northumbria messenger -...

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Vol 3 No 8 July 2016

Your Regional

Newsletter

Messenger

Northumbria

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The Messenger sends

good wishes to all the

departing committee

members and good luck

to all the new ones!

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On June 21st a group of us relaxed whilst we were driven through our

beautiful countryside to the magnificent Bowes Museum. Built on the lines

of a French château it’s a lovely place to visit regardless of any exhibitions on

display at the time. There is so much to inspire and fire the imagination in-

side that I have not yet had the opportunity to explore the gardens so that’s

certainly another visit lined up.

As well as the permanent wonderful displays of paintings by old mas-

ters such as Canaletto, Goya, Turner and El Greco there are prestigious col-

lections of ceramics, textiles, silver and furniture. The latter takes us from

Tudor styles through the various periods to Victorian, detailing the paint col-

ours used in room design at that time.

The summer exhibition features “The English Rose, a salute to 400

years of social beauties”, a truly wonderful celebration of feminine beauty,

with paintings by Van Dyke, Reynolds, Gainsborough and many more. It was

fascinating to stand and try to take in the aura surrounding some of these

beautiful women.

On tour from the British Museum was an exhibition that centred on the stone sculpture of the elephant-headed god Ganesha with such vibrant colours and ornamentation that the whole display seemed to come alive. No visit to Bowes is complete without a visit to see the priceless Silver Swan. We waited with anticipation for a brief but incredibly awesome performance of the 18th century automaton. The V & A organised exhibition “Shoes, Pleasure and Pain” explores the “agony and the ecstasy” throughout 2000 years of history. What an amazing journey that proved to be from cringing at the sight of tiny shoes used to squash children’s toes to make them fashionably beautiful in the Ottoman Empire, to admiring lace, feathers, crystals, jewels, ribbons and many other materials used to adorn both men’s and women’s shoes. It was impossible not to admire some shoes with their “killer” heels but as our visit came to an end I was very thankful for “Sketchers”!

Art Appreciation Trip to Bowes Museum

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by Wendy Moore.

Wearside U3A Events Sub-Committee is organising a

Forensics day to be held on 9th November at the Bangladesh

International Centre in Sunderland. If any of the 100 tickets remain on

September 12th they will be offered for sale at £12 each across the region to

U3A members the contact person is Christa Lloyd 07507828184 email

[email protected]. A flyer and booking form will be circulated nearer the time.

And finally...............

The Centre for Life are looking for volunteers to assist

with the staffing of some of their activities which would suit

retired people and they felt that this might be something of

interest to U3A members.

So I have copied their advertisement below.

‘We are building a casual pool of people who we can call

on to support our core Science Explainer team during

busy periods. If you have a passion and enthusiasm for

science, strong educational background and have the

flexibility to help out as and when required, then we

would be very interested to hear from you. Please email

your details to [email protected].

Training will be provided.‘

6th October 2016

To be held in Function Room of the “Millstone Pub “ South Gosforth

(NE3 1QL )

The Pub opens at 12 noon ( Good food ) Music starts 1.30 pm

Regional UKULELE Shindig

mailto:[email protected]

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A Discussion Group?

They said “Don’t do it”... It’s a recipe for disaster”...“You will have arguments

and fall out”. This was the response when a small group of Coquetdale

(Rothbury, Northumberland) U3A members sought advice about forming a

group to discuss topics of interest. The topics could be anything and every-

thing but broadly centred on current affairs and issues of concern.

That advice, sought over 5 years ago, was, fortunately, ignored and the first

meeting was convened in April 2011. It was decided not to call the group a

debating society but rather a discussion group. The aim being to allow mem-

bers to freely discuss a given topic without the requirement to follow the rules

of debate e.g. proposer, opposer, seconder etc.

The format is that a member will offer, in advance, a subject for discussion

and give a 10 to 15 minute introduction. This requires the individual to under-

take research and increase their knowledge of the issues around their subject

and present their findings and thoughts to the group. The person chairing the

meeting (members take it in turns) then throws the discussion open and

members raise their hands when so moved and are invited to speak. Such

contributions are often spontaneous but some are the result of research or en-

quiry on the subject – hence another area of specific learning. Listening to the

discussion is of itself educational.

There are very few “rules” apart from respecting a person’s right to speak

without interruption, all views are respected and differences of opinion are

discussed in a co-operative and friendly manner. These “rules” are followed

with the result that there is often serious debate and much laughter.

Some recent topics for discussion have been... “Statues and Memorials; keep

them up or knock them down?”; “What does the coming of the Jedi have to

say about the place of religion in modern British society?”; “How can harmony

be encouraged at the interface of different racial and cultural groups?” “Sex

offenders: pariahs or members of society?” To what extent does the media

define society?”

The discussion group has also organised three full debates at the Coquetdale

U3A monthly Open Meeting on motions This House Believes that ... “we

should return the Elgin Marbles to Greece” ... “World War One was inevita-

ble”... “The UK should remain a member of the European Union”.

An average attendance of 14 indicates the group is a success

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Butterflies are about By the time you read these notes, butterflies will have been about for some time. Beware of going out and buying a field guide to identify them. Most guides are very comprehensive, too comprehensive in fact and include species that are often restricted in distribution. You will not see an ADONIS BLUE in Holywell Dene or a LOLWORTH SKIPPER on the riverbank at Pru-dhoe. The number of very similar wing patterns illustrated can be very confusing. Overcome these prob-lems by getting to know the “jizz” of local butterflies – where they are, how they are behaving. Locally there are two common blue butterflies. A blue butterfly flying low over grassland such as the coastal links at Whitley Bay will be a COMMON BLUE. A blue butterfly flying about 6 – 10 feet around trees or shrubs, often in town parks or suburban gardens (including my own) is a HOLLY BLUE. A small speckled brown butterfly encountered in woodland is a SPECKLED WOOD. These butterflies set up territories in sunny woodland glades. A diagnostic feature is that if disturbed they fly off a few feet before returning and settling on a leaf in front of you. A brown butterfly flapping lazily over Hartley Links is a MEADOW BROWN. A similar brown butterfly with a much more purposeful flight often between shrubs or hedgerows is a RINGLET. A WALL BROWN likes to settle with its wings open on bare surfaces such as a wall (hence the name), eroded hillsides or river banks. Get your eye in for the common species. When you see something that doesn’t quite fit then get your field guide out and start puzzling what it might be.

Images : http://www.britishbutterflies.co.uk/identi fication.asp

Book Worm

Truly Madly Guilty

by

Liane Moriarty

Mesmerising.

Will keep you guessing while

it makes you laugh

Yellow Crocus

By

Laila Ibrahim

An engaging read that will stay

with you of long after the final

page

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Hartlepool & District ‘Photography for Fun Group’ The ‘Photography for Fun Group’ has met twice a month over the last year and during that time we have enjoyed several notable outings - always involving af-ternoon tea. In fact we sometimes joke that our group should be called the ‘Photography and Afternoon Tea Group’. These are some of this years highlights: Afternoon tea on the river Tees is hard work but someone has to do it. We board-ed the Teesside Princess this summer for a relaxing afternoon cruise from Stockton-On-Tees to Yarm. Allocated the lower deck for our finger sandwiches, scones and selec-tion of cakes, we soon ventured to the up-per deck for some photo opportunities. The boat was fairly full and we soon realised that most of the upper deck was occupied by members of York U3A. Needless to say friendship broke out and in addition to tak-ing some good photographs we also made some new friends. On a separate occasion we returned to the River Tees to photograph the Tees Barrage and were lucky to witness several local fire brigades practising their rescue tech-niques in the artificial whitewater course. In fact we spent so long on the photog-

raphy that day we almost forgot about our afternoon tea. However, we managed to locate a café minutes before they closed. Whilst the café staff were perfectly happy to accept our custom, they were unwilling to undertake any additional washing-up. So we compromised and en-joyed our tea and cake from polystyrene cups and containers with the use of plas-tic cutlery. After spending a windswept winter’s after-noon on the North East Coast at the ex-posed South Gare, we returned to civilisa-tion and visited nearby Redcar, where we enjoyed a wonderful afternoon tea provid-

ed by a very friendly Brazilian couple. We were offered a wonderful selection of homemade cakes served in huge slices – just how we like it. The chocolate cake was particularly good. Mount Grace Priory, set amid wood-land in North Yorkshire, is the best pre-served Carthusian priory in Britain. We vis-ited the priory earlier this year and spent several happy hours taking photographs as well as visiting the on-site exhibition. With no catering available at the Priory, we found a wonderful Farm Shop & Café near Northallerton. The home-made scones were particularly memorable and we all made several purchases from the Farm Shop.

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Behind the Pages

Discovering the hidden treasures of Durham Cathedral Library

I have recently been fortunate enough to participate in Behind the Pages, a special programme being of-fered to groups as a special series of discussions and visits to Durham Cathedral. The project is linked to Open Treasure, the Cathedral’s exhibition experience open from 23 July 2016.

As a volunteer at Durham Cathedral, I first saw the project advertised in the Volunteers Newsletter and felt it was too good an opportunity to ignore!

Behind the Pages gives existing book groups the opportunity to study a book before being invited to the Cathedral’s Refectory Library (not normally open to the public) to examine rare texts, supported by in-formed staff.

My U3A Book Club were equally enthusiastic about the prospect of engaging with the Cathedral’s collec-tions - it was our first experience of such a project!

A number of books spanning across different genres were selected by the Cathedral’s Head of Collec-tions and Assistant Librarian. We were asked to se-lect a title that we felt was appropriate to our group, with each title being linked to an object or artefacts held in the Cathedral’s hidden treasure collection.

We chose ‘English Passengers’ by Matthew Kneale almost by default, having previously read several of the other books suggested. We were then free to read the book at our leisure before being invited to visit the Cathedral and view the hidden treasures. It proved to be a very good decision!

"English Passengers" is an ambitious novel spanning 40 years of colonial history, told in the first person by 20 narrators. The action takes place in England, on the high seas and in Tasmania, taken over by the British as a penal settlement.

In Tasmania, British actions completely wiped out the indigenous people, through disease and murder, with the last person dying in 1879. Surprisingly against this background there is hilarity in the book as well as absolute horror.

During June, every household in Wooler received a brief questionnaire asking residents for their views about 'Living in Wooler'.

The Enquiring Minds group of Wooler U3A, on behalf of Wooler Parish Council, has devised the questionnaire to help Councillors to start compiling a proposed Wool-er Neighbourhood Plan.

Enquiring Minds was launched in 2014 with Sue Welch as Leader. The group was described .."We pose inter-esting questions and try to find ways of answering them by supporting and challenging each other. What would you like to find out about?

Enquiring Minds members are pictured discussing the final draft of the questionnaire (Joan Thomas, Sue Welch, Helen Astley, Barbara Rattcliff and Roseanna Reed; member and photographer Kelvin Rushworth is not included).

Completed questionnaires were returned to one of the 'ballot boxes', strategically placed around Wooler ... in the Co-op, Farm to Freeze, the Cheviot Centre, Glendale community School and the Post Office.

Wooler U3A

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The most colourful character in the story is Captain Kewley, a Manx sea captain, who takes the main pro-tagonists to Tasmania to escape his shady deeds in England. His attempts to sell his contraband cargo and escape the law provide most of the humour.

Other key characters include Rev Wilson, who wants to prove the Darwinists wrong by showing Tasmania to be the location of the Garden of Eden, and Dr Potter, convinced that races have predetermined charac-ter types.

Much of the aborigine suffering is told by Peevay, born after his mother was raped by a white settler. When her corpse is stolen by Dr. Potter for his research, which prevents Peevay from carrying out the usual aborigine rituals, Peevay hunts him down and exacts his revenge.

Overall, ‘English Passengers’ is a satisfying read which races along and subjects us to the full range of emotions, and we would happily recommend the book to other readers.

After reading the book, we were invited to the Cathe-dral’s Refectory Library for a fascinating ‘Show and Tell’ session. We were shown books which predated the 19th century and others contemporary with it. Books of hand-coloured maps used by travellers in the 18th and 19th centuries were especially beauti-ful.

We also saw etchings made from drawings done during Captain Cook's voyage to New Zealand and could imagine the wonder felt by those who saw the people, plants and animals shown, for the first time. The library staff were both enthusiastic and knowl-edgeable and happy to share their passion for the books with us. We felt privileged to be there surrounded by the many treasures and would love to be in-volved in further outreach projects.

This experience has made us more aware of Open Treasure and we look forward to visiting the exhibition space when it opens in July.

Maria Mekins, Cathedral Volunteer and Member of Sedgefield U3A Book Group

*Behind the Pages is a new and exciting project, which aims to transform access to the Cathedral’s collections and previously hidden wonders includ-ing never before seen objects and artefacts.

For more information, please contact [email protected]

Looking at our list of activities we now have five Book Groups, three Walking groups, three Language groups, two Art Appreciation groups, two Garden Visiting groups, two Scrabble groups and everything from Vegetable and Plant Growing to Ma Jong, Tai Chi, Music Appreciation and Bridge.

Our programme of speakers for this year ranges from talks on the Battle of the Somme and Tynedale Hospice at Home, to Tales of an Airline Pilot.

Added to our flourishing list of activities and varied programme of speakers, we have a healthy membership of over three hundred and thirty with quite a few new members joining since the start of the year. However like a lot of organisations we are finding it extremely difficult to recruit committee members and particularly officers. Unfortunately most P.L.L. members do not seem to understand that without a committee we will simply cease to function. There must be other U3As in the region who are experiencing the same difficulties and although there is not a ‘magic bullet’ to solve the problem perhaps there are U3As who have found an answer.

PONTELAND LEISURE LEARNING


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Handshakes were originally meant to

make sure that the person you were

meeting wasn’t carrying a concealed

weapon. The hand clasp proved that

your hand was empty and shaking was

meant to dislodge any weapons hiding

up the sleeve.

A small amount of stress helps you to remember things better but a large amount may hinder your

memory.

Our eyes are always the same

size from birth, but our nose

and ears never stop growing.

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Middlesbrough U3A decided to honour William Shakespeare by opening their April meeting with readings from some of his works

Four members of the poetry group with their group leader, Avrille McCann performed their favourite pieces.

Marie Dunn spoke Portia's Quality of Mercy speech from The Merchant of Venice.

Norma Green gave us the Three Witches from MacBeth.

Carolyn Judah recited the Marriage of True Minds, Sonnet 16.

Anne Dawson recited Mark Anthony's solilo-quy “Friends, Romans and Countrymen...” from Julius Caesar.

These were much appreciated by the mem-bership.

Some Members of Middlesbrough U3A Poet-ry Group - L to R, Carolyn Judah, Norma Green, Val Harris, Rosemary Leslie, Avrille McCann, Marie Dunn.

Walks and Talks Group – Visit to Moorsholm A group of 10 or so of the Walks and Talks Group had an interesting visit to Moorsholm organised by Patricia who had arranged for us to have scones and tea/coffee in the church hall after our walk. This was our starting point for the local Herit-age Trail where we were given a potted history of the village by members of the Moorsholm in Bloom Group who have won numerous awards for their beautiful flower

displays throughout this ancient place. Moorsholm appears in the Domesday Book as “Morehusum” (moor-houses). The rain arrived not long after we set out walking past the “Docks”, St. Mary’s Church (where we viewed the inside), the now dis-used Meth-odist Chap-el, the Quaker Cottages, past Nurs-ing Home (formerly the local

school), The Toad Hall Arms, Uxto Lane (an old sandstone trod) and a lovely conservation area alongside Back Lane which had seating, beautiful wildflower hedgerows and tree sculpture. Recreation Row overlooked a very tidy multi-use Recreation Ground and adjoining allotments. Despite the persistent drizzle we enjoyed exploring this lovely village and could imagine how fabulous it would look in the sunshine. Moorsholm is taking part this year in the Yellow Book Open Gardens Scheme and will be open to visitors from 10.30am – 4pm on Sunday 17th July. Thanks Patricia – history on our doorstep!

Shakespeare's Birthday

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Northumbria Region U3A – GEOGRAPHY COMPETITION

(2016)

FINAL REPORT

“The Final of this competition was held on Tuesday,17th May, 2016, at

The

Angel View Inn, Gateshead. The culmination of four months of knock-

out rounds and semi-finals resulted in

three teams challenging to be crowned

Champions for 2016.

These teams of four were Prudhoe,

Teesdale and Wessington U3As.

After refreshments, the teams and

their supporters,37 in all, settled down

for a 2.00 pm. start.

The

teams

answered many questions using

photographs, video, music and artifacts,

all connected to Geography. There were

nine rounds in total. The winning team

was Wessington U3A, composed of Janice

Farrow, Jenny Teal, Paul Irving and John

Laybourne, with a score of 81 points.

Prudhoe and Teesdale tied with 71 points.

The originator of this competition was Jeff

Armstrong, ex Vice-Chairman and

Chairman of Scottish U3As when he

piloted the idea; founder and exChairman

of Berwick-upon-Tweed U3A and now a

retired professional geographer who was

the “resident” question master throughout all the matches up to and

including the Final. Jeff presented the trophy to Wessington together

with a ‘Certificate of Achievement”.

Each participating team received a Certificate to the level they reached

during the competition. Wessington’s team will be spending an all-

inclusive

week in Malta at the end of October as their prize.”

“Jeff’s reason for introducing this competition was the disappointment

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(and disgust) at the rapidly declining importance and general knowledge

of Geography amongst young people and the general public. Jeff had

been an O/A level Geography Examiner from

1970 until 2012 (when IT took marking onto

the computer screen). The competition deals

in basic knowledge over many aspects of the

subject and has been designed to challenge,

encourage and expand geographical

knowledge in a pleasant atmosphere that

everyone can enjoy.”

As those of you who read Third Age Matters will be aware,

there are changes afoot in the Third Age Trust.

The organisation has grown far beyond the expectations of the

founders, with the 1,000th U3A expected to be established

before the end of the year. This means regions are growing.

Although Northumbria is relatively small with only 50 U3As,

others are very large by comparison, with 186 in the South

East. This makes the role of the Regional Trustee difficult to

fulfil, so changes to the structure of the Third Age Trust and the

National Executive Council are being considered.

Along with the issue of size, a big concern is the lack of

volunteers. U3A has always prided itself on the fact that it is

run by the members for the members, with only a skeleton

staff at national office. As we struggle to get committee

members and group convenors at both local and regional level,

are we wanting to ‘professionalise’ the organisation? Do we

want to pay 2nd agers to ‘organise’ and ‘teach’ us?

Personally I would be most unhappy if this was to happen as it

would change the character of the whole organisation, but,

with over 360,000 members there needs to be some

MESSAGE FROM YOUR REGIONAL TRUSTEE

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organising, and if local members are not prepared to volunteer,

then this is the only way forward.

Please read the articles in the three latest editions of Third Age Matters

(issues 20, 21 & 22) and let your opinions be known, by sending them to

national office or to me so I can speak on your behalf

We recently held our regional AGM and it proved very difficult to recruit

new officers and committee members. Eventually Barbara Herring, one

of our earliest chairmen, agreed to take on the role. She had been to

the meetings when the region was established about 20 years ago and

didn’t want to see it fold – which would have happened had she not

stepped in.

I feel so sad that none of the younger members were prepared to offer

their services to help maintain standards in this wonderful organisation,

and it fell to Barbara to recognise the value of what we have.

My term as Regional Trustee comes to an end in August – where does

the time go? I would like to thank you all for the kindness and support

you have given, and the warm welcome I have received when visiting

U3As around the region.

We are very fortunate to have a volunteer to replace me, Elizabeth

Porter of Tynedale U3A, so I hope you will all vote for her. I feel

confident she will do an excellent job of keeping Northumbria in the

forefront of national’s thinking.

It will be an exciting time to sit on the NEC as we have a new CEO. Lin

Jonas is retiring after 20 years at the helm. U3A has grown enormously

under her guidance and she will be a hard act to follow. This means the

new CEO may see our future differently. Will you be willing to

stand up for the type of U3A you want?

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Wessington U3A War Memorials Group

It’s been a busy time for Wessington U3A War Memorials Group and for the Poppy Girls who support us. On the afternoon of June 28th an art installation

called ‘Over the Top’ saw 2016 knitted and crocheted poppies hung over Fatfield Bridge on 24 mesh streamers. Thanks to Sunderland City Council for permission and for Northern Gas Network (Vaughan Crawford) for delaying some proposed work on the pipe over which the poppies now hang. Taking photos of the poppies has become a ‘thing’ in Washington.

Poppy knitting has become another ‘thing’ in Washington – men and women knitted some on Fatfield Bridge for World Knitting in Public Day on June 18th and lots of others later joined in. In the same week Nexus (thanks Andrew) fulfilled their promise by giving us our own bus stop (opposite Harraton Memorial) as a noticeboard; a yellow ribbon was cut, the champagne flowed, profiteroles were eaten and the driver of the 2A from Washington tooted enthusiastically.

On the 29th June a group of us planted about 400 blood red begonias at Harraton War memorial – thanks to the Council and to their gardeners who helped. On the evening of 30th June about 50 hardy souls turned up to hear (above the sound of raindrops on brollies) a few

words about the installation and then the poppy girls lit 28 tea lights and placed 28 white, knitted poppies (thanks Norma) to represent the men from Harraton Parish killed at the Somme (July-November 1916) while the names

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and brief details of those men were read. Jeff re-lit them all the next morning at 5am. At 7.28am on 1st July at Usworth Holy Trinity (thanks Vicar Julie), at Washington Holy Trinity (thanks Vicar David) and at North Biddick Social Club (thanks committee) whistles were blown (one of them had been used in 1916) and a total of about 200 people watched Washington Men at The Somme. The film (script advisor Peter Hart of Imperial War Museum) lasting 20 minutes, made by Lonely Tower Film and Media and funded by Heritage Lottery tells the story of the battle and mentions all 94 Washington men who died in it. It is freely available on Youtube.

‘Prep for Leo’ Study Days at the Laing Art Gallery,

Newcastle upon Tyne

by Catherine Stevenson, Newcastle U3A

From the Royal Collection, ten Da Vinci drawings came to our own

Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne from February to April 2016.

.

At the Laing, Newcastle U3A was organizing, on behalf of Northumbria

Region U3A, a study day based on the drawings and I was to be the

presenter.

There was such popular demand to see the drawings

that one day became three! U3A members really

wanted to learn!

There was a ppt presentation beginning with the

historical background of Leo’s life, his works, his

views of the world and the age in which he lived.

These were followed by explanations of each of the

drawings outlining details of Leo’s artistic techniques,

influences and problems he may have encountered, such as in casting

the Sforza monument which required about 80 tons of bronze!

Aspects of Leo as a multitalented polymath were addressed showing

how his interests spanned from botany such as his vibrant drawing of

blackberries to cartographer and hydraulics engineer as in the survey

of the River Arno and from the comparative anatomy of animals to

meteorology as seen in ‘The Deluge’ when, later in his life, he may

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have drawn exactly what he wanted to rather than what patrons wanted

from him. The ‘Heart compared to a seed’ led him into pathology and

geriatrics.

Leo’s human side was recognized in all of the works on exhibition as

they conveyed a sense of his love of drawing, evident in the drawings of

infant limbs and cats and there were even hints of a sense of humour!

He could leave the viewer asking him/herself questions. ‘The Deluge’

left members wondering if it was apocalyptic, poetic or just an obsession

Leo had for the vortex which appeared in nearly every drawing.

As he progressed, it could be seen how

he moved away from the technical skills

of the medieval guilds to using his

imagination and ideas, both of which

were examples of humanism. In

addition, he moved from metaphysical

and theoretical to the empirical and

observational art.

Leo had planned to include his drawings

in various treatises but none were

completed nor published. Many of his drawings were not built possibly

because the projects would have been too expensive, too advanced or

just not understood.

However, his legacies have remained through time.

These drawings illustrated how he led the way for other artists. His

techniques of sfumato, e.g. ‘the head of St. Anne, and in foreshortening

as seen in a male nude.

He raised the study of human anatomy to a science, often marrying art

to science as he pushed the boundaries of each. Renaissance artists

borrowed his concept of the human being as a means of showing

expression.

What did he leave for us, today? He bequeathed the drawings for us

to admire, love and use, such as in teaching human anatomy. He has

inspired artists and scientists and although his plans for a weir on the

Arno never came to fruition, two weirs can now be seen there.

Thank you to John Leiper, Regional Chairman, for his vast amount of

organization and to Mo Brown, Chairman of Newcastle U3A, for input.

Also, thanks to all our members who attended.

I felt honoured to be able to talk about the drawings to our members

who had so many interesting comments to make about what they saw.

Some of our wonderful study days’ volunteers.

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We shared an interest in Leo who reflected the times in which he lived

and yet after nearly 500 years, he has continued to inspire and reach

the imagination of the world – especially members of the U3A!!

What a star!!!

Leading the science group is both a challenge and a rewarding experience but the load is

considerably eased with the assistance of a small support team, whose input is always wel-

comed and appreciated. All are involved in the selection of topics and occasionally a mem-

ber of the group will offer to present a talk, which I am most pleased to encourage.

Science cannot be fully appreciated without some background knowledge of mathematics

and it was with some trepidation that I mentioned indulging in some maths but you can im-

agine my surprise when there was unanimous support for topics such as Euclidean geome-

try, similar triangles and calculus.

A presentation can now assume a professional quality thanks to the modern technology of

the Internet, laptops, digital projectors and PowerPoint applications and confirms the dic-

tum that “a picture is worth 1000 words”. All our presentations are now assisted with the

use of these audio visual aids.

Science can only be fully appreciated with experiments and some attempt must be made to

realise this in a presentation. Practical work provides the opportunity for members to par-

ticipate in experiments such as Young’s Slits measurement of the wavelength of laser light

and to experience the variation of sound amplitude as they walked through an interference

field. In addition, I would suggest that the injection of humour certainly helps weld the re-

lationship between presenter and audience as well as easing any stress with a difficult con-

cept. The introduction of an optional homework exercise based loosely on the topic of dis-

cussion gives a challenge to those keen to test their understanding and helps reinforce

their learning.

I believe that, one of the main purposes of the U3A is to provide a friendly, social atmos-

phere in which learning can develop at one’s own pace. In our December meeting, small

groups built sensitive microbalances and a wasp’s leg was eventually weighed. We finished

the day with a Christmas party – carols, mince pies, sweets and cakes and to cap it all, San-

ta Claus took time out to give us a visit and a box of chocolates. It was a December

to remember!

The science group Wearside U3A

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Age-Well conference

Five of our members, armed with publicity boards, information fliers and loads of examples as to what we could offer those in the 'Third Age' of life. went to to the Church of England Academy and spent a great day interacting with other like-minded groups who were interested in offering people support in staying active and well connected to their family, friends and community. The day was divided into sections starting with the conference proper in which its aims in dealing with General and Physical Health, and Living and Ageing Well. Its remit is to focus on Wellness, NOT unwellness To see older people as an asset to skills, to get all age groups working together and become intergenerational. We then had an inspirational talk by Brian Burnie founder of 'Daft as a Brush Cancer Patient Care' where the only medication given by its voluntary drivers and carers is LAUGHTER. They provide companionship for the lone patient,with lots of time to spare when taking the patient home after treatment in talking things through after chemotherapy for example, or how to organise transport in getting to hospital on a daily basis. Even to ringing the patient the night before their appointment to ease any stress or anxiety. After coffee the Market Place was opened and we were able to find out where we would be of most use to other groups by visiting their stalls. For example our generation are more active than our grandparents were, so some continue to work until retirement age instead of becoming unpaid child-minders. Nowadays children don't identify them as the old people they read about in childrens' fiction. There were also workshops to attend and I went to find out what a person with dementia has to cope with and how to help them, and also one on what benefits people are able to claim and how to judge the criteria. After a hot lunch and time to chat with other delegates the conference resumed with "Scottie Richards the Singing Postie." He has been a postman for eleven years, currently delivering at Merleycroft, Loansdean, Morpeth.. A postman is sometimes the only link a person living alone, or in a solitary area has. We were then treated to seeing who over the last two years had been awarded Extra Smiles Awards. The day ended with questionnaires as to what we had enjoyed about the day and a discussion as to what we would like to happen during the next two years. I myself would be interested in forging links with children through their schools.

21


‘Men in a Workshop’ and housing

provider, team up to help tackle social

isolation

A SOCIAL housing provider that provides

homes and services in rural Northumberland is supporting a local

charity designed to help older men in the area to learn new skills and

tackle social isolation.

Not-for-profit housing provider Four Housing, part of the Bernicia

Group, has partnered with the Men in a Workshop project in Wooler to

restore five memorial benches which will be installed at its nearby

housing development at Horsdonside, which is scheduled for completion

later this summer.

Project members will

be repairing the

benches by sanding

and painting or

treating them with

an oil finish to

restore them to their

former glory.

The housing

provider, which as a group is responsible for 14,000 homes across the

North East, is committed to helping to tackle social issues that impact

on the communities in which it operates. Its support of the project

coincides with information being released by The King’s Fund which

highlights social isolation and loneliness as having as big an impact on

health as moderate smoking, excessive alcohol consumption and

obesity. It states that housing associations can play an important role

in alleviating social isolation through interventions, such as involvement

in community schemes*.

Men in a Workshop launched in 2014 and is operated by the Royal

Voluntary Service to offer older men the chance to share, learn and use

skills that may otherwise go to waste, while providing an opportunity to

22


THE UNIVERSITY OF THE THIRD AGE, WOOLER

(Learn, Laugh and Live!)

On behalf of Wooler U3A, Enquiring Minds Leader Sue Welch and Wooler Parish Councillor Rosanna Reed presented Active Northum-berland Wooler librarian Kath Lohfink with a number of brief Locality publications about Neighbourhood Planning, to ed-ucate and inform local residents about the issues involved.

On behalf of and funded by Wooler Parish Council, the Enquiring Minds group of Wooler U3A de-vised and distrib-uted a simple sur-vey to all house-holds in Wooler. Many residents commented that they would wel-come more infor-mation about the proposed Neighbourhood Plan.

The three publications, provided free of charge to the library, were

produced by the national organisation Locality in an

attractive colourful and easy-to-read format.

meet new people. Royal Voluntary Service had identified a need for

social inclusion with older men in the community, who often find they

lose contacts and confidence to do things as they get older.

Activities carried out at the workshop include woodwork and

traditional crafts which men often do not have the tools for or

environmental space to work in.

23


To get the grey cells working!

Scratch Pad

Across

7. Give an account[6]

8. Cafe [6]

10. Goodbye[7]

11. Rapid[5]

12. Egg Shaped[4]

13. Motionless[5]

17. Bed cover[5]

18. Item of footwear[4]

22. Alter[5]

23. Void[7]

24. Safe[6]

25. Wind[6]

Compiled by Maureen Raper

Down

1. Farm vehicle[7]

2. Unlawful[7]

3. Shop[5]

4. Weapon[7]

5. Step[5]

6. Value[5]

9. Fondness for the past[9]

14. Sharp flavoured condiments[7]

15. Refuge[7]

16. Interfered[7]

19. Reason[5]

20. Gravy[5]

21 All[5]

across

7 relate

8 bistro

10 cheerio

11 swift

12 oval

13 still

17 quilt

18 shoe

22 adapt

23 invalid

24 secure

25 breeze

down

1tractor

2 illegal

3 store

4 missile

5 stair

6 worth

7 nostalgia

14 mustard

15 shelter

16 meddled

12 couse

20 sauce

21 every

24


(With all photographs printed in Messenger

copyright remains with the photographer)

For copies of this publication, photographs of some events and other regional

information visit the

Northumbria Region website:

www.u3asites.org.uk/northumbria

or

To request a copy of Messenger by email contact

Mo Brown at [email protected]

Chairman Barbara Herring [email protected]

Acting Vice Chairman Bill Brookes [email protected]

Secretary Judy Smith [email protected]

Treasurer Robert Berry [email protected]

Regional Trustee Gwen Dawe [email protected]

Minutes Secretary Maggy Grocott [email protected]

Newsletter Editor Jan Jenner [email protected]

Previous chairman John Leiper [email protected]

IT Representative Mike Martin [email protected]

Circulation Manager Mike Martin [email protected]

Regional Trustee Designate Elizabeth Porter [email protected]

Venues And Catering Co-ordinator Ann Bothwell [email protected]

Charities Commission Liaison Robert Berry [email protected]

Frank Forster [email protected]

Committee

Please send copy for the Oct edition to [email protected]

by 1st October 2016

All articles preferably in Word/RTF and images in jpeg format.

Snail mail: 9 Burn Valley Gardens, Station Town, Durham, TS285EU

Tel: 01429 599672

janje

Rectangle

http://u3asites.org.uk/northumbria/mailing/c:5050











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