Derby U3A Review 2018 Editors Note: This entire publication is copyright of Derby U3A and has been produced by the members for the members and for distribution to selected external organizations for the purpose of information and publicity. No part shall be reproduced except with the express consent of the executive committee of Derby U3A who can be contacted via the website. DW & AM Jowle (Editors) Welcome to Derby U3A Derby U3A is part of a world-wide movement for people in their third age, where we participate in learning, social and recreational activities. It is run by our members for our members, and everything is voluntary which means that our costs and charges are very low. We have over 350 members with 38 interest groups. Our membership has been growing over the past few years. We have a general meeting every month with an outside speaker, we run summer and Christmas buffet lunches, and we have organised outings to places of general interest about once a month. We welcome non-members to attend up to two “taster” interest groups and also two general meetings to find out more about what we do and how we operate. Derby U3A Review gives an account of our activities in 2017, and we hope that you will get a flavour of what we do and will be encouraged to consider joining us. New members are very welcome, both to participate in current activities and also to contribute to new ones. Catherine Wykes, Chair How much does it cost Annual subscription: £15.00 January to December £8.00 September to December Interest group meetings at venues which are paid for: £1.50 per meeting, no charge for other meetings Monthly meeting charge: £1.50. Includes tea or coffee. How to join Phone: 01332 242504 Website: http://u3asites.org.uk/derby Email; [email protected] General meetings We have a general meeting on the last Thursday of the month (August and December excepted) when we normally have a talk given by an outside speaker or occasionally by one of our own members. The range of topics is very varied, so there should be something for everyone. Among the topics this year were English Castles, the Derby Canal, explorer Robert Walker( many of the items he collected are in the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford), and the history of the Eurovision Song contest. Our first speaker, Ian Hingley, gave us amusing presentation reminding us of our childhoods in the 40s and 50s. More a discussion than a lecture, Ian's presentation was in the style of comedians from that era and had members chuckling in remembrance. We had a talk from one of our own members, Max Maughan, about the Peak District National Park which was illustrated with some terrific photographs and videos taken by Christine Maughan. We heard about the geological history of the area, illustrated with images of some remarkable fossils, saw many of the well known and well-loved beauty spots. We also saw pictures of much of the wildlife there, among which were the mountain hare, who turns white in the winter (a ploy that is only successful if it snows) and the brown hare who can travel at 45mph; curlews, golden plovers and Britain’s only venomous snake, the adder. We saw superb video footage of starlings murmuring, as they prepared to bed down for the night. Many of us were not aware that the famous “Sailing By” tune, which introduces the Shipping Forecast on BBC, as well as the “Elizabethan Serenade” were composed by Ronald Binge, who came from humble beginnings in Chaddesden. David Parry gave an entertaining talks about his life. He started his musical career as a choirster went to on become a cinema organist before eventually joining Manotvani’s orchestra where he arranged many of that orchestra’s pieces. He invented the “cascading strings” intrinsic to the Mantovani sound. He went on to compose many more original works. Report on the Outings 2017 There were slightly fewer trips in 2017 than previous years with a total of 6 averaging 39 people per trip. The trip in February to Bletchley Park was a requested repeat since more exhibits had been added since our previous visit, and it is always a fascinating place. In March the visit to the Thackray Medical Museum, Kirkstall Abbey and Abbey House was, I have been told, the most interesting trip yet. The interactive Social History displays about Leeds and accounts of medical triumphs reminded us of how life has changed today. Walking around the ruins of Kirkstall Abbey was enhanced by the sunny weather and the glorious display of crocuses. We toured more ruins in May. This time at Wroxeter we saw what remained of a Roman Town and learned about Roman culture and history in Britain. This was followed by lunch and a tour of Attingham Park, home to the same family for 5 generations. July took us to Harewood House. Here were costumes from the recent ITV production of the ‘Victoria’ in magnificent rooms converted to resemble Buckingham and Kensington Palaces. There were extensive terrace gardens and herbaceous borders to admire and numerous walks in the 100 acre grounds to the Walled Garden, Himalayan Garden and Bird Garden. We saw the Capability Brown designed gardens at Trentham which we visited in September. Here the formal gardens at end of the lake lead on to the Rivers of Grass and Prairie Planting and walks round the lake. There are show gardens to see and in the Shopping Village many small outlets and a large garden centre. The last visit in November was to the Think Tank Museum in Birmingham with its vast range of exhibits from fossil remains of dinosaurs to a steam locomotive and plastic recycling. Our pleasure was reduced a little by rowdy school groups in the exhibit and café areas. In the afternoon at the Coffin Museum the enthusiastic tour guides outlined the rise to fame of a small Victorian factory through casting high quality coffin furniture. The factory then declined mainly as a result of the increase in cremation and finally closed and became a museum. Family and Social History Earlier this year the group decided to rename from Family History. When the group was started we concentrated on researching and building family trees in our sessions. As time went on we began to expand our interest to include looking into the possible lifestyles of our ancestors. We have continued to do this and this year we have used documentary DVDs, BBC archive videos and Pathe News to promote research and discussion. At some sessions a member presents an aspect or person in their family tree and we use the internet to help to solve particular difficulties members have encountered when tracing their family trees. We have also decided on particular topics for our meetings e.g. food, occupations, travel and each member is encouraged to bring some research or information from their family history to the discussion. This year we have decided to spend a little more time in exploring the various search sites as well as continuing to explore more topics of social history. Wine Appreciation The Wine Appreciation Group has had an interesting year, tasting many wines from different countries. We started the year by sampling the same named wine but from different countries discussing taste and bouquet, then guessing the price. The most expensive was not always the most popular. In April it was arranged for a sommelier to visit the Group. We were worried that he wasn't going to turn up but he arrived with one minute to go. He was a young man, probably in his early twenties, but very knowledgeable about wine. He brought his own glasses and 4 bottles of wine, which we sampled whilst he told us anecdotes about his career. He had for a short time worked as a sommelier for Gordon Ramsey in London, serving some very expensive wines. We were very grateful that he didn't charge Gordon's prices! In August we had a mini coach trip to Sealwood Cottage Vineyard, Linton, Swadlincote, which is our nearest vineyard, where we had a tour and a talk on how the wine is produced. Sealwood was established in 2008 and produced its first bottle of wine in 2010. We were then given the opportunity to taste the wines produced by the vineyard. All Sealwood's wines are not blended but produced from just one grape only. We then had a buffet lunch which was quite a spread before returning on the coach to Derby. In November we invited Tom from Majestic Wines to come and bring several bottles of wine and talk about each one saying how they were produced, where they were from, and advised us beforehand on what cheeses to bring to go with each wine. He arrived complete with wine glasses and spittoons which we declined to use, but thanking him for his trouble. He started with a sparkling wine which we all agreed was as good as any Champagne, but nothing like the price. Tom had suggested a creamy cheese to accompany this. We ended up with port which was a gift from Majestic Wine. So successful was the afternoon that we have booked Tom again for March 2018. Creative Crafts Group - Jenny Board During the past year we have tackled and tasted a range of projects in the Creative Crafts Group. In the sessions at the beginning of the year we looked at chicken scratch embroidery and had fun taking apart metal zips and making them into brooches.