon, but rallied after a warm drink, to finish the day by a sighting of the Slavonian Grebe, a rare visitor to these shores. He doesn’t look as spectacular in his winter plumage as he does in the Slavonian Grebe summer, but it was nevertheless a satisfying way to finish our visit, and a first to tick off in our bird books! Nuala Leyden

of women of the time, whilst his when Conrad was short of Book Club companion quietly challenged money. these premises: an early nod to Did we enjoy the book? No. A challenging month. Having women’s rights. However, the Did we enjoy discussing it? read other novels by Conrad our views were delivered at a Quite definitely! It was a high expectations were dashed. pedestrian pace, and provocative and lively discourse “Chance” sent several of us encumbered by long descriptive around a book that, although it into the unfamiliar media of e- narrative of his movements didn’t deliver the impact of some books. Facing into the around the room. This caused of his other novels, such as technology was hard enough, many of us to either skim over Heart of Darkness, or Lord Jim, but squelching through the large sections or fail to finish the it did inspire and motivate the verbose, psychological book altogether. group into a meaningful ramblings of the main Whilst some were relieved discussion that left us all protagonist set some of us into by the happy ending, others felt invigorated. apoplexy. this contradicted the point of his This month we are each Whilst most of us enjoyed philosophy. Marlow’s exposition choosing a novel that has been the language used by Conrad, of the events of Flora’s life were made into a film. If you have writing in his second language, described by one member as also seen the film it would be most of us found the layering of those of a pompous voyeur, interesting to know how well you two distinct narrators difficult to written in the style of a muddled thought it transcribed into film navigate. It appeared that the melodrama. The soap-opera and what was gained, or lost, on main character, Marlow, was stylisation can be explained, the screen. We meet again on expressing the traditionally held however, by the fact that it was Tuesday 7th April. views of the character and role written as a serial at a time Coleen Bee

March 23rd Sewing We are not able to use the rooms at Carlton Fire Station for our March meeting due to a prior booking. So, we have decided to do something completely different. We will have a group visit to East Bridgford Garden Centre. Arrangements to follow by email to group members. Pam Bartram

The Page 15 Newsletter Music Appreciation Group Groovy With a theme of “FIRE” for the pieces of music to be brought in to the February meeting, we managed to leave some of the bleedin' obvious ones til very late in our two hours (The Crazy World of Arthur Brown “Fire” and The Doors “Light My Fire”}. However we did go back to classic groovy 60s with “Wheels On Fire” by Julie Driscoll, Rolling Stones “Play With Fire” and The Move's “Fire Brigade” American rocker Bob Seeger got two plays with “Fire Down Below” and “Fire Lake”. Billy Joel, James Taylor, Stevie Nicks, and of course Elvis “Burnin' Love”. We had Ella Fitzgerald and Joseph Locke. I even slipped in Scotland's Runrig “Greatest Flame”. Rock n Roll was not forgotten with Johnny Cash “Ring of Fire” “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” by The Platters, and an alternative version of “Great Balls of Fire” by Chis Isaak. And we had ten other pieces. The next theme is another element - “AIR” on Tuesday 24th March 2.00 in Richard Herrod Centre. I expect we'll get our usual wide range of tracks – and nobody knows what that will include. That's the secret ingredient.

Eric Rennie

On Friday 14th Craft Group February we had an enjoyable session making various jewellery. Many thanks to Pat Downing who made charming intricate bracelets, while I concentrated on pretty necklaces, these were very practical as they were made with a minimum of beads for maximum effect by leaving gaps in the wire. (See photo). For those who made or decorated boxes last month they would have useful storage for the above, plus there were free drawstring pouches available on the day.

Sally Bailey

The Page 16 Newsletter Carlton & Gedling U3A Diary: MARCH 2020 Date Time Group Meet at Details Contact 13 Fri 09:00 Bird Watching Richard Herrod Minibus trip to Potteric Carr Nuala 0743 718 7748 13 Fri 10:00 Singing for Pleas. St Georges Centre Allan 0773 329 7393 13 Fri 11:30 Grumpy Old Men The Willowbrook Ian 0115 9114681 13 Fri 13:30 Crafts Carlton Fire Station Gift card teapot with Sally Sally 0778 754 1145 13 Fri 16:00 Ale, Cider and lager tastingMapperley Top Mapperley Pubs and Micros Richard 0751 421 2134 13 Fri 16:00 Table Tennis C-le-W Academy Andrea 0752 709 0324 14 Sat 09:30 Cycling For Fun Meet at 50 Willow Road, Carlton Tom 0780 094 9396 15 Sun 12:00 Theatre Broadway Cinema Wagner's The Flying Dutchman Colin on 07881 289298 16 Mon 10:30 Family History Richard Herrod Brenda 0774 201 7482 16 Mon 14:00 Tea Dancing Richard Herrod Pat 0779 028 0338 16 Mon 16:15 Drama Carlton Fire Station Readings & planning Pat 0791 866 5322 16 Mon 18:30 Wine Lovers 3 Age Concern Rioja Steve 0784 111 1435 17 Tue 10:00 Wellbeing Richard Herrod Mark 0750 517 6780 17 Tue 13:30 Local History St Marys Church Guided tour (early start) Graham 0787 652 7285 18 Wed 10:00 Bonsai A member's house Shaping/wiring/repotting part 2 Paul 07305 071206 18 Wed 10:00 Singing for Pleas. Netherfield Baptist Allan 0773 329 7393 18 Wed 14:00 Bridge and Whist The Willowbrook Ken 0798 224 8504 18 Wed 14:00 Scrabble The Willowbrook Lynne 0777 180 1957 19 Thu 10:30 General Meeting Richard Herrod Paul Stafford: Visit to North Korea 19 Thu 19:00 Internat. Dining Chai Yo Thai Pat 0791 866 5322 20 Fri 10:00 Science Richard Herrod Steve 0784 111 1435 20 Fri 14:00 Creative Writing Richard Herrod Theme - The Secret Ian 0753 596 7655 20 Fri 16:00 Table Tennis C-le-W Academy Andrea 0752 709 0324 21 Sat 09:30 Cycling For Fun Meet at 50 Willow Road, Carlton Tom 0780 094 9396 23 Mon 10:00 French Conv. Mapperley Golf Club Brian 0115 926 5053 23 Mon 10:00 Sewing Carlton Fire Station Visit to E Bridgford Garden Cen. Pam 0779 290 5454 23 Mon 10:15 Discussion A member's house Genetically modified children Lynne 0777 180 1957 23 Mon 14:00 Committee Meeting Richard Herrod 24 Tue 09:30 5 Miles + tea Ranmoor Road Colwick Park and Woods Terry 0797 084 2736 24 Tue 14:00 Music Apprec. Richard Herrod Theme of "Air" Eric 0781 476 9670 25 Wed 08:30 Trips and Visits Richard Herrod Stratford Upon Avon Lesley 0775 1354 654 25 Wed 10:00 Music for Fun Netherfield Baptist Charles 0750 593 0234 25 Wed 14:00 Bridge and Whist The Willowbrook Ken 0798 224 8504 25 Wed 14:00 Scrabble The Willowbrook Lynne 0777 180 1957 26 Thu 09:00 Striders Walking Ranmoor Road Eyam walk Brian 0781 462 8190 26 Thu 10:45 New Members The Willowbrook Sue 0796 046 1942 26 Thu 11:00 Coffee Morning Top Spot Club Maggie 0755 451 8444 27 Fri 10:00 Singing for Pleas. St Georges Centre Allan 0773 329 7393 27 Fri 14:00 Canasta Richard Herrod Lynne 0777 180 1957 27 Fri 16:00 Table Tennis C-le-W Academy Andrea 0752 709 0324 28 Sat 09:30 Cycling For Fun Meet at 50 Willow Road, Carlton Tom 0780 094 9396 28 Sat 14:30 Theatre Lace Market Theatre Shakespeare's As You Like It Linda on 0115 958 3567 30 Mon 14:00 Tea Dancing Richard Herrod Pat 0779 028 0338 Carlton & Gedling U3A Diary: APRIL 2020 1 Wed 10:00 Singing for Pleas. Netherfield Baptist Allan 0773 329 7393 1 Wed 14:00 Bridge and Whist The Willowbrook Ken 0798 224 8504 1 Wed 14:00 Scrabble The Willowbrook Lynne 0777 180 1957 2 Thu 10:00 Tai Chi Richard Herrod Sally 0778 754 1145 2 Thu 14:00 Theatre Royal Concert Hall Mamma Mia! Anne 0115 952 6648 3 Fri 10:00 Knit & Stitch Carlton Fire Station Jeanette 0775 828 5352 3 Fri 14:00 Canasta Richard Herrod Lynne 0777 180 1957 4 Sat 09:30 Cycling For Fun Meet at 50 Willow Road, Carlton Tom 0780 094 9396 5 Sun 16:00 Deadline for April newsletter submissions Nick 0790 991 7127 6 Mon 10:00 Classical Music St. A member's house David 0777 261 2605 6 Mon 10:00 French Conv. Mapperley Golf Club Brian 0115 926 5053

The Page 17 Newsletter Carlton & Gedling U3A Diary: APRIL 2020 Date Time Group Meet at Details Contact 6 Mon 10:30 Greenfingers Gedling Road Meth. Nicola on 0115 940 1507 6 Mon 14:00 History Study Richard Herrod Hazardous industries Lynne 0777 180 1957 6 Mon 16:15 Drama Carlton Fire Station Readings & planning Pat 0791 866 5322 7 Tue 10:00 Railway Enth. Richard Herrod Railway Films Nick 0790 991 7127 7 Tue 14:00 Book Club Carlton Fire Station Genre or chosen author Maggie 0795 129 9113 7 Tue 16:30 Indoor Bowls Richard Herrod Mick 0115 987 4239 8 Wed 10:00 Music for Fun Netherfield Baptist Charles 0750 593 0234 8 Wed 14:00 Bridge and Whist The Willowbrook Ken 0798 224 8504 8 Wed 14:00 Scrabble The Willowbrook Lynne 0777 180 1957 9 Thu 09:30 Cycling For Fun Meet at 50 Willow Road, Carlton Tom 0780 094 9396 9 Thu 11:00 Coffee Morning Top Spot Club Maggie 0755 451 8444 9 Thu 11:00 Ten Pin Bowling MFA Bowl Brenda 0115 962 5757 9 Thu 13:30 Art Gedling Road Meth. Christine 0787 523 4264 10 Fri 09:30 Bird Watching Richard Herrod Car share to Whisby NR Nuala 0743 718 7748 10 Fri 11:30 Grumpy Old Men The Willowbrook Ian 0115 9114681 11 Sat 09:30 Cycling For Fun Meet at 50 Willow Road, Carlton Tom 0780 094 9396 14 Tue 10:00 Photography Ranmoor Road Colwick Park - Water reflections Frank 0771 198 5231 14 Tue 10:30 Grouchy Girls The Willowbrook Maggie 0755 451 8444 14 Tue 14:00 Canasta The Willowbrook Lynne 0777 180 1957 14 Tue 14:30 Poetry Apprec. A member's house Rene 0758 266 5908 15 Wed 10:00 Bonsai A member's house Shaping/wiring/repotting part 3 Paul 07305 071206 15 Wed 10:00 Singing for Pleas. Netherfield Baptist Allan 0773 329 7393 15 Wed 14:00 Bridge and Whist The Willowbrook Ken 0798 224 8504 15 Wed 14:00 Scrabble The Willowbrook Lynne 0777 180 1957 16 Thu 10:00 Internat. Dining Collect money for next meal TBA Pat 0791 866 5322 16 Thu 10:30 General Meeting Richard Herrod John Smith: De-coding human behaviour 17 Fri 10:00 Science Richard Herrod Steve 0784 111 1435 17 Fri 13:30 Crafts Carlton Fire Station Beanbag chicken ready for Easter Sally 0778 754 1145 17 Fri 14:00 Creative Writing Richard Herrod Beer Ian 0753 596 7655 18 Sat 09:30 Cycling For Fun Meet at 50 Willow Road, Carlton Tom 0780 094 9396 20 Mon 10:00 French Conv. Mapperley Golf Club Brian 0115 926 5053 20 Mon 10:30 Family History Richard Herrod Brenda 0774 201 7482 20 Mon 14:00 Committee Meeting Richard Herrod 20 Mon 14:00 Tea Dancing Richard Herrod Pat 0779 028 0338 20 Mon 16:15 Drama Carlton Fire Station Readings & planning Pat 0791 866 5322 20 Mon 18:30 Wine Lovers 2 Burton Road C.C. Blind Tasting (date change) Paul 0750 376 1075 20 Mon 18:30 Wine Lovers 3 Age Concern Riesling and Cabernet Sauvignion Steve 0784 111 1435 21 Tue 09:30 5 Miles + tea Ranmoor Road East Stoke Terry 0797 084 2736 21 Tue 14:00 Local History The Bell Inn Guided our of historic pubs Graham 0787 652 7285 22 Wed 10:00 Music for Fun Netherfield Baptist Charles 0750 593 0234 22 Wed 14:00 Bridge and Whist The Willowbrook Ken 0798 224 8504 22 Wed 14:00 Scrabble The Willowbrook Lynne 0777 180 1957 23 Thu 09:30 Cycling For Fun Meet at 50 Willow Road, Carlton Tom 0780 094 9396 23 Thu 10:45 New Members The Willowbrook Sue 0796 046 1942 23 Thu 11:00 Coffee Morning Top Spot Club Maggie 0755 451 8444 23 Thu 13:30 Theatre Nottm Playhouse Oliver Twist Coleen 07450 938777 24 Fri 10:00 Singing for Pleas. St Georges Centre Allan 0773 329 7393 24 Fri 14:00 Canasta Richard Herrod Lynne 0777 180 1957 25 Sat 09:30 Cycling For Fun Meet at 50 Willow Road, Carlton Tom 0780 094 9396 27 Mon 10:00 Sewing Carlton Fire Station Pam 0779 290 5454 27 Mon 10:15 Discussion A member's house Is the death penalty acceptable? Lynne 0777 180 1957 28 Tue 14:00 Music Apprec. Richard Herrod Theme of "Earth" Eric 0781 476 9670 29 Wed 14:00 Bridge and Whist The Willowbrook Ken 0798 224 8504 29 Wed 14:00 Scrabble The Willowbrook Lynne 0777 180 1957 30 Thu 14:00 Opera Study A member's house Introduction to Maria Stuarda Paul 07305 071206

The Page 18 Newsletter