March at a Glance Monday 2 March

Country Dancing

Wednesday 4 March Bookworms

Wednesday 4 March Walking

Monday 9 March Country Dancing

Thursday 12 March Creative Writing

Friday 13 March Voices of Hickling

Friday 13 March Main Meeting

Monday 16 March Blurr

Wednesday 18 March Pub Lunches

Thursday 19 March British History

Monday 23 March Gourmet Diggers

Tuesday 24 March Croquet

Friday 27 March Art

Tuesday 31 March Croquet

Group Contact Co-ordinator

Art: 4th Friday (2:00 – 4:00pm) in the Barn

The Art Group meet on the 4th Friday each month 2pm – 4pm at Hickling Barn. If you would like to join us, please contact Kathy Cooper via the website. You will be made very welcome.

British History: 3rd Thursday (2:00 pm)

Country Dancing: 1st and 2nd Monday (2:00 pm) in the Barn

News from our Interest Groups

Creative Writing:

Next Members Meeting in the Barn: Friday 13 March – The National Trust - Horsey Windpump

HBU3A Committee Monthly Update

We would like to thank everyone for attending our meeting on 14th February when our old friend Peter Lawrence presented “Eyes Along The Norfolk Coast” a talk about the National Coast Watch institution. We learnt a great deal about the history of this organisation, which is run by volunteers and whose aim is to assist in the protection and preservation of life at sea and along our national coastline. Each station is manned by a team of fully trained and dedicated volunteers who keep a daylight watch up to 365 days a year

Next month’s meeting is on 13th March at Hickling Barn and will see a presentation by the National Trust about the Horsey wind pump project and we will be hearing not only about the work being undertaken there, but also about exciting opportunities to get involved.

We are pleased to say that a number of new interest groups are being proposed - take a look at the interest group section to see what might be coming up!

March 2020

Bookworms – Reading Group: 1st Wednesday (pm Bookworms meet on the first Wednesday of the month and we take turns to host our meetings. The host will have chosen the book to be discussed.

The group met up on 8 January when we each talked about a favourite book we had read which wasn't a Bookworms choice. Coincidentally, a few chose the same book or the same author. A really pleasant afternoon over tea and homemade cake.

On 5 February we met up to discuss The Unlikely Pilgramage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce which was chosen by Katy. Here is Katy's summary:

"The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry” is the story of a retired man in his sixties who went out to post a letter but subsequently decided to keep walking and undertake a 627 mile walk from his home in Devon to Berwick on Tweed to deliver the letter by hand. (Harold had received a letter from Queenie, an ex-colleague from twenty years ago, telling him that she was dying of cancer and he wanted to say goodbye in person.) Harold had experienced the tragedy of his son's suicide for which he blamed himself. He had had a very difficult relationship with his own father and therefore did not manage to have a meaningful relationship with his own son. The presence of his son led to a gulf between Harold and his wife, Maureen, which in time they both regretted and at the end of his walk they were reunited. We thought this story had echoes of Pilgrims Progress and it also encompassed themes of contemplation of his life and atonement for his sins. We all enjoyed this book and found it humorous, poignant and ultimately uplifting, themes we could all relate to."

Safe to say we all enjoyed this book and overall it scored 9/10.

The group meet again on 4 March to discuss Love by Toni Morrison. Please contact me if you would like to join us.

BLURR – The Camera Group: 3rd Monday (2:00-4:00pm) at Hickling Barn

Our monthly challenge was After Dark. 28 images were submitted and the discussion ranged from technical features, such as ISO, exposure and shutter speed settings, to social occasions, such as the LoveLightNorwich festival and specific locations, like the construction of the Bacton sandbanks. Phil’s highly detailed and well-focussed image of the bulldozer battling with the Bacton sea was highly praised and was chosen for the newsletter and website. Although there were only 11 images submitted from the session’s practical on Hands, the discussion on the merits of monochrome as well as shallow depth of field were prominent. Rich’s excellent image of hands on his guitar fretboard also deserves a place in the newsletter.

Pub Lunches: 3rd Wednesday

“The Bridge” is by the river on the A1064 Fleggburgh to Acle road. There is ample parking in front of the pub and outside seating and a play area at the back. Inside there is a cosy bar with a fire, a restaurant, with the rest of the pub space divided into four seating areas. We had not been asked to pre-order which meant rather a long wait for our meals to be cooked and served. Similarly, staff taking orders for puddings and coffee were rather slow. However, it was half-term and the pub was busy. There was a reasonable selection of dishes, with a couple of specials.

Gourmet Diggers: 4th Monday (2:00-4:00 pm) We had a very lively meeting this month and covered quite a lot of gardening topics. It’s not too late to plant a tree, a nursery bought one or by planting an apple pip in a pot. We talked about how trees help save the environment. Mulch and Compost. How do you make it and what is the difference. Glossary of Garden Terms eg. Propagate, Rootstock, Rhizome the list is endless. Most of us had some knowledge of the gardening words. Finally we talked about the jobs to be done in the garden in the month of March. Today was a mixture of planning and a bit of cooking. Kate did a demonstration of how easy soda bread is to make. We had cider and cheese soda bread and a little leek and potato soup to go with it. Then for fun Kate made some honeycomb, sometimes called cinder toffee. This we had with a little chocolate tart. We are going to do a little bit of Ready Steady Cook for a while, so everyone was asked to write a list of five ingredients. These were then swapped around between the members and they then all have to in turn decide and cook a recipe to use them. Should be fun.

Croquet: Tuesday mornings from 24th March

Whatever the weather we will be meeting at Hickling Barn every Tuesday from the 24 March for a game of Croquet. If the weather is bad we play various card and board games in the Barn. No experience is needed so do come along at 10.15am and enjoy some gentle exercise in the fresh air whilst learning to play a competitive but fun game. There will always be tea, coffee, biscuits and sometimes even cake! For more information please contact Michael at the next U3A Meeting or via his e-mail

Prices were in line with other pubs in the local area. Members of staff were pleasant if somewhat lacking in attentiveness

Our next pub lunch is at 12.30pm (please note later time) on Wednesday 18 March at “The Black Boys” in Aylsham. Please let me know if you would like to join us by Monday 16 March

Voices of Hickling: 2nd Friday (11:30 – 1:00 pm)

Walking: 1st Wednesday at 10:00 am

Sailing: Friday mornings throughout the summer Main Group Sails from 24 April until 23 October 2020 every Friday subject to availability! This group is very popular and at present, sadly, we are unable to accept new members. We shall publish any vacancies as soon as they occur. If you wish to be put on a waiting list, please email Celia Cooper via the website with your contact details and HBU3A membership number. Sailing Group members please remember that this year we sail Friday's only, every week! It makes our lives so much simpler! - although I can't claim it was my idea! Looking forward to sailing with you all.

Newbies sailing group for those learning to sail or who want to brush up on their sailing skills! We have definitely two vacancies, possibly three for this season's group! Please get in touch if you're interested. Newbies sail a ten-session course with instructors at Nancy Oldfield Trust Neatishead, on Barton Broad. The course runs fortnightly on a Thursday morning, starting on 28 May to the 1 October. Fresh air, beautiful scenery, good exercise, expert tuition, wonderful company and those with disabilities encouraged! Don't let anything put you off! You may have sailed years ago? It's in our U3A ethos to learn something new! Why not come along and have a go?

Study Group If this interests you please contact Alice Oldman via the website.

group

Wildlife Group: Ten of us met at Irstead Staithe car park on a very windy February morning. Our leaders Chris and Helen were already in place by the water watching a pair of feeding Otters and everyone managed to catch sight of them before they slowly made their way down the river on their feeding mission. We stood in the cold bright morning as they disappeared out of sight. At this point the made their way on foot to the nearby Barton Broad Board Walk. Unfortunately, due to the remnants of storm Ciara, the Board Walk was shut for safety reasons. Two phone calls to the Broads Authority established that we would not be able to continue our planned route. We then walked back to the Staithe where once again the Otters were fishing. We were able to see that one was probably a juvenile, being much smaller. We had excellent views, including close ups and spent an hour just watching the antics of these fascinating creatures. We shared the experience with two punts of school children who were surprisingly quiet!

This is a space for all of our members to use. If you have anything to tell us, maybe something you’ve done, or an event that’s coming up that you think other members would enjoy, or perhaps you have something to sell or donate that someone else might need. Just see any committee member at our monthly meeting or email Rose at hbu3anews@gmail.com with a brief description and maybe a photo. Space permitting, we will include it in a subsequent newsletter.

Members Corner

2020-21 Subscription Renewal – Important Notice for Existing Members Due to our success in recruiting new members HBU3A is forecast to retain reserves at last Financial Year’s level. As a result the Committee has been able to repeat the offer made last year

1. The subscription rate for 2020-21 will be held at £15 (or £11.50 for associate members).

2. Existing members will be entitled to a discount of £5 provided that they renew their membership

subscription on or before 30th April 2020. (see below for ways to pay your subscription renewal). This

means that existing members (at 31.3.2020) will effectively pay only £10 (or £6.50 for associate members)

provided they renew their membership promptly.

Ways to renew membership a) By electronic funds transfer direct to the HBU3A bank account – this is the preferred option. Please send

payments to Hickling Broad U3A (bank account number 53118193, sort code 20-62-53) and be sure to

quote your name and/or membership number as a reference.

b) Pay at the desk at either our March or April meetings. – whilst this is the “traditional” method the sheer

volume of people renewing led to long queues last year. We will endeavour to keep queues to a minimum

but would urge you to use method a) above to avoid these delays.

Please note that renewals must received by HBU3A before 30th April in order to gain the £5 prompt payment discount. Renewals received after that date will be at the full renewal rate of £15 (or £11.50 for associate members).

We also saw several different bird species including Long Tail Tits, Chaffinch, Pheasant, Goldfinch, Shag and Reed Bunting. Near the end of the visit several of the party glimpsed a green flash in the water which they identified as a pike. Unfortunately, due to the blustery conditions, we did not get to see the hoped-for Kingfisher. Another successful wildlife walk despite the challenging conditions. Next meeting: No meeting in March. April’s meeting will be held on Tuesday 14th April due to Easter. Details nearer the time.

Friday 13 March 2020 Horsey Windpump

Friday 17 April 2020 Archant Local Recall Project

Friday 15 May 2020 AGM & Pat Nearny

Friday 12 June 2020 Jenny Gibbs – A Turkish Shirley Valentine

Friday 10 July 2020 Tim Jenkins – East Anglia Children’s Hospice

Friday 14 August 2020 Annual Summer Social and Interest Group Network Event

Friday 11 September 2020 Captain Jon Warren - South Pacific Voyages

What’s on Next at your Monthly U3A Meetings

All items for the newsletter should be sent to: hbu3anews@gmail.com or see a Committee member at the monthly members meeting in Hickling Barn.

Formal Notice for our AGM This will be held on Friday 15 May 2020

at 2:00pm in Hickling Barn. We hope to see as many of you as possible for the Annual General Meeting, with entertainment by “The Norfolk Nut” - Pat Nearny. We would like to invite and welcome anyone who would like to join the committee. We keep our committee meeting frequency and duration to an absolute minimum, and we hold them the same day as a members meeting so as not take up too much of everyone’s valuable time. We are an open, relaxed and friendly team and hope that some of you might like to join us. The nomination forms are attached with this news sheet and, if you would like to join the committee, please complete the form and have it signed by two other of our members. If you would like to find out more first, please do not hesitate to call 01692 598324 or speak with any committee member at the next meeting on Friday 13 March.