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SHEFFIELD UNIVERSITY

WOMEN’S CLUB

The weather in 2010 produced a good variety of fungi, visible well into November when members explored Ecclesall and Whirlow woods

NEWSLETTER No. 37

JANUARY 2011

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Dear Members and Friends, Happy New Year to everyone! So here we are in 2011. Looking back at my diary, I see 2010 was bracketed by snow and ice: January and December both sprinkled with notes of extreme weather and cancelled meetings. Well, it’s sunny outside as I write this, and I see green instead of white on the hedges and lawns; we’ll see what the new year has to offer. One thing it’s sure to bring is another chance to hear Suzanne Bingham talking about The Sheffield Blitz. We had to cancel her talk in December since, even had she managed to snowshoe in to the University, she would probably have been talking to herself! But she has kindly agreed to try again in May: Monday the 9th at 2pm. I think we can confidently expect there to be no snow. Suzanne has also said that she would be interested to hear any particular memories of the Blitz that people can bring to the meeting. The SUWC Committee have had their heads together over the past year, planning a rich programme of talks and outings for this spring and summer. A particular change from recent practice is the new set up for the Spring Supper. Instead of the traditional (and very nice!) DIY affair at Ranmoor, this March we will get together at the Millhouses Park Cafe. The renowned “pudding ladies” open the cafe for group bookings in the evening, so we can look forward to some delicious food, and no cooking! We will still be able to mingle and chat and relax with friends.

Please remember to book your place at events using the forms supplied with this Newsletter. Send a separate cheque for each event where required, otherwise refunds in case of emergency are much more difficult to make. The £2 for guests who are coming to talks should be paid at the door. Booking Forms for events should be returned to Hilary Page, Additional information can be found on the Club’s website. Dariel Merrills, Editor January 2011

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RECENT EVENTS 17 September: Coffee Morning in the Fulwood Room, University House

Our new year began, as has become our custom, with a coffee morning at University House. It was a delightful occasion which allowed us to catch up with our friends after the summer recess. And the event was made even more interesting by the presence of Eve Fawcett's silver jewellery stand, Hazel Brocklehurst 's sale of her cards and a nearly new bookstall run by Chris Roe. The proceeds go to the Women's Club. and we thank them for their efforts.

It's always an interesting occasion when so many women, with such a range of backgrounds and experiences, get together for such an event. Our travel exploits over the years would make fascinating reading!

Thank you to our committee members for providing such delicious biscuits.

Marisse Evans 19 October: The Annual General Meeting, followed by a talk by Annie Rouxeville on “The Spirit of Bhutan”. Approximately 65 members attended the AGM this year. After the minutes of the last AGM were approved and accepted, Sue Battersby presented the treasurer’s report. The club’s finances are in a healthy state despite falling interest rate on the reserve account. We all thanked Hilary Shenton for auditing the accounts and Sue for keeping the money in order. Retiring Committee Members Jasmine Simeone and Sheila Duncan were thanked for their years of excellent service, and two new members were elected: Carol Walsh and Chris Roe.

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As outgoing chairman, Hilary Page reminded us of the highlights of the year, in particular the day out at Cannon Hall and the garden party at Horsleygate. The Lake District holiday, organised by Sheena Ritchie, was enjoyable as ever. Hilary introduced the new Chair of the SUWC, Rosalind Dean, with the ceremonial handing over of the Bell. The lovely cut glass bell had been given to the club by Margaret Strachan, back when Rhiannon Clayton was in the Chair. Rosalind outlined her priorities for the SUWC for the coming year: to continue the excellent programme of events; to encourage an increase in membership; and to make sure that the website supported recruitment. After the business, we all relaxed to listen to Annie’s fascinating account of the spirit of Bhutan. Annie Rouxeville’s talk “The Spirit of Bhutan”

Bhutan, population 635,000 lies between China, India (with whom they have a much more open relationship) and Tibet. The country is mountainous, producing hydroelectricity, 70% forested, and with rich agricultural plains.

Though poor, the people are not downtrodden – the country is

tidy and peaceful. Buddhism pervades society – they don’t shout and they don’t believe in arguing. Food is plentiful and varied. Education and health, art and culture have high priority. Everyone has access to health care; education is free to age 13 and afterwards if the child passes an exam. There is a University, an Art School and a National Library filled with scrolls on every subject. Annie showed us what she deprecatingly called ‘holiday snaps’. They were rather good! Music, painting, weaving, wood carving, and mask making are much in evidence. Houses are decorated outside by professionals – no DIY. If you can’t afford it, you have a plain house.

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Bhutan is a

democracy with a young king, Oxford educated, who wants to bring the country into the modern age while preserving their culture. The internet is widely available and many have mobile phones. The fable of the ‘Four Honourable Friends’ the elephant, the monkey, the partridge and the hen illustrates an interdependent, mutually respectful and harmonious hierarchy. The spirit of harmony and cooperation may save from extinction the tigers which roam the high forests of Bhutan.

The success of Bhutan is measured in Gross National Happiness. Has the rest of the world something to learn from this? Hilary Page 1st and 4th November: “Fungal Foray” led by Patrick Harding in Ecclesall Woods and Whirlowbrook Park 2010 was a good autumn for fungi as well as for autumn colour. On two damp but mild mornings a stalwart group of SUWC gatherers and friends assembled in Ecclesall Woods and Whirlowbrook grounds to forage. Leading us was the irrepressible Patrick Harding, who provided a quick introduction to the characteristics of fungi, emphasising that they were not “plants”, before venturing into the vegetation. Some fungi thrive in dead others in live wood, and many different species do better in open grass.

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We were amazed at the number of different species that could be collected within a very small area. Sharp eyes were needed to detect low-lying specimens among the dense fall of leaves. Some, however, notably “Jew’s Ear”, a gelatinous, bracket type grew out of tree trucks, dead or alive, and we saw many specimens. We must have seen these many times before but most of us did not even recognise what they were or that they had a name. We found it helped to know that they prefer elder trees and Patrick’s extensive knowledge of trees and other plants was appreciated. We learned that colour, size and shape are not reliable features. They change with age, just as do we! The oak trees of Ecclesall Woods provided good examples of “Hen of the Woods”. Whirlowbrook grounds proved exceptionally rich in ‘fairy rings’ and in a wide variety of edible fungi. Many edible fungi have poisonous ‘look-alikes’, even belonging to the same family and the best advice is to pick nothing for eating, unless you are an expert or have the specimens scrutinised by one. One or two members had brought a basket and proceeded home to their mushroom omelettes, while others repaired to the pub to enjoy warmth and a snack.

As well as writing

books, some of which were available to our members on the day, Patrick gives talks on many other aspects of trees, flowers and local customs. He also leads adult education, residential courses in many parts of the country and abroad, further details of which can be found at www.patrickharding.co.uk .

Sheila Duncan

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11 November: Theatre Visit -- William Nicholson’s Crash at the West Yorkshire Playhouse

Leaden skies, gusty winds and sudden cold, sharp downpours. Not the most promising weather for the SUWC’s day out in Leeds for a trip to the theatre. But the determination of doughty members to overcome such disagreeable conditions was well rewarded.

This production was great fun for all. Our seats were amazing. Down at the very front and with a superb direct involvement in the action, we were from the very beginning fully drawn into the passionate performances. And the programme that provided us with the full text of the play instead of bare information and a load of glossy adverts was a great idea. It was not a subtle play, with a rather contrived, even hackneyed, message that those who live in glass houses should not throw stones, nor was it a long performance, but clearly William Nicholson, the author of Shadowlands saw the need for theatrical display. Here we saw a stonkingly rich and greedy banker showing off his millions along with his deliciously young Croatian girl friend, teetering on six inch heels with legs which reached up to her armpits, to two old friends from student days, an impecunious unsuccessful sculptor and his teacher wife who were invited to his Elizabethan pile in the countryside for the weekend ostensibly to celebrate the banker’s purchase of the sculptor’s rather banal artwork.

The set was intriguing; the Damien Hirst spots painting, the pink inflatable bunny on the staircase, the barely clad kneeling wax model holding up the iconic glass coffee table with her/its staring eyes gazing directly at the audience. A joke about values and modern art, I assumed. Reviews in the broadsheets were mixed and the passionate diatribe against the horrendous breed of bankers at the end of the first act offered us a familiar perspective on the crash of 2008. Perhaps many of us also instantly recognised that the bankers were, after all, only a reflection of the all-pervasive greed of a whole society for whom consuming with credit had become a passion. But the climax

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of the play was nonetheless dramatic with the crash as the plate glass front of the Elizabethan manor house collapsed into the audience, especially us, at the front!

The noise of smashing glass was convincing enough for your writer here to rush to pick up a shard or two at the end… but oh! just a rubbery plastic, which I wasn’t allowed to keep as a souvenir. Wendy Jenrick FORTHCOMING EVENTS Tuesday, 18th January, 2011: Ceramics Session at Planet Pot, 102 Hangingwater Road, Nethergreen; 1.30 pm Depending on when this Newsletter lands on your doorstep, the Planet Pot session may or may not still be “forthcoming”. If it is, and you would like to go but haven’t booked, do contact Hilary Page. There may be a vacancy or cancellation. Monday, 21st February: Talk by Professor Bill Leatherbarrow, “The Amateur Astronomer”; 7 for 7.30pm, Fulwood Room, University House.

As well as being a distinguished Russian scholar, Professor Bill Leatherbarrow has a lifelong interest in astronomy. He is Director of the Lunar Section of the British Astronomical Society, a post previously held by Patrick Moore; his illustrated talk on “The Amateur Astronomer” includes beautiful and rare images of the moon.

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Thursday, 17th March: Theatre Visit. YERMA by Federico Garcia Lorca at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds. “Yerma”. What if the one thing from your life was the one thing you couldn’t have? Yerma longs for a child. When presented with a husband she takes him not for love but for the chance to start a family. Now that is denied her the world ceases to make sense. Locked in a small town inhabited by smaller minds, Yerma begins to push against the rules, searching for truth and assistance in people and places that are not considered socially acceptable. Her innocent actions send a ripple through a community whose twisted minds fashion it into a tidal wave. Scorned and misunderstood by her people and faced with the reality of a life spent childless with a man she does not desire, Yerma commits the ultimate act of rebellion.

If you would like to be included in this visit please contact Belinda Barber, by 10th February with the number of seats you require and a cheque for £16 per person made payable to SUWC. The matinee performance starts at 2pm. Meet at the theatre at 1:30pm at the top of the stairs near the café, where Belinda will have the tickets. Light lunches are available in the café.

Make your own way to Leeds. A National Express coach (which offers a discount with a bus pass) leaves from Sheffield Interchange at 10:30am. It arrives in Leeds very near the Theatre 50 minutes later. The return times are: 5:15pm and 5.40pm. Trains are also available, but the walk from the station in Leeds is quite a long one.

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Saturday 26th March: Spring Supper, 7 for 7.30pm, Millhouses Park Café

This year we decided to do something different! Millhouses Park Café is run by The Pudding Ladies, who are wonderful cooks. During the day the café is family friendly, but in the evenings it is transformed into a stylish bistro.

We are offered a welcome drink with a selection of home made breads, dips and olives, a delicious buffet, a choice of puddings, followed by tea or coffee.

Bring Your Own wine – no corkage fee! (Soft drinks can be purchased).

The cost is £20 per head, guests welcome. There is plenty of parking on Abbeydale Road and in the car park in Millhouses Park itself.

For this event. please send your reply slip with cheque to Rosalind Dean (address on slip) by 27th February.

Tuesday 26th April: Visit to Kelham Island Industrial Museum, 10am till 12.30. Followed by lunch at The Fat Cat

See Sheffield’s steel industry heritage from the age of the water wheel and the ’little mesters’ to the present day. Visit the refurbished Hawley Collection exhibition, not just tools, (though they have their charm) but also designs and patterns for important pieces made in Sheffield, and in some cases the finished object. See (and hear!) the amazing Don Valley machine which will be set in motion at 12 o’clock.

At about 12.30 we will make our way to the Fat Cat for lunch. (10 mins walk. – or you can take your car, though we have permission to leave them at the museum) Directions by car: drive down past the university and continue down West Bar and across the roundabout onto Corporation Street, now very wide as part of the inner ring road. Manoeuvre into the correct lane to take the third left into Alma Street, at the brown Kelham Island signpost. (Please arrange car sharing. Lifts can be

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arranged if those who can offer, and those who would like a lift can state this on the reply slip). There is plenty of free parking behind the museum.

Public transport: To reach the museum take the tram to Shalesmoor, or a bus from the interchange. Nearest stop is on Nursery Street.

The Fat Cat is an old established Pub well known for good food. We will need to let them know approximately how many we will be, so please mention on the reply slip whether you would like to stay for lunch.

The whole visit is pay as you go. There is a café at the museum. Entry to the museum is £3 (concessionary rate). Main courses at The Fat Cat typically cost £5.50. Monday, 9th May: Talk by Suzanne Bingham, “The Sheffield Blitz”; 2 for 2.30 pm, Abbeydale Room, University House. Optional lunch at 1pm (the cafe, there on Level 5)

Suzanne Bingham will be giving us a lively, fascinating and very well researched talk on The Sheffield Blitz She has an engaging style and is very well informed on many aspects of local history. This is the talk that was cancelled in December because we were all buried in snow, but we can pretty well guarantee that whatever falls in May, it won’t be the white stuff. Suzanne hopes that any members who remember the blitz will be able to attend, since their experiences and recollections make the discussion lively and interesting.

Friday, 17th June: Garden Party, 2pm.

Eugenia has invited members to enjoy the June sunshine in the garden of the Dower House at Cutthorpe. It will be a chance to wander lazily around the garden without that irresistible urge to bend down and pull out a weed or two (since they all belong to someone else!). Then, over a cup of tea we’ll be able to catch up with old

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friends and meet new ones. As always, guests are welcome. It would be helpful for those of us on the tea-and-buns detail to know approximate numbers, so please send in the booking form by Saturday the 4th of June. For late bookings by phone, please ring Hilary with the information.

Directions to Eugenia’s house. From Owler Bar take the second exit, B6051, toward Barlow. Carry on through Millthorpe and Barlow then turn right on Cutthorpe Road, the B6050. (This turning is 4-5 miles from Owler Bar.) Go through Cutthorpe. Green Lane is the second left, an unpaved road; if you reach the school, you’ve gone too far. The Dower House is on the left, nearly at the end.

Tuesday, 12th July: Visit to Brodsworth Hall and Gardens, Brodsworth, Doncaster. 10:45 am

Brodsworth Hall is described as a rare example of a

Victorian country house that has survived largely unaltered with much of its original furnishings and decorations intact. Built in the 1860s it remains an extraordinary time warp. The now faded grandeur of the reception rooms speak of an opulent past whilst the cluttered servants' wing, with a kitchen from the age of Mrs Beeton, recalls a vanished way of life. Careful conservation has preserved the effects of the hand of time through the house to produce an interior that is both fascinating and evocative. The Hall is set within beautiful gardens that are a delight to visit at any season.

We are proposing to travel independently (car sharing can be arranged) to arrive about 10.45am. Coffee will be available before we take a guided tour of the house starting at 11.15 am and lasting about one and a half hours. Lunch will be available at around 1pm. After that the time is yours, to return to the house (including rooms that the tour does not cover), visit the gardens or set off home.

The total cost is £18.50, including house, gardens, tour, coffee and lunch but you can choose some or all parts of the package. If you do not want to take the tour you can buy your own

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ticket for the house and garden for £7.40 (concession) or just the garden for £4.50 (English Heritage members free). The gardens are open from 10am but the house does not open for independent visiting until 1pm. NB If you are thinking of visiting independently do check opening times as they may be revised due to cuts.

If you want to know more, look at www.english-heritage.co.uk/brodsworthhall Friday 30th September: Coffee Morning; 10.30 am, Fulwood Room, University House

This informal event provides a good opportunity to meet up and exchange news after the summer. It is a particularly good opportunity to bring potential new members as guests. We will ensure that there are biscuits with the coffee, which will be free to members, but please pay £2 for each guest. We plan to have cards, jewellery, and other craft items on show and for sale. We’ll also have a stall for books in good condition, so if you have any you care to recycle, bring them along! SOME MORE INTERESTING THINGS TO DO: Walking Group: The Walking Group meets on the first Tuesday of the month at 9.30 am at the junction of Riverdale Road and Endcliffe Grove Avenue. If you are interested in joining the group, contact Marisse Evans, the organiser

There is also a medium walk available most months which consists of a smaller group, currently of about nine members who have opted for a shorter and slower, but similar, walk of 2-3 miles. Members meet 10 am at the same place as for the longer walk, meeting the main group in the pub for lunch. Contact Hazel Brocklehurst for further details of the shorter walk and to be added to the mailing list. Film and Theatre Group: Belinda Barber is the key organiser for the theatre group. If you would like to be contacted about Film and Theatre visits please be sure that Belinda has your up-to-date e-mail

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address; or if you do not have e-mail, your telephone number. Usually the tickets are available for collection at the theatre on the day of the performance. Guests are (of course) welcome. Hazel Brocklehurst’s Art Group: For further information please contact Hazel. Hazel is also on the committee of SUFAS, the Sheffield University Fine Art Society, and invites interested members of the Women’s Group to join them. For details about membership, exhibitions, and meeetings, contact Hazel. SUMMARY LIST OF FORTHCOMING EVENTS For your records. You might want to note the date you sent in your Booking Form and tick that you’ve also sent a cheque. Date Event Booked Cheque sent

Feb 21 Talk: The Amateur ___ not needed Astronomer March 17 Theatre visit: Yerma ___ £16 per person

March 26 Spring Supper ___ £20 per person

April 26 Visit: Kelham Island ___ not needed

May 9 Talk: The Sheffield Blitz ___ not needed

June 17 Garden Party ___ not needed

July 12 Visit: Brodsworth Hall ___ see booking form

Sept 30 Coffee Morning ___ not needed

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The Committee

Rosalind Dean (Chair); Sue Battersby (Treasurer); Hilary Page (Events Secretary); Marisse Evans (Minutes Secretary); Dariel Merrills (Newsletter); Judy Kinderlerer (Webmistress); Wendy Jenrick (Membership Secretary); Belinda Barber; Hazel Brocklehurst; Eugenia Bruce; Carol Walsh; Chris Roe

NEWSLETTER No 38 will be published in September 2011. Copy deadline for review items is 28 days from the date of the event;

final copy deadline: 1 August 2011. 300 to 500 words is a good target length for all reports, and photos are always welcome, too.

Please send items for inclusion by email or Royal Mail.