Newsleter

Tynedale April 2017

Learn, laugh and live. Meet people, learn new skills and have fun.

Forthcoming Outngs Now we are enjoying longer days our commitee has organised some extra actvites and members are asked to support them.

April 4th: Monthly Meetng Mandy Roberts, Engagement Ofcer for Natonal Parks Authority, will deliver a talk about the Northumberland Map Tapestry. We meet at 2.00pm in the Wilfrid Room (next to the Great Hall) of Hexham Abbey for tea/cofee and then move to the Great Hall for announcements at 2.20 pm followed by the talk at 2.30 pm.

April 8th: Beamish Museum and the Great North Steam Fair £28 pp This is our first social event for some tme and we are hoping members will give it their support, come along and enjoy themselves. The coach will pick up in Allendale & (08.40), Haydon Bridge (09.00), Hexham Rail Staton (09.15) and Corbridge (09,30). Please contact Wendy on 606215 or email to [email protected] as soon as possible for details of where to send cheques (made payable to Tynedale U3A ).

April 10th: Cofee Morning at Langley Castle 10.30 - 12.00 Come along and learn about Northumberland Day. Jane Hunt Managing Director of Catapult PR will make a presentaton at 11.00 to inform members of the vision behind Northumberland day and the progress so far. Cofee and Refreshments are £5 per person and if you wish to atend please inform Wendy on 606215 or email [email protected] as soon as possible to allow tme to plan the room, seatng and refreshments. We will try to organise transport for members without a car.

May 4th: and Shipley Art Gallery £5.50 pp 10.30 - 16.00 There are stll 2 places remaining for this day trip. At Saltwell Park there is an hour-long Heritage Guided Walk followed by lunch (own expense) at the Towers Café. Afer lunch there is a short drive to the Shipley Art Gallery for a Behind the Scenes Tour from 1.30 pm. The Tour is organised by U3A who have researched local history paintngs not on public display; it will involve going down steps into a low-light area and will last about an hour. Small stools will be provided for those who cannot stand for this period. Aferwards, light refreshments will be provided by the gallery before we return. The cost includes transport, a donaton to Friends of Saltwell Park, the Tour and refreshments. Contact Wendy on 606215 or [email protected]

The Mid-Northumberland U3A's Ceilidh is to be held in Longhirst Village Hall on Friday 21st April from 7.30 - 11pm. There will be a live band of local musicians and a caller. The supper will be pie and peas and tcket holders are requested to let Joyce know in advance if they need vegetarian or gluten free food. The tckets cost £13 and can be obtained or booked by contactng Joyce by e-mail at [email protected] where you can also request postal address details.

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Learn to Fish Westwater Angling Associaton has put together a special coaching package for U3A members who want to explore fy fishing. Their waters are at Hallington Reservoirs, about 8 miles north of Corbridge, and you can view the club either in the Feb/March editon of The Northumbrian, or on their website at www.westwaterangling.co.uk. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn to catch trout in beautful surroundings, and the package on ofer is for 4 consecutve Fridays from 28th April to 19th May, 3 to 5 pm. All equipment is provided, and the first session is free of charge followed by 3 further 2 hour sessions which will cost a total of £30 and are for strictly limited numbers on a first come first served basis. Fully qualified coaches will take the sessions, which will cover castng as well as learning all about tackle and fies. It should be great fun. If you would like to learn more, telephone Jane on 01434 633138 or email her at [email protected]

The First Northumberland Day - Sunday May 28th 2017

Slaley is going to host a Community Amusement Tournament. We are looking for teams of 4 people; there will be 10 minute games for your team and 10 minute games for members of your team to play against members of other teams. Sixteen games in total. We will have a Northumbrian themed refreshment break and the bar will be stocked with Northumbrian drink. There will be Northumbrian prizes for the winning team and there will be a Northumbrian themed rafe. The Hall is limited to 128 people (i.e. only 32 teams) so if you want to join the fun register your team with Pat at [email protected]. The entrance fee will be £5 per head and the proceeds will be divided equally between Ladycross Nature Reserve and Slaley Commemoraton Hall toilet refurbishment fund. Below are some of the games we will be playing.

7.30 pm prompt!

Dementa Friends Awareness

A small band of members plus some of the younger generation gathered to hear more about living well with dementia at an information session delivered by The Alzheimer’s Society’s Dementia Adviser for the Tyne Valley, Caroline Armstrong and the Befriending Co-Ordinator, Jenny. It was a pity more people didn’t attend as we had good fun and learnt a lot. The key messages were that dementia is not a natural part of ageing; it is caused by different diseases of the brain. It is not just about losing memory but it can affect the way people think, speak, feel, behave and perceive the world visually. People can live well with dementia especially if they keep up their interests, routines, activities and social contacts and that’s where the U3A comes in, by encouraging members to continue with their interests and by being patient, checking understanding, giving visual reminders and being supportive. For advice, support or to volunteer to befriend, please contact Caroline and Jenny at 01434 607318, Office 4, The Community Centre, Hexham, NE46 3NP

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Hadrian’s Cavalry Over the summer there are exhibitons about Hadrian’s Cavalry sponsored by the Arts Council; there is a display in Carlisle of a whole turma (troop of 30 cavalrymen) in July. This is a Million Pound show and should be worth seeing, covering all the Wall Sites.

Visit their website (hadrianswallcountry.co.uk/hadrians- cavalry-2017) for more informaton.

Hadrian’s Wall Group will be visitng most of the exhibitons and the display at Bits Park in Carlisle. See their Programme for more details. Click here for your guide to Hadrian’s Cavalry

Group News

Cruising Group last chance! The Fred Olsen company has extended its closing date for the group cruise concessions to 30th April. If you are interested in joining us please contact Fred Olsen direct on 01473 742424 giving the group code: GRP0075 for cruise no. L1717. Afer booking, please contact Robert on 684486.

Mah-Jong group is desperately in need of new members in order to contnue. We meet each Friday morning from 10.00 - 12 at the Torch Centre in Hexham.

Play Bridge group also needs to recruit some new members. We meet on a Tuesday morning from 10 - 12, again at the Torch Centre. If you are interested in either of these groups, please phone Robert on 684486 or just come along. Potental New Groups For more details contact Sue on 604787 or [email protected]

There is interest in Crafs of all types. A Start-Up Meetng for a group is to be held on Thursday April 27th at 10am in the Queen’s Hall café, Hexham. Do you have a craf skill you could show to others in a ‘one-of’ session? Quilling? Patchwork? Crochet? Printng? Calligraphy? Wood Carving? Beading? Batk? If so, please get in touch.

There is a potental second Wine Appreciaton or Food and Wine Group. The meetngs would be held monthly and there is support available to develop a great programme.

New Members

We would like to extend a warm welcome to: Janet Campbell, Dot Patnson, Keverne & Yvonne Piper, Susan Walne and Christne & Michael Ward. The next New or Potental members’ meetng is on Monday May 15th from 10 am - 11 am at the County Hotel, Hexham. Please come along for a cofee and chat about Tynedale U3A and what it ofers. All very welcome. htps://u3asites.org.uk/tynedale 3

Joan Eardley ‘A Sense of Place’ 3rd December 2016 to 21st May 2017

On March 7th a small band of Art Appreciaton 2 students made the trip north to visit the Joan Eardley exhibiton which is on at The Scotsh Natonal Gallery of Modern Art in and it was a trip that was well worth making. We had a very interestng and enjoyable day and of course a delicious lunch as well. Joan Eardley is one of Scotland’s most popular 20th century artsts and this exhibiton marks the first major retrospectve of her work for almost 20 years. It includes Eardley observatons of street children in the back streets of Glasgow as well as her landscapes and dramatc seascapes painted in and around the fishing village of Caterline on the North East coast of Scotland. Although Joan Eardley was born in Sussex she moved to Glasgow in 1921 to atend the Glasgow School of Art. The exhibiton shows how she built up a sense of trust with the children who lived in and around Roten Row in the run down Glasgow tenements and she perfect- ly captures their lives. Joan lived amongst them; her studio being on the ground foor and they were free to come and go as they wished. Through leters and sketches, well displayed in cabinets in the various galleries, it is possible to get a real sense of her lively personality and real love for the two very contrastng places where she lived: the tenements of Glasgow and the wild and dra- matc scenery of Caterline on the Aberdeenshire coast. Her drawings of this lovely remote place are amongst the most celebrated works in modern Scotsh art. Her career was cut tragically short in 1963 when she died from breast cancer at the age of only 42 and her ashes were scatered on Caterline beach.

Chair’s Report to the AGM March 7th 2017

When I became Chair of Tynedale U3A, we were stll dealing with the repercussions of an earlier decision to leave our ‘home’ in the large rooms in Trinity Methodist Church Hall and hold both our monthly and group meetngs in alternatve premises. This decision was taken for financial reasons. I am pleased to report that this process was completed during the year, with all groups being rehoused by June and the monthly meetng moving to our new home in the Great Hall at the Abbey in December. Whilst this has not been an easy process, it appears that we are now setling well into our new homes and routnes. Our thanks are due to those who worked trelessly to achieve a satsfactory outcome, in partcular, thanks to Sue Loader and Alistair Sinclair for all their hard work. One of the significant plusses of our move from Trinity has been the reducton in our annual subscripton, which Alistair will be recommending is not increased this year when he presents his Treasurer’s report next. Last year, Trish Wall, then our Actng Chair, reported a further reducton in membership over the year. I am pleased to report that this year, this trend has been reversed and we can report a healthy increase in membership, from 243 in May last year, to 328 in March this year – an increase of 85 and stll rising. Additonally, it is now possible for members of other U3A’s to join Tynedale as associate members. Thanks to Barbara Herring for her work in updatng our membership system. In my first year as Chair, I would like to thank all members of our Commitee, for their hard work and commitment – and for helping me to shed the L plates I wore in the early part of the year! My

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partcular thanks go to Alistair, for standing in as Actng Chair, when I had health problems mid-year. Two members of the Commitee complete their term of ofce at this AGM and I would want to thank Kevin Stephens for his sterling work as Newsleter Editor and website manager. Both are of high quality and provide an excellent means of informing both members and the outside world of the actvites of our U3A. I am sure that Kevin would also want me to thank Seán MacNiallius and Miranda Barker for all the assistance they have given to him in producing the newsleter and keeping the website up to date. I am pleased to report that Kevin and Sean have agreed to contnue to look afer the website. The other retring member of the Commitee is Shirley Guppy, who has faithfully signed you in to the monthly meetngs and ensured that we had the necessary supplies at Trinity, over many years. I also have to report that Pat Moore, our Honorary President, has ofered her resignaton due to her health problems. Pat has served Tynedale U3A well, in many capacites, over many years. On your behalf, I have writen to thank her and to wish her well. Atendance at our monthly meetngs averages around the 60 mark, which is good. We have enjoyed a variety of interestng speakers throughout the year. However, for our inaugural meetng in the Great Hall in December, with Conrad Dickinson as our speaker, almost 100 members and guests were present. I think that atendance figure should be our aim over the next year. To help the smooth running of the monthly meetng, we have asked for volunteers to meet & greet, sign us in, help with teas and cofees and a number of people have expressed their willingness to help. If you have not yet heard from a Commitee member, you will – and there is stll room for more volunteers, so if you are able to help, please have a word with Wendy, our Programme Secretary. No events, outngs or social actvites have been arranged for all members this year. This is because we have not had an Events Secretary. However, we will rectfy this over the next year, with visits to Beamish museum, Saltwell Park and the Shipley Art Gallery already arranged and advertsed in this month’s newsleter. The newsleter also has details of future visits to York, Sizergh Castle, Alnwick Castle and Kielder Observatory. So, much to look forward to there. We also asked for volunteers to deliver hard copies of the newsleter and have had a good response. Again, if you volunteered and have not yet been contacted, you will be. Less successful was our request to members to ofer to be a ‘buddy’ to new members for a month. Your Commitee stll thinks this is an idea worth pursuing, but in the light of the response so far, we have agreed to have a further think about how we take this forward when the new Commitee meets later this month. We do want more people involved in the running of our U3A and we want to create an organisaton which is welcoming to newcomers. The engine rooms of the U3A are the groups and I am pleased to report that we have around 45 groups operatng at present. I say around 45, as it appears to me that this figure is a moving target. There are groups which come to the end of their life and those which are startng up and this is happening all the tme. Our thanks to Sue Loader, who works trelessly as Group Liaison Secretary, a task which seems to me rather like paintng the Forth Bridge! But partcular thanks go to our group convenors. Groups are the life blood of the U3A and we are fortunate to have so many dedicated and hardworking volunteers taking responsibility for the efcient smooth running of our groups. Our Membership Secretary, Barbara Herring, was elected as Chair of the Regional U3A at its AGM this year and our Secretary, Elizabeth Porter, was elected as regional representatve to the U3A natonal executve and is now a trustee of the Third Age Trust. Both Barbara and Elizabeth report regularly on regional and natonal maters, both in the newsleter and at Commitee. Some of our members have supported regional actvites through the year. So, although not always easy, I believe 2016/17 has been a good year for Tynedale U3A. We are setled in our new home, groups are operatng well, monthly meetngs are well atended and our membership has significantly increased. Here’s hoping that we can work together to contnue the positve development of the U3A in Tynedale over the next year.

Mike Worthington Chair htps://u3asites.org.uk/tynedale 5

Website Address and Newsleter Distributon

Eagle-eyed readers may notce that the web address given at the foot of each newsleter page has changed slightly. It now starts htps instead of htp. This is a security feature, it ensures that readers know that this is our U3A page and not a fake, allows all communicatons to be completely private, and stops your browser possibly telling you the page is not secure. In order to make sure that members without email addresses receive our newsleter we are moving to a diferent distributon system. Instead of handing out newsleters at the monthly meetngs a team of volunteers will hand deliver them to non-email members, with only a few more remote ones being posted. Kevin Stephens

Your Commitee 2017/2018 Programme

Chairman April 4th Mandy Roberts: Map of Northumberland Mike Worthington - 606215 May 2nd Anthea Lang: , glassmaker [email protected] June 6th Colin Argent: Village Life from 1750

Vice Chair July 4th Isobel Strk: First World War Leters Alistair Sinclair - 394158 [email protected] See the Events secton of the web site for details of all meetngs, speakers and outngs. Secretary Elizabeth Porter - 600429 [email protected] New Membership Renewal System Treasurer Alistair Sinclair - 394158 Last year we used the U3As “Beacon system” to process [email protected] renewals. This year we are using the system fully to deal with renewal of membership and using the email facility to notfy Membership Secretary members regarding renewals. So far it has worked well, albeit with Barbara Herring - 673016 a couple of hiccups. For those members without emails, renewal [email protected] forms were sent by post. Thank you all for being so cooperatve. If Minutes Secretary you have any queries, or you haven’t received your renewal notce, Sally Pearson - 674896 please do not hesitate to contact me: [email protected] by phone - 673016 Programme Secretary by mobile - 0785 108 5476 Wendy Dale - 606215 by e-mail - [email protected] [email protected] If you have not been getting e-mails from us even though you Group Liaison Secretary have the facility, then please check with me that we have your e-mail Sue Loader - 604787 address recorded correctly. There will be a printed list of e-mail [email protected] addresses at Monthly Meetings. Please stop at my “Members” table and ask to check yours. For data protection reasons it will not be on Newsleter Editor open display. Communication is an important aspect of our Sue Charlton - 684475 organisation and I need to correct any errors. [email protected]

Please send your contributons for the May Newsleter to the editor at: [email protected] by Friday, 21st April.

NEXT MONTHLY MEETING: Tuesday 2nd May htps://u3asites.org.uk/tynedale 6