Croydon U3A Magazine
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Croydon U3A Magazine Autumn 2017 The Third Age Trust (Operating as the University of the Third Age) Croydon U3A Reg. Charity No. 102946612 Website address www.u3asites.org.uk/croydon Table of Contents Editorial 1 Musings from the new Chairman 2- 3 A Short Trip to Portugal 3 - 5 U3A National Conference 6 - 7 Summer Activities: Japanese Loan Words 7 – 8 The Victorian Parson 8 - 11 Early Transport in Croydon 11– 14 Grace Oakeshott 14 -15 Let Them Eat Cake 16 - 17 Reports from General Meetings: Dementia 18 Groups: History of London 1 19 – 22 London Explorers 1 22 - 25 History Group – 18th and 19th centuries 25 - 27 Play Reading (Selsdon) 27 - 28 Walking 28 Wildflowers 29 Painting for Pleasure 29 Beginners Painting 29 Maths Puzzle 30 Creative Writing: It’s a boy 31 Great Comp poem 32 Write a New Sherlock Holmes Challenge 33 Maths Puzzle answer 33 22 famous people who went to school in Croydon 34 Turtles, Tuna and Terns 34 – 36 Flamenco 37 – 38 More Senior Moments 38 - 39 Cover Picture – Jenny (left) and Val (right) with the U3A cakes Editorial Senior moments feature in this issue. Your editor is not immune. At Grasmere, Ruth and I carefully chose a water colour to give to a daughter as a welcome home present after years in the Far East. Then we forgot to give it to her, presenting it later with apologies. You may have noticed Croydon’s celebration of the artist, Andy Warhol, during September, organised by the Rise Gallery. I found myself alone there one afternoon, and thought the Gallery deserved better. True, St George’s Walk is not a ‘street’ you would choose to walk up or down unless you had a specific object in mind. But the Gallery is worth the detour. Easily amused by small things, I smiled (inwardly) at the caption of a picture of many sorts of ladies’ shoes: ‘A la recherche du shoe perdu’. (Would Proust have been amused?) The Advertiser does its best for Croydon, witness the issue for 22 September which showed 15 pictures of parts of the Borough which might be mistaken for prestigious places elsewhere. They included: Provence (the lavender fields opposite Oaks Park), a Surrey village green (a corner of Waddon Ponds); and Hampton Court (the turrets and pinnacles of our Town Hall). It also listed 22 ‘famous’ people who had been to school in Croydon (see page 34). My abysmal score of only 10 shows what a cloistered life I have led. Anyone who knows at least 18 of the names may like to let me know. (Anonymity assured.) At the AGM, members gave heartfelt thanks to Brenda for her three years as our Chairman. We wish her and other retiring members of the Committee all the best, and welcome Jenny, our new Chairman, and the new Committee members. This Magazine appears three times a year: Spring, Summer, Autumn. Contributions, on any subject, are welcome. The deadline for the next issue is 14 March. Best wishes for the rest of 2017 from Barbara, Magazine Designer, and me. Gordon Thynne 1 Musings from the New Chairman (aka A Note from Jenny) I have been asked which title I prefer. Shall I be Chair? Chairperson? Chairman? Chairlady? Not to be confused with charlady. What a dilemma! Chair sounds rather cold and distant. Not my style. Wait a minute. Why am I wasting brain time on this? It really doesn’t matter. I’ll be chairman when an official title is required, and Jenny or Jenny Wilson the rest of the time. Many people have stopped using the titles Mrs/ Miss / Ms these days. It does get complicated when relationships change. Should I continue to address a card to Mrs ABC when she is now divorced? The simple and best answer is ask her, if possible, what she prefers. My funniest experience with titles happened years ago. Giving my children their tea, one daughter raised her hand. ‘Miss..ermm… Brown Owl….. I mean Mummy…’ We all fell about laughing (in Peppa Pig style for those of you in the know). I have to add that I did teach all of them, so the reference to Miss wasn’t totally random. Anyway names are vitally important and we all struggle at times to remember them. I am very good at children’s names (decades of teaching I suppose). To my shame I am pretty poor at recalling adult names. So, during my stint in this role, please ease me along and remind me of your name when necessary. I do get a tad annoyed with the over-familiarity of some cold callers. ‘Good morning Jennifer. It’s Tim from XYZ here. You don’t mind me calling you Jennifer do you?’ Yes I do. I hang up. Sadly, I still get cold callers asking to speak to my late husband George. Sometimes I’m flippant. ‘You’ll have a job,’ I quip, ‘he died over 5 years ago.’ On other days I tell them in no uncertain terms to get their database in order. Anyway, I’m already ankle deep in Things To Do Lists. I do love a good list. A proper paper list, handwritten. Rather than notes on my phone. Something magical happens when I put pen to paper. Leaving the shopping list on the kitchen table I can still visualize it, walking round the aisles. Is it old-fashioned? No. Effective? Most definitely. And I love doing an ‘off list’ task, then adding it and immediately crossing it off. Done. Oh, the satisfaction. I wish you all a good autumn and run up to Christmas, 2 P.S. I had no intention of setting out my vision or anything remotely like that. The U3A is not a top-down organisation. At the annual conference Pam Jones, Chairman of the National Executive, reminded delegates ‘Listen to your members.’ Very Best Wishes, Jenny A Short Trip to Portugal One sunny June morning, 22 eager U3A members set off for a sightseeing trip to Porto. Emilia, our Portuguese guide, escorted us from the airport to our well-appointed hotel, and there was time for those with energy to take a trip into the centre of town – some by metro with the help of the ‘station master’ who also issued tickets! Those without energy snoozed. In 200 BC Porto was ‘Portus’ which later became the capital of Portucalae, the kingdom that gave its name to Portugal. Developed in the Middle Ages on the north bank of the River Douro, it was classified as a World Heritage site in 1996. One of the oldest cities in Europe, it is the second largest city in Portugal and is known as the ‘Grey City’ because it is built on granite. What a misnomer – the houses are multi-coloured and the river sparkles. Day Two saw an early start for the sightseeing in the town, a mixture of old and new buildings. We drove down its longest shopping avenue, Avenida da Boavista, and along by the Atlantic, shimmering and inviting, but no doubt cold. Emilia pointed out many places of interest and we stopped at the Palacio da Bolsa, the Stock Exchange. Building was finished in 1850 and many architects were involved with the exquisite interior, with its glass dome over the central courtyard and grand staircase. The Arab Room, decorated in Moorish style, was stunning. Next door is the São Francisco Church. Outside, an ordinary 14th century Gothic and Baroque construction, inside it is one of the most fabulously opulent in all Europe. The 17th and 18th century baroque decoration is a profusion of wood carvings, cherubs, plants and animals dripping with gold – about 400 kg of it. 3 Afterwards we drove to the Casa da Musica, designed by Dutchman, Rem Koolhaus. The stunning ultra-modern design was not enthusiastically welcomed by the Tripeiros (Porto residents). Its most innovative feature is two walls made completely of glass, which enables it to function without artificial light. The carefully designed acoustics and technology give it one of the best sounds in the world. Opened in 2005 at a cost of €100 Million, it received a RIBA award in 2007. (Maybe when refurbishments are completed, Fairfield Halls will be another Casa da Musica....) What could beat that? A boat trip on the River Douro maybe? In bright sunshine we sailed from the stunning Dom Luis I Bridge up river to view the other four bridges and then back down to the mouth of the Douro. Day Three saw us heading for a wine tasting adventure at the Aveleda Vineyards where we toured their beautiful garden. The vineyards have been in business for 300 years: the gardens had a eucalyptus tree 200 years old and two ‘baby’ redwoods at 150 years, also marvellous dark blue rhododendrons. After the tour we headed back to the house to taste some wines. It was pleasant sitting on the balcony with grape vines stretching into the distance whilst enjoying cheeses which the vineyard also produces (from cows, not grapes). 4 Then to Amarante, one of Portugal’s hidden gems. Dating back to 360BC, with its São Gonçalo bridge from the 13th century, it is a picturesque town with willow-lined river and balcony-lined streets. People make pilgrimages to the church of São Gonçalo in the hope of finding true love. In 38 degrees we British weren’t much interested in true love, and were drooping rapidly. On Day Four we headed for Guimarães, which King Afonso Henriques made his capital in 1139. The coach dropped us at a high point overlooking the city and the walk downhill through the narrow streets was delightful.