Burnley and District U3a News Sheet Issue 12

Burnley and District u3a News Sheet Issue 12

It's hard to believe that this is the 12th edition of our News-Sheet and that it's approaching its first anniversary. When I first took on the task of editing the News- Sheet I didn't expect it to continue for so long and nor, I suspect, did you. Nonetheless, here we are and here we are likely to be for a little while yet. I hope that, by now, most if not all members will have received at least their first dose of one or other of the vaccines and are feeling somewhat safer and reassured. How was your experience? I received my first dose of the Pfizer vaccine at the St Peter's Centre in Burnley, courtesy of my GP. The whole process took around 20 minutes, with no queuing, and I suffered no after effects. Those of you who went to St Peter's probably shared the same experience. Maria's experience was very different. She went to Blackburn Cathedral for hers on a bitterly cold Saturday morning. What a shambles! Arriving five minutes before her appointed time she found a queue 250 to 300 yards long and had to stand outside with no shelter for an hour and three quarters or more before even arriving at the cathedral door. The whole process took two and a half hours: she was chilled to the bone and didn't warm up for the remainder of that day. To cap it all, she had the Oxford AZ vaccine and felt very ill for a day and a half afterwards, in common, we discovered, with many others who had that particular vaccine. You all know my opinions on the "Covidiots" who don't adhere to the requirements spelled out so many times by the Government and its medical and scientific advisers. Still we see blatant disregard for the rules designed to keep us safe and beat the virus. Maria and I try to take a daily walk and I can almost guarantee that we will see groups of three or more, clearly from different households, breaking the "one person can meet one other outside for exercise" rule. As well as this, when approaching and passing others, we always walk in single file to ensure we maintain "social distance". We find so many couples, usually walking hand-in-hand, who make no effort to move to single file, even on narrow paths. What we find disturbing is that a high proportion are of our generation, hence more vulnerable and should know better. Grrrr! End of rant! In spite of my constant cajoling I am still not being overwhelmed by submissions for the news-sheet and am generally reliant upon the same few regular contributors, although this month I'd like to thank Sandra Clarkson, Margaret Fletcher, Stuart Thorn, Steph Howarth and Lesley Hartley for their contributions, in addition to regulars Brenda Hayman, Lis Robinson and Bob Marks. We have around 200 members. Surely most of you must have amusing or entertaining anecdotes and interesting experiences to share, perhaps from your holidays or work, however long ago that may be. Perhaps you have recipes, or household and money saving hints and tips; jokes you have been sent in emails; anything that would appeal to fellow members. Many of you will have grandchildren. Why not share some of the amusing or quirky things they have said or done? There must be an endless variety of topics that could be shared for the entertainment or education of fellow members. You can even send me photos if you want. What else have you to do during lockdown? Don't worry that people may not enjoy it, or that your grammar or style of writing may 1 not be good enough. Just do it. No-one is going to judge and everyone will appreciate it. At the risk of ruffling a few feathers, is our u3a to be like so many other clubs and societies where 90% of members are content to sit back and let just a few do everything? Remember the u3a ethos is participation: everyone should play their part. Did you know that February 15th marked the 50th anniversary of our change to decimal currency? I still look back with affection on our "old money" and I'm not convinced that the change to decimal is something to be celebrated. We're British and should be proud to be different! It's sobering to realise that more than half of the population alive today wouldn't have a clue what you were talking about if you were to tell them something cost half a crown, or £3 15s 6d. They wouldn't know what a ten bob note was. I well remember when you could go to Freeman Hardy and Willis and buy a pair of shoes for 49/11d, or push the boat out and buy a really posh pair for 59/11d. Eeee! Them were t' days! Thanks for the positive comments about the jigsaws. I have included another one this month. It's a photo of one of our open meetings - Bill Honeywell talking about cycling through Yellowstone. I have just about exhausted my stock of photos of our u3a activities. If you'd like to send me photos of your u3a groups "in action" I shall gladly include them as jigsaws in future issues. Failing that, if they allow it, I'll use photos taken by members of the Photography Group With the vaccine now being rolled out "at pace", to use Government jargon, we should be cautiously optimistic that regular u3a activities can resume within the foreseeable future, although June or July is probably the earliest we can hope for. Fingers crossed. Stay safe, Stuart

This month's jigsaw:

It's 220 pieces and should be challenging with all that grey hair! Can you see yourself? Here's the link: https://www.jigsawplanet.com/?rc=play&pid=1f38e28646d5

2 The following is from a leaflet sent to us by the TAT Trustee for the North West. It contains ideas and suggestions for maintaining contact with other members and for how groups could continue remotely during lockdown, with clickable links. It could be of particular interest to group leaders. You may note that there is, once again, mention of online Zoom courses. Sorry the font is rather small but I wanted to fit it all onto one page.

3 The Facebook Generation

Q: How many people does it take to change a light bulb in a Facebook group?

• 1 to change the light bulb and to post that the light bulb has been changed. • 14 to share similar experiences of changing light bulbs and how the light bulb could have been changed differently. • 7 to caution about the dangers of changing light bulbs. • 17 purists who use candles and are offended by light bulb discussions. • 6 to argue over whether it's 'lightbulb' or 'light bulb'. • Another 6 to condemn those 6 as stupid. • 22 to tell THOSE 6 to stop being jackasses. • 2 industry professionals to inform the group that the proper term is 'lamp'. • 15 know-it-alls who claim they were in the industry, and that 'light bulb' is perfectly correct. • 249 to post memes and gifs (several are of someone eating popcorn with the words added, “I’m just here for the comments.”) • 19 to post that this page is not about light bulbs and to please take this discussion to a light bulb page. • 11 to defend the posting to this page saying that we all use light bulbs and therefore the posts are relevant here. • 12 to post F. • 8 to ask what F means. • 16 to post 'Following' but there's 3 dots at the top right that means you don't have to. • 3 to say "can't share" • 2 to reply "can't share from a closed group" • 36 People to post pics of their own light bulbs. • 15 People to post "I can't see S$%^!" and use their own light bulbs. • 6 to report the post or PM an admin because someone said "f÷×$" • 4 to say "Didn't we go through this already a short time ago?". • 13 to say "Do a search on light bulbs before posting questions about light bulbs". • 1 to bring politics into the discussion by adding that (insert politician of choice) isn't the brightest bulb. This usually takes place within the first three comments. • 50 more to get into personal attacks over their political views. • 5 admins to ban the light bulb posters who took it all too seriously. • 1 late arrival to comment on the original post 6 months later and start it all over again.

Stuart Thorn

4 More items of interesting word history

The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperat- ure isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be. Here are some facts about the 1500s.

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide their body odour. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the priv- ilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could ac- tually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water."

Houses had thatched roofs, thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall from the roof. Hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs."

There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.

The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying "dirt poor." The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet , so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh, until when you opened the door it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entranceway. Hence the saying a "thresh hold."

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme, "Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old.

Margaret Fletcher

5 Quick Quiz – Spring is just around the corner 1. When does meteorological spring begin?

2. Daffodils appear in spring, to which plant genus do they belong?

3. The “Arab Spring” that led to the overthrow of a number of middle- eastern rulers began with mass demonstrations in which country?

4. Which film revolves around a spoof musical titled “Springtime for Hitler”?

5. Spring Equinox 2021 will be on the 20th March, what is an equinox?

6. Which religious group celebrates the equinox with a ceremony at Stonehenge?

7. Spring greens come from which family of vegetables?

8. Who wrote the poem Spring, beginning “Nothing is so beautiful as spring -when weeds in wheels, shoot long and lovely and lush”?

9. Who painted La Primavera which hangs in the Uffizi gallery?

10. La Primavera is also the name of a cycle race between which two Italian cities?

11. The song “It might as well be spring” features in which Rodgers and Hammer- stein musical?

12. What is a scallion?

13. Which French department store chain has it’s flagship store at 64 Boulevard Haussmann in Paris?

14. What was the Roman goddess of spring called?

15. What do participants chase down Coopers Hill in Gloucestershire every spring bank holiday?

Answers:

1.1st March : 2. Narcissus: 3. Tunisia: 4. The Producers: 5. One of the two days of the year when the earth’s alignment with the sun means that day and night are of equal length.: 6.Druids: 7. Brassica: 8.Gerard Manley Hopkins: 9.Sandro Botticelli: 10. Milan and San Remo: 11. State Fair: 12. A spring onion: 13. Printemps: 14. Flora: 15. A Double Gloucester cheese.

Bob Marks

6 WHALLEY ABBEY

In 1296 the monks from Stanlow Abbey in Cheshire moved to Whalley. Stanlow had been founded on the banks of the River Mersey in the 1170s. It had suffered a series of misfortunes, including flooding in 1279, the destruction of the church tower in a gale in 1287 and a fire in 1289.

In 1283 Henry de Lacy, the tenth Baron of Halton, agreed to the move from Stanlow, but this was not achieved until 1296. It was not until June 1296 that the first stone was laid by Henry de Lacy and at least part of the site was consecrated by the Bishop of Whithern in 1306. Building proceeded slowly, and the foundation stone was laid in 1330. Stone for building the abbey was obtained from quarries at Read and Simonstone. A royal licence to build a crenellated wall around the site was obtained in 1339. The church was completed in 1380 but the remainder of the abbey was not finished until the 1440s. In 1480 the North East Gatehouse was completed, providing a new entrance to the abbey. In the 16th century John Paslew, the last Abbot of Whalley reconstructed his own lodgings and added a Lady Chapel. It was the second largest monastic foundation in Lancashire, eclipsed only by the important Furness Abbey. Furness was originally an enclave of Lancashire, but in 1974 became part of Cumbria.

The monks of Whalley Abbey were of the Order of Cistercians. The Cistercians were Catholic monks and nuns who had branched off from the Benedictine Order to follow more closely the Rules of Saint Benedict. They were known as the “white monks” in reference to the colour of the “cuccula” or white choir robe which they wore. Their name is derived from the abbey of Citeaux, near Dijon in Eastern France, set up in 1098. By the end of the twelfth century the order had spread throughout what is known today as France, Germany, England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Scandinavia and Eastern Europe.

The keynote of their beliefs was prayer and a return to manual labour in the fields, a special characteristic of Cistercian life. They made a major contribution to culture and technology in medieval Europe. Cistercian architecture is considered one of the most beautiful styles of medieval architecture and Cistercians were a main force in technological improvements in agriculture and hydraulic engineering. They believed in labour and self-sufficiency, supporting themselves with agriculture and by brewing ales.

Whalley Abbey was closed in 1537 in the reign of Henry VIII as part of the dissolution of the monasteries. The Abbot, John Paslew, and two monks from Whalley were executed for high treason for their part in events connected with the Pilgrimage of Grace.

Brenda Hayman

7 Call me a pedant but .... I was never particularly good at English at school and talk of prepositions, subjunctives and modifiers passed largely over my head, or straight through it without pause. Compared with many, if not most, presenters on TV and radio, and writers in newspapers and magazines, however, I am something of an expert and it makes my blood boil when I hear or see the misuse of our language that is so common in today's media. Here is just a small selection of things which have me shouting at the TV or at the newspaper/magazine I'm reading:  How many times do we now hear reference to an "amount of people"? It should be "number of people", of course. "Amount" is used for something that cannot be counted, as in "a large amount of sand/salt/sugar".  Have you noticed how a lot of presenters will say "fith" and "sikth", instead of fifth and sixth. Sheer laziness in my view.  Most common of all is "I was sat", "he was stood". instead of "I was sitting" or "he was standing". We are probably all guilty of this one in daily conversation, which is bad enough, but to hear it on TV or to see it in print is inexcusable. I have to admit to alienating friends and family when I correct their use of these.  Don't get me going on apostrophes!  Use of the reflexive pronoun as the subject or direct object, as in "Myself and my wife/friend/sister did such and such". Can you sense the steam issuing from my ears? I was brought up in the era of BBC English and when actors and presenters spoke clearly and correctly. Nowadays it appears that anything goes and presenters, announcers, journalists and authors can ignore rules of grammar and pronunciation at will. Does anyone else feel as I do, or is it acceptable to corrupt our language on the basis that language evolves? Discuss! Should we start a pedants' corner? What makes your blood boil? Let me know for the next News-Sheet. Stuart GRAMMAR RULES (TO AVOID) 1. Verbs has to agree with their subjects. 2. Remember to never split an infinitive. 3. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary. 4. Never use a big word where a diminutive one would suffice. 5. Use words correctly, irregardless of how others elude to them. 6. Use the apostrophe in it's proper place and omit it when its not needed 7. Eliminate unnecessary references. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "I hate quotations". 8. Who needs rhetorical questions. 9. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement. 10. Last but not least, avoid clichés like the plague. 8 GARDEN FLOWERS AND PLANTS QUIZ 1) Animal in a hurry 2) Sugary Bill 3) Bedraggled Bird 4) Bovine Error 5) Saving Ways 6) Cerulean Ringer 7) Smart Beast 8) Prudish Emblem 9) Quadrupeds Gauntlet 10) Feline Source of Money 11) Rub up the wrong way 12) Wise man 13) Emotion in the fog 14) The first lady in Parliament

Answers. 1. Bullrush 2. Sweet William 3. Ragged Robin 4. Cowslip 5. Thrift 6. Blue Bell 7. Dandelion 8. Primrose 9. Foxglove 10. Cat Mint 11 . Nettle 12. Sage 13. Love in a Mist 14. Aster

Sandra Clarkson

A week in my life:

Last Wednesday I went to Tod Health Centre for my Astra Zeneca vaccination - all very straightforward and efficient. After that, off to the Recycling Centre then onto Gordon Riggs Garden Centre for seed potatoes. Quite an adventure!

However, by Friday my central heating boiler was not working due to the outside pipe being frozen. So, I spent a few hours pouring hot water over the pipe in an attempt to thaw it out, and resetting the boiler but to no avail. The next day my daughter came round and repeated the procedure but eventually we had to admit defeat and call out the plumber. He eventually sorted it out after much to-ing and fro-ing as the pipe was still full of ice. Eventually, however, he managed to restart the boiler and after another 24 hours the heating was just about back to normal. It does get very cold in Heptonstall! Not quite the excitement of Wednesday!

Steph Haworth

9 Don’t forget to write! by Lis Robinson Having just read two very interesting booklets about Burnley, to which a friend contributed some 40 years ago, I got to thinking about writing. Nowadays we certainly don’t write as much as we used to, by that I mean putting pen to paper. I have written to Jean, my American pen friend since I was 11 and she admits that I am her “oldest” friend. We don’t often write now. We email, talk on Messenger, send photos and chat on-line. How I used to look forward to those letters in the post; her lovely writing and that gorgeous notepaper. She had a Saturday job in a bookstore where they sold the most beautiful stationery – boxes of delicate, crinkly airmail paper in pastel shades with decorative motifs and matching envelopes with a little lining inside. She even has that sort of “stationery” on her emails. I want some!! It was quite the thing to have pen friends when I was about 11. I had one in France, and in Germany and Canada too, but Jean was the one I stuck with and visited. When I was working in France, letters were eagerly awaited. Lots of my friends wrote to me and Mum wrote every week and sent the Burnley Express too. She wrote when I was at uni- versity in Leeds. While in France we were encouraged to write a diary – in French of course – to keep up our writing skills. I found it recently in the attic. The part I’ve read is quite a revel- ation. Did I really do those things and have I completely forgotten them? Do people keep di- aries any more? Will we lose a valuable research tool about famous people’s lives? Having produced a newsletter myself in my working life, I totally understand Stuart in his re- quests for contributions to the U3A newssheet. I even seem to be producing one myself at the moment, though not as regularly, for a group of about 40 former students from my year at school. And what about the skill of penmanship itself? We write less often, we type, we text and our written hand becomes slovenly. Those of you who went to the same school as I did may remember the Neatness Prize! We often admire beautiful handwriting from yesteryear. Writing with pen and ink, a fountain pen… you too may have had that disgusting job of ink-monitor, filling up the ink wells. Remember those scratchy pen nibs, used by the naughty boys to jab you as you lined up at the teacher’s desk and using a ruler to flick ink-soaked paper pellets around the class. Do your grandchildren know what blotting paper is? I think it could be one of those “lost words”. I recently had something framed. It was done by my father, who could do manuscript writing. My cousin is also gifted in this skill and I sent my granddaughter a starter kit for calligraphy, as she loves to write, make cards, draw and paint. I still have a working kit of pen holders and nibs that belonged to my father, a legacy from WW2 when he ended up in a draughtsman’s role. Written items bring pleasure to us. How lovely it is to receive a letter or a handwritten note with a Christmas or birthday card. It has become fashionable to stop sending Christmas cards, to save the planet or to give to charity instead. However this ignores the contact between people. Letters and cards maintain our links but more than ever we are using new technolo- gies to connect. We must remember however that there are many who have actively resisted these new methods or indeed chosen not to adopt them, especially older people. Even your GP may contact you now by SMS. We used to revere and value people who could write; illu- minated manuscripts are incredibly beautiful. Writing, letters, cards, communicating , all these things connect people and have always been important in challenging times – just like the times we are now living through. So, keep in touch, by whatever method you choose and if all else fails, you can always write!

10 OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF BABES! …. Brenda Hayman The following have been taken from Sunday School exam papers: In the first book of the bible, Guinessis, God got tired of creating the world so he took the Sabbath off. Adam and Eve were created from an apple tree. Noah's wife was Joan of Ark. Noah built an ark and the animals came in pears. Lot's wife was a pillar of salt during the day, but a ball of fire during the night. The Jews were a proud people and throughout history they had trouble with unsympathetic genitals. Samson was a strongman who let himself be led astray by a jezebel like Delilah. Samson slayed the Philistines with the axe of the apostles. Moses led the Jews to the Red Sea where they made unleavened bread, which is bread made without any ingredients. The Egyptians were all drowned in the dessert. Afterwards, Moses went up to mount cyanide to get the ten commandments. The first commandment was when Eve told Adam to eat the apple. The seventh commandment is - thou shalt not admit adultery. Moses died before he ever reached Canada. Then Joshua led the Hebrews in the battle of Ger- itol. The greatest miracle in the bible is when Joshua told his son to stand still, and he obeyed him. David was a Hebrew king who was skilled at playing the liar. He fought the Finkelsteins, a race of people who lived in biblical times. Solomon, one of David's sons, had 300 wives and 700 porcupines. When Mary heard she was the mother of Jesus, she sang the magna carta. Jesus was born because Mary had an immaculate contraption. When the three wise guys from the east side arrived they found Jesus in the manager. St. John the blacksmith dumped water on his head. Jesus enunciated the golden rule, which says to do unto others before they do one to you. He also explained a man doth not live by sweat alone. It was a miracle when Jesus rose from the dead and managed to get the tombstone off the entrance. The people who followed the lord were called the 12 decibels. The epistles were the wives of the apostles. One of the opposums was St. Matthew who was also a taximan. St. Paul cavorted to Christianity. He preached holy acrimony, which is another name for marriage. Christians have only one spouse. This is called monotony. If you marry two people you are a pigamist but morons are allowed to do this. A teacher asked her young pupils to quote from their favourite Christmas songs- Deck the halls with Buddy Holly. 11 We three kings of porridge and tar. On the first day of Christmas my tulip gave to me Later on, we'll perspire as we dream by the fire Noel, noel, Barney's the king of Israel With the jelly toast proclaim Frosty the snowman is a ferret elf I say Sleep in heavenly peas In the meadow we will build a snowman, then pretend that he is sparse and brown Oh what fun it is to ride with one horse, soap and hay O come, froggy faithfull Oops...... School policy was that the parents must call the school if a pupil was to be absent for that day. Kelly (name changed to protect the guilty) decided to skip school and go to the mall with her friends. She waited until her parents had left for work and called the school herself. This is the actual conversation of the telephone call - Kelly -”I'm calling to report that Kelly is unable to come to school today because she is ill.” School secretary - “Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I'll make a note of her absence. Who is this calling?” Kelly -”This is my mother calling.” Needless to say, she didn't get away with it. And finally – two “ahh” ones - A 3-year old was saying his prayers at bed-time. When asked why he prayed he said “ God comes and looks after us when we are asleep, as he has a special key and just comes on in.” From a 5-year old to her teacher - “I never feel sad for long 'cos I always keep spare smiles in my pocket” So keep laughing, keep learning, keep loving ----- and always have spare smiles in your pocket.

As well as being a member of Burnley & District u3a I’m also a member of Todm- orden u3a. As you know there are reciprocal arrangements between some local u3as enabling attendance at meetings & interest groups, but I joined Todmorden u3a a few years ago, primarily as I wanted to go on some of their outings with my sister-in- law, who is a member. Throughout the pandemic & lockdown many of the interest groups have continued to meet via Zoom, but sadly of course the outings group has not. Monthly meetings have also been held via Zoom & today over 70 of us listened to a talk on picture postcards & British humour which I found really interesting. Non members can attend one talk for free by requesting an invitation to the next Zoom event. Contact details & further information from www.u3atod.org.uk Lesley Hartley

12 BURNLEY BARRACKS Burnley Barracks was built in 1819, nearly half the cost of the building being paid by local landowners and businessmen. This was an investment for them, as the troops could be used to prevent local rioting during periods of economic distress and public unrest. The soldiers were in fact used in civil disturbances in Colne, Accrington, Skipton and Burnley in 1819, 1820, 1840-43 and in 1878. This was the original depot of the East Lancashire Regiment. At first one cavalry unit was quartered there, but by 1861 there were both cavalry and infantry. Lieutenant-General James Yorke Scarlett was famous for his heroic actions in the Crimean War. As a young officer he was stationed at Burnley Barracks and billeted at a house on the site of the old Yorkshire Hotel (now demolished.). On 25th October 1854 he led the Charge of the Heavy Brigade against the Russians who were trying to raise the siege of Sebastopol. He resigned from the British Army on 1st November 1870 after a staggering 52 years of service, having received many battle honours, including those for Balaclava and the Heavy Brigade Charge. He retired to Bank Hall, Colne Road, Burnley One unhappy incident was the so-called “Barracks Murder” in 1841 when the barracks were occupied by 2-3 troops of the Queen's Bays or 2nd Dragoon Guards and the 60th Riffles infantry. Scotsman Robert Morris of the 60th Rifles, a mess waiter, murdered two people in the barracks. He was said to have seen his ex-girlfriend, Isabella Territt, and Lieutenant William O'Grady going towards the latter's bedroom. Grabbing a carving knife from the kitchen, he at- tacked the pair and killed both of them with the knife. He then committed suicide by stabbing himself to death. Isabella Territt, nee Hadden, was the daughter of John Hadden, mess-master of the barracks. She was married at the age of 16 to Private Patrick Territt of the 97th Regiment, stationed at the barracks. It was not a successful marriage, and Isabella and her husband were separated at the time of the murders, he being stationed abroad at the time. Isabella was in her early twenties at the time of her death and had a 2-year old daughter. Ap- parently Isabella enjoyed the company of men, and it was quoted that “she had long been of indifferent character.” After a funeral service attended by hundreds of local people, Isabella was buried in the grave- yard at St. Peter's. Lieutenant O'Grady was given a funeral with full military honours at Holy Trinity. His remains were later transferred to Limerick, Ireland, for interment in the family vault. Private Morris, the murderer, was buried at Holy Trinity in great secrecy. From 1873 the British Infantry as a whole was reorganised. The very last of the East Lan- cashire and Militia's soldiers marched out of the Barracks in full dress uniform, to the sound of “Auld Lang Syne” and the applause of the townspeople, at 10 a.m. on November 29th 1899. People lined the streets all the way to the main railway station. Burnley Barracks was abandoned. However, the name of the barracks is still present in Burnley: the area where it was situated is still known as the Barracks and a local train station bears the name. The names and lives of those connected with Burnley Barracks have now passed into history. Brenda Hayman

13 National Newsletter Accompanying this News-Sheet is a PDF copy of the "bitesize" u3a National Newsletter, a shorter version of the full National Newsletter. If you haven't yet signed up to receive the newsletter why not do it now, online, at: https://www.u3a.org.uk/newsletter

And finally, a few random facts:

The mad vicar: Father Denham of Warleggan in Cornwall positively hated people. He surrounded the rectory with a high barbed-wire fence and further alienated his flock by painting the church red and blue. When parishioners stopped attending his services he replaced them with cardboard cut-outs and continued to preach to those each week. He led a spartan life. There was no furniture in the rectory and right up to his death in 1953 his diet consisted of just nettles and porridge.

The daft duchess: The first Duchess of Marlborough saved money on ink by never dotting the letter i and never using punctuation.

The ecstatic empress: Catherine the Great relaxed by being tickled, preferably by young courtiers, for she was an infamous nymphomaniac, particularly as she got older.

I hope you have enjoyed this month's offering and, once again, I would like to thank all those who have contributed to it. Remember, send your comments and contributions to me, Stuart Chattle, at: [email protected]