DISS U3A MONTHLY MEETING REPORTS (From July 2015)
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DISS U3A MONTHLY MEETING REPORTS (from July 2015) Sally Cummings completed our speaker programme for the year in December with her talk entitled “Women Can Fly”. Sally jumped out of a plane when she was 16 years old. She has always been passionate about flying. Indeed, she jumped before her brother and he was a gymnast! She told us that she has no fear of heights – an asset for someone keen to launch herself into parachute and pilot training. After 15 hours initial training for flying, she was addicted and went on to obtain her pilot licence. (1983). Robins – Sally’s first aeronautical experience Cessnas followed……. Fast jet At this time, women were not employed by the RAF as pilots, so she did ‘fighter control’, something she described as ‘3D space invaders with real people.’ When the RAF began to employ women pilots she took aptitude tests for navigation and flying and learned to fly fast jets. Sally enjoyed the company and camaraderie of a predominantly male work place. She gave us some humorous examples of living inside ‘male-designed’ uniform and using exclusively male toilets. Her comment on the uniform: ‘It’s freeing to wear a grow-bag’. Once up in the air, Sally used Wales as her ‘playground’ and told us that altitude can be measured by the sighting of sheep and cows’ legs: ‘If you can see sheeps’ legs…..too low…..if you can’t see cows’ legs…..too high.’ We learned from Sally that 20% of flyers do ‘Fast Jet’ training. However, she eventually realised that she was not willing to fly in combat and also that she has little sense of direction! Both were disadvantages for someone wishing to make a career with the RAF. Her final flight to Wales went wrong although fortunately, there were no injuries. However, after this incident Sally switched to helicopters and became a search and rescue pilot. Once a decision had been made to start a family the flying ceased. Sally now has three children; the oldest is 21. She currently directs some of her energies to providing help for war torn parts of the world. The next meeting of Diss U3A will be on Thursday 5th January, starting at 10.30 am in the United Reformed Church, Diss. The guest speaker will be Frances Holmes, whose talk will be about: “The Old Courts and Yards of Norwich” For further information on Diss U3A please visit the website: www.dissu3a.org.uk At the November meeting of Diss U3A, Tony Diamond gave us a humorous talk entitled: The Six Wives of Henry VIII Catherine of Aragon m. 1509 - Anne Boleyn m. 1533 - 1536 Jane Seymour m. 1536 - 1537 1533 Divorced Executed Died Anne of Cleves m. 1540 Jan. - July Catherine Howard m. 1540 - 1542 Catherine Parr m. 1543 - 1547 Divorced Executed Widowed This is a familiar historical topic, but his delivery was unusual and the illustrations were amusing. He even successfully encouraged the audience to participate in singing popular songs of the day, including, finally, Greensleeves. He presented each of the wives in a sympathetic way, but regarded Henry VIII as a tyrant, determined to ensure the succession of the Tudors. The talk began with the arrival in England of Catherine of Aragon who was betrothed to and then married Henry’s elder brother, Arthur, the Prince of Wales. She was widowed after only five months, but was kept in England so that the Crown did not lose her substantial dowry. When Henry VIII succeeded to the throne eight years later, he decided to marry Catherine. To do this he needed the permission of the Pope, and the significant question was whether the first marriage had been consummated. There was contradictory advice in the bible, but the Pope was encouraged to give consent. Catherine was popular with the people and led the victory over the Scots at the Battle of Flodden while Henry was fighting in France. She bore Henry a daughter Mary, but failed to produce a son. Henry was keen to ensure the Tudor succession by producing a male heir. Eventually he decided to divorce Catherine on the grounds that her marriage to his brother had been consummated. She was sent to Kimbolton Castle until she died in 1536. Henry then married Anne Boleyn who was pregnant with his child. She too had a daughter, Elizabeth, but had no surviving sons. Tony Diamond was sympathetic towards Anne and did not think that she was guilty of the charges of adultery, witchcraft and incest which led to her execution. A day after her death, Henry married Jane Seymour. This appeared to be a happy marriage and Jane gave birth to a son Edward. Jane died shortly afterwards and is buried in St George’s Chapel Windsor. Three years later Henry married Anne of Cleves. Henry disliked her as a wife and had that marriage annulled. He treated her generously however, accommodating her at Hever Castle, and referring to her as his “loving sister” She is buried in Westminster Abbey. Catherine Howard was the next wife and was married to Henry for one year before being charged with adultery and being executed. Tony Diamond believes that Catherine was probably guilty. The sixth and final wife was Catherine Parr. She was 31 and had been widowed twice. She was very accomplished and translated sections of the bible from the Greek into English, working closely with the Princesses Mary and Elizabeth. She too was accused of witchcraft at one point, but her wise answers to Henry’s questions meant that the charge was dropped. She outlived Henry, and after Henry’s death married Thomas Seymour and lived at Wolf Hall. Henry was buried with his third wife, Jane, at St George’s chapel. The next meeting of Diss U3A will be on Thursday 1st December at 10.30 am in the United Reformed Church, Diss. The guest speaker will be Sally Cummings whose talk will be Women can Fly. Refreshments will be served before the meeting. For further information on Diss U3A please visit the website: www.dissu3a.org.uk Nick Sanderson was our October speaker with his talk, entitled ‘The Broads Authority – its History and Future’. Nick Sanderson is the Education Officer for the Norfolk Broads. He has previously worked for Suffolk Wildlife Trust and teaching about wildlife and conservation is his passion. Nick gave us a fascinating talk about the history and development of the Broads from Roman Times. This included the management of the flood plains of the five main rivers, the protection of the marshes, with fortifications such as Burgh Castle and Caister, and the extraction of peat. At one time, 400000 turves of peat were extracted each year. This peat provided fuel for a wide area, including Norwich Cathedral. In the 14th century, the Black Death severely reduced the work force and peat digging was gradually abandoned. As a result, the lakes expanded. However, by the end of the Civil War, drainage engineers were creating dykes to drain the land and connect to the rivers. Dutch engineers, well experienced with their own water challenges, arrived to establish a network of mills and pumps, mostly to pump water into the rivers. Banks were built up to prevent flooding and to provide drier land for agriculture. River transport was mainly by wherry. During the 19th century as the Broads became more romanticised, tourism flourished. The reeds and sedge were used for thatching. Eels were speared for domestic consumption and the surplus was sent to Billingsgate. The Norwich school of artists revelled in the Broads landscape, while tourism was further increased by the growth of the railway network. Wherry tourism increased rapidly; motor boats in the 30s, ‘booze cruisers’ in the 70s. Damage to the ecology of the Broads was the result of an increase in sewage and the use of chemicals for farming. In 1953 the water was ‘the colour of mulligatawny soup’. It was no longer pleasant or safe to swim in the Broads. More recent Broads management has resulted in better understanding of conservation. The Broads is a unique habitat; 26% of our rarest species can be found in the Broads but they are still vulnerable to exploitation and of course, the rise in sea level. Continued use of nitrates causes the algae to spread so rare plants cannot survive. Water fleas are in demand as they eat the algae, but fish eat the fleas! Such is the precarious balance of nature! The Broads can boast species such as the Norfolk Hawker dragonfly, the rare Swallowtail butterfly, otters, Chinese water deer, water voles, bearded tits, bittern even the Great Raft Spider, previously restricted to the Redgrave and Lopham fens. Polish Konik ponies are used to eat the unwanted vegetation because, if left unmanaged, the Broads would return to woodland. The greatest threat to the Broads is probably tidal surge, as this would bring salt into the rivers and lakes. Sea levels have risen 80 cms in the last 100 years so it is vital to continue this valuable conservation work if we want our grandchildren’s children to enjoy the Broads as much as we have been able to. After Nick’s talk there were several interesting questions. We learned about the ‘depressed river mussel’ found in the river Waveney and the harmful American crayfish. We also discovered that people who set traps to catch the edible crayfish, unfortunately, also trap and drown otters and water voles! The next meeting of Diss U3A will be on Thursday 3rd November at 10.30 am in the United Reform Church, Diss.