August 2020

Vitality!

Official newsletter of the Syston and District U3A CHARITY No 1180152

FROM OUR CHAIRMAN

Another month has passed since I last wrote to you and whilst I’m pleased to report that Birstall and Thurmaston are out of lockdown, it would appear that we still cannot go on holiday. I do hope none of you from Birstall or Thurmaston had a holiday booked and have been turned round at the airport, because that would really be a double whammy. I realise that not many of our groups are running a present and I do hope we can see an end so that we can get back to some semi business as usual. Our coordinators have written out to all the group leaders to establish which groups may be running and how they have overcome the current problems. Once we get all this information, we may be able to provide guidelines on how to proceed for groups considering starting up again. Of course, the major problems will be that of venues. You may be able to consider impromptu meetings in your gardens, if the weather forecast promises good weather for the for coming days. I realise this would mean deviating from your planned meeting dates, but it might be the only way we can meet and socially distance. Whilst writing this piece I received the latest advice from The Third Trust and share it here to keep you fully posted.

Latest Covid-19 guidance for U3As July 29 2020 Introduction There has been further clarity around the implications of different rules and guidance recently introduced to the Covid-19 measures for the different nations and islands in Great Britain, Northern Ireland and Island of Great Britain which are summarized in the table below for your convenience. Further detail is added below for each nation.

When should you stay at home? You should not leave your home to take part in U3A activity if government advice means that you should stay at home or if you or anyone in your household has symptoms of Coronavirus. The government advises If you or someone in your household or your support bubble is showing coronavirus symptoms, everyone in your support bubble should stay home. If you or a member of your support bubble is contacted as part of the test and trace programme, the individual contacted should stay at home. If that individual becomes symptomatic, everyone in the support bubble must then isolate. This is critical to staying safe and saving lives. It is advisable that any U3A group activities that are taking place

~ 1 ~ at this time should keep a log of those participating for track and trace purposes should the need arise and you would need to advise members that this information would be shared with the NHS Track and Trace team in that event.

The above was ‘cut & paste’ from a 10-page document and I have shortened it to convey the essential information. If anyone requires more detailed information i.e. where there is reference to a sub note (e.g. 1.3 below). Please contact me, or the Secretary, for the full document.

Stay safe

WE WANT TO LET YOU KNOW

“Phishing” email The Third Age Trust has circulated the following message regarding a “phishing” email which has been sent to U3A members in another region. Their message reads: “We are aware of a phishing email which appears to have been distributed among U3A contacts. The email will appear to have been sent by someone (in the U3A). It contains a blue box with the word 'Preview' in it and wants you to click on it. DO NOT OPEN OR CLICK ON IT. If you have received it and opened it, please let us know so we can help you sort this out. Please email [email protected] or call one of our team on 0208 466 6139

Our staff team will note your details and help you accordingly. The email should be deleted from your inbox and from your deleted folder and you should change your password.

Thank you Third Age Trust”. It’s highly unlikely that you would receive an email like this but – as requested by the National Office - we are alerting you to this incident, and to the dangers posed by such activities. The number of attempted scams and “phishing” messages has increased over the past 4 months and it’s important to be vigilant and protect one another.

~ 2 ~

Message from Group Coordinators We have recently contacted all Group Organisers asking for any updates re their Interest Groups. It is great to read and see photos in Vitality of the various activities that are currently taking place. Several Organisers have told us that they are running their groups electronically, others are keeping in touch via e mail and several are trying to plan how they might re start their groups in the near future. Together with the Committee, we are working to follow Government and U3A guidelines to ensure everyone is kept safe and covered by our insurance when re starting groups. We sincerely hope that time is not too far away! We know your Group Organisers will keep in touch with you and we'd like to thank them for their innovative ideas! Just a few points to help clarify some queries that have arisen: 1. If you take part in any activity with a group (in person or electronically) then you must be a fully paid up member for 2020-21 (£15). 2. The reduced fee in October and January only applies to new members. 3. The Committee have agreed to consider membership fees for 2021-22 when we know when we can fully reopen.

Hopefully, we may be able to restart some groups fairly soon! In the meantime, look after yourselves and enjoy any Summer that is left! Our very best wishes Sheila and Janet

GROUP NEWS

In these lock-down times, some of our groups are still managing to function, despite not being able to meet fully face to face. Here’s a roundup of what’s been happening.

U3A SUPPORT GROUP

Having made contact with those members who are not on email we are continuing to check in on them. However, the group is not just there for that purpose. Those of us on email, social media, and the like, may welcome to chance to speak with someone other than immediate family and friends. We can provide that opportunity.

Although the lockdown is easing for some, there will be those who are wary of venturing out. The change in guidance now allows some of those living alone to link up with another household, if you fall into this category, do not have anyone nearby to link up with, but would like to do so, please let me know. With a little luck we can put people in touch with each other and help lighten the lockdown further.

If you would like to be put in touch with one of our volunteers, or would like to link up with another household, just drop me an email: [email protected] or call me on 0116 2609012.

~ 3 ~

BRITISH HISTORY Our topics moved into the 1950’s, an era that is well within the living memory of many members of the U3A. Those who volunteered to carry out research chose subjects that were connected with wars and rebellion that followed in the wake of World War II, the exception to this covered a controversial area for the period in the Wolfenden report.

The Korean War. Hardly had the world got used to a world without war or at least on the scale of WW2, when yet another war broke out involving many nations. The origins of the Korean War lay in a fractured relationship entirely dominated by Japan. It was part of the Japanese empire from 1910 until Japan was defeated in 1945 in WW2.

The USSR and the USA failed to agree on any unification of Korea and in 1948 the country was split into two along the 38th parallel by the UN, each with its own government. The south of Korea became a military administration by the USA under the direction of General Douglas MacArthur. In the North, the USSR backed a Stalinist regime under their client Kim Il-sung and created the North Korean Peoples' Army. The mix was set for war which flared up between Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea), several countries being dragged into the fray on one side or the other. After three years of bloody warfare nothing was gained by either side and each side accepted the armistice drawn up by the UN.

The Mau Mau Rebellions in Kenya have been the subject of review on television, so even those of us who are too young to remember the original events may have some knowledge of them. Mau Mau was an underground movement aimed at the recovery of land the indigenous peoples deemed as theirs, and at the expulsion of the Europeans. Although the Mau Mau were defeated, it can be argued that the rebellions paved the way for eventual independence in 1963.

The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the tripartite aggression in the Arab world and Sinai War in Israel, was an invasion of Egypt in late 1956 by Israel, followed by the and France. The aims were to regain Western control of the Suez Canal and to remove Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser, who had just nationalised the canal. After the fighting had started, political pressure from the United States, the Soviet Union and the United Nations led to a withdrawal by the three invaders. The episode humiliated the United Kingdom and France and strengthened Nasser.

Notice some common threads with these 3 subjects?

The Wolfenden Report. Whenever we look at modern legislation, there’s usually a starting point somewhere in history that has led us to these changes.

Now that we have same sex marriage, civil partnerships, and antidiscrimination laws forbidding prejudicial actions against people who are LGBTQ, we can look to the Wolfenden Report of 1957 to see the prevailing conditions and where the changes began. No account was taken in Wolfenden of women in same sex relationships. After all, a hundred years before, Queen Victoria had said that this was impossible!

~ 4 ~ The Wolfenden Committee put together a report, after their three-year enquiry. It was 155 pages long and recommended that ‘homosexual behaviour between consenting adults in private should no longer be considered a criminal offence’. Wolfenden believed the law's role was to protect the public, not to interfere in private lives: ‘There must remain a realm of private morality and immorality which is, in brief and crude terms, not the law's business’, he wrote. The Government initially rejected the Report’s recommendations, with leading British judge, Lord Devlin arguing that the law should intervene in acts concerning morality, even if they are conducted in private.

On 7 March 1958, The Times newspaper published an article by academic Tony Dyson, calling for the Wolfenden Report’s recommendations relating to homosexuality to be reconsidered for implementation into law. It was signed by many important figures, including writer J.B Priestly, and brought together members of the Homosexual Law Reform Society which formed shortly after. This would prove to be key to galvanising parliamentary support, leading to the passing of the Sexual Offences Act 1967, which applied in and Wales. In Scotland and Northern Ireland gay and bisexual men would have to wait until 1980 and 1982 respectively, for the same protection in law.

If anyone would like to join the group during this period, please feel free to contact Pat Wherton Email: [email protected]

BOOK CLUB

The book group is continuing to function well using emails and, while it is better than no group communication, it is not a real substitute for getting together and discussing the books and why the different views were reached. We often have very different ideas about what makes a good book and these can vary a great deal. Over the last couple of months we have read books which have been quite varied. In June we read The Scarlet Nightingale by Alan Titchmarch, then in July we read Brat Farrah by Josephine Tey, this was a very good read which most of the group agreed on. For August we are reading Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng and in September Sleepers Castle by Barbara Erskine. Hopefully by then we may be able to meet up again, fingers crossed.

FAMILY HISTORY

Another zoom session kept some of the group in touch with each other. After query/problem solving session we had a look at a free family history resource. FreeREG is a volunteer-based project, those involved are transcribing parish registers containing baptism, marriage, and burial details. These can be invaluable where registers have not yet been scanned and made available online. Whilst it is still very much a “work in progress”, and some counties have much better coverage than others, a large amount of entries have been transcribed. It is one of a range of free family history resources which can be used to carry out research without the expense of a subscription to one of the paid sites.

If anyone is interested in getting started on family history research our group is here to help. Contact Julie Johnson on 0116 2609012 or [email protected]

~ 5 ~ PARCHMENT CRAFT

Just an update for those members who have not received email messages from me each month.

I have been in contact with the people responsible for the hire of St Hilda’s Church Hall, where we meet. It seems that they have no date as yet for reopening and there is some work to be done before that can happen. I have read the somewhat confusing guidelines for groups meeting and as we are urged to keep social distancing at 2 metres (or 1 metre with risk mitigation) it would be difficult for our group. Those over 70 are still advised ‘to stay at home as much as possible and, if they do go out, to take particular care to minimise contact with others outside of their household’ in the guidance, so that will also have to be taken into consideration.

Things do change very quickly though and I will be in touch as soon as it looks likely that we can start getting together again....in time to create some Christmas cards hopefully!

In the mean time stay safe and keep well,

Lyn Palmer

WHAT’S ON NEXT

In the absence of our own events here is some information on other activities you might like to take part in or have a look at.

There is a quiz on bird and animal noises from the Canal and River Trust: Canal & River Trust quiz - bird and animal noises

Many regular Bridge players are following Bernard Magee and his lectures on YouTube. You can either arrange to play with three people who are known to you or just join a bridge table with people from around the world. Also see https://www.bridgebase.com/

Over the last few months the Photographic Group members at Arun East U3A have undertaken several challenges and a selection of the photographs produced can be viewed on the Arun East Website Photography section

You can also view a Hockney exhibition on-screen here: David Hockney - Exhibition on Screen

Some free online learning and other events can be found among the paid for content at eventbrite

Somerset House has online exhibitions and events, including this one on the art design and future of fungi

Why not take part in the Edinburgh Book Festival which includes 140 free online events here

If you are interested in science the Royal Society has Summer Science Online more here

~ 6 ~ Tulip Festival at Arundel Castle

This is now not happening due to the current situation but photos of the Festival are now on a specially created website: https://tulipfestival.co.uk. The photos are really phenomenal.

If you have an interest in things Japanese there are some online events from Japan House

Film and television your cup of tea? Then have a look at what BAFTA have to offer online here

Should any member spot something online that might be of interest to others please let me know at [email protected] so that I can share it.

FROM OUR MEMBERS

Once again thank you for your contributions, not as plentiful this month, please keep them coming!

YOUR GARDENS AND WILDLIFE

A Wood Warbler in full song

~ 7 ~

A Redstart male captured in Bradgate Park – all by Robin Perry

~ 8 ~

~ 9 ~

I don’t profess to be an expert with either gardening or photography. I was rather late planting up my baskets and containers, but they seem to be catching up. It just didn’t occur to me that with the garden centres closed at the start of the lockdown, people would have turned to the online plug plant sellers. I found myself well down the queue.

The mauve window baskets are in my front garden, as is the tiered planter. The red and lemon window baskets are below my kitchen window at the rear.

I’ve pre-ordered pansies and the like for autumn/winter just to be on the safe side!

Julie Johnson

Hopefully, the clothing on this family wearing face masks on their photo will give you a clue that it dates from the 1918 flu pandemic, not the current covid era.

Look closely for the oddity in the picture – I’ll reveal it later in the newsletter.

~ 10 ~ QUARANTINE A word that you will see frequently. This short article will tell you why enforced isolation is called quarantine. We have known about disease since ancient times. Our ancestors knew that when people live in groups certain illnesses could be passed from an ill person to another. They had no idea how the diseases were spread but were smart enough to know that they could stop their spread by altering the way that people in a social group behaved. For instance, you can sometimes get very ill by eating pork. They hadn’t yet twigged that it was because the pig had not been cooked thoroughly and that parasites and germs within the pig would survive to infect you. They just banned eating pork, and other animals. Even today Tesco sells Kosher and Hallal food. They are the original healthy foods. It was also realised that diseases could be transmitted by sexual contact. Since no social group could ban sex, they enforced a strict ‘one partner’ rule by the expedient of marriage. Isolation of someone with an obvious illness such as a strange skin colouration, spots, or nasty stuff leaking out, gave rise to various rules written down in 700 BC in Leviticus. The term Leprosy covered a multitude of different illnesses. More extensive travel in the Middle Ages brought travellers into contact with new diseases. Sea farers would return home with some very nasty illnesses, referred to generally as Plague, the causes of which were entirely unknown until the discovery of bacteria and viruses in much more recent times. Ignorant, but not stupid, the rulers of various port cities devised ways of keeping out the plague with varying degrees of success. In 1377 the city-state of Ragusa (modern Dubrovnik in Croatia) instituted a thirty-day period of enforced isolation of visiting travellers in what became known as Trentine. The city state of Venice learnt, to its cost, that trentine didn’t work, so being sensible (but wrong) extended the period to forty days in 1448. Forty days, in the dialect of Venice is quarantino hence quarantine. Not knowing the cause of plague, the Venetians failed to separate new arrivals to the quarantine zone from those about to be released because they had served their 40 days. The new arrivals infected those about to be released into the general population.

Chiesa del Santissimo Redentore

~ 11 ~ This church was built to commemorate the ending of a terrible plague of 1576 that killed 50,000 people including the painter Titian. The Doge promised to build a magnificent church if the plague ended, and true to his word this magnificent church was built. In the 1990s a travel agent sold the author a cruise holiday starting with a three day stay in Venice. We were there on the weekend of 3rd Sunday of July, the Festival of the Most Holy Redeemer. The feast is celebrated to this day with an amazing firework displays on the eve of the feast, the best firework display I have ever witnessed. Pandemics are frightening. Today, with far better knowledge, we are much better equipped to fight back. Frightening, yes, but not as terrifying as pandemics in the past. Pierre Castille

Did you notice that everyone in the 1918 family photo was wearing a mask, including the cat! I’ve seen several online photos of todays’ dogs and cats with face coverings, especially in the Far East, but clearly that is not a new idea.

DOES THIS SOUND FAMILIAR?

While systems for alerting public health authorities of infectious spread did exist in 1918, they did not generally include influenza, leading to a delayed response. Nevertheless, actions were taken. Maritime quarantines were declared on islands such as Iceland, Australia, and American Samoa, saving many lives. Social distancing measures were introduced, for example closing schools, theatres, and places of worship, limiting public transportation, and banning mass gatherings.] Wearing face masks became common in some places, such as Japan, though there were debates over their efficacy. There was also some resistance to their use, as exemplified by the Anti-Mask League of San Francisco. Vaccines were also developed, but as these were based on bacteria and not the actual virus, they could only help with secondary infections. The actual enforcement of various restrictions varied.

A later study found that measures such as banning mass gatherings and requiring the wearing of face masks could cut the death rate up to 50 percent, but this was dependent on them being imposed early in the outbreak and not being lifted prematurely.

MY ANCESTORS – THE FOLVILLE GANG

When I set out researching my family history, I thought that I would find my oldest roots in Lincolnshire and that they would be largely farm workers. It was with some surprise that I found a properly documented lineage on my fathers’ paternal side, stretching back to Mediaeval and the minor nobility around . The Folvilles of are one of those families. When I found references to the Folville Gang, my curiosity was piqued. I was fortunate enough to find information online, including transcripts of documents of the time. A doctorate thesis on crime in Leicestershire in the period by Kathryn Bates, and an article by E.L.G. Stones published by the Royal Historical Society, specifically on the Folville Gang, provided a wealth of information. Here is a condensed account of their activities. Julie Johnson

~ 12 ~

Accusations of intimidation, kidnap, robbery, and murder did not start with the infamous 14th century Folville Gang, nor did it end with them. Some of their ancestors also had a criminal background. In 1248 Eustace de Folville (my 22x Great Grandfather) was held in Warwick prison accused of having a hand in the death of William le Venur. By 1258 he had been pardoned and appointed as a justice in Oxford. In 1265 Eustace was listed amongst those forfeiting their lands after backing Simon De Montfort in the Barons’ Rebellion. The king pardoned him in June 1267. It appears that Eustace remained out of trouble until his own murder, at home in Ashby Folville in 1274.

The family seems to have stayed on the right side of the law until 1304, when John de Folville, son of Eustace, (my 21x Great Grandfather) was accused of assault. Like his father, John was pardoned and by 1309 was also appointed a justice. He died in 1310, and was succeeded by his son, another John. It was this John who fathered the infamous Folville gang.

Second son Eustace is recorded as being the leader of the Folville Gang. There is some disagreement regarding the other family members of the gang. Royal Court rolls of the time certainly refer to some as being his brothers. Most historians suggest they were all brothers, but a few refer to Richard, also the vicar of in , as his uncle. The oldest son, also John (my 20x Great Grandfather), succeeded his father as Lord of the Manor and appears to have “kept his nose clean”.

The family first came to notice in 1326 through their involvement in the murder of Roger Belers. Eustace de Folville, with assistance from brothers Walter and Robert, helped to organise the murder. Roger Belers (or Bellers) was an elderly baron of the exchequer, who had acquired his power under the unpopular Despenser regime. He was disliked and had many enemies, especially in his native Leicestershire. Records do not indicate exactly why he was murdered, but it appears that the Folvilles were paid by Henry de Herdwyk and Roger la Zouche to kill him. Belers himself had been accused of intimidation and acquiring estates by illegal means. An excerpt from the assize rolls reveals that the murder was committed in a Brokesby (Brooksby) field, not far from Belers’ manor at Kirby Beler (Bellers). None of those suspected of the crime were caught or tried, despite great effort being made into tracing them. It is suspected that Eustace and some of his associates, aided by Thomas de Folville, left the country for a while to avoid arrest. Indeed, Thomas was cited for assisting them.

All those implicated in the Belers murder were declared outlaw in 1326. However, this proclamation came to nothing with the removal of Edward II from the throne. The Folvilles simply suffered the forfeiture of their lands at Rearsby as punishment for the murder. On 11 February 1327, a pardon was issued to all those involved in Belers’ death.

After being outlawed in Leicestershire for their sins, the Folvilles moved their criminal activities to Lincolnshire, where they committed a series of robberies between September and November. However, they were soon back in Leicestershire. Parliament notified the sheriff of Nottinghamshire that a group of miscreants, including some de Folville’s “were roaming abroad in search of victims to beat, wound, and hold to ransom.” Eustace de Folville was undoubtedly amongst them. He had been particularly active in the area, having committed three murders, a rape and three robberies by 1328. In 1329 Eustace, Laurence, Walter, and Robert all received a general pardon for their services against the rebellion of the late Thomas of Lancaster’s followers. However, after Edward III had gained full control of the crown in 1330, the Folvilles were again being hunted. An order was made for all but Thomas and John to be arrested and secured in Nottingham castle, but the brothers eluded those searching for them. In 1332

~ 13 ~ Walter de Folville, John Lovet and Nicholas Eton furthered their catalogue of crimes by killing William de Longeforde and John de Tyssyngton at midnight in Derby.

In December 1330, Roger de Wennesley, the son of a local knight, was appointed to capture both the Coterels (a similar gang based in Derbyshire) and the Folvilles. However, the attempt to bring the families to justice resulted in failure as Wennesley decided to join the criminals instead.

Occasionally the Coterel and Folville brothers worked together. The kidnap and ransom of the justice, Sir Richard de Willoughby was their most audacious joint crime. On more than one occasion he had crossed both families and their associates, so he must have been a tempting target for extortion and humiliation. Surviving documents suggest that the actual ambush took place on the Leicestershire border, possibly at Waltham-on-the-Wolds. Willoughby was then taken into Lincolnshire. It is believed that the gang took their captive from one hiding place to another until a ransom was paid. They were probably assisted by Alan of Baston, canon of Sempringham Abbey in Lincolnshire, who supported and periodically harboured the brothers. It was Baston’s contact with the Folvilles which led the canon of Haverholme Priory to pay the brothers to destroy a rival’s watermill.

From the end of 1332 there was a slow decline in the number of violent acts carried out by the Folvilles. In November 1332 Robert de Folville was pardoned, and in July 1333 Eustace also received a pardon in return for his service in the Scottish wars, on condition that he would fight on the side of the king whenever he was asked to do so. This clause came into effect in both 1337, when Eustace fought again in Scotland, and in 1338, when he served at Flanders. On this occasion, Richard, Thomas, and Walter de Folville, along with Nicholas and James Coterel were also to serve in France. In 1337 Robert de Folville went overseas to serve in the retinue of the Earl of Northampton, who had helped secure his pardon in 1332.

Richard de Folville was back in England by 1340, and a commission was appointed to arrest him. Late in 1340 or early in 1341, he took refuge in his church at Teigh, but his pursuers caught up with him there. After a fight, in which several of the hunters were wounded and shot, Richard was dragged from the church and beheaded by Sir Robert de Coleville. The Pope was outraged when he heard about the treatment that Richard de Folville, a man of clerical orders, had received, and he imposed a penance on De Coleville and his followers. Richard was the only member of the Folville family to be executed as punishment for his criminal deeds. His brother Eustace was still involved in a variety of criminal activities some twenty years after the murder of Roger Belers. The last time Eustace was recorded committing a crime of violence was in 1345, when he took advantage of the king’s absence in France by forcibly seizing the manor of Gautby in Leicestershire.

Despite their violent crimes, the gangs of the were popular with the people. It was the justices, and figures that represented law and order, who were disliked. In general folk took a light- hearted view of the crimes of the Folville family. Writing with the benefit of hindsight, the chronicler Henry Knighton was sympathetic to their cause. After the Folvilles had killed Roger Belers in 1326, Knighton described the attack as “justifiable retribution for the oppressions he had imposed upon others”. Similarly, when Eustace de Folville died in 1346, Knighton did not record the death of a criminal, but of a “dashing, defiant man”. The conduct of individual gang members seems to have been passed off as the work of gentleman thieves, rather than that of dangerous criminals.

What of the next generation of Folvilles? John, Lord of Ashby Folville had three sons of his own, John, Geoffrey, and Christopher. Although they never approached the extremes of violence that their uncles

~ 14 ~ attained, they continued the family tradition. In 1346 Geoffrey and Henry Folville are recorded as having received war pardons on the testimony of the Earl of Warwick for offences they committed prior to the hostilities. By 1377 the term ‘Folville’s Law’ had emerged, meaning rough and ready justice, the violent redress of wrong. It appears that the gang were regarded as vigilantes rather than villains within living memory of their deeds. In judging them now, I believe it is important to look at the era in which they operated

Notice any similarities between the Folville Gang and the tales of Robin Hood?

Do you have stories about any famous or infamous locals, or other local history items that could be shared with our members? Don’t be shy, let me have details [email protected]

VOLUNTEER CENTRE WINS £20,000 LOTTERY GRANT TO HELP IN THE CONTINUING FIGHT AGAINST COVID-19

A £20,000 grant from the Government’s Coronavirus Community Support Fund, distributed by The National Lottery Community Fund, has enabled Syston and District Volunteer Centre to purchase an upgraded, wheelchair-adapted vehicle. The Volkswagen Caddy Maxi Life 2.0 TDI 5dr DSG (model pictured) will be put to immediate use helping vulnerable residents of Syston and neighbouring communities to overcome the challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic. A team of volunteer drivers will help the elderly, infirm, rurally isolated, and other vulnerable people to maintain family and community links, do their own shopping and keep hospital and doctors’ appointments. The vehicle can also be used to carry and deliver groceries and other essential supplies to those who are “shielding” and unable to leave their homes. Paul Lomas, Chairman of the Board of Trustees at the Centre, says: “We are delighted to have been awarded this grant which offers further recognition of the importance and high quality of the services the Centre provides within our local community. The new vehicle will offer flexible and safe transport options for those in need, especially for anyone dependent on a wheelchair. Over the coming months, we are planning an intensive recruitment campaign to attract more volunteer drivers - either those using their own cars, in return for a generous mileage allowance, or, after appropriate training, to drive the new vehicle. Once current restrictions are relaxed, to permit group trips and excursions to be organised once again, we will also need drivers for our minibuses. I would ask anyone who has a few hours to spare and who might be interested in joining our team of volunteer drivers, to contact our Centre Manager, Andy Shelton, who will be happy to provide full details of this very rewarding form of voluntary service.

~ 15 ~ POETRY CORNER

Below is an invitation to get involved with a poetry project from Newcastle Uni. Click on the # for more

FLIGHT By Robin Perry

All across the skies are sounds of birds now gathering. They know their time is short before they fly away and kiss our cliffs goodbye.

Hirundines and apus are training up their offspring for uncertain flights across our seas to distant, sunnier lands.

But we, the wingless ones, cannot stretch out to rise and fly. We are lockoed to earth, creatures of the land with no chance to leave.

~ 16 ~

Continuing the bird theme – two well-loved poems some of you may remember from school days - Ed

THE SKYLARK By John Clare

The rolls and harrows lie at rest beside Which they unheeded passed—not dreaming The battered road; and spreading far and wide then Above the russet clods, the corn is seen That birds which flew so high would drop agen Sprouting its spiry points of tender green, To nests upon the ground, which anything Where squats the hare, to terrors wide awake, May come at to destroy. Had they the wing Like some brown clod the harrows failed to Like such a bird, themselves would be too proud, break. And build on nothing but a passing cloud! Opening their golden caskets to the sun, As free from danger as the heavens are free The buttercups make schoolboys eager run, From pain and toil, there would they build and To see who shall be first to pluck the prize— be, Up from their hurry, see, the skylark flies, And sail about the world to scenes unheard And o'er her half-formed nest, with happy wings Of and unseen—Oh, were they but a bird! Winnows the air, till in the cloud she sings, So think they, while they listen to its song, Then hangs a dust-spot in the sunny skies, And smile and fancy and so pass along; And drops, and drops, till in her nest she lies, While its low nest, moist with the dews of morn, Lies safely, with the leveret, in the corn.

THE DARKLING THRUSH by Thomas Hardy

I leant upon a coppice gate, At once a voice arose among When Frost was spectre-gray, The bleak twigs overhead, And Winter's dregs made desolate In a full-hearted evensong The weakening eye of day. Of joy illimited. The tangled bine-stems scored the sky An aged thrush, frail, gaunt and small, Like strings of broken lyres, With blast-beruffled plume, And all mankind that haunted nigh Had chosen thus to fling his soul Had sought their household fires. Upon the growing gloom.

The land's sharp features seemed to me So little cause for carolings The Century's corpse outleant, Of such ecstatic sound Its crypt the cloudy canopy, Was written on terrestrial things The wind its death-lament. Afar or nigh around, The ancient pulse of germ and birth That I could think there trembled through Was shrunken hard and dry, His happy good-night air And every spirit upon earth Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew, Seemed fervorless as I. And I was unaware

~ 17 ~

And finally…….

It seems to be human nature to look for humour in the darkest things, here are some laughs (and groans) on a corona virus theme -

With all this talk of Corona Virus, the people who make sanitising gel are rubbing their hands together.

They said that a mask and gloves were enough to go to the supermarket. They lied, everyone else has clothes on.

If I get quarantined for two weeks with my wife and I die, I can assure you it was not the virus that killed me.

I know a great joke about Corona Virus, you probably won't get it though.

Since everybody has now started washing their hands, the peanuts at the bar have lost their taste.

After years of wanting to thoroughly clean my house but lacking the time, this week I discovered that wasn't the reason.

Never in my life would I imagine that my hands would someday consume more alcohol than my mouth.

Why did the chicken cross the road? Because the chicken behind it didn't know how to socially distance properly.

Whose idea was it to sing "Happy Birthday" while washing your hands? Now every time I go to the bathroom, my kids expect me to walk out with a cake.

I never thought the comment "I wouldn't touch him/her with a six-foot pole" would become a national policy, but here we are!

My husband purchased a world map and then gave me a dart and said, "Throw this and wherever it lands—that's where I'm taking you when this pandemic ends." Turns out, we're spending two weeks behind the fridge.

People have been spending more time at home reading short books. Apparently, it's all because of the novella coronavirus.

Quarantine has turned us into dogs. We roam the house all day looking for food. We are told "no" if we get too close to strangers. And we get really excited about car rides.

Anyone else's car getting three weeks to the gallon at the moment?

The world has turned upside down. Old folks are sneaking out of the house, and their kids are yelling at them to stay indoors.

~ 18 ~