Mansfield and District U3A

A Celebration Newsletter

Established 1999Registered Charity No. 1164177

August 2019Website: www.u3asites.org.uk/mansfield/home

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HAPPY 20th ANNIVERSARY

MANSFIELD U3A

Welcome from Madam Chairman Jacqui HampshireI would like to welcome all members of Mansfield U3A and guests here today to celebrate twentyyears of Mansfield and District U3A with this superb Afternoon Tea. There’s a special welcome tothose of you who have been with us for all of the twenty years, especially Ray and June Reader andEdith Humphries, our surviving Committee members from that time! Along with the rest of the presentU3A, I hope you have enjoyed the journey as much as we have enjoyed your company on the way.

For it is you founder members, together with those no longer with us, who made Mansfield U3A intothe thriving organisation we’re all proud to be in now. I only hope that we can do as much for the U3Ain the coming years as you did in the past.

I would like to thanks Linda Leivers (together with Sheila Whalley, Liz Ellis, Marie Barrow, Gill Mallinderand Pearl Brown) for organising this wonderful afternoon, Bob Longden for the anniversary ‘cover’ onthe website and Mike Allen for this Celebration Newsletter. So welcome once again! Let’s tell stories ofthe past and remember the people; and then let’s try to make the next twenty years as good as thelast.

Words from the Editor Mike Allen This Souvenir Edition of the Newsletter is not a history of Mansfield U3A, but a series of snapshots ofthe 20 years it has been going. To try to squeeze its life into a formal history would be a lengthy andnearly impossible task – and wrong as well for this Celebration Tea. So you have snapshots and thephotos were difficult enough to choose. So many photos that show the life of the U3A; so many peopleinvolved who deserve to be seen. The selection made is really rather random and can’t representeverything that’s happened and for this, I apologise. But I hope that they will stir memories of the pastand give rise to what’s needed at a tea party – friendship and chat.My thanks to all those who have contributed words or photos. and my apologies for not usingeverything!

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Pat Blackwell's first membership card in 1999 - 2000

What a stroke of Luck!How it all began

Linda Leivers

I was trying to find out how Mansfield U3A came into existence so I went to one of thefew original committee members still around, Ray Reader, who was vice-chair to EdithSenior.

It transpires that our having a U3A is just a matter of luck, not good luck, but Pot Luck!Ray and June were members ofOllerton U3A, now renamed ‘Dukeries’.Early in 1999, they were in a groupcalled ‘Pot Luck’, held at Edith Senior’shouse. Group members did exactlywhat the title implies – they took ‘PotLuck’, coming up with ideas whichcould have been anything. At onemeeting, the U3A came into the discus-sion and some present wondered ifMansfield could have its own U3A.

To find out if this was viable, leafletswere printed and placed in libraries,post offices and shop windows.Marjorie Smith gave a talk at theLibrary to a captive audience that had gone to see a film. Ray Reader was able toaccess the local radio to promote the idea.

It was hoped that if they could get ten or twenty people interested, that they might beable to get a U3A going. An initial meeting was held and nearly forty people turned up. ACommittee was formed and our U3A was about to take off!

The inaugural AGM was held in September 1999, with over fifty people attending. Today,we are celebrating the 20th Anniversary of our U3A. We would probably not be doing thisif it were not for a few determined and like-minded people. Sadly, many of those moversand shakers are no longer with us, but we must be grateful for their perseverance.

I recall the first U3A meeting I attended, when Rita Turner stood up and pleaded for newcommittee members. She likened the U3A to an airplane waiting to take off, a good

analogy. Lots of people want to get onboard and fly, but without a captain,co-pilot and cabin crew, nobody goesanywhere and the plane is stuck onthe runway. All too often, then and asnow, we have passengers who buy aticket, but only those who take thecontrols can make it take off. Other-wise, we'd be going back to the depar-ture lounge.

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Sylvia Slack & Ray Reader with Theresa Wells

Committee 2006 with Edith Senior & Cliff Laycock inthe middle. How many others can you name?

The first ‘captain’ and ‘crew’ of this U3A flight were Edith Senior as Chair and RayReader as Vice, Alan Radford and Edith Humphreys as Treasurers, Malcolm Osborne asSecretary and Diana Osborne, June Reader, Peggy Thomas and Marjorie Smith as theall important committee ‘crew’. Alas, so few are left.

Group Leaders are the ‘fuel’ for take off. In 1999, we had eight groups although again,sadly none of those group leadersis alive today. However, many ofthe groups they started are stillgoing. Just a year later, the numberof groups had grown to seventeen.

We have had many group leadersand committee members, past andpresent, too numerous to name,who have formed groups, plannedholidays, outings and events. Weshould thank them all, but withoutthose first few to take control, thiscelebration would not be takingplace.

So we should acknowledge thedebt we owe to those who are still with us – Ray and June Reader together with EdithHumphries (and not forgetting Peggy Thomas, although she is no longer a member).

Happy Birthday Mansfield U3A!

Sylvia Slack founder memberMy first knowledge of U3A was when Edith Senior came to the Public Library, looking forpeople to join a group she was hoping to form in Mansfield (she was a member of theDukeries U3A) and spoke so enthusiastically about this that l decided to go to the first

meeting to find out more.

About 38 people turned up at theFriends Meeting House on RosemaryStreet, most not knowing anyone elsebut we were soon chatting togetherand making suggestions for groupsunder Edith’s guidance. We were thenasked to get together into the groupswe were interested in and choose aleader and place to meet. The FriendsMeeting House quickly became toosmall for the monthly meeting and theU3A moved to the Baptist Church Hallnext door where many more groups

were formed and Pat Prescott offered to run a Book Stall.

I went to the Reading and Walking Groups and then was approached by someone whointroduced herself as Rita Turner who asked if l would help her get an Art Group started.

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Art Appreciation at the Walker Gallery

Who remembers Country Dancing?

This was a culture shock as l was no artist but it proved a forerunner for getting involvedwith things later on! This group was given a free room by the council for six months and ittook off from there.

The following week, those who were interested in walking met at South Forest Centre inEdwinstowe where Margaret Brown led a walk to Rufford. This group quickly grew whenAlan Radford became leader and is still thriving twenty years on under Tim Spurry.Friendships have been made and therehave even been three weddingsbetween walkers! Walking holidayshave always been popular since AlanWhitman organised the first one; sadlyhe was unable to see the success of thisholiday but Peter Thurkettle for manyyears continued to organise this high-light of the walkers’ year.

When it became obvious that manymembers would like to enjoy a shorterwalk with friends, Peter Fletcher startedan intermediate walk of about 4 miles.This was quickly followed by a Strollersgroup of 2 miles so covering allmembers. As the years passed andmany of us became less mobile, lstarted the Shufflers, thinking members would laugh me out of the room, but we haveover 20 mainly ex-walkers enjoying our monthly get together!

From the beginning, what has struck me most about U3A was, and still is, the friendli-ness, and the chance to participate in activities suitable to our abilities. This has been its

strength over the years as we havelost members and new ones havejoined bringing new, fresh ideas as wecontinue to grow.

I remember Edith Senior saying to meat the first summer picnic which washeld in her garden, ‘I wonder wherethis group will be in 20 years time?’

l think she would be amazed and veryhappy to know that all her hard workto start a U3A in Mansfield had beensuch a success!

Edith Humphries - the first TreasurerTwenty years ago, I responded to a notice in Warsop Library about a ‘U3A meeting’ inMansfield. I didn't know what it involved so went along to investigate and found myself atan inaugural meeting of the Mansfield U3A. It sounded interesting so I joined!

The meeting was chaired by Edith Senior, accompanied by some fellow members ofOllerton U3A. A Committee was formed but we reached deadlock as no-one would

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Sylvia's Shufflers with Rita to the fore!

Annual Picnic in Angus' Garden 2003

volunteer to be Treasurer. With no experience at all, I offered to do the job so that wecould continue with the business – I trusted that someone more suitable would soon befound!

We organised ourselves into groups and sorted out meeting times and venues – I joinedthe Walking Group and the Reading Group.

Edith then carries on to describe the first walk from South Forest and the Reading Groupwhich still meets at Peter Dawson’s house. The start of the Tai-Chi Group is described.

My first U3A holiday was with Mansfield– and it was very nearly my last as thehotel we stayed at in Plymouth hadforgotten to book a room for me and Ihad to spend one night in a depressingbasement room normally used bydrivers. But the next day I was given adouble room with a beautiful view overPlymouth Hoe!

I eventually joined the Art Appreciation,Current Affairs, Local History, Afternoonand Shufflers Groups (thanks to Sylviafor the last one!), although I gave up onthe Art Group as I felt that I was incap-able of doing anything I felt was good; Iaccepted defeat and gave away my kit.

I remember well the Christmas lunch at the Masonic during a snow storm when we had ‘seconds’as there were so many empty seats; the many homes I have visited as a member of a group; themany holidays I have enjoyed and the numerous activities I have tried.

More importantly, I have made many friends and I would like to thank everyone who has helpedme in my various U3As. My special thanks to those from Ollerton U3A who started us up and Iwish Mansfield U3A all the best for another 20 years.

Barbara Lewis – a founder memberI was invited to the first meeting at the Friends Meeting House by Marjorie Smith and PeggyThomas and I remember Edith Senior asking us for our names and where we lived – there were

about 30 of us there. Then she asked forideas for groups and the suggestionsincluded a Reading Group, Walking Group,Art Group, Gardening Group and LunchGroup. Following this, the U3A and its futureevents were advertised in Mansfield Library.In addition to the people Sylvia remembers,I can think of Ray and Janet Porter.

Norma Shillinglaw - ex-PresidentI first went to Mansfield U3A at theFriends Meeting House in April or May

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Hikers in Derbyshire in the early 2000s

Quiz masters supreme

2000 with Ray and June Reader who were founder members and was immediatelydelighted by how friendly and welcoming everyone was. Most of the sixty or so memberscame to say hello. I joined the next month, and Ian joined in September.

In July 2000, a very interesting tour of the House of Commons was arranged and wewere taken around by an ex-policeman.It was because of this visit that theBritish Constitution / Current Affairs(now just Current Affairs) InterestGroup was formed. New InterestGroups were formed all the time and itwas in these groups that we made somany new friends. Music Group 2’s firstmeeting had a theme, but the musicwas a mixture of all styles. DianaOsborne played ‘Sex Bomb’ by TomJones, to the horror of two rather po-faced ladies who were so shocked thay

did not turn up again!

At the monthly meetings, we made the tea & coffee (£1 plus biscuits), washed and driedup and put the chairs out – more work than now, but it was all good fun. Both Ian and Iwere co-opted onto the Committee in 2001 when the meetings were held in EdithSenior’s home following fish and chips in a local pub!

As we wanted to increase our income, Angus Paterson offered to host coffee morningsat his Blidworth home if I organised them.They were a great success and we alsoheld the Summer Picnics there for someyears, with the delicious home-made food!

Moving to the Baptist Church allowed PatPrescott to start the Book Table which hasraised large sums of money for the U3Aever since. We started the Holiday Clubafter Lynette Fletcher organised a 5-daybreak to Nidd Hall. Lynette was the GroupLeader and I helped her with the holidaysthat we went on after voting for suggestedtrips. We had many wonderful holidays withDiscovery Travel in their luxury coacheswith leather seats, tea and coffee mid-morning and gin and tonics in the afternoon! Allsupported by Dukeries U3A, our ‘parent’ U3A. Terry and Lillian Whitehead arrangedsome super day trips before they began the Thoresby holidays.

When I was Chairman, I learned that you could get funding to visit the European Parlia-ment and the Holiday Club joined the Current Affairs Group for a 5-day break to Belgiumon a most interesting trip with a tour and talk arranged by a local MEP. The move to theMasonic came in my time as Chairman – much more comfortable and all things arrangedfor us.

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SciTech Group at Upton Hall

Garden Group in 2012

Peter DawsonIn early July 1971, a Morris Minor shooting brake rolled down the Chesterfield Road,through Mansfield’s Market Square and out to Blidworth. There were no traffic lights, noone way streets and all railway bridges were still standing.One week later, I was installed as a GP in the Blidworthpractice. A colliery house was found for us on the Crescentopposite the pit and my family moved in. By NovemberCarole and I had bought a house in Farnsfield and moved.We have been there ever since.

One by one, and then faster, the pits and the factoriesclosed. The summer of 1986 was the year of reckoningwith the war between Thatcher and Scargill. As in 1926,the Notts miners, though not all, refused to strike and setup the UDM. Hundreds of police were drafted in from allover the country. At 5am one morning, I drove to Blidworthon an emergency call and had to stop at police lines andexplain my mission before being allowed into the village.The noise of the pickets shouting as local men went towork at the pit is a poignant memory. The scars of dividedcommunities are still with us.

By the late 80s, things were desperate in the area. Unemployment had risen sharply andmany were unable to pay their rents – or their mortgages when they were encouraged tobuy their council or colliery houses. My wife, Carol, had begun to be trained in the newCitizens Advice Centre (CAB) in Ollerton and then became the Deputy Manager at thenew CAB in council-provided premises on Market Square. Carol remembered inter-

viewing a distraught woman who had threesons – one in the UDM, one in the NUM anda third in the Police!

So when in the late 90s, it was decided toset up a University of the Third Age open toanyone over 55, there was a large numberof people wishing to join, so many so thatnumbers had to be restricted as therewasn’t a venue big enough to accommodateall members at the monthly Tuesdaymeeting.

There was a wonderful mix of people amongthe members as a whole. Here was achance, now work was over, to developinterests in many directions. Music andreading and walking groups were verypopular. Later, other interest groups were

added, with organised coach trips to Country Houses, wonderful Gardens and evenconcerts and operas. But the monthly meeting was the important venue for bringingeveryone together and the ‘Lectures’ were wide ranging, and, I am told, very interesting,

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Theatre trips to Stamford

although I never attended as Tuesday was still a working day for me, except once whenthey got me to give a talk on our time in Zambia in the late 60s.

I have always admired those members who became committee members, donating theirtime and energies to give the rest of us an easy and enjoyable time in the organisation.However, it was a little irking to find that at Thoresby, the Committee met before dinner inone of their bedrooms for a secret sherry and then commandeered a table exclusively forthemselves in the dining room. We alluded to them, affectionately, as “The Mafia”!

Things have to evolve or they becomestale and less interesting. Our music group,collapsed as three members left to start upanother U3A; similarly, the two readinggroups, which initially were oversubscribed, are struggling to keep going asage and other interests take their share ofmembers. Long live the U3A!

Terry Whitehead & his holidaysWe moved to Mansfield in 2000 fromLeeds and soon after we arrived, AlanRadford (who we had known for about 35years) rang us up and said he had arranged a bus trip to Leeds for the local U3A and if we wantedto come there were two seats on the bus. Fast forward and I am sitting behind the driver directinghim to his destination including telling him which lanes to get in. Alan and Marlene explained aboutthe U3A so we joined.

My input then became coach trips to Yorkshire including Halifax Piece Hall, TempleNewsham House, Harewood House, Harrogate, Leeds City Varieties, Otley (more charityshops per mile than any other place in the UK then), and recordings of Countdown atYorks TV. Having done lots of day trips I started to get ambitious and contacted Nidd Hallto do a 4 day break, all of us driving. The next progression was to contact a coachcompany and I took coaches to Bodyllwydn and Cricket St Thomas.

My final advance in organising trips/holidays for U3A came when 19 of uswent to Thoresby for a Turkey andTinsel. I was so pleased that I coulddispense with coaches that I just didThoresby for the next 15 years.Numbers kept increasing. But all goodthings come to an end and there will be nomore holidays organised by me. But weare supposed to learn something newevery day and I can honestly say I havecertainly done that while organising tripsand holidays.

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First Whitehead Holiday - Nidd Hall

Family History

Rita Turner –founder member,Art Group Leader &ex-PresidentBefore retirement, Ispent the odd wetlunch hour readingabout the U3A move-ment in the Magazinesin the office waitingroom. So I was reallykeen to go along to thefirst meeting of theMansfield and DistrictU3A back in May 1999and I must say that ithas lived up to all myexpectations. And thensome.

Apart from twoseparate terms on thecommittee, my maininvolvement has beenten years as Leader ofthe Art Group.

As I had made thegreat mistake ofshowing an interest inart, our inauguralchairman, Edith Senior,approached me afterour second meetingwith a leaflet offeringus a free room for sixmonths at NewlandsCommunity Centreplus a list of six or somembers with the same interest and said, ‘Get a room, ring up these people and you willbe fine’. I followed her instructions to the letter, rang them up and offered them tea and achat. I was grateful to Edith for pushing me into this as I had great joy from the ArtGroup.

I have so many good memories of my ten years with the Art Group and I would like tothank all members who were part of it, particularly those who we have lost over the years

The above is an edited version of a piece written by Rita entitled ‘In The Beginning’. I hope you can read her words in the Art Group piece!

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Local History Group at Milton

An S.W. trip to London

Holiday in Pisa 2003

National Chair, Barbara Lewis, at the 15thAnniversary Meeting

Officers of Mansfield and District U3A

National U3A Role of Honour

Edith SeniorHonorary Presidents

Edith Senior, Malcolm Osborne, Norma Shillinglaw, Sylvia Slack, Rita Turner

Chairpersons of Mansfield and District U3A

Edith Senior June 1999 – September 2002Malcolm Osborne September 2002 – 2004Norma Shillinglaw September 2004 – 2005Cliff Laycock September 2005 – 2007John O’Leary September 2007 – March 2009Sylvia Slack April 2009 – September 2010Max Clarke September 2010 – 2011Mike Allen September 2011 – 2013Glenis Carr September 2013 – 2014Bob Longden September 2014 – 2016Sheila Whalley September 2016 – 2018Jacqui Hampshire September 2018

TreasurersEdith Humphreys, Alan Radford, Edwin Kyte, Bob & Pat Holloway, Pauline Boucher,

Yvonne Kennison.

SecretariesMalcolm Osborne, Cliff Laycock, Peter Thurkettle, Rita Turner, John Barsby, Carole

Justice, Jean Dalton, Linda Spray, Mike Allen, Carole Harrison.

Surviving Members 1999-2000Ian & Pat Blackwell, Barbara Lewis, Colin & Sylvia Slack; Ian & Norma Shillinglaw, FredBrowne, Ray Turner, Bessie Crisp, Jean Kirk, Ann Ward, Joy Crowe, Liz Ellis, Peter

Thurkettle, John & Margaret Florence

(with Rita Turner, Peggy Thomas, Marlene Radford, Jean Hedges, Peter Crabbe, HilaryHamilton-Ross, David Pollitt who are no longer members or who have passed away.).

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