BLACKMORE VALE U3A

NEWSLETTER

MARCH 2020

Photo by Louise Furre

Venue hire Please remember when making bookings that each group is self-funding, therefore, if there are any costs involved, a suitable fee should be charged to attendees to cover these costs. Also, a copy of the invoice and receipt is required to be sent to the Treasurer each month to be entered into the main accounts.

Privacy Policy Please be assured that we will never pass on your details to third parties without explicit consent from you and that we will never share your details with any company or charity for marketing purposes. The full policy is on the website.

The contents of this newsletter is provided by the members for the members and is produced at no

cost to the membership.

NOTICES Please note that doors will open

for future meetings at 2.15pm and that the speakers will be asked to

start at 3pm. The meeting will then close at 4pm.

OVERDUE

SUBSCRIPTIONS ARE DUE NOW

£15

£11.50 if you belong to another U3A

Group Leaders &

Committee Members £7.50

Please pay Gill at the

general meeting and make your cheques payable to

Blackmore Vale U3A

TUESDAY 3rd MARCH

Chris Tripp from

Dorset Diggers Community

Archaeology Group

talks about their work within and around Dorset

Doors open 2.15pm Speaker 3.00pm

GENERAL MEETINGS are held

in Henstridge Village Hall from 2.15pm to 4pm on the first Tuesday of alternate months. Members £1.50 Visitors 2.50

All our general meetings are publicised in The Blackmore Vale Magazine, The Visitor, local parish magazines, Wot’s On in Henstridge and the Villager in

Horsington. Posters are circulated to public places in Stalbridge, Henstridge, Wincanton, Templecombe and Milborne Port.

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YOU THE JURY

STUDY DAY

TUESDAY MARCH

10TH

9.30am-5pm

The Skittle Alley,

The Swan, Stalbridge

SOME PLACES STILL

AVAILABLE

£12.50

This is a very interesting day. You will be informed of the evidence surrounding two real murders (not recent), you will then deliberate with other members of the 'jury' and form a guilty or not guilty decision. Only then you will be told the actual result from the original trial - if there was one! Please either email or phone Judy if you wish to attend or add your name to the list at the general meeting.

SKITTLES Saturday March 28th

7pm Once again BVU3A are invited to join BV Oddfellows for a fun skittles night at the Swan, Stalbridge. With the landlord's fantastic food, prizes for winners and losers and a raffle - what more is needed for a great night out? Only £5. See Judy for details.

Around the Groups

Joining Groups Members can attend any group without actually 'joining' for two sessions. Please ring the organiser of the following interest/study groups for more detailed information. You may join one or more groups at any time of the year.

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MEDITATION GROUP

Our meditation group are so dedicated. They turn up smiling every month and allow me to guide them into a meditation with such trust and good heart that I am honoured to teach them. We have begun having longer silent meditations now that everyone is used to it and the benefits and strength gained in a group meditation experience is very precious. We went back to trying out mantra meditation last month and will carry this on for a while. Each mantra has a different vibration and so will appeal to different people. If you would like to join us we meet on the second Tuesday of the month at 2.30pm. Caressencerising@gmail.com Carolyn

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BRIDGE GROUP

The Bridge Club is open to anyone who wishes to play in a very relaxed fashion. We welcome beginners who we assist for as long as they want, and it is also open to anyone else whether they wish to be guided or not. We meet in Henstridge Village Hall on the 2nd and 4th Mondays in each calendar month, and we start playing at 2.30pm. Howard

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BOULES

We usually resume playing again in April. If anyone would like to join us next year please contact me at scott_47@yahoo.co.uk

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TABLE TENNIS

We meet at Milborne Port Church Hall from 2pm – 3.30pm every Friday afternoon. There are approximately 12 of us and we have two tables so we all get plenty of games each Friday. My contact details are. on the back page. Helen

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GARDEN GROUP

My name is Lyn Comrie

and I am taking over leading the Garden Group from Margaret Jarvis. We are all sorry that Margaret has decided to step down, and thank her for her excellent skills in organising successful visits to many beautiful and memorable gardens.

Winter can be a tricky time to plan a garden visit, and sadly, our return trip to Heale House had to be cancelled due to Storm Dennis wreaking havoc over the UK. Very different from last year when we enjoyed swathes of snowdrops on a cold, but sunny day.

Please bring your membership cards to the next Ash coffee morning on March 2nd, as I need to make a note of everyone's number. Thanks, Lyn

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OUT AND ABOUT

We had a well attended Pudding Club in January with some new faces which was nice. It may have been the result of Christmas indulgence that caused the starters to outnumber the puddings as they were healthier than the cream and sugar in puddings. It was all very delicious followed by interesting conversations with coffee around the fire. Our next meeting will be Monday 23rd March so why not join us, a few extra calories occasionally mixed with good company does you no harm.

Here is the recipe for Susan Kidd’s Blue Cheese & Fig Tartlets 2 sheets filo pastry 25x25cms 3 ripe figs (can give soggy bottom or use dried) melted butter 100g Roquefort cheese or similar 1tsp lemon juice 3 chopped sage leaves ground pepper sprinkling ground paprika Preheat oven 200 C400F Mk6. Brush pastry with melted butter and place one sheet on top of the other, cut into24 squares. Put one square on top of another forming a star shape & press into mini muffin tin, bake 5-10 minutes. Place on baking tray (can be kept in ‘fridge for a day). Divide figs between tartlets. Mash cheese, lemon juice, sage and pepper in a bowl then spoon blobs over figs, sprinkle with pepper & paprika. Bake 5-10 minutes until golden & crisp & cheese has just melted

A Brexit fish'n'chip supper

was held on 31st January and our February pub lunch was at The Orchard Inn at Galhampton. The food was tasty and the service friendly we would certainly recommend it as a good place to lunch.

A fine breakfast was produced at Charlton Horethorne Village Hall in January. It will be repeated on 23rd February. Free admission but donations will be welcome. Hopefully it will become a regular event.

Eating is a comforting thing to do in the dreary winter months but we do other things as well.

Sadly the showing of Downton at Milborne Port was poorly attended probably because most people had already seen it. The next film there will be Knives Out on Friday 21st February. The film of Cats was rather disappointing but Little Women was beautifully made and brought back memories of reading the

book many years ago. We now look forward to Emma and Beethoven’s only opera ‘Fidelio’ in March.

Our March coffee morning will be on Friday 20th at The Virginia Ash 11.15am I hope to see you there Jean

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CROQUET

It is hoped that this group will start again sometime after Easter, weather permitting. It would be helpful at this stage of the year to know how many people might be interested in playing. Last year we played on Monday and Thursday afternoons but one or two people have expressed an interest in changing one of these sessions to a morning. Please let me know if you would like to play this year and if you have a preference for day or time. Thank you. Ann Neal

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READING GROUPS BOOK REVIEWS

I am, Iam, I am Maggie O’Farrell

This memoir is the only non-fiction book that Maggie O’Farrell has written and charts her life

through seventeen

brushes with death. She writes in an engaging manner, not chronologically but dipping haphazardly – and some thought irritatingly - into incidents throughout her life. At the end of this roller coaster ride, the reader is astonished she has survived medical crises and incompetencies; potential drownings, and, on two occasions, being murdered, so much so that it was felt she may have exaggerated for maximum literary effect. On occasions it was thought she had unnecessarily or knowingly endangered not only herself but latterly her child.

Most of the group approved this book choice and some of the incidents chimed with experiences of individuals but could anyone compete with Maggie O’Farrell’s total? Jean

A Spool of Blue Thread Anne Tyler

This is a family saga of a middle class American family, four

generations, living in the suburbs. Abby and Red Whitshank and

their four children have accumulated not only tender family memories but also

jealousies, disappointments and carefully guarded secrets. The story gently weaves its way backwards and forwards over time and is an interesting window onto family dynamics. This book wasn’t a favourite with the book club. It was felt that it was too long and lost its way a little towards the middle of the book. Also, that the last third of the book, which dealt with the grandparents, was the most interesting section and would have been better told at the beginning to ignite more interest in the plot. However, this book did generate a lot of interesting discussion between our readers. Penny Burrett

After the Crash Michel Bussi

The black water lilies was my introduction to Michel Bussi. Having enjoyed this mystery thriller so much is what prompted me to choose after the crash. I had not read it before suggesting this for the group. This turned out to be a mistake as I did not enjoy it and I was not alone in that opinion. The opening chapters were promising and it was obvious that this was going to be a complex mystery to solve but the complexity was so laborious to follow that it was difficult to maintain interest and some of us failed even to finish the book. It is unusual for so many of us to be disappointed as we were with this book. Ann Neal

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WALKING GROUPS

Wellies have been essential kit for the U3A walking groups for the last couple of months. Even though a cautious route along tarmacked roads was chosen for the January walk, the Tuesday group had to negotiate a long stretch of flooding close to Henstridge. Louise Furre

Wednesday Walking Group A sparsely attended walk

in December, to which Tuesday walkers were invited, crossed Toomer Farm, up Toomer Hill, fairly muddy at the top, and returned to Henstridge around Instone.

A well attended joint New Year walk, again crossed Toomer Farm before turning along the ridge towards Copse House and returning to Henstridge via Landshire Lane.

In January five of us walked a circular route on tarmac to the north-east of Henstridge

The February walk, with six walkers, was from Milborne Port, along the ridge to the east of the village, with excellent views, to Milborne Wick and back to

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Milborne Port. As this walk took place just after the heavy rainfall of Storm Ciara, it was perhaps fortunate that this walk was also on tarmac along quiet lanes.

The planned walk in March will around the Giant at Cerne Abbas with extensive views over the valleys.

Walks take place on the second Wednesday of the month. Come along and join us for some gentle exercise in our lovely countryside. Richard Kidd

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MUSIC APPRECIATION

New Year/New Light was the theme for January held at Margaret's home. To make our souls take flight, we were woken by Wolfsheart Wolf Moon Rising and soothed copiously by Brahms Classical Concerto in A minor, Op. 114. We revelled in a mixture of Grieg, Handel, Tchaikovsky, Vaughan Williams and Simone. Last week our meeting was on a Valentine's theme. The love duet from Gershwin's Porgy and Bess and Carol's cake set the scene. Jessie Norman featured heavily. There was discussion on the best rendition of Non,Je ne Regrette Rien and Plaisir d''Amour. Our next meeting is Thursday 12 March 1400hrs. We have room for new members - please call 01963 362107. Susan Kidd

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If you have ideas or comments you'd like to share on any aspect of the Blackmore Vale U3A, or contribute to future editions of the newsletter, please contact Judy.

Please make use of the Blackmore Vale U3A web site, it is there for you to use for your convenience, showing details of groups, outings, meetings and all you need to know. Follow this link:

Blackmore Vale U3A

Tuesday 5th May

Frances Eustace Medievalist

talks about RUDE CAROLS

'they're not just for Christmas'

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COMMITTEE MEMBERS

JOINT CHAIRWOMEN Gill Westall, Susan Kidd

SECRETARY Barbara Eastes barroneastes@aol.com

01963 31077

MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY Gill Westall bvmembership@outlook.com

01963 204318

PUBLICITY OFFICER Jean Lindley 01963 251256

GROUPS CO-ORDINATOR Susan Kidd skiddsbvu3a@gmail.com

TREASURER & NEWSLETTER

Judy Penfold jood58@gmail.com

COMMITTEE MEMBER Anna Lister

COMMITTEE MEMBER Pamela Slater

COMMITTEE MEMBER Hilary Smith

COMMITTEE MEMBER Helen Howlett

COMMITTEE MEMBER Eileen Bate

BOULES Apr-Oct

Christine Scott - 01963 370313 Scott_47@yahoo.co.uk

BRIDGE Howard - 01963 363257

COMPUTING c/o Anna - 01963 371544

CROQUET Summer only

Ann Neal - 01963 371544 Amhill43@btinternet.com

GARDEN VISITS, COFFEE & CAKE

Lyn Comrie

mcomrie2@gmail.com

LOCAL HISTORY Jean - 01963 251256

MEDITATION Carolyn 01963 362311

Caressencerising@gmail.com

MUSIC APPRECIATION Susan 01963 326107

kiddhub@btinternet.com

OUT AND ABOUT Includes: Pudding, Theatre,

Cultural visits Jean - 01963 251256

READING GROUP Jean - 01963 251256

TABLE TENNIS Helen - 01963 363722

Helenbeale27@hotmail.co.uk

TUESDAY WALKING Dennis Ollington - 01963 364042

ollingd@tiscali.co.uk Ian Westall 01963 204318

WEDNESDAY WALKING Richard Kidd - 07710 329351 richardakidd64@gmail.com

Hilary Smith - ron_hilary@tiscali.co.uk