MARPLE & DISTRICT

NEWSLETTER December 2020

Hello again everyone

How are you all? Keeping safe, well and occupied? Have you managed to get out and about to enjoy the glorious Autumn colours and the occasional sunny days? A few members have shared their experiences for the newsletter – many thanks to all of them - but the rest of you are very quiet. Don’t be shy.

After some tactical negotiations by phone followed by our first Zoom committee meeting, we now have a new committee – see details at end of newsletter - which you might notice looks a lot like the previous one. Dave and Pam have retired gracefully and we thank them again for their sterling work. We welcome Ruth who will be “without portfolio” until she feels she’s settled in and had the chance to find out what we all do before taking up a more formal role. Jacqui has done a great job as Chair for the last three years - how time flies when … - for which we thank her enormously. In the absence of a rush of applicants, and as we can’t function without a Chair, I (Sally) have agreed to take on the role for the time being.

The burning question is still “When will we be able to resume U3A group activities and meetings?”. Although there does now appear to be at least a faint light at the end of the tunnel with the prospect of vaccines becoming available, we can’t start making plans yet. U3A National Office have been busy updating guidance on ever-changing permissible activities but with the likelihood of further regional variations in “tier” levels that becomes increasingly difficult. We’ll try to keep up and pass any relevant changes on to group leaders.

My experience of my first Zoom meeting, as mentioned above and ably hosted by Jacqui, was surprisingly positive. I had worried that everyone would be talking at once, but we were generally polite and waited for a suitable gap in the conversation before speaking. It’s good to see familiar friendly faces and interesting to observe differences in approach: some sitting a comfortable distance away and others close up (probably dependent on eyesight/glasses). A few groups are running using Zoom and there may be scope for others to do so. As we’ve said before, help is out there from U3A National Office, but more importantly from fellow members.

Next year

Many thanks to the thirty members who took the trouble to vote, some by post, others by email, at our “virtual” 2020 AGM. As it seems highly unlikely that we’ll be able to have a normal AGM in March 2021, we plan to repeat the format of 2020, but please consider voting this time so that we avoid the inconvenience of an inquorate meeting having to be adjourned and rescheduled. There will be more on this in the February newsletter.

Membership renewals will be due on 1st February as usual and we hope most of you will rejoin the U3A “family” despite the ongoing uncertainties. We’ll try to make it as easy as possible for you without the usual coffee morning. Rather than asking everyone to complete a new membership form, the Beacon system should enable us to email members asking if there are any changes to their details. Printed forms would still be sent to non-emailers. Payments could be made by bank transfer, if you use internet banking, or by cheque, and although cash would of course be acceptable it shouldn’t be posted. We’ll try to keep the membership fee to a minimum but it does need to cover payments to the Third Age Trust for membership and Beacon. Further details will appear in the next newsletter, if not before.

Members’ messages

From Jan and Sheila “Our walking group has temporarily halted due to the current restrictions but as you can see (right) I’m still doing a bit of walking or sitting! Keeps the joints working. I’m down at Chadkirk chapel with my U3A walking friend. Socially distancing of course.” ……………………………………………………

Chadkirk’s a great place for fungi too and they’re perfect unmoving subjects for photos. Do we have any fungi enthusiasts who know what this furry-centred specimen is?

From Joyce “I don 't get out a lot so it is nice to keep in touch. I joined the U3A early on and ran a wild flower group for a time which was enjoyable (for me at least!). It is good to know the Marple branch is still going well. Please give my regards to anyone who may remember me. Best wishes.”

From Colin “I had to isolate for 14 days. I could not leave the house so I had to take my camera out into the garden and photograph any birds I could find!”

Speaking of walking, during periods when COVID restrictions bar group outings but allow socially distanced walks in pairs, are there any members of Pam’s walking group (I know one), or others, who would like to meet up with another for company on their perambulations? If so, please give Pam a ring on 07890 862143.

Along the path behind the allotments a couple of weeks ago we were surprised to see a cyclist in a high vis jacket waiting to let us pass. He looked amiable so I ventured to suggest that it was unusual to see a cyclist on a designated footpath and even more unusual for one to wait to let walkers pass. He promptly introduced himself as Stockport’s (only) Public Right of Way officer and explained that he has a special dispensation to cycle on footpaths to enable him to get round his patch. We had an interesting chat about misuse of paths, teams of PRoW officers in other areas, poor signage and the progress, or not, of repair work along the riverside path between Chadkirk bridge and Dale Road. Work is scheduled to take place in the not-too-distant future and the path will be closed by full-width fixed barriers for the duration. If you find any problems with paths, stiles or gates while you’re walking, you can report them to Stockport Council via their website

To see ourselves …

Chris, prompted by a rant in the Oldie magazine written by a 76 year-old lady objecting to traditional stereotyping of grannies, offered these thoughts about the monthly meetings of Marple U3A in the Senior Citizens Hall. “The attendance is usually 95% female. The male contingent is usually retired and fed up with wearing their working clothes of shirt, collar and tie so turn up in open necked shirts and old sweaters, whereas most of the ladies dress for the occasion and have had their hair and nails done and are in full make up even though it is early in the morning. Applaud them!” Ladies comfortably attired in old (?) sweaters, or smartly dressed gentlemen, are equally welcome. It puts me in mind of a saying I picked up many years ago “Be yourself – who else is better qualified?” S.

Learning in lockdown

If our offline members are feeling a bit left out of the many opportunities to learn online, whether through our own groups’ Zoom sessions, U3A National Office opportunities or from the wider internet, does anyone have any books/CDs which they would be prepared to lend to them? To start the ball rolling, I have a couple of “holiday Greek” CDs and the BBC Talk Greek book and CD which anyone would be welcome to borrow – it’s not an easy language but it’s fun to try. Any other offers? Any requests?

A postponed speaker meeting

Our very own Neil was due to give the speaker’s talk in September and we hope he’ll be able to go ahead with it in person sometime in 2021. To whet your appetites, here is an introductory extract. If you’d like to see the whole presentation (48 pages including lots of illustrations, so sadly too long to include in the newsletter) please ask and I’ll email you the file.

From Moor to Mersey: Coming Down the Goyt

The lovely is one of the local features which make the Marple area a pleasant place to live …. but sewage, industrial waste and agricultural pollution made it a different river a few decades ago…

“ has some interesting buildings and churches, but I was not sorry to get away to follow the River Goyt through the valley to and on to Marple. This should have been a pleasant walk, but it was far from that. The stench from the polluted river was such that at times I was forced to hold a handkerchief to my nose. It was disgusting and from what I was told in the valley it had been worse…” Clifford Rathbone, Goyt Valley Story, ca 1960

“There have been colourful incidents in recent years, with a Red Setter emerging bleached from the river and an even more reckless canoeist developing symptoms of suspected typhoid within days of capsizing….” New Scientist Magazine, 23 September 1982.

Fortunately, tighter regulations and the decline of the textile industry have resulted in in a great improvement in the water quality of the lower Goyt. The river is now home to a wide variety of wildlife, although formally the water quality remains “moderate” rather than “good”. Would you dare to take a “wild swim” in it? Further improvements are needed!

ORIGINS. The course of the Goyt was shaped by the onrush of meltwaters from the last Ice Age. It flows some 49 km (30miles) from its source on the moors near the Cat & Fiddle Inn, between Buxton and Macclesfield. Swollen by tributaries such as the Sett and Etherow, it joins the River Thame in Stockport, the combined river being renamed the Mersey.

OUR JOURNEY. We shall now follow the course of the Goyt from the moors between Buxton and Macclesfield, through Marple and Marple Bridge, to Stockport and the start of the Mersey. Although abused by modern developments in some places, and still not as clean as it should be (why are sewage works still allowed to discharge polluted water into the river?), it remains a delightful waterway and any part of it deserves a visit. Happily, it is well served by roads and footpaths (particularly the Goyt Way), although some parts remain inaccessible.

As we shall see during our journey, the Goyt has a long industrial history. In many parts of the Goyt Valley (including the Marple area), coal seams are close to the surface. The moors near to the source of the Goyt were mined for coal, as shown on the display board in the car park at the head of the valley. Remains of the “bell pits” mentioned on the board can easily be detected in aerial photos of the area.

Travellers’ tales

A Trip to the Marches - from Jacky We decided to go to for a few days. I have always been fascinated by the border country and we picked County which is in the north west of the county. I would recommend the hotel we picked which is The Riverside Inn in Aymestry north west of Leominster. We had a room in the garden overlooking the river called the Hayloft. If you are interested in walking, the area is riddled with footpaths including the Mortimer Trail which runs south west from . We decided to do a 10 mile walk via Croft Ambrey, one of the largest hill forts in the country. We set off on a clear morning and took 10 minutes to get lost in the first field. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY However, after discovering the stile hidden by a rusting tractor we set off up the steep muddy slope. We finally reached the top where the path became more civilised. Sadly, we couldn’t find the gentle zig zag path going down the steep western slope and climbed slowly in single file down the sheer side at an unknown hamlet. Having finally met up with the route to Wigmore again (the walk was called the Wigmore circular) we crossed ploughed fields, busy roads and ended up circling a school several times before finally discovering we were in Wigmore. Hurrah! now for a pub lunch. The only pub we found was the licensed equivalent of Cold Comfort Farm. No! he didn’t do food and hadn’t any crisps. No call for them. We settled for lager tops and went quickly on our way. By this time, we were tired and hungry and still had a long way to go. Happily, the route home was easier with no hill and, apart from Peter banging his head while climbing over a gate, we ended up back at the Hayloft in almost one piece.

I must say a bit more about Wigmore. Has anyone ever heard of it? I hadn’t, even though I am interested in medieval history. In the 13th and 14th century Wigmore was a very important place. It was the seat of Roger Mortimer who, along with Isabella the wife of Edward 2nd, invaded England, disposed of Edward 2nd (try not to think of Berkeley castle and red hot pokers) and put his and Isabellas’ son Edward 3rd on the throne. All important people at the time stayed at Wigmore castle. If you’re interested “Isabella” by Allison Weir tells the story. I was fascinated and another day we visited the castle.

As you can see, now a ruin but very atmospheric as is the church that they all must have prayed in. The day we saw the castle was a day of bookshops. We still hadn’t recovered from the Wigmore circular and although the area was very rural we discovered a rather remote bookshop just west of Leintwardine. I visited the Leintwardine church later as Roger Mortimer had made one of his very few religious endowments to them “providing for nine chaplains to say prayers for the queen and his wife.” Did the chaplains find it odd to say This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA prayers for Roger Mortimer’s wife and his mistress?

Another day it was wet and windy and we went to Leominster which was endowed with good bookshops. Peter bought numerous cricket books and I found some to interest me. Not sport. The food was very good at The Riverside Inn and despite the restrictions was busy each night. We also had a meal at The Cross Inn just a few miles south of Aymestry. I feel another bit of history coming on. Mortimer’s Cross was the site of an important battle in The Wars of the Roses which occurred 02/02/1461. The Yorkist army under Edward, Earl of March, beat a Lancastrian army under Jasper Tudor who was on his way to London. That is the condensed version.

The area is a fascinating mixture of history, good walks, good food and bookshops. We both agreed it was one of the best holidays we had had and I would recommend it to anyone. I can loan the OS maps if anyone wants them.

Puzzles

A local quiz 3 (The answers are all locations within Cheshire)

1. Sounds like you might take a risk to go out on this 2. You can get this by being in the sun, but there’s nothing quick about it 3. Tell the maize to get a move on 4. Mr Blob Eye needs a good sort out 5. A detective’s elementary place of worship? 6. It sounds like the sailor isn’t feeling very well 7. It can be noticed in an ailment that aches terribly 8. Gents egos can get very muddled at this country park 9. Little Malcolm has two fathers with him 10. Looks as though that shower is going to hurt 11. Just choose a lake 12. Meet the skull to get upset 13. The workers are heading north 14. Sounds like something a waterfowl might grow on 15. Joanna is after a little penny 16. Thanks to Mr Kompany? 17. A good name for a road in the Sahara 18. When drunk, wags throw all over the place 19. The one in the centre with a broomstick? 20. Is there a disorganised glittery shop here? 21. Here, you’ll find an imp in a set of notes 22. Messed up yields is the answer here 23. Johann Sebastian can be found at the back of the beach 24. A battling heavyweight 25. It’s found in brothels by and large

Answers to last month’s quizzes Local quiz 2: 1 Poynton, 2 Buxworth, 3 Glossop, 4 Flixton, 5 Romiley, 6 Droylsden, 7 Reddish, 8 Mottram, 9 Bramhall, 10 Styal, 11 Longsight, 12 Edgeley, 13 New Mills (or Newall Green), 14 Hayfield, 15 Knutsford, 16 , 17 Adlington, 18 Hyde (or Charlesworth if you missed the hidden word), 19 Handforth, 20 Hale, 21 Ringway, 22 Prestbury, 23 Castleton, 24 Wilmslow, 25 Cheadle. Poets: 1 Shelley, 2 Keats, 3 Byron, 4 Wordsworth, 5 Larkin, 6 Thomas, 7 James, 8 Hardy, 9 Shakespeare, 10 Chesterton, 11 Betjeman, 12 Duffy, 13 Kipling, 14 Ayres, 15 Rosetti, 16 Bronte, 17 Frost, 18 Yeats, 19 Nash, 20 Blake.

A Marple Mystery

Has anyone else walking, or cycling, along the Alan Newton Way behind Marple Hall School noticed this gate? It has a keypad for coded entry, possibly powered by the small solar panel in the tree behind it, and what looks like an alarm sensor beam across the bottom. Why would anyone put a security gate in a fence which anyone could easily climb through or over (I’m not suggesting you try!)? Does anyone know anything about it?

U3A National Office news

From Chair of the Third Age Trust, Ian McCannah The government splits the UK into nine English regions and three devolved nations - Northern Ireland, Scotland and . Representations have been made to the Trust stating that our long-standing references to “Regional Trustee” and “National Office” do not fully reflect this administrative structure, particularly in relation to the devolved nations. As a result, the Board has decided that Regional Trustees will be referred to as the “Trustee for Northern Ireland”, “Trustee for East of England”, etc and that “National Office” will be referred to as “U3A Office”. These changes will be effective from 1 December. So by the time you read this it should be headed U3A Office News

Survey with /Together U3A is asking its members to participate in a major new survey which seeks to find out how we can heal divides and bring society closer together. This is part of /Together, a coalition of organisations around the UK. We would like you to use the survey to share your thoughts and ideas including if you think U3A could play an active role in helping to improve connections between generations and within our communities. We are collating your survey answers and will pass this on to /Together. The survey should only take five minutes. Take part in the survey.

Learning Events Our Winter Learning Programme is now in full swing with a wide range of new initiatives you can access in the Learning section of our website. In addition, we have many exciting online events coming up. These are a mixture of partnership events with organisations including the British Library and the National Trust as well as events led by our talented members. For more information and to book, see our Online Events page. An online Winter School is also being planned for January & February 2021. This will include a variety of courses such as Latin, Philosophy, Creative Writing, Poetry, Gardening and many more and will be available to book soon.

Do you want to help raise the profile of U3A? We are looking for volunteers with knowledge and experience of working in a PR, media or marketing capacity to become PR Advisers. You would be part of your Regional Team and linked to the national Communications Team. Volunteers will be part of a UK wide team with other PR Advisers. The role is home-based but could include travel around the region or country, with occasional team meetings in London, when permitted. Most meetings will be conducted online. Expenses will be paid under the Expenses Policy of the Trust. For an informal discussion contact Sue Stokes, Chair of the Communications and External Affairs Committee.

U3A Radio Podcast

Episode 2 is now available at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrqc8qYDZ4U24lq0J4qx0fQ

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Thanks as ever to all this month’s contributors without whom this newsletter would be rather dull and very short. If any of our readers find January feels a bit flat, why not put fingers to keyboard and send something for the next edition? Please don’t feel excluded if you’re not on email – you can always use the still-reliable pen and paper and either post something to me or phone and it can be collected. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Your new Marple & District U3A committee are:- Chair, Newsletter: Sally Dulieu [email protected] 456 7359 Secretary, Charity: Jacqui Airey [email protected] 637 5098 Treasurer: Phil Ridgway [email protected] 427 6007 Vice-Chair, Membership, Beacon Admin: Graeme Mould [email protected] 221 2805 Vice-Chair, Groups Coordinator: Hazel Meakin [email protected] 427 7343 Speaker coordinator: Olga Henner [email protected] 427 2330 Committee Member: Ruth Wilbey [email protected] 449 0534

If you wish/need to contact Sally or Jacqui by email in the next few days, please copy your message to both chair’s and secretary’s email addresses as we need to swap laptops (via our technical guru), or better still, just phone.

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It just remains for your committee to send warmest wishes to all our fellow Marple & District U3A members for a peaceful Christmas and a happy and healthy 2021.

Joyeuses Fêtes *** Felices Fiestas *** die Grüße der Jahreszeit

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Thank you Colin for that positive thought.