Hickling Broad U3A Newsletter July/August 2017

September Meeting: Cromer Pier

Deb Lewis came to tell us all about the Cromer Pier.

The Cromer Pier Show is the only end of the pier show in the world, bringing traditional live variety to the seaside.

In 1948 Dick Condon, manager at time, developed the ‘seaside special’ which has remained unchanged. It hosts a 16 week season with the same cast. Bradley Walsh began his career there in 1986.

Deb gave us an insight into lighting. scenery and backstage arrangements. There is also a restaurant, gift shop and bar on the pier. The theatre has 4 different types of shows throughout year including a Christmas show. Well known vocalists and dancers from London shows star in the performances. M&S adverts, M Portillo railway journeys – tap dancing and even a Bollywood movie have been filmed on the Pier.

Deb explained the many difficulties of running a business on a pier.

October/November 2017 at a Glance:2nd October Country Dancing

4th October Walking

4th October Sailing

4th October Bookworms

6th October Backgammon

12th October Let’s Discuss It

13th October Sailing

13th October Voices of Hickling

13th October Main Meeting in the Barn

16th October BLURR

18th October Sailing

18th October Pub Lunches

19th October Cycling

19th October British History

20th October Backgammon

23rd October Gourmet Diggers

27th October Sailing

27th October Art

1st November Walking

1st November Bookworms

3rd November Backgammon

6th November Country Dancing

9th November Let’s Discuss It

10th November Voices of Hickling

10th November Main Meeting in the Barn

Next Members’ Meeting in the Barn: 13th October at 2.00pm Philip Bray will give us an intriguing talk about the history of tourism on the Broads, the Hunter fleet’s role and the work entailed in keeping this historic sailing fleet in operation for the present day.

Philip writes about how he became involved with the Hunter fleet:

I am the secretary of the Norfolk Heritage Fleet Trust which runs Hunter’s Yard and I’m also the secretary of the Friends of the Hunter Fleet.

My father knew Percy Hunter and hired boats from him before Percy set up his own business in 1932 and then he kept his White Boat (No 31) at the Yard for many years.

So my knowledge of Hunter’s goes back quite a way although there was a long break when I was at university and then working, abroad for a lot of the time.

I got involved in Hunter’s again when my last job before retirement brought me unexpectedly to Norfolk in 1996.

HBU3A Committee Monthly Update

We would like to thank everyone for attending our September meeting when Debs Lewis gave us a unique insight into the End of The Pier Show at Cromer. We were also all offered complimentary tickets to the show and Debs brought some great Comer Pier extra prizes for our raffle. We gave £49 to Macmillan Cancer Support with the proceeds.

We are still keen to boost numbers at our walking and cycling groups. Please contact Roy on 01692 598060 for more information. The groups run at an easy pace and they always stop for tea or a swift half somewhere!

We have had a preliminary meeting with other local U3A’s about ways that we might be able to work together to offer all our members even more benefits. The discussions are in early stages and we will ask your view about any proposals as and when we know anything. The committee are very keen to hear of any ideas, suggestions from members about how our U3A is run and how we can continue to develop and grow. You can always talk to us at meetings or email to let us know your thoughts.

We would like to say a special thank you to the tea ladies for doing such a sterling job at our meeting, all help with teas is gratefully received, just let us know at the next meeting if you are happy to pitch in.

We look forward to seeing you all at the October meeting when Philip Bray will give us an intriguing talk about the history of tourism on the Broads, the Hunter fleets role and the work entailed in keeping this historic sailing fleet in operation for the present day.

Please note that we have had a change round in speakers, so Tim Pankhurst will be giving his talk on the Fen Orchid in January and our November meeting will now be hearing all about the work of Great Ormond Street Hospital.

From the Interest Group Co-ordinator:

A meeting of 9 of the Group Leaders was held on Friday 8th September following the main Barn meeting when various issues were discussed.

An up-dated list of Group Leader contacts, venues etc will be available at the meeting in the Barn on 13th October.

The next meeting of the Group Leaders will be on January 12th 2018. All were thanked for their efforts by the GL Coordinator and invited to contact the Chairman or herself if they had any problems or issues before the next meeting.

Julie Liggitt

North Norfolk U3A Event North Norfolk U3A are arranging a One Day Conference at Fakenham on 18th November. The theme for the day is “True Crime”, and including lunch, the charge for the day is £30 per head.

A handbill about the Conference - complete with booking form is being sent alongside this newsletter. Print out the booking form, add your details and menu choice(s) and send off with a cheque and look forward to an interesting day…

Interest Groups:

The Art Group meet on the fourth Friday each month from 2 – 4pm at the Methodist Church Hall in Hickling.

The next Art group is on Friday, 27th October.

If you would like to come along, please do so. You will be made very welcome. There's tea and coffee and sometimes cake or biscuits!

Backgammon will recommence on the 6th October at 2.p.m. in the Pleasure Boat pub.

Boards are provided we welcome new members - instruction can be given. Come along and join us.

Our picture of the month is of Duncan by Maureen Johns, taken at one of our practical sessions at The Pleasure Boat.

Art 4th Friday (2.00pm-4.00pm) in the Methodist Hall

Backgammon1st and 3rd Fridays at the Pleasure Boat Inn (2.00pm-4.00pm)

BLURR – The Camera Group3rd Monday each month at The Hickling Barn (2.00-4.00pm)

A busy meeting in September: The last photographs for consideration for the calendar were displayed on a table for the group to make the final selection. Richard’s picture of a Hickling sunset across the wake of a moving boat was chosen for the front cover.

Our chosen charity for any surplus from calendar sales is to be the North Walsham Dementia Support Group.

The subject for “Bring and Brag” this month was ’monochrome’. A good selection for perusal were spread on a table. After some debate a portrait picture by Maureen was identified for the news sheet and website this month.

In our Technical session, Martin explained the various ways that camera shake can creep into our photography. Natural tremors, how the camera is held, shutter button techniques, use of a zoom facility and holding your breath can all affect the sharpness of the picture.

Breathing out slowly and being gentle with the shutter will help greatly if the camera is also held properly. Keeping the camera close to body with arms tucked into your sides will reduce a lot of wobble.

The next meetings are 4th October and 1st November

Those group members who managed to attend the last meeting (31st July) had a fascinating insight into justice 200 years ago, courtesy of a re-enactment of the Downham Market riot trials by actors from Springboard East.

The trial was held in the Courtroom at Norwich Castle and we were able to see "behind the scenes" including the walk the prisoners took from the cells to the court. Usually there were prosecuting lawyers but no defence lawyer and our judge did seem to have made his decision beforehand!

This month we return to our traditional slot of 3rd Thursday of the month (19th October) 2pm at Clovis Cottage, Sutton. Joan Lockhart will tell us about Mad Windham, the infamous former owner of Felbrigg, and how he squandered the family fortunes.

We will also use the meeting to decide our programme of events for the coming year. If you would like to join us you are very welcome.

We met on October 2nd and danced our way through five familiar dances: Guardian Angels, Delia, Wakefield Hunt, Star of Bethlehem and Petronella's Threesome. And in the middle of all that we taught ourselves a new dance - Rufty Tufty!

'Bookworms' Reading Group1st Wednesday each month (pm)

British History3rd Thursday of each month, 2.00pm

Country Dancing1st Monday each month (pm):

Our new members (you know who you are) are proving adept at picking up the moves quickly and joining in readily.

Our next regular session is Monday November 6th. If you are tempted, give in to the temptation and come along!

We had excellent weather for our September cycle ride. There were only 5 of us this time & we met at Walcott.

Our ride was along some of the “quiet” lanes through Trunch & Mundesley & we surprised ourselves by having completed 18 miles by the time we got back to the Lighthouse pub for a very welcome lunch.

This months Gourmet Diggers was held at our new venue, The Barn, where we discussed in our gardening section, how to make compost and jobs to be done in the month of October, planting bulbs, tidying up the garden making new borders, the list goes on and on.

Cycling3rd Thursday each month (am)

Gourmet Diggers4th Monday each month (2.00-4.00pm) in The Barn

Martin showed us how to grow Gourmet salad pea shoots from dried marrow fat peas. We all had a taste: verdict - delicious.

Pea shoots ready to eat one week after sowing: grown on the

kitchen window sill.

After all that hard work we were treated to two very tasty Indian dishes, Brenda's curry and Kate's little cakes. Thank you Brenda and Kate.

Next Gourmet Diggers is on Monday 23rd October 2-4 pm at the Barn Hickling.

If interested and you would like to join us, please come along.

About a year ago we had our first discussion about Donald Trump, so this recent meeting served as a review.

We discussed and debated recent things he’s said and done.  There was some concern that he could trigger a major war as a result of North Korea. In the main none of our views about him had changed since last discussion.We agreed to discuss again this time next year.  We are all looking forward to next months discussion, alternative therapies and in November a review of Brexit.

Topics for the rest of the year:

12 October Alternative Therapies 9 November Brexit - review December No meeting

'Let’s Discuss It’2nd Thursday each month (pm)

Please see separate BULLETIN for details

“The New Inn”, Horning 20 September 2017

The New Inn is located in the narrow street in the middle of Horning and right on the riverside. Fortunately there is a large car park to the side of the pub. There is a large seating area outside by the river, another under cover and then lots more inside. We sat in a small area looking out over the water. The staff was friendly and pleasant.

The diners had chosen from the pre-order menu online, although there is always a fish and chip “special” as well - apparently one of the best in the county!

Our next Pub Lunch is at 12.15pm on Wednesday 18 October at Scarborough Hill, North Walsham. Please let me know if you are planning to come along a couple of days beforehand.

OutingsNo set dates

Pub Lunches3rd Wednesday each month

Our Group have enjoyed some fabulous sails this summer and have just four more sails in October before we end the season.

Our Instructors at the Nancy Oldfield Trust have taken enormous care to create activities that develop our individual skills to improve our sailing technique. We have had slalom courses to encourage us to tack more smoothly; sailing without using the tiller, just the sails; sailing backwards (how does one do this naturally but can't intentionally?) And sailing within tight confined spaces similar to a river. All very exciting and lots of fun.

If you think you would like to join us next season please get in touch and I will let you know when we start Season 2018.

Last sails of this season are: Wednesday 4th, Friday 13th, Wednesday 18th and Friday 27th.

As we move away from summer the group is looking to move forward after a period of consolidation. Existing files have been backed up to ensure they remain safe, 14 recordings have been made of village "voices" and 10 of these also have written transcripts. In the coming months we will look to record further interviews with new voices, launch the Voices of Hickling website ( those of you who attended the monthly meeting in March saw a prototype version), finish transcribing all interviews, and catalogue our increasing library of voice and written records and photographs.

We have recently added to group resources by purchasing a new microphone (better quality and easier to use) and back up computer storage.

We now have a regular monthly meeting date - 2nd Friday morning of each month. Why not make 2nd Friday a U3A day, join our group meeting in the morning and then go on to the monthly members meeting at the Barn.

Alternatively, we are holding a meeting with our "Voices" at the Methodist Hall in Hickling on Saturday 14th October at 2 pm. These are lively, interesting sessions with the voices getting together with us and reminiscing. We are opening this meeting to all HBU3A members - why not come along for a tater session and see if you would like to join our group.

We welcome Peter as a new member of our group.

Eight of us met up at Winterton car park for an inland and beach walk. The beach at Winterton is large and can get very windy but we picked a good day the weather was just right, we saw a couple of seals enjoying the surf.

This walk was about four miles but seemed longer as walking on sand is not easy but we all enjoyed it.

SailingVaried Wednesday and Friday mornings, May to October

Voices of Hickling2nd Friday each month, 11.30-1.00

Walking1st Wednesday each month

Two others joined us for lunch at the Fishermans Return in Winterton where the food was really good - highly recommended,

So if you would like a bit of exercise and good company join us, thank you Shelia for leading this walk . Dates of future walks 4th October, 1st November

Unfortunately our September walk has to be abandoned. It was raining hard and a cold wind was blowing as we met at the nature reserve car park. The sky was overcast and threatened plenty more rain to come. We admitted defeat and called it a day.

I am sorry that I shall not be available to lead a walk in October, so the next walk will be on November 13th - at Horsey to see the seals.

After that we shall not meet again until March when - maybe - we might see some early signs of spring.

David Taylor will come to tell us about The Hospital for Sick Children in Great Ormond Street.

In 1852, Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) opened with just 10 beds, and was the first hospital in the UK to offer dedicated inpatient care to children. Today GOSH is over 165 years old

Wildlife Walks2nd Monday each month

Members’ Meeting in The Barn - 10th November at 2.00pmGreat Ormond Street Hospital

and is one of the world's leading children's hospitals. Every day, 618 seriously ill children arrive at GOSH from all over the UK and every day, 53 children undergo life-changing operations. Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity raises money to enable the hospital to provide world class care and to pioneer new treatments and cures for childhood illnesses.

Learn more about the hospitals amazing history, medical breakthroughs and ongoing pioneering work to help more children from across the UK and the world.