Derby U3A Review

2018

Editors Note:

This entire publication is copyright of Derby U3A and has been produced by

the members for the members and for distribution to selected external

organizations for the purpose of information and publicity.

No part shall be reproduced except with the express consent of the

executive committee of Derby U3A who can be contacted via the website.

DW & AM Jowle (Editors)

Welcome to Derby U3A

Derby U3A is part of a world-wide movement for people in their third age,

where we participate in learning, social and recreational activities. It is run

by our members for our members, and everything is voluntary which means

that our costs and charges are very low.

We have over 350 members with 38 interest groups. Our membership has

been growing over the past few years. We have a general meeting every

month with an outside speaker, we run summer and Christmas buffet lunches,

and we have organised outings to places of general interest about once a

month. We welcome non-members to attend up to two “taster” interest

groups and also two general meetings to find out more about what we do and

how we operate.

Derby U3A Review gives an account of our activities in 2017, and we hope

that you will get a flavour of what we do and will be encouraged to consider

joining us. New members are very welcome, both to participate in current

activities and also to contribute to new ones.

Catherine Wykes, Chair

How much does it cost

Annual subscription:

£15.00 January to December

£8.00 September to December

Interest group meetings at venues which are paid for: £1.50 per meeting, no

charge for other meetings

Monthly meeting charge: £1.50. Includes tea or coffee.

How to join

Phone: 01332 242504

Website: http://u3asites.org.uk/derby

Email; derbyu3a@gmail.com

General meetings

We have a general meeting on the last Thursday of the month (August and

December excepted) when we normally have a talk given by an outside speaker

or occasionally by one of our own members. The range of topics is very varied,

so there should be something for everyone. Among the topics this year were

English Castles, the Derby Canal, explorer Robert Walker( many of the items

he collected are in the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford), and the history of the

Eurovision Song contest.

Our first speaker, Ian Hingley, gave us amusing presentation reminding us of

our childhoods in the 40s and 50s. More a discussion than a lecture, Ian's

presentation was in the style of comedians from that era and had members

chuckling in remembrance.

We had a talk from one of our own members, Max Maughan, about the Peak

District National Park which was illustrated with some terrific photographs

and videos taken by Christine Maughan. We heard about the geological history

of the area, illustrated with images of some remarkable fossils, saw many of

the well known and well-loved beauty spots. We also saw pictures of much of

the wildlife there, among which were the mountain hare, who turns white in

the winter (a ploy that is only successful if it snows) and the brown hare who

can travel at 45mph; curlews, golden plovers and Britain’s only venomous snake,

the adder. We saw superb video footage of starlings murmuring, as they

prepared to bed down for the night.

Many of us were not aware that the famous “Sailing By” tune, which introduces

the Shipping Forecast on BBC, as well as the “Elizabethan Serenade” were

composed by Ronald Binge, who came from humble beginnings in Chaddesden.

David Parry gave an entertaining talks about his life. He started his musical

career as a choirster went to on become a cinema organist before eventually

joining Manotvani’s orchestra where he arranged many of that orchestra’s

pieces. He invented the “cascading strings” intrinsic to the Mantovani sound.

He went on to compose many more original works.

Report on the Outings 2017

There were slightly fewer trips in 2017 than previous years with a total of 6

averaging 39 people per trip. The trip in February to Bletchley Park was a requested

repeat since more exhibits had been added since our previous visit, and it is always a

fascinating place.

In March the visit to the Thackray Medical Museum, Kirkstall Abbey and Abbey

House was, I have been told, the most interesting trip yet. The interactive Social

History displays about Leeds and accounts of medical triumphs reminded us of how

life has changed today. Walking around the ruins of Kirkstall Abbey was enhanced by

the sunny weather and the glorious display of crocuses.

We toured more ruins in May. This time at Wroxeter we saw what remained of a

Roman Town and learned about Roman culture and history in Britain. This was followed

by lunch and a tour of Attingham Park, home to the same family for 5 generations.

July took us to Harewood House. Here were costumes from the recent ITV

production of the ‘Victoria’ in magnificent rooms converted to resemble Buckingham

and Kensington Palaces. There were extensive terrace gardens and herbaceous

borders to admire and numerous walks in the 100 acre grounds to the Walled Garden,

Himalayan Garden and Bird Garden.

We saw the Capability Brown designed gardens at Trentham which we visited in

September. Here the formal gardens at end of the lake lead on to the Rivers of

Grass and Prairie Planting and walks round the lake. There are show gardens to see

and in the Shopping Village many small outlets and a large garden centre.

The last visit in November was to the Think Tank Museum in Birmingham with its vast

range of exhibits from fossil remains of dinosaurs to a steam locomotive and plastic

recycling. Our pleasure was reduced a little by rowdy school groups in the exhibit and

café areas. In the afternoon at the Coffin Museum the enthusiastic tour guides

outlined the rise to fame of a small Victorian factory through casting high quality

coffin furniture. The factory then declined mainly as a result of the increase in

cremation and finally closed and became a museum.

Family and Social History

Earlier this year the group decided to rename from Family History. When

the group was started we concentrated on researching and building family

trees in our sessions. As time went on we began to expand our interest to

include looking into the possible lifestyles of our ancestors. We have

continued to do this and this year we have used documentary DVDs, BBC

archive videos and Pathe News to promote research and discussion.

At some sessions a member presents an aspect or person in their family

tree and we use the internet to help to solve particular difficulties

members have encountered when tracing their family trees.

We have also decided on particular topics for our meetings e.g. food,

occupations, travel and each member is encouraged to bring some research

or information from their family history to the discussion.

This year we have decided to spend a little more time in exploring the

various search sites as well as continuing to explore more topics of social

history.

Wine Appreciation

The Wine Appreciation Group has had an interesting year, tasting many

wines from different countries. We started the year by sampling the same

named wine but from different countries discussing taste and bouquet,

then guessing the price. The most expensive was not always the most

popular.

In April it was arranged for a sommelier to visit the Group. We were

worried that he wasn't going to turn up but he arrived with one minute to

go. He was a young man, probably in his early twenties, but very

knowledgeable about wine. He brought his own glasses and 4 bottles of

wine, which we sampled whilst he told us anecdotes about his career. He

had for a short time worked as a sommelier for Gordon Ramsey in London,

serving some very expensive wines. We were very grateful that he didn't

charge Gordon's prices!

In August we had a mini coach trip to Sealwood Cottage Vineyard, Linton,

Swadlincote, which is our nearest vineyard, where we had a tour and a talk

on how the wine is produced. Sealwood was established in 2008 and

produced its first bottle of wine in 2010. We were then given the

opportunity to taste the wines produced by the vineyard. All Sealwood's

wines are not blended but produced from just one grape only. We then had

a buffet lunch which was quite a spread before returning on the coach to

Derby.

In November we invited Tom from Majestic Wines to come and bring

several bottles of wine and talk about each one saying how they were

produced, where they were from, and advised us beforehand on what

cheeses to bring to go with each wine. He arrived complete with wine

glasses and spittoons which we declined to use, but thanking him for his

trouble. He started with a sparkling wine which we all agreed was as good

as any Champagne, but nothing like the price. Tom had suggested a creamy

cheese to accompany this. We ended up with port which was a gift from

Majestic Wine.

So successful was the afternoon that we have booked Tom again for March

2018.

Creative Crafts Group - Jenny Board

During the past year we have tackled and tasted a range of projects in the

Creative Crafts Group. In the sessions at the beginning of the year we

looked at chicken scratch embroidery and had fun taking apart metal zips

and making them into brooches. Later we made exploding box cards, learned

invisible knitted casting-on, and the quickest way to insert an invisible zip.

We also learned about bobbin lace, and made various types of bead

jewellery.

The summer saw us making decorative ribbon rosette toppers, also

cardboard folded booklets, followed by sessions painting pebbles and

making nesting fabric boxes. In August we visited Pickford’s House and the

Derby Museum, mainly to view the Vivienne Westwood shoe exhibition and

the embroidered patchwork hanging at the exhibition commemorating the

Pentrich Revolution of 1817. The Vivienne Westwood display has inspired us

to make a collage inspired by her footwear, with members each appliquéing

and embroidering one of the templates provided at the exhibition. Our

autumn sessions saw us learning types of appliqué work. For Christmas we

made hanging Christmas baubles with tassels, also types of folded gift

envelopes, and decorated pine cones before finally having a fuddle in

December.

This group has now been running for over three years, with more than 20

members on the list, and an average of about 13 at each session. Our

meeting place is very suitable, with a large room and kitchen, with

convenient free parking and it’s not far from local bus routes. If you enjoy

making things then this is the place to be: it’s the sort of group where if

you don’t have what you need, someone will be happy to help.

Badminton Group

The Badminton group which meets on Tuesdays at Springwood Leisure

Centre has had a regular core of players who play for one hour on one

court. We have had however new members join recently which has

meant booking an additional court to ensure that players are able to

take part most of the time. There are similar numbers of men and

women to play both mixed doubles and single sex doubles. Players are

of mixed ability with some who are welcoming the chance to pick up

playing again after many years.

Tabletop Games

Tabletop Games, as the name suggests, encompasses multi player games that

can be played around a table. Currently the most popular games played are

word games such as Scrabble and Upwords (which is a form of Scrabble

where you can play letter tiles on top of other letter tiles to better your

score). The group is open to suggestions for other games.

Although competitive we don’t take ourselves too seriously and we have some

fun. If a player gets stuck other players are happy to make suggestions. New

players/beginners are offered help to learn the game.

The group meets fortnightly throughout the year in a public house in Derby,

the location of which is quite central, being close to the bus station and a

taxi rank.

Play normally takes place over a couple of hours. Thereafter many of the

players stay for lunch in the pub, although this is entirely optional.

Art Appreciation I have

always known

that my

degree in

engineering

was not an

education. So,

upon

retirement,

one of the

first groups I

joined was Art

Appreciation. The group is supportive and welcoming, accepting the various

contributions the members make as they take turns to lead the meetings.

For some members art is not real unless they see the originals up

close; they value most a trip to a museum or art gallery. For others a

professionally produced video, possibly sourced from the U3A archives, has

a quality that cannot be matched by self-produced material.. And there are

others like myself who prefer a home produced presentation with

opportunity for discussion. I am glad to say that during 2017 all three types

of meeting took place.

There were four visits to art galleries, including trips to the New

Walk Museum and Art Gallery in Leicester, the Djanogly Art Gallery in

Nottingham, the Portland collection and Harley Gallery at Welbeck, and the

Birmingham Art Gallery.

At other meetings we have covered an enormous range of historical

dates, from Fra Angelico in the 15th century via 19th-century Sevres

pottery through 20th century Sonia and Robert Delaunay to Grayson Perry

who, of course, is still alive. This last presentation included video clips of

the artist speaking about his life and work.

Topics planned for the first half of 2018 include Anton Pieck,

contemporary African-American artists, Katsushika Hokusai, and Paul Klee,

and in February a visit to Derby Museum and Art Gallery when the curator

of the gallery is kindly introducing the exhibition on Marion Adnams.

The Art Appreciation group is one of the larger U3A groups with 30

members, but more would be most welcome. Paul Sandford

Archaeology and History

At the start of the year, this group was called “Archaeology and Ancient

History” and we had a range of presentations about Ancient Egypt from

different members of the group; this included talks about the Nile, Gods

and Goddesses and Order and Death in Egypt.

We also organised a trip to York where we had a tour organised by the

Association of Voluntary Guides in York. Members found the tour very

interesting. The guide knew what she was talking about and did it well.

There was as much architecture as archaeology but plenty of both.

At our last few meetings, we watched a Great Courses video on Ancient

Greece which was very enlightening, and included a section on the basics of

Archaeology which was very useful to us as we are all very much amateur

archaeologists.

At the last meeting, we decided that we would broaden our range even

more, and became the “Archaeology and History” group. Next year, we plan

to spend some time looking at the forces that built the foundations of

modern Europe.

Architecture Group

The group is now in its third year. It has surprised us how many of the

aspects of our surroundings affect our architectural awareness when we

have observed and analysed street space and layout, materials and

components, weathering, and whether buildings ‘work’ next to each other.

Architecture group members are easy to spot in the street – they are the

ones looking up above the street level!

Derby has proved an interesting base for study – the group has looked at

paving materials, street furniture, windows/ doorways, building elevations

and rooflines and tried to identify buildings from particular periods. We

have looked at and been in all the city-centre churches along the

Irongate-St Peter’s Street axis. This has raised our awareness of the

work of certain architects and given the chance to follow up more of their

work and Derby’s historical development.

Beyond Derby the group has visited Breedon, Melbourne, Wirksworth,

Tutbury, Darley Abbey and Lichfield; not always with a view to examining

historic buildings but seeing how the historic sits with the contemporary.

Many discussion points have arisen - useful material for winter meetings

when we revert to CURC as a venue.

The most controversial meetings so far have been those where members

presented their ‘best’ and ‘worst’ building in Derby; it was a reminder of

how much we care about our architectural surroundings. The pre-meeting

lunch gathering is a regular feature for the group and is useful to start

our walking tours.

Digital Photography Group – Derek Salt We are a group of keen, but by no means expert, photographers who want

to improve our skills. This does not mean that we all have expensive

cameras, anything from a mobile phone to a single lens reflex will do. The

Digital Photography Group has been in existence for over 10 years. During

that period its aims have evolved, and will continue to so do, above all to

suit the requirements of our members but also to take account of changes

in the technology of cameras and computers. In particular the software

used for photo editing is steadily becoming more powerful so we try to keep

up to date with this.

As a group our aim is to improve the quality of our photographs,

primarily by good photographic technique but where this proves inadequate

by the use of software to manipulate the end product. We do this by

watching video tutorials by experts but mainly by self help and friendly

criticism between members.

We meet indoors on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month

and for the alternate weeks try to meet up for a photoshoot or set some

form a photographic project with a view to bringing in the results for

members to view and comment on. In the past we have photographed most

of the villages around Derby as well as the city itself. Included in this has

been work on the interior of several local churches and Derby Cathedral.

Projects have included Table Top, Abstract, Macro, Misty Pictures and a

whole lot more.

The way that the group operates is going to change in 2018. This is

because, due to cut backs by Derby City Council, we will no longer have

access to the computer learning suite at Mickleover library, where we have

met very successfully for several years. The library has 10 computers and

a large screen monitor, so with our current membership we could use one

each. Starting in early 2018 we will be meeting at the Central United

Reformed Church. This will mean that we will have to bring our own laptops

to practise photo manipulation techniques we learn from the videos.

Everyday Science and Technology Group

This Group discusses topics of everyday interest from a scientific or

technological viewpoint chosen from suggestions within the group. This has

lead to an eclectic suite of topics being covered in any one year, which may

give the appearance of a scattergun selection process when viewed from

outside, but there is usually a little method to our madness when viewed from

inside. In past years the topic areas have included physics (e.g. how things

fly; the colour of the sky); chemistry (e.g. the states of matter); geology (e.g.

the science of plate tectonics); environment (what governs the temperature

of the earth’s surface; understanding the weather); medicine (e.g. allergies

and why are they on the increase); culinary (e.g. the perfect soft boiled egg);

and technology (how lights work; HS2;).

Biological topics dominated this last year’s talks including The Wallace

Problem – can evolution explain the apparently large cognitive difference

between humans and animals – which led to a separate discussion on human

and animal communication. Sound – how do we hear, what leads to hearing

loss, and how do hearing aids work? Fluoride – what happens in tooth decay

and is fluoride is a ‘fix’ or a medical imposition? Radiotherapy – this looked at

the general science behind radiotherapy, and the newer proton therapies.

The Health Strategies of Animals - why do we seem so much more delicate

than dogs when it comes to drinking from puddles? This topic arose from an

‘open questions’ meeting where members raised anything occurring to them;

other questions included Should we avoid aluminium in cooking? Why do we

yawn? Why do wind turbines rotate in the absence of wind? Should one put

milk in tea first or last?

We also discussed Learning from Evidence – part of a series on how

science actually works, here examining how we gain or lose confidence from

evidence, using examples from criminal court cases, breast cancer screening,

and game shows. We also had a light-hearted Christmas Special in which the

existence of Santa Claus was ‘proved’ and ‘scientific’ explanations of his

fabulous logistics given, accompanied by party-trick/puzzles – including how

to pierce an inflated balloon right through without bursting it.

We currently have 18 active members; with meeting attendance

averaging around 2/3rd of this – more members are welcome, no previous

scientific training is necessary.

French Conversation Group

Tania Sanders

The French Conversation Group was set up in April 2016 and has been

meeting regularly since then. The group has a membership of twenty people,

both men and women who come together because they have a love of the

French language and want to practise speaking what they have acquired

either from school or college days.

We agreed to choose topics for each session so that members can

prepare in advance. The topics have been wide-ranging and have included

individual presentations on the town of Carcassonne and another on a visit

to Ypres. Members have wanted to talk about their hobbies and interests

and these have included some fascinating talks ranging from playing the

organ to machine tool making at home! Music often features and the group

heard an interesting talk about Jazz and another on the music of Johnny

Halliday and much more besides.

We celebrate Christmas and Easter with fuddles and enjoy our food

and drink at the end of each term. In between we have talked about the

French festivals of La Fête des Rois and Mardi Gras. We have sung French

carols and songs and even danced a circle dance to the tune of J’aime la

Galette! The group is welcoming to newcomers and supportive of one

another. We are fortunate to have a native French speaker, Françoise who

adds that ‘je ne sais quoi’ to our group! There is a lot of laughter and fun.

We have also made links with Nutbrook Pétanque Club and some of us

visited there one sunny day last September. Some of the group discovered

some hidden talents! We hope to visit again this year. All are welcome!

Gardens Group

The Gardens Group has changed its name from gardening, as the main

purpose of the group is to visit gardens around the area. We meet on the

first Friday of each month at 10.30 a.m.

During 2017 we visited some interesting and beautiful gardens such as

Hardwick Hall, to see the snowdrops and stumpery, also Cascades Garden

which had hellebores with alpine and conifer rockeries.

Later in the year we visited the fabulous Dorothy Clive Garden, Eyam Hall,

Felley Priory, Biddulph Grange and an Autumn visit to Bluebell Arboretum.

Many of these gardens gave an opportunity for our members to purchase

plants for their own gardens.

In November, Max and Christine Maughan invited the group to their house

for a talk with slides on ‘Gardening for Butterflies’. There is nearly

always a chance to start the visits with coffee and cake at the garden

cafes.

Geology Group

The Geology Group comprises up to 12 regular members.

The subjects presented are decided upon by the group and each member

volunteers to give a presentation in turn throughout the year. Three of the

members have experience in Geology and give guidance on subjects that can

be pursued.

The year started with Land Formations which gave us subjects to follow

through to September. These were Weathering, Glaciation, Coastlines,

Deserts, Limestone, Rivers.

In the summer we organised the following field trips in place of the monthly

meetings:.

6 June - Castleton and Treakcliffe Cavern (Limestone area)

Unfortunately it poured with rain all day and the walk to the Winnats Pass

had to be cancelled.

4 July - Nottingham Caves. ( Sandstone. Man-made)

Enjoyable and interesting visit to the caves with a guide, via the entrance in

the Broadmarsh Centre.

1 August – Return visit to Castleton, Cave Dale, Peak Cavern, Mam Tor.

Rained again while walking through Cave Dale and then up to the Peak

Cavern entrance. The sun came out after lunch and we visited the Mam

Tor Landslip ( Weak shales underlying sandstone)

From October we started The Periods of the Geological Timeline.

This will take us well into 2018.

Longer Walkers Report

During 2017 the Longer Walkers were in action on 46 of the 52 weeks of the

year and clocked up over 350 miles. Walks varied in length from 6.5 miles to

9.5 miles with the average being just around 8 miles.

The number of walkers each week has varied from just 2 in the height of the

holiday period to a maximum of 19, the average being around 11. Over the

year we have also welcomed a number of new walkers and although some

people can car share we have to make sure there is ample parking at our

starting venue. 24 members enjoyed a congenial Christmas meal this year.

Although many of our walks cover the areas around Ashbourne, Matlock and

Bakewell, our walks this year have ranged from Melbourne and Ticknall in the

south to Fairholmes, Stoney Middleton and Grindleford in the north. We

have been on footpaths near Ogston in the east to Cannock in the west.

Unfortunately the weather has been just as variable, and rain has been the

reason for the cancellation of some walks. Never the less, walkers have

braved strong winds in rain and snow, negotiated icy paths and found their

way in heavy mist. No record has been kept of the number of stiles that have

been clambered over but it must be considerable. Just recently mud and

sodden ground have been our worst problem.

Thank you to those members of the group who have acted as weekly leaders

and to the photographers and report writers who contribute to the records

of our exploits on our Link web site.

Spanish Conversation Group - Brian Blisset In the Derby U3A survey of possible new groups 25 people expressed an

interest in joining a Spanish Conversation Group and after an inaugural

meeting in November 2016 the new group commenced with 15 members in

January 2017. A year later the group still has 15 members but only 2 of

the original 15 remain. Most of the group had some previous experience of

learning Spanish—some through evening classes or private study, others

from working in Spain. The group was also delighted after a couple of

months to welcome a native Spanish speaker who has obviously been a great

help to the other members.

In January we all started working on an online OU FutureLearn

Spanish for Beginners course and our meetings for the first few months

were based around our progress on modules of this course. This was

supplemented by shopping, restaurant, café dialogues from various study

books plus the occasional game provided by our Spanish speaker. At our

meetings we tended to work as one group to begin with and then in the

second half in small groups of two and three to practise the topic of the

meeting. Over the course of the summer and autumn we started giving

short presentations individually on topics such as my family, our house,

holidays abroad etc. We ended our first year singing Christmas songs in

Spanish to music provided by one of the group who is also a member of the

Ukulele Group aided by two of her colleagues! (The photo underneath shows

Pauline – nearest the camera – with her two colleagues)

In 2018 we are moving on to some key role playing exercises which

will assist us in our future holidays in Spanish speaking countries: shopping,

eating out, buying train or bus tickets, at the travel agent, asking for

directions and so on. We are also going to devote part of each meeting to a

more structured learning of Spanish grammar.

Short Walks – Gill Heath

Our membership is now 24 and we have an average of 12 people

attending each walk. The walks are about 4 kms long, often including a

drinks stop, and take about 2 hours.

For our first two walks of the year, we meet at the Council House in

Derby to give people who don't drive a chance to join in. In January we

walked to Pride Park for a drinks stop and then walk back to Derby. In

February we did a circular walk to Darley Abbey Park with a stop at the

cafe in the park and also a walk starting at Trent Lock with a stop at

Sawley Marina. Our first March walk planned for Elvaston Country Park had

to cancelled due to heavy rain.

Next we walked in Littleover Park and the Millennium Wood for the

first time. In April, May, and June we did walks in Shipley Park, Shardlow,

Findern, Carsington, and Draycott. Later in June we followed the Little

Chester Trail where there was a lot of history to take in. July walks were in

Attenborough and then Elvaston but this had to be abandoned again

because of rain. We returned in August to our walk in Darley Abbey Park,

because for a short time the walled garden is open to the public allowing us

to visit the magnificent National Collection of Hydrangeas. In August we

walked in Swarkestone and Allestree Park. In September we went to

Ticknall and Calke Abbey, where we stopped briefly at the Abbey's cafe.

In early October we returned to Carsington but did a different route.

Later in October we started our walk in Alvaston Park, which is more

accessible by bus for those without cars. November walks were to Shipley

Park and then Markeaton Park. For our only December walk - the last one

of the year - we walked on the old Breadsall railway line. This short walk

was followed by our annual Christmas lunch, attended by 18 people.

The Amusing Quiz Group

Some quiz groups take their quizzes very seriously and carefully

chosen teams honed to Olympic standards battle one another for

supremacy in some league or another.

Not so the Amusing Quiz Group. It’s much more fun. We choose

teams for each meeting by drawing lots. Sue and John come along

with a set of questions but we also like to include contributions from

other group members for added variety.

There’s tea and coffee and biscuits and chat. Sometimes we even

know which team has won!

Sample questions:

Which king was on the throne when the present Queen was born?

Which of these islands is an Australian territory?

Easter Island, Pentecost Island or Christmas Island.

(See the bottom of page for answers)

The Answers - King George V. Christmas Island

Painting

The group is for anyone at any level who would like the company of

like-minded enthusiasts. Most of us work with watercolour but your

own choice of medium is welcome. Bring your own materials and

subject matter. Usually pictures from art books/magazines, or your

own photographs.

We cannot as yet provide tuition and would welcome a teacher, but

support from other members is always available.

Bowls Group

The Group continues to enjoy both the indoor and outdoor sessions.

We currently have a full membership with an average of 85-100

percent attendance at each session. We hold an annual lunch and this

year we went to Morley Hayes on the 19 January 2018.

We continue to have a very good relationship with the staff at

Springwood Leisure Centre which makes each session that much more

enjoyable. Although there is an element of competition the most

important thing is that we have fun and a good time at each meeting.

Book Group - 1 We meet monthly for two hours on a Thursday morning at the Derby

Central Library but a new venue needs to be sought when this venue is no

longer available from June onwards.

We aim for a wide variety of books, but find novels generally throw up more

varied aspects for discussion. The average number attending is ten to

twelve, which is a good number to allow everyone to have a chance to

participate. Books are chosen at the suggestions of members. The person

selected initiates the preliminary discussion on their chosen book, giving

biographical details of the author and some background. The best

discussions are the ones where the discussion leads on to related matters

and so widens out onto other issues.

This Group has been going for seventeen years and always provides unfailing

interest and enjoyment.

A random list of some books we have considered over the years were:-

“Where my Heart used to Beat” by Sebastian Fawkes.

“Howard’s End is on the landing” by Susan Hill.

“Staying on” by Paul Scott.

“Gilead” by Marilynne Robinson.

“Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley.

“The Power and the Glory” by Graham Greene.

“The Road Home” by Rose Tremain

“A House for Mr Biswas” by V.S. Naipaul

“The White Peacock” by D.H Lawrence.

“Brideshead Revisited” by Evelyn Waugh

This could have been a completely different list of titles but I hope this

gives some idea of what we have been studying.

Eileen Wade

Current Affairs Group

As in previous years, each meeting generally includes: updates and notices, a

pre-planned main subject, a break for refreshments and then planning

ahead where appropriate and short (“ten-minute”) topics brought in by

members - as time allows.

Our main subjects are planned ahead for 2 – 3 meetings, allowing for notice

and preparation time while remaining focused on current issues. Members,

as always, contribute in all our discussions. The group's attendances have

grown throughout 2017 and our membership has increased to the point

where we've had to say – no more places available for now – to ensure that

each member continues to have their opportunity to contribute to our

discussions.

Ideas for subjects and joining in the forward planning.

Our main subjects in 2017 have included: Casey Report, Future Impact of

Robots, Rough Sleepers / Homelessness, NHS, Environment, House of Lords

/ Honours List, War, Layers of Government, General Election, Trump,

Brexit, Age Divide / Loneliness, Modern Slavery, Holiday Industry, Social

Media, Ethical Food Production, Drugs in Sport, Electric Cars including

Driverless Cars, Foreignisation, Coop Movement, and Balfour.

Outlook 2018 - at time of writing we look forward to: Local Modern Slavery,

Plastic Waste, Landlords, North/South Divide and Generation Gap / IT.

Anne MacDonald

Discussion Group

We are a friendly group of people who meet to socialise, exchange ideas,

opinions and information. The group decides on the topics for discussion and

this year they have ranged from ‘The Irritations of Life Today’ to the more

contentious ‘Foreign Aid’.

Some topics inspired more discussion than others and ‘Have Libraries

outlived their Usefulness?’ entertained us for the whole two hours. Other

topics such as ‘Which Form of Relaxation would you least like to do without’

and ‘How would you improve the city of Derby?’, allowed group members to

talk about what mattered to them. Our inherent nosiness was encouraged

by ‘Where and When would you like to be, or have been, an Invisible

Observer?’ and we shared our feelings about age with ‘How old are you

inside?’ ‘Gender Issues’. ‘Are we too PC?’ provoked a lively debate as did

‘Euthanasia and Education’. Have we got our priorities right? We also

tackled ‘The Ethics of Genetic Manipulation’ and the science behind it.

Two of our topics were about taste. ‘What forms our Taste?’ which was

about the psychology of taste and ‘Should Current Taste’ make us discard

the things we used to value? This was inspired by issues around the pulling

down of statues and buildings.

The diversity of our backgrounds, expertise and experiences have ensured

that our meetings are always lively and entertaining Sketching Group

Sketching Group

Last year we had some enjoyable outdoor sketching sessions in Darley Park

sketching the river and mills. We also went to Trent Bridge, Shardlow and

Carsington water .

From November onwards we have met indoors and set up still life

arrangements to draw. It has given us a chance to discuss different media

we could use and how other artists sketch by looking at images on the

projecter.

Barbara Smith.

Local History 2016-2017

During the Autumn Term of 2016 we started a new course, to explore the

area radiating from the Friends’ Meeting House. We began by looking at

the Quaker movement both here and in America.

Further up St. Helen’s Street to the corner of King Street stood Brown’s

marble works which cut Fluorspar (Blue John) and other semi-precious

stones. Across the road stands St. Helen’s House which Joseph Pickford

probably considered his finest building, and this led us to look at Pickford’s

work in and around Derby.

Just a short step across the road is St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church

designed by Pugin and built in 1839. We considered the position of

Catholics in the community and their social work up to the present day,

besides visiting the Church and studying its architecture.

Down St. Alkmund’s Way lies one of the few Bridge Chapels remaining in the

country. We looked at its work and architecture and also St. Mary’s Bridge

and then made a visit to the Chapel. On the same day we walked round the

Full Street area looking at the 1975 extensions to the Cathedral and St.

Michael’s Church. We also looked at Smith’s clock works on Queen Street

(once the home of John Flamstead, John Whitehurst and Joseph Wright)

and then passed by the Silk Mill, which was one of the earliest factories in

the country,

We made a further visit to the Cathedral after studying its architecture

and the part it played in the City’s history. In addition we are consulting

Woolley’s early 18th Century History of Derby.

For our next sessions in 2018 we are about to study the Silk Mill.

Members of the group also voluntarily contribute their observations about

the local environment at the meetings.

Music Appreciation Group This Group meets about 21 times a year with the usual Christmas, Easter

and Summer breaks. We have at the moment 15 members on the books with an

average attendance of about 11. Seven members take it in turn to play their

choice of classical music from their CD collections.

We listen to a variety of music, mainly orchestral and chamber music but also

choral - pieces which are generally well known by composers such as Brahms,

Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Dvorak, Chopin and many more. These would always

appeal to someone new to classical music. Sometimes we have an item by a

more modern composer, such as Philip Glass, Takemitsu and

Ginastera to persuade us out of our comfort zone!

One of the problems of presenting a programme is to get the timing right in

choosing pieces of music of a suitable length within the two hours, bearing

in mind brief introductions to them and of course allowing for the coffee

break! This rather precludes the very long symphonies by Bruckner or

Mahler for example.

The last meeting before Christmas is always a request programme where all

members are encouraged to bring along small pieces of music and give

reasons for their choices.

We also have a “Christmas” lunch which in the last few years we have had

after the second programme session in January when restaurants are less

frantically busy. Bistrot Pierre in Friargate is our usual venue which is within

easy walking distance of The Friends Meeting House.

Christmas” lunch - January 2018

We very much need new members. You don’t have to be an expert, just an

interest in classical music is all that is required. We have plenty of room in

the large meeting room at The Friends Meeting House - you would be very

welcome.

Peter Wade

Ukulele for Pleasure Group

It has been pleasing to follow members’ journeys from the early doubts

through to surprise and pleasure when the sounds coming from our

instruments are, more or less, what we intend. We have played for a dozen

charities this year – and have some bookings for 2018; concerts are open to

all and can be a useful confidence boost as skills progress.

The group made an appearance in the national magazine ‘Uke’ in November.

We featured cheerfully on their pages getting a ‘special commendation’ for

our picture. We were also entrusted with the magazine’s travelling ukulele,

‘Bruko’, for two weeks this year. It was photographed all over Derbyshire,

and was played by many members and some ‘professionals’ – putting Derby

U3A on the ukulele map!

We were delighted to welcome a handful of new members at the end of the

year, and are looking forward to hearing them develop their playing. We

have gained a base player (good for controlling the rhythm!), and we hear

guitars from time to time. Lots of new music is planned for 2018, and we

hope to keep the rafters ringing at Chester Green – it’s a pleasure to be

with a group where members are so keen to enjoy themselves!

Wildlife Group - Max Maughan The aims of the group are to encourage people's interest in all forms of

wildlife and to help with identification. The group is now five years old and

has been very successful with over 20 on the contact list and an average

attendance of 12. The group visits various nature reserves, country parks

etc within reasonable reach from Derby.

Our visits in 2017 began in the winter months with trips to Sence

Valley in Leicestershire and Calke Park, the latter enabling good views of

Siskins and Marsh Tits. In March we had the highlight of a group of

Waxwings and a male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker at Wollaton Park. May

also produced a very good species list with Pied and Spotted Flycatchers,

Redstart, Tree Pipit and Green Hairstreak butterfly in and above Padley

Gorge and in the afternoon Ring Ouzel on Burbage Edge. Some of these

species were also seen at Coombs Valley RSPB Reserve in July. There were

lots of dragonflies/damselflies at Pleasley Pit in August, many ovipositing

(egg laying). Another highlight at Middleton Lakes RSPB Reserve in

September was a Great White Egret. This is a beautiful bird which is

becoming a more regular visitor to the UK and has bred in 2017.

Unfortunately it rained heavily at Hilton Gravel Pits DWT Reserve in

October, but there were quite a number of interesting fungi to look at.

The year finished with trips to Carsington Water and Attenborough, the

former giving us a number of wading birds and the latter producing three

Water Rails, Goldeneye ducks displaying and mince pies in the Tower Hide!

The group's total species list over the five years now stands at 128

birds, 26 butterflies and 15 dragonfly/damselfly species.

Marsh Tit Green Hairstreak

Walking Football

We are very few in number and join in with non U3A players on a Thursday

morning between 11am and 12 noon at Willows Sports Centre in Derby. We

meet at 10.30am for a little warm up.

During 2017 we were able to increase our numbers with other local U3A

members finding that walking football was not offered in their U3A

activities and coming to Derby to join in. A lady from another U3A wished

to play with ladies and has been signposted to a specialist ladies non U3A

group who meet in Derby.

Walking football festivals have taken place within the County with U3A

members able to participate.

Our aim is to provide members with a little physical and non contact sport

activity and enjoy a tea or coffee afterwards in a friendly environment.

Theatre, Film & Music Group

We have attended mainly local Theatre productions, with a mix of serious

plays and the more light hearted productions of musicals and comedy. We

have travelled to Nottingham for live music and a pub meal.

One of the highlights of this year was a day trip to London to see Jersey

Boys in the West End.

We mix the performances with some evening and some afternoon matinees.

We also attend National Theatre Live productions at the Showcase Cinema

in Derby. These are live plays/shows being performed in London and

transmitted via satellite.

Our group enables people on their own to come together as a group and

enjoy an outing to the Theatre or Cinema.

Ideas in Society This group evolved out of one aiming to teach philosophy, led by Eileen

Cameron, which met for many years. However, the examination of

philosophical concepts associated by school of thought gradually gave way

to using a philosophical approach for deliberation of questions relevant to

modern life. Hence the change of name to Ideas in Society.

We have tended to use ‘set books’ to suggest ideas for analysis. In the last

few years these have included ‘How Free are You?’ by Ted Honderich, ‘The

Pig that wants to be Eaten’ by Julian Baggini, ‘The Quest for a Moral

Compass’ by Kenan Malik and currently the script of a series of discussions

on the Science of Religion.

This current exercise is a psychological analysis of the phenomenon of

religious faith. Major areas of interest are the origins and needs for belief

in the supernatural, the benefits of faith, and even the disbenefits of

organised religion. This widens out to consider broader issues, such as the

causes of human conflict and experiments studying the cohesion within

groups and the hostility to outgroups. We are approaching the end of this

exercise, when we plan to discuss topics suggested in ‘The Politics Book’ by

Dorling Kindersley.

We have also discussed ideas of immediate application, such as departure

from the European Union. However, this approach is flexible and directed

by the interests of members.

We are a small group with eleven members attending during the last

session, and an average attendance of about eight per meeting.

Book Group - 2

Our chosen books are nominated and chosen by members. Each book is

presented by one of us- this usually involves providing information about the

author, and then an initial description of the book. We all then chip in with

our opinions, leading to a lively discussion with, more often than not opposing

views being put forward. We end with a snap vote, where is everyone asked

to give a mark of between 0 and 5 which is then averaged. The results of

these can be found on our website page. After our meeting, we normally repair to a local cafe for a drink and a chat.

This year, our most popular book was “The Siege” by Helen Dunmore, to which

everyone gave 5 points. It is about the siege of Leningrad in 1941. It manages

to convey the horrors of the siege - the increasing desperation to find and

eke out food, and to keep warm in order to stay alive. The two opposite human

motives are described well: the loving, sharing and sacrificing within the

family unit and the dog eat dog outside. One member said: “Helen Dunmore’s

writing is mesmerising, there is not one unnecessary word, not one phrase

that jars, not one character that is superfluous, not one adjective that is

gratuitous. The scene setting is superb, you feel you are there in the

countryside near the dacha, in the freezing cold of Leningrad, in the danger

of the burnt out apartment block. She tells history in a way that brings it

alive, that you feel personally”.

Our least popular book was “Three Cups Of Tea” by Greg Mortenson, which

got an average points score of 2.6. After getting lost on a mountaineering

expedition, the author commits himself to reducing poverty and promoting

education for girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan by building schools and

co-founding a charity to this end. Sadly, on-line searches revealed an

investigation in 2012 which found that Mortenson had spent millions of

donations on his expenses, including travel, clothing and promoting his books.

His book turned out to contain large-scale fabrications. Some of the schools

he boasted about had no students and some appeared not to have been built

at all. Also, most members found the book tedious. An interest in mountain

climbing was what led one member to award it 5 points, as much of the book

consists of detailed descriptions of the author’s real or invented mountain

climbs.