Learn, Laugh, Live! Evesham & District Newsletter Issue 69 September 2019 Abstraction by Sheila Reed, Photography 1 My Umbrella – a companion on every trip! Registered Charity Number 1101530 1 Contents From your Editors 3 Cotswold Link 7 A Word from your Chairman 4 Suggestions for New Groups 9 Committee News 4 Group News 10 - 25 Forthcoming Meetings & Tea Rota 5 Group Timetable 26 - 29 Day Trip Outings 6 Group List 30 - 31 Short Breaks 6 From your Editors Welcome to the September edition of your U3A newsletter. This edition contains much news about U3A group activities and outings that have taken place over the summer months, and we hope, that not only will you find them entertaining, but that it will encourage members to participate in such future events. Your newsletter is a great way to share the enjoyment we get from participating in group activities and to encourage new members. With that in mind, we would like to welcome all those who have joined Evesham U3A since the issue of the June newsletter. Hazel Bech, Michael Draper, Beryl Greasley, Merrilyn Privett, Judith and Peter Bridgens, Piers and Rosalie Daubney, Carol and David Forton, Anthony Fowler, Anne Gardner, Joy Taylor, John Young, Alun Edwards, Mary Kyte, Ian Nilo- Walton, Patricia Arch, Andrea Bourne, Elizabeth Byron, J Sandalls, Tony Allcock, Arthur and Margaret Barnes, Colin and Priscilla Brooks, Marion Hackling, Walter Richards, Tony Watts, Paul Wilkins and visiting member Geoff Hodgson. We want our newsletter to entertain and inform, so, at this point, we would like to encourage all members to submit a short piece about your groups’ activities to share with others. Just run anything you write past your group leader before sending it in, and don’t forget, the deadline for our December edition will be 20 October 2019. You can reach us by email via the website link https://u3asites.org.uk/evesham/contact Many thanks to our Photography 1 group for our cover picture and the photographs you will find in this edition, relating to their ‘What does Abstraction mean?’ project. We all belong to a great organisation that provides many social benefits to its membership, so let’s spread the word! Registered Charity Number 1101530 2 A word from your Chairman Maybe it is because I have just been away, but it seems that things in our U3A have gone rather quiet for the moment. With members being on holiday during the summer months, and with others taking on the responsibility of looking after grandchildren, or, as is the case with Badminton, the venue is just too hot (!), it is understandable that some groups, and particularly their leaders, take a well- earned break. However, a new committee is now in place, and we will be gearing up for the September re-start and the intake of new members in the autumn. Thank you to those who have now retired and also to the new members who have put themselves forward. One of our successes in recent years has been the rapid growth of our membership and the reputation the U3A has in the local area for being friendly and welcoming. I was surprised but proud to have this confirmed by a couple of our new members who travel from another part of the county and come to Evesham to attend our groups, purely for this reason. It is worth remembering why we have all joined the U3A and what we gain from membership. Why deprive others of the experience? If you are approached by people who wish to become members, encourage them to join and, if your group is full, please let the Group Coordinator know so that everything possible can be done to meet those members’ wishes. Grahame Percival Committee News Fundraising success I am delighted to report that the event organised by Mary Haines and Sandra Francis in aid of research into pancreatic and prostate cancers raised, in spite of the poor weather, £5,111. Congratulations to the organisers and thanks to all those who contributed in so many ways. Grahame Percival Being seen Evesham U3A were invited to the Rotary’s Evesham Community Festival at Hampton Ferry on 15 June 2019. Well stocked with leaflets, the U3A gazebo attracted a good number of people, who stopped for chats and exchange of Registered Charity Number 1101530 3 information. It is good to be out there and be represented at large events to spread the word! Chris Wolstencroft Staying safe online Alan Russell, Chairman of Worcester U3A, summarized a U3A workshop on Cyber Security. To check the key guidelines for keeping yourself safe online and in the digital world generally, please follow the link to our web page https://u3asites.org.uk/evesham/page/95920 Forthcoming Meetings Our programme of speakers is free to U3A members on production of a current membership card. Guests are welcome to attend. Meetings are held on the first Wednesday of each month at Evesham Town Hall, Market Place, from 2.00 to 4.00 pm. Monthly Speaker 2 October 2019 David Cramp – ‘Wildlife in the Garden’ a talk with slides Tea Rota, meet & greet – Computers & Digital Media 6 November 2019 Open Day – 12.00 – 3.00 pm 4 December 2019 ‘A Christmas Celebration with Words and Music’ Showcasing our U3A's Playreading, Poetry and Choir groups Tea Rota, meet & greet – Concert Band Registered Charity Number 1101530 4 Day Trip Outings Tuesday 17 September 2019 Bridgnorth & Dudmaston Hall – NT – 9 am start. Cost tbc Tuesday 22 October 2019 Lacock Abbey, Fox Talbot Photography Museum and Village. Cost NT £11.00, non NT £25.00 – 9.00 am start. Before paying, please check the cost for possible reductions. Please see the ‘Events’ page on the website for future updates on Outings Sue Beneke Short Breaks for 2019 and 2020 Liverpool – Sunday 13 to Tuesday 15 October 2019, 3 days/2 nights Stay at the Novotel Liverpool City Centre. £229 per person, single room supplement £58. The price includes B&B and dinner, a guided tour of Liverpool, a cruise across the Mersey to Woodside on the Wirral with entrance to the U-Boat Story Museum, a visit to Port Sunlight with a 1 hour guided tour plus entrance to the museum and art gallery, as well as a visit to NT Shugborough Hall on the outward journey. Some places are still available - please get in touch with Jean Griffin if you are interested. Italy - Sorrento – Sunday 10 to Sunday 17 May 2020 Departing Sunday 10 May 2020 at 7.45 am with Jet2 from Birmingham Airport. Early departure from Evesham by coach. Arrive in Naples 11.45 am. BB & EM and all trips are included in the price of £780 per person. Trips to Pompeii, Herculaneum, Vesuvius, the Amalfi coast, Naples, an optional tour to Capri plus 2 free days to do as you wish. There are 38 places available. Registered Charity Number 1101530 5 Stop Press - Subject to verbal commitment, the trip to Sorrento is now fully booked. A deposit of £50.00 per person, made payable to 'City Cruiser Holidays Ltd', will be required by the end of August 2019. For more information and to be added to the reserve list, please contact Jean Griffin on 01789 750772 or by email via the Short Breaks page https://u3asites.org.uk/evesham/page/34145 or the contact page on the website. Abstraction – Feedback Bus by Jan Gillard Cotswold Link Exercising the ‘little grey cells’ On Thursday 11 July, over 90 people attended the Special Interest Day organised by the Cotswold Link. The title for the day was ‘Engineering for the Future’. All three speakers gave us a glimpse of what the not so distant future holds for us. Quoting Niels Bohr ‘Prediction is difficult – especially if it is about the future’ was the opening from our first speaker Dr Claus Görsmann (Technology Support Manager, Johnson Matthey). In his talk, ‘Powertrains for Vehicles 2020- Registered Charity Number 1101530 6 2025’, he began by telling us how far the automotive industry has advanced in developing engines with zero emissions. Not far enough, it seems, as not only is the urgency to find a solution necessary by itself, but we also have a commitment to meet the target of zero emissions, set out in the Paris Accord. His company is looking at diverse solutions, including clean Diesel technology with efficient catalytic converters, hydrogen powered vehicles with no carbon dioxide emissions, fuel cell technology, and even vehicles using nuclear power. He advocates a diverse range of powertrains to meet different needs, typically as those already available in the market - cars with micro hybrid engines (a small battery with a 50 km range and plug in charger), a full hybrid engine with a 100 to 150 km range that includes a battery charger, and a pure electric vehicle with a 200 km range. The cost and weight of battery fuelled cars is holding back investment by the manufacturers, and Dr Görsmann was not optimistic that the internal combustion engine will disappear soon. Paramount is the political will to invest in the infrastructure needed by supplying charging points, and possible incentives through road tax and licence reductions, tighter legislation on emissions, and investment in further research. Professor Moataz Attallah’s (Advanced Materials Processing Laboratory, University of Birmingham) talk ‘From 3D Printing to 4D printing: To Design, to 3D Print, and to Move’ was a total revelation to me who thought you printed on paper and that was that. Oh no! Calling his research ‘the third industrial revolution’, he started by listing what industry needed: high value products, minimum waste, and a quick introduction to the market.