IN THIS ISSUEArcheology/Geology 13Art History 13Can I make a suggestion? 4Carol Concert Report 23Card Club 22Chinnor U3A unites old friends 22Chinnor U3A Website 6Contact is your newsletter 17Creative Writing 21Digital Photography 18Experiencing a MOOC 12Elections for the U3A

Executive Committee 21French 8Gardening 4Glass Workshop 12History 15Interest Groups at a glance 24Literary Appreciation 17Member Memories:

Elan Preston-Whyte 10New groups 18Outings 19Poetry 16Programme May - October 2017 23Science and Technology 5Spring is on its way! 21Walking Groups: Long walks 7 Mixed walks 9 Short walks 14 Strollers 20Visiting German Christmas Markets 2Welfare 9Why learn a foreign Language now? 8Your U3A and you 20

Since last writing I have been getting to know our U3A much better – by visiting various Groups, NOT spying as someone said (jokingly I hope!) – but to see how they work, what makes them tick.

Without exception all the co-ordinators and members have made me feel welcome, and it has been an eye opener for me. I was getting bogged down in all the nitty gritty of being a new Chairman – understanding the rules and regs, getting used to running Monthly Meetings etc. But now I feel the U3A has come to life – I have come away from various groups with my head in a spin, and with a list of groups I’d like to join once my stint as Chairman is finished.

First I visited one of the Craft Groups. Being such a butterfingers I didn’t even attempt to join in with making one of the TLC cards that the group was doing, but everyone was so chatty it was a delight to be there. I’ve been to three of the Music Groups, Creative Writing, History and Art History. I was a bit apprehensive about going to this group, as I know nothing about art, but as two current members said, they didn’t know anything about art either which is why they joined! I enjoyed Playreading and was so enthralled by my visit to French Beginners that I actually signed up to keep on going! At the time of writing I have definite dates to go to Family History and Digital Photography too.

I must also mention the groups that I have been a member of for quite some time – Walking, Reading and Gardening. All three are popular, and I have made several friends through being in these groups.

From these visits I have learnt that we have so many knowledgeable people willing to share their expertise, and we have people eager to learn and grow in confidence by sharing their new found knowledge. I have been able to get to know members that I hadn’t really known before. I realise more than ever that groups are both educational and entertaining, and, as I said before, it is a great way to make friends.

Of course you too can visit and join as many groups as you like. I’d encourage you to do so. If there isn’t a group that caters for your interests at the moment talk to Ann Long, our Interest Group Secretary. She can advise you how to go about starting a group. I’ll willingly support you too.

In a nutshell, since I have been visiting groups, my heart sings – Love, Live U3A!Rosie HetheringtonChairman

Welcome to one and all!

Please send all correspondence and contributions to:The Editor, Krystyna Hewitt, 17 Musgrave Road, Chinnor, OX39 4PL. Email: chinnoru3anewsletter@gmail.com

The Editor reserves the right to edit, shorten or omit any entries submitted. I would like to point out that any views expressed are not necessarily those of the organisation or of the Editor.

DEADLINE FOR NEXT ISSUE:8th September 2017

ContactTHE NEWSLETTER OF CHINNOR & DISTRICT U3A

Number 35May 2017

2 Contact May 2017

Not too early in the morning, at 8:00am on the 29th November, a coach load of eager passengers could be seen leaving Chinnor, en route to Valkenburg in Holland to begin a short break in order to enjoy the sights and some retail therapy at the German Christmas Markets.

We had a very pleasant drive and ferry crossing, all arranged, of course, by Sheila. The Motts driver was an amenable and friendly person who had made the journey several times before, so was well versed in all the roads and routes and shepherded us with great dexterity.

You may now be thinking that if he knew the route, how come we ended up in Holland, when we were planning to shop at the German Christmas Markets? If your geography is better than mine, you will know that Valkenburg is on the German border so this wasn’t, in fact, a problem!

We arrived at the family-run Grand Hotel Monopole, and after a quick wash and brush up, enjoyed our first meal of the holiday, which the hotel had ready and waiting for us. Having been sitting in the coach for quite a while we felt ready to stretch our legs and have a breath of air, so most of us had a stroll into the town to walk our dinner down.

We found it to be a delightful place, with a river running through and already preparing for their share of Christmas festivities. Our hotel was certainly tastefully bedecked with a Christmas tree and other trimmings.

Following a good night’s sleep we went down to enjoy the buffet style breakfast then prepared to leave for a visit to the Christmas Caves in Valkenburg. They were most intriguing – winding in and around, and with surprises at every turn. There was something for everyone and to suit all tastes – we were even able to sample the local glühwein if we wished.

During our visit to the town Sheila arranged for a meal in a restaurant for those of us who wished to eat at 8:00pm, whilst others in our group

A visit to the German

Christmas Markets

top: Aachen Christmas Markets with Cathedral in the background.right: Christmas Markets in caves at Valkenburg in The Netherlands.

Contact May 2017 3

decided to eat earlier and retire to catch up on their beauty sleep.

Next morning we realised that time was flying by and we only had one more day left before returning home!

On this final day we were picked up by our driver to be taken to the Lindt Factory in Aachen – a thirty minute drive into Germany. What a treat it was to find all the lovely chocolate favourites at somewhat reduced prices! It was Chocolate Heaven, and the after-Christmas diet was looking more certain than usual.

In the afternoon we drove on to enjoy Aachen's Christmas Markets, which are mainly in the square in front of the impressive looking Town Hall. By this time I think most of us had spent up and also felt ‘spent’ so we were happy to drive back to our hotel, freshen up, and back out on the town to have our last ‘holiday’ meal at the restaurant we had visited the previous evening. The staff were welcoming and catered for our individual needs.

The next morning we loaded our cases and shopping into the coach and had another much more subdued journey back to Chinnor. Another ‘Sheila’s Travels’ success story. Thank you Sheila. Janet Roebuck

below left: Aachen Christmas Markets and Town Hall.below right: Diane, Sheila and Janet at the Christmas Caves in Valkenburg. Photographs by Diane and Richard Carver.

4 Contact May 2017

scented garden. Then came the prize-winning question: ‘which plant will kill you stone dead if you sit under it for five minutes?’ (Answer at the end of this article!)

2017 started really well for us, when Michael Brown, the Historic Gardener came to our meeting and gave us a talk entitled ‘Death in the Garden’, all about poisonous plants and myths and legends. It was fascinating on two counts: firstly, the sheer number of plants which are poisonous in one way or another and secondly, the captivating stories of plague, pestilence, death

The final visit of the 2016 summer programme was to Waterperry Gardens, where we greatly enjoyed a tour of the orchard. We were astonished by the many different varieties of apple, pear and plum trees there were.

The trees are protected from deer attack by broadcasts of Radio 4, which trigger when a deer approaches. They must be the most informed and cultured deer in the country!

We then went to the pressing and bottling areas. It was very surprising how labour intensive the whole process is and to hear that it is only used for apple pressing for three months of the year. The group went into the freezing cold storage area, the cool pressing area and then the warm bottling area. We learnt that each apple variety is pressed into juice singly and the juice is sold under that variety, with no mixing or blending, resulting a wide range of juices for sale. These areas on the tour are not normally open to the public, so this was a great opportunity for us.

In November we started the winter programme of speakers. Everyone loves a man who comes bearing gifts, and Geoff Hodge, our November speaker, did just that. He offered them as raffle prizes, but as we don't run a raffle, he gave them as prizes for answering questions at the end of his talk. He treated us to a lively and amusing slideshow on scented plants, and talked about plant combinations to make the most of the

Gardening

Learning about the orchards at Waterperry Gardens

A while ago someone came to me and said 'At the Monthly Meeting wouldn’t it be a good idea to move the table that has milk and sugar on it, away from the hatch to ease congestion?' So we did.

Again to do with the Monthly Meeting someone else said ‘I don’t want to complain but couldn’t you improve the sound system?’ So, with the help of Graham Brackley, we did.

Other people have suggested speakers for a future occasion.Some have suggested where we might like to go for outings.Another suggested having a big flower on a new members badge so we could recognise them

more easily. That one didn’t fly but we liked having the idea anyway.We have over 350 members now. I know we can’t please everyone all of the time but it’s

always good to have suggestions to improve our U3A .And if you are really, really happy with the way things are, we’d really, really like to hear

from you too!Please do feel free to contact me.

Rosie HetheringtonChairman

Can I make a suggestion?

Contact May 2017 5

and murder that have taken place over the course of history using plant poisons. He began with the mandrake, which was used as a mediaeval anaesthetic, and mentioned some thirty five other plants including deadly nightshade, white bryony, hemlock, giant hogweed and castor oil plant, illustrating the plants with stories and anecdotes of where they grow, what they look like, how they are harmful, and actual crimes that have been committed and can now be verified with scientific evidence. The audience were completely captivated throughout. ‘How on earth does he remember it all?’ was the general reaction, as well as ‘Can we have him back again?

In February 2017, Tom Cole from Writtle College, Essex, gave us a brilliant talk on ‘Perennials and their uses in the Garden’. ‘Dig-up and Divide’ was depicted in the opening diagram. This is one way to double-up on the numbers of plants in the garden. This was followed by some great pictures of a wide range of plants of different sizes and textures, of grasses and prairie planting, and of colourful flower-beds and borders. He explained how to take stem cuttings, root cuttings and how to collect seeds from many of the perennials. This was an inspirational talk for spring, and many of us went away feeling motivated to get going and ‘propagate’, or at least, to tidy up the garden!

Our final winter meeting, on the theme ‘The

Winter Garden’ seemed somewhat out of sync with the lovely spring-like day in March! Kathy Brown, owner of the Manor House in Stevington, near Bedford, showed us pictures of her beautiful garden, and explained how she developed it by taking inspiration from various paintings. All the work in her four and a half acre garden is undertaken by her husband and herself, with just one day a week of help from another gardener, so when she told us at the end of her talk about how she bakes all the cakes for visitors, makes edible flower decorations, has written a book and has produced a range of stationery and cards featuring pictures of her cakes and decorations, we were all amazed at how one person could possibly do it all. We have planned a trip to visit Kathy’s garden in August to see it for ourselves.

Our summer programme, gets underway with a coach outing to Kew Gardens in April. Roll on the summer, and we can all get gardening!

If anyone is interested, there is now a presentation of photos that we have taken during our visits over the last few years on the Gardening Group page of the U3A Website.Ann HineGroup Co-ordinator

P.S. Geoff Hodge’s question ‘Which plant will kill you stone dead if you sit under it for 5 minutes?’ Answer: A water-lily!

The objective of this group is to study the fields and innovations associated with everyday Science and Technology. Where possible, in depth studies of particular areas of interest will be encouraged amongst the members of the group.

For instance:• HowdoesaFAXmachinetransmitandreceive

its images?• Whydoesthetasteofsomethingchangeifyou

hold your nose or have a cold?• HowdoGPSSatellitesknowwhereTHEYare?• WhatisColourBlindness?• Whatmakesaraincoatwaterproof?• Howissoundrecordeddigitally?• WhatareBionics?

No areas should be deemed beyond the scope of the group. It is hoped we can come to understand

how some technology, common to our daily lives works, and the science behind their invention or discovery. Any member who has a specialist knowledge is encouraged to share that knowledge.

The group meets on the Fourth Friday of every month and in between we plan to make group visits to Science and Technology demonstrations, businesses and museums. We are planning a group document focussing on the History of Technological Advances, which will show how older inventions have lead to the gadgets we all use today.

If anyone is interested in joining, please do not hesitate to get in touch.Chas LargeGroup Co-ordinator

Science and Technology NEW!

Gardening

6 Contact May 2017

I am very pleased to have been asked to help with the Chinnor U3A website and membership communications. I joined in November and being very much involved in computers, joined the Computer Group, where I met Molly Milner, who was responsible for the website at the time. Molly asked if anyone was interested in helping out with the website and I put myself forward. Once we had discussed it, she handed me the keys so to speak and we were off. The website had for many years been fairly static and I wanted to make it more dynamic and useful to the membership.

After further meetings with Molly and Rosie – our Chairman, I put forward a plan to rebuild the site using a Content Management System which enables greater user interactivity, thus we developed to the stage where we are now.

The website is – hopefully – easy for anyone to use. The menu at the top of the screen consists of buttons and sub-menus. Each menu item leads to a different area of the site. Here is a guide to the areas of the site.[ Home – Click this button to bring you back to

the main page from anywhere on the site.[ The U3A – All about the U3A Trust and the

foundation of the Chinnor U3A.[Activities – A table showing the Activity

Groups meetings each week.[Contact Newsletter – Details of the newsletter

and access to archive copies.[Member Login – Access to the Members Only

areas of the site. (Work in progress).[Events – A table listing the Calendar of

upcoming Chinnor U3A events, meetings, talks and lectures.

[Events Calendar – Same as Events above.[Events Information – More details of some

upcoming and previous events and speakers.[U3A Trust events – Provided by the U3A Trust,

upcoming events for members only.[Outings – our Outings team’s list of upcoming

outings.[Groups – A list of Special Interest Groups

detailing When and Where they meet. On this page, buttons for each activity group name will take you to a page for that group, giving more information and some shared information and photos.

[Group Information – Same as Groups above.[Group Meetings – (Month) – Displays details of

meetings for the current or future month.

[News & Info – News about General U3A updates and Chinnor U3A Information.

[Latest News – The very latest updates and information, seen on the home page too.

[Website Information and Privacy Policy – Information about the workings of the website.

[CHaTTR – Information about other local U3A Groups.

[Links – Links to other websites[Contact Us – A contact form for users to send

us information, updates, requests to join etc.A website is a valuable resource for any

organisation as it brings together and shares information for all members. The Chinnor U3A site has been primarily designed to offer members as much information as possible, and in future to allow members to more easily share what they have discovered with fellow members such as projects, reports, photos and stories. These will all form part of the website as we build on what we already have. If you have something you want to share, feel free to use the Contact Us form to let us know.Chas Large

The Chinnor U3A Website

www.chinnoru3a.org.uk

The website is updated regularly and gives a full two-monthly calendar of all the Interest

Groups meetings, links to other U3A websites and useful tips on a variety of subjects. You can

also read Contact in colour on the website.

Contact May 2017 7

We have had a variety of walks over the winter and enjoyed a mixture of frosty to cloudy days but little rain, though plenty of mud at times. They have included walking from Ibstone Common, Cuddington, Wilstone village, Stoke Talmage, Great Kimble and Naphill.

We would like to thank all members who have led walks over the winter and those who have offered to lead this summer.

Following the success of our two longer walks last summer we have three walks with picnic stops this year. The first of these is an 8 mile walk in June starting at Hambledon and will take us to the area around Luxters vineyards and through woods. In July it is a 7.5 mile walk from Cadmore End with a picnic at Ibstone church before returning to Cadmore End via footpaths and a field where there will hopefully be orchids. August is our final picnic walk which is 8.5miles starting at the NT car park at the top of Watlington Hill.

The remaining three walks this summer are morning walks. The April walk is a local walk from near the Lambert Arms. In May we are walking in the area around Little Hampden and in September we have an undulating walk from Stokenchurch.

We have welcomed several new members to the group this winter with all walks being well attended but are always open to new members joining us. All walks are circular and start at 10.00am. on the first Tuesday of the month.

Full details are on the U3A websiteChristine and Ray BarnettJoint Group Co-ordinators

A photograph taken on our March walk at Naphill Clumps. Clumps or ‘Rings of Trees’ were popular on country estates and were made up of different trees, including Lime which was always on the northern side. These clumps were probably planted in the 1800s. They are currently in a poor state but are gradually being restored to their former glory as funds permit.

Long Walks

A definition of U3A?I found this quote by Benjamin Franklin the other day. For me it defines the U3A:

Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I may remember. Involve me and I learn.

Dorrie Oliver

8 Contact May 2017

You might believe it’s too late for you to start to learn a foreign language or you might think that you won’t use the one you already have. But the brain is like a muscle so if you don’t use it you’ll lose it.

But seriously, studies have shown that learning or having a second language helps you to retain and improve your intellectual faculties in several ways.

* You become more intelligent. When learning another language you challenge your brain to recognise, negotiate meaning, and communicate in different language systems.

* Exercising the brain in this way staves off Alzheimer’s and Dementia. Studies show that on average you gain an extra 4 years of freedom from Dementia.

* Your memory improves. Learning new vocabulary and rules of grammar exercises the brain which improves overall memory. Studies show that bilinguals are better at retaining shopping lists, names, and directions.

* You become more perceptive. You become better at focusing on relevant information and editing out the irrelevant. Just like Hercule Poirot or Sherlock Holmes.

* You improve your English. Learning a foreign language draws your focus to the mechanics of language. This makes you more aware of language, and the ways it can be structured and manipulated. These skills can make you a more effective communicator and a sharper editor and writer as well as a more careful listener.

Janet ErskineFrench Group Co-ordinator

Chinnor U3A French GroupChinnor U3A French group is divided into two sections: beginners and experienced speakers. Beginners meet twice a month, experienced speakers by arrangement. Both groups would welcome more members.

For the beginners French we are using À Vous La France, a BBC publication. The books can be bought second-hand and cheaply at Amazon or from other sites on-line and the tapes can sometimes be found too.

Other languagesChinnor U3A offers only French but why not co-ordinate a small group of learners of a language of your choice?

Mrs Rosemary ActonMr Ken Acton

Mr Nigel ConradiMrs Janet ConradiMr Bob EmmettMrs Sue Emmett

Mrs Pauline FearnMr Gordon Bloomfield

Mr Roy Constant Mr Jim Horton

Mrs Pauline HortonMrs Jan Bunyan Mr Charles Large

Mrs Barbara Grange Mrs Barbara Francis

Welcome to our new members…

Hola

Guten TagCiao

Namaste

Bonjour

Why learn a foreign language now?

Contact May 2017 9

Ted and Audrey Farman have recently moved to be near their younger daughter in Bristol. Both Ted and Audrey have served on our Committee in the past.

We, hopefully, now have the warmer weather to look forward to, so I am hoping that you will all stay well. Please can I remind you to let me know if you are aware of any member who is unwell or in need of some TLC so that a card can be delivered or a visit made to let them know that we care and that they are important to us.Diane CarverWelfare Officer

Editor's note: I can personally vouch for the pleasure that receiving a card from fellow U3A members brings when one is unwell. Thank you!

It’s all good news. Our numbers have increased and we are averaging about seventeen on our walks. A lot of new U3A members have joined us, so a big welcome to them.

We’ve also got some very good walks leaders and we have an excellent programme throughout the summer. It includes the Three Villages Walk from Cadmore End to Turville and Fingest, which is considered as one of the most scenic walks in the Chilterns. We are also visiting Hambleden, Chenies, the Tring Reservoirs and Canals, Hughenden and Speen.

The photograph of the group was taken by Wilf Crompton at Oxford Castle on 14 March. Twenty two members of the Mixed Walking Group joined Carole Wheeler, ably assisted by Brian Gribbin, Jean Wadsworth and Frances Wells, on a walk that charted Oxford’s development as an important medieval town. Starting at the North Gate we traced the boundary westwards to the Castle, picking up the South Gate just short of Magdalen Bridge. We completed the circuit via the Sheldonian and Radcliffe Camera Square.

A few of us then rounded off the day by walking down the Thames to visit Iffley Church to see its magnificent Romanesque architecture and wonderful stained glass windows.

All the walks are 5 to 6 miles long and take place on the third Tuesday of every month starting at 10.00am. They are designed to finish around

1pm but we never give a firm time for getting back.

The full programme is on the Chinnor and District U3A website. Please take a look, contact me for more details, and come and join us.Peter Hetherington Group Co-ordinator

Mixed Walks

Welfare

10 Contact May 2017

As a student in Wales I was used to relatively small year groups with lecture theatres large enough to seat everyone and gowned lecturers who instantly commanded silence when they appeared. Here at the Sorbonne my experience was very different. It consisted of being crammed into the tiered theatre with a heaving mass of noisy students, so many that they spilled onto the lecturer’s dais and even wrote at the desk where the lecturer stood. The reason for the crush was that in France everyone was entitled to enter the first year of university education (but not the prestigious Ecoles) with the failures weeded out at the end of the year. The numbers in my course were swelled by au pairs and other hangers-on like me. As a result my Sorbonne course didn’t last long as in that environment I learnt little but I have my copy of Le Cid, a five-act play by Pierre Corneille which was on the syllabus, still unread.

prACTICAL ExpErIEINCEAs my hospital experience was more relevant, I dutifully took myself off every morning to the Paediatric Department of the Hôpital Necker, named after the inventor of the stethoscope doctors still use today. My role was to attach myself to the Consultant on the Renal Unit and follow him on his round of the patients. I was astonished to see tiny children looking at me through the iron bed rails of an adult-sized bed in a ward bare of any decoration except the usual furniture of bed and locker. The Children’s Ward in my Teaching Hospital in Cardiff was brightly painted with small low beds, colourful patterned curtains and toys everywhere with parents often by the bedside. The starkness of the French ward was unbelievable, but it should be remembered that this was the early 60s; in the Gironde, I was to discover later, ‘peasants’ were still ploughing by hand.

My colleagues on these rounds were all French of a similar age or older than myself. I found that I was regarded and treated with great suspicion because everyone (except me) was hoping to be ‘noticed’ by the Professeur and, in due course, when a vacancy on his team occurred to be offered the job. There was no other formal application system that I could see for preferment, hence the antagonism I experienced as a possible competitor for such a post. I survived the rounds and my

By 1962 I had spent 25 years of my life in Cardiff, first as a schoolgirl and then as a medical student. Now as a graduate I was tired of my home city and decided it was time for a change. I had read Elaine Dundy’s 1958 novel The Dud Avocado about a young American girl living in Paris and this was where I made plans to go. It wasn’t entirely a random choice as an old school friend, Françoise, was now living there and the Renal Consultant I was working for in the Infirmary was able to organise a post for me as an externe with his colleague at the Hôpital Necker, a teaching hospital in central Paris.

SETTLING INAll that was left to do was to find somewhere to stay fairly cheaply in Paris and to sign on at the Sorbonne for the Course de Civilisation Française hopefully to improve my O level French. Both tasks were surprisingly easy as they were interlinked. Because of my course I was entitled to apply for accommodation at the Cité Universitaire in the 14th Arrondissment, The Cité was established after the World War I for students, researchers and academics and had more than forty residences or maisons organised mostly by nationality, although not all their occupants were from the country implied by the name of the building. Several maisons had been designed by famous architects, such as Le Corbusier, but most were in the familiar architectural style of the country they represented.

I was allocated a room on the second floor of the College Franco Britannique, a large, severe looking, red-brick building near the entrance to the park and a short walk from the Metro. I was sharing the room with a very pretty, petite Algerian French girl who ignored me from the first day we met. However, despite her lack of interest in me, I was fascinated by her as she dressed exquisitely and whenever she bought new clothes she and the girlfriend, who came to visit her, would examine minutely every seam and button chattering and exclaiming in French as they did so. Any imperfections they found meant the garment went straight back to the shop.

THE UNIvErSITySigning on at the Sorbonne that Autumn Term was another eye-opener.

MEMBEr MEMOrIES

An Autobiographical Fragment

Contact May 2017 11

one cold November weekend to fly with them to stay at Chateau Latour in the Gironde. That year, Monsieur Langlais, Françoise’s father, had been appointed as the head of Harveys of Bristol’s businesses in France and the chateau was part of their purchases. We were greeted on our arrival by an old, grim-faced housekeeper, who prepared our meals and who brought a jug of hot water for me to wash with in my bedroom the next morning.

The same weekend we motored to Arcachon on the coast to buy oysters. We drove through pine forests and fields where I noticed the locals, whom the Langlais casually called peasants, were working. At supper I managed to swallow the oysters by eating copious amounts of brown bread and butter and washing them down with Latour wine. It was only some years later when I went to buy a bottle of the same wine to give to a friend that I realised that the vintage I had been given was the equivalent of drinking liquid pound notes.

My six months in Paris coincided with the cold winter of 1963 and my lasting memory of Paris before I left is of the braziers on street corners around Les Halles and Les Galleries Lafayette burning wood and boulets (compacted coal-dust lumps) to roast sweet chestnuts whilst the snow melted on the pavements around them. Elan Preston-Whyte

companions’ displeasure, however, and with my basic French and the common jargon of medicine (where the terminology was the same only pronounced differently) understood most of what was discussed

Lunch was taken in the Doctors’ Dining Room where a small bottle of red wine was included in the price of the meal (which I gratefully drank!). Around the room in a continuous frieze was a series of scenes of Romans reclining in a variety of poses eating, drinking and indulging in orgies which were quite clearly sexual. No-one seemed to find this an unusual decorative feature.

TIME OFF!My time in Paris was not all work. My student card entitled me to cheap theatre and cinema tickets and other cultural events. I made the most of it seeing Faydeau farces at the Comédie- Française and from a seat in the gods I saw Carmen at the Opera (the old one) in Place de L’Opera, where the curtain rose on a Spanish scene filled with people, dogs and donkeys. No opera, not even ones at the Met, has since come close to that first experience.

A WEEkENd IN THE COUNTryFrançoise and her family rescued me from the Cité where the food was underwhelming to invite me

My student card

12 Contact May 2017

In October of last year a group of us from the Craft Group plus a few other U3A members went, armed with sandwiches, to the Askett studio of Jacque Pavlosky, a lady who is very creative in glass as well as several other art forms.

First of all she kindly showed us around a fascinating array of all the amazing equipment needed – kilns, tools, moulds, and different glasses (in powder, rod and sheet form) to produce articles ranging from small sculptures to beautiful stained glass windows.

We were then allowed to make either a coaster or a ‘hanging’ for the garden, using a base of clear glass and covering it with coloured glass shapes.

When completed our efforts went into the kiln to be collected a couple of days later. It was exciting to see the very different, but pleasing, results, some of which are shown in the photograph. It was a lovely project and one which we all enjoyed.Wendy Fane

Glass Workshop

Reading through the December issue of Third Age Matters magazine I came across an article about resources for family historians. There were details of a MOOCs course on Genealogy: Researching Your Family Tree, run by Strathclyde University.

MOOCs is ‘Massive Open Online Courses’. These courses are open to anyone, not just U3A members, and the best bit is that they are absolutely free. The only requirement is a computer with access to the internet and an email address. They do offer certificates (which you do have to pay for) for completing the courses, but there is no obligation to purchase.

I have been researching my family for some years but wondered if I could gain any useful tips by attending the course. It lasted six weeks starting from 16 January. The instructions stated that each week would take about 4 hours study time. So, with nothing to lose I took the plunge and signed up after Christmas.

What a fantastic course it was! Each week contained 15 to 20 modules; the modules varied between videos, information and

research projects. There was also a discussion group for all participants where you could make comments on the module and what you had discovered in the research items. Several students gave details of some very useful web sites giving genealogy information.

Four hours per week was a good estimate so it didn’t take up too much of my time although it was very easy to get carried away and spend lots of time looking at newly discovered web sites.

The lady who ran the course was very knowledgeable and gave us lots of ideas and tips on how to find out more about our ancestors. I thought I knew how to research my family but I learnt a huge amount and our family tree is now much more detailed. I have learnt how to analyse information and how to extract fine details to make the information much more interesting.

There are hundreds of courses available so I would highly recommend that you try one, you will certainly learn something new. Visit www.futurelearn.com/courses for more information.Molly Milner

Experiencing a MOOC

Contact May 2017 13

his death when he was killed falling onto the railway line at Salisbury. He could have been a talented portrait painter but was influenced by Picasso and later the St Ives School instead. His lack of success could be attributed to his inability to choose between his sophisticated life as a socialite in Paris and a life as a painter dedicated to developing his art. Again, the following web-site will provide more information:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Wood_(painter)

From June 2017 there will be presentations on Nikolai Astrup, Mary Ann North, John Vettriano, Winston Churchill, and an outing in July. Please check the Chinnor U3A web site for details of all our meetings which are held on the third Friday in the month at 10.30am in the Chiltern Room at the Village Centre, Chinnor, where we would be delighted to welcome new members. Elan Preston-WhyteJoint Group Co-ordinator

Two recent presentations have been unusual because they introduced painters who were relatively unknown. The first, presented by Frances Wells, was Winifred Knights (1899 – 1947) who showed artistic talent from an early age and was enrolled at the Slade School of Art in 1915. Here she was taught by Henry Tonks, who insisted on students undertaking meticulous care in drawing, a trait which was to handicap Winifred by inhibiting her ability to finish the very large paintings she was later commissioned to paint. Her painting style was adapted to the Quatrocento artists such as Giotto and one of her most famous paintings, The Deluge, was compared favourably with Stanley Spencer’s painting of Boys arriving at the Dressing Station. Unfortunately, in the 1930s a change in artistic fashion and the onset of WW2 stopped Winifred painting as she fled London once more with her small son. Her marriage ended in 1946 and she died the following year from a brain tumour, largely forgotten, as no obituary was ever published. Further details and pictures of her work can be found at: http://www.winifredknights.com.

It was a portrait of Christopher (Kit) Wood (1900-1930) which led to Brenda Goffin’s presentation. He was startlingly handsome and had quickly become well-known in London and Paris where he learnt to paint under the influence of a society portrait painter Adrian Duran. Duran was also a designer and he helped Wood to make posters advertising the new collection of the courier, Molyneux and also he designed for Diaghilev of the Ballet Russe. Unfortunately, another acquaintance, Jean Cocteau, introduced him to opium as a means of inspiration and the drug remained a prop to his insecure self for the rest of his short life and possibly contributed to

Art History

Free legal advice for U3A members

The Third Age Trust has an arrangement with ‘Arc Legal Assistance in Association with Irwin Mitchell Solicitors’ to provide legal advice to U3A members.

This is a FREE service, available 365 days a year, 24 hours a day.

Just phone: 0344 770 1040 and quote: ‘U3A Legal Helpline’.

Archaeology/GeologyThis new group is up and running and we have already had very interesting talks and visits, including a visit to Marlow Archaeology Society to hear all about the amazing archaeological discoveries at the new building site opposite Lord Williams’s Upper School in Thame.

We also had a presentation by James Mather, the finder of the Watlington hoard, a find of gold, silver and other artefacts, some of which have changed the view of Saxon domination. Who knew that there was so much going on around us in the past?

Later this year we are visiting the “lost village” of Stoke Mandeville – the original Stoke Mandeville, not the one as we know now.

As outlined at the start of our group, although we have a number of knowledgeable people in our group, the main requirement is just an interest in either or both archaeology and geology. For more information please contact Bryan on e-mail bryanroebuck@waitrose.com.Bryan RoebuckJoint Group Co-Ordinator

NEW!

14 Contact May 2017

cakes. This pub is reputed to be haunted – ‘ghostly fingerprints’ sometimes found in the pub’s pies supposedly originating from a careless Victorian barmaid who was discovered dead in the nearby West Wycombe Caves – but we saw no ghosts and had none of the pub’s pies anyway!

I should mention our walk from Cuddington to Nether Winchendon. Walking the little back streets of Cuddington, we passed a duck pond in someone’s back garden and whilst we paused on the bridge over the stream from the pond, all the ducks swam to us – very welcoming but, of

We’ve enjoyed some great and varied walks these last few months, generally in good weather and always ending with tea and cakes. Many thanks to our superb walk leaders.

We walked around Harcourt Arboretum near Nuneham Courtenay in November. Some areas are quite new – the acers, in particular, were fairly small but still glorious with their bright red foliage. From the wooded area we walked through the wide open meadows before returning to our cars, just as it began to rain. This was a fairly short walk, ideal on a dull day. We then drove, to nearby Notcutts Garden Centre for tea and cakes. The garden centre was well worth a visit, especially near Christmas time, to see all the decorations and the ‘Christmassy’ model village.

Though a little muddy due to recent rain, we had a very enjoyable walk, starting at the West Wycombe Garden Centre car park we walked along the side of the hill near the mausoleum to the top, then traversed the ridge and walked back along the other side, looking down on the West Wycombe to Princes Risborough road. The views here across the valley were gorgeous on this sunny but fairly cold day. When we reached West Wycombe village we meandered through the little lanes to the George and Dragon for tea and

Short Walks

‘Admiring’ the mud on the West Wycombe walk

One of the many locks on the Grand Union Canal

Contact May 2017 15

Quite a crowd walked at Harcourt Arboretum

course, they just thought they were going to be fed! We carried on into the countryside and found that we needed to be in a field on the other side of a barbed wire ‘fence’. With some difficulty some of us made a large gap by stretching the barbed wire to breaking point and we all managed to get through. What fun – our second childhood?

Reaching Nether Winchendon we walked along the deserted streets, admiring the typically English old country cottages – England as it was between the wars, perhaps, and very nostalgic.

Other walks included a stroll along the Aylesbury Arm of the Grand Union Canal (always very nice) and a walk around the perimeter of the Oxfordshire Golf Course – again very enjoyable (we were allowed to have tea and cake in their best club house lounge – very posh). We had our usual extra walk (on Candlemas Sunday), starting from Fingest and ending back at the church for tea and cakes (the church members are getting to know us quite well); and, of course, our usual Short Walks Group Christmas Lunch at the Crown in Chinnor, after our U3A Carol Concert.

Thank you to all our walk leaders for their efforts in making our walks so splendid.

In the coming months we will be walking at Henley, Benson, Lacey Green, Parmoor, Ewelme and Marsworth – a rich variety of places and countryside. Two particularly interesting places should be Ewelme, with its nature reserve and historic church, and the Sue Ryder Prayer Fellowship HQ at Parmoor (King Zog’s former residence). However, all our walks are worth coming on – try them.Graham StoneGroup Co-ordinator

History Things are a’changing slightly at our History Group.

George Hunter and Molly Milner, who have stalwartly managed virtually all aspects of our meetings from the formation of the Group, decided they needed a break. They are thankfully still attending, however, and have agreed wholeheartedly to support any volunteers prepared to take over.

We now have the very energetic Hilary Goodchild as organiser of speakers, and we now her call our ‘Group Co-ordinator’. I have taken on the task of preparing blurb on our activities for Contact.

We have already enjoyed Molly’s “Murder Mystery”, and very spooky it was too!! Richard Carver gave a very interesting talk on his naval experiences on the F32. Hilary had suggested that ten of our members give a talk on Roman Emperors, and if the other nine have as much fun as myself in preparing for our 5 minute diatribe – with the help of Google and our local library – it was all very worthwhile.

There are so many exciting new speakers and subjects to come in the future.

We are a very friendly group who meet in the Reading Room every 3rd Friday of the month. If you would care to join us please telephone Hilary Goodchild: email hilary.goodchild@yahoo.co.uk.Stella Haddock

I was able to attend the History Group recently for the first time since Hilary Goodchild and her husband Steve have taken over the leadership. There was a good attendance and the afternoon's presentation was so good. She had asked several members to read out short histories of Roman Emperors. It meant the members of the group were encouraged to participate and it resulted in a most interesting afternoon. The History Group has always been enjoy-able.It is a friendly group and we always have tea and biscuits to conclude the afternoon. Plenty of room for more members.Sheila Tunstall

Short Walks

16 Contact May 2017

Although we now have central heating,Coal fires really take some beating.What warmth and comfort they createUntil it's time to clean the grate!

Keeping up with modern timesFracking now replaces mines.Wind farms now instead of coal,Global warming, ozone hole.

Look at how our words have changed,Many meanings rearranged:“Wicked”, “cool”, “mouse” and “spam”,Now email junk not poor man’s ham.

Lengthy titles now are fraughtWith acronyms to keep 'em short:UCAS, AWOL, OFCOM, TASER,OFSTED, DEFRA, SOSO, LASER.

Technology in bounds and leapsGoverns all with constant beeps,Cars that start without a hitch,Press a button, flick a switch.

We’re Satnav mapped and Brexit trapped,And everything comes plastic-wrapped.“Oops”,don’t say that, it’s not ‘PC’,Nothing’s like it used to be.

Of course, I could go on for ever,From the past it’s hard to sever,But all in all, I think I'll stayWithin the realms of modern day.

Rosemary Keavy

Life isn’t what it used to beThanks to new bureaucracy.Health and Safety's rules are clear,“Let's spoil the fun of yesteryear.”

I always loved the grocer’s shop,Mousetrap cheese and bottles of pop,Sides of bacon hung from hooksProvisions bought with ration books.

Broken biscuits all sold loose,Wartime babies’ orange juice,Butter cut from one big block,They mark the ticking of the clock.

Laundry then was not new-fangled,‘T’was washed by hand and then all mangled.Now it’s spin and tumble dryerNot a clothes horse round the fire.

Coffee bars were something newFor Mods and Rockers, Beatniks too.But age has brought a different trend,It's out to lunch with one’s best friend.

Who’d have thought times change so fast,Nothing new is made to last:Kettle, toaster, washing machine,Fridge and Freeze, eco green.

Recent years have seen inventedHousehold cleaner, lushly scented,Plastic dustbins, non-stick pans,Kitchen roll and drinks in cans, Supermarkets, mobile phones,Roads awash with traffic cones,High-speed trains and motorways,Not like in the olden days.

poetry

Despite small numbers, we continue to enjoy an interesting, informative, discursive and entertaining afternoon of poetry every month. The theme for our January meeting was 'Things Past and Present' with an invitation to write our own poem if so wished. It was unanimously decided that this light hearted, yet historical interpretation of the topic should be included in the next edition of 'Contact'.Mavis RimmerGroup Co-ordinator

THEN ANd NOW

Contact May 2017 17

Since my last report for Contact in October the members of the Literary Appreciation Group have read:After The Storm by Margaret GrahamAgnes Grey by Anne BronteCold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons (we also watched the film)The Group by Mary McCarthyClayhanger by Arnold Bennett

We are currently reading Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton.

We continue to enjoy sharing views on the

Literary Appreciationbooks which we are reading.

We have yet to decide on future reading. One idea we have is to read authors related to local houses – places we can also visit in order to gain a wider understanding of the background to our reading. There may be more to share on this in the next report to Contact.

One last thing: Clive Bray has agreed to take on the role of Group Co-ordinator for future meetings.Jenni ThackwrayGroup Co-ordinator

As you know, I'm fairly new to the role of Editor of Contact and I am always pleased to receive comments and suggestions of articles that I might include or how I can improve this newsletter.

Several members have mentioned that the autumn/winter edition is published a little too close to Christmas, so I am bringing that issue forward – you should receive a copy in October this year. This means, of course, that I need the material earlier too, so the deadline for the next issue is 8th September. However I am happy to receive articles at any time, so please don’t feel you have to wait until the last minute to send them to me – they will be kept safe until the issue is underway!

It is disappointing that quite a few groups haven’t managed to send in reports for this issue, though I realise that perhaps there isn’t always something to say. Group Co-ordinators might consider delegating the task of writing a report to one of the group members sometimes – this is what the History Group is doing now. As a newish member myself I know it would be helpful for those who may be thinking of joining an Interest Group if details of forthcoming meetings, (if known) could be included in these reports, alongside the highlights of the last few months’ meetings.

I will try to send a reminder about the deadline

for articles in plenty of time next time! All U3A members are welcome to send me

written articles, letters, poems, quizzes, drawings, photographs and cartoons on any subject that you think would interest other readers. Please be aware, though, that we cannot publish any material from other sources without written

permission, as we could encounter copyright problems.

Ideally I like to keep longer articles to a page or a spread at most – it might help writers to know that a full page of text without pictures is approximately 800 words. Photographs are always very welcome; Contact is, of course, printed in black and white so they need to work in that format. They will appear in glorious full colour on the website version though!

If you use a computer please send text as a Word file and pictures as tiffs or jpegs. If you do not use a computer don’t worry – I am very happy to receive typed or handwritten articles and original photographs and illustrations (which I promise will be returned to you).

Please send your contributions to me using my contact details shown on the front page of the newsletter. If you would like to discuss any ideas please give me a call.Krystyna HewittEditor

Contact is your newsletter

18 Contact May 2017

digital photography Digital Photography group meet on the second Monday of the month except September and December. We are a self-help group of mixed abilities learning together. The group meet indoors in January, February and November. For the remainder of the year we visit places to photograph and a selection of these photographs is reviewed in November.

We are visiting National Trust houses, villages, gardens and even a farm this year, so our interests are varied. So far this year we have been to Oxford and Cowleaze Woods.

If you want to join us please get in touch with Richard Carver.

These photographs were taken in Oxford, where we were looking at the themes of ‘old buildings’ and ‘people’ for our pictures.

New groupsIn the last few months an Archaeology/Geology Group and a Science and Technology Group have been established and held successful meetings. Several other possible new groups are at the planning stages.

If you have an idea for a new group why not contact Ann Long, the Interest Group Secretary, who will be able to give you advice on how to go about setting it up?

volunteers wantedFor the monthly meetings in the Village Hall

Would you be willing to help with any ofthese tasks? If so please contact the

organisers as shown below:

Welcoming and signing in members asthey arrive at the start of the meeting

Pam Buckingham

Serving tea and coffee when thespeaker has finished the talk

Pearl Dix

Helping put out the chairs and puttingthem away again

Peter Brook

Bringing down and then returning the tea urns and the banner to the store cupboard

Peter Hetherington

Contact May 2017 19

Outings June to December 2017

Outings coordinated by Sheila and Peter with input from the new Steering Group.

Information Sheets available at Monthly Meetings approx. 3 months in advance

Friday 23 June Milestones Museum and Sapphire Gin Distillery Hampshire

Peter Hetherington

Tuesday 25 July Poppy Factory and Boat Trip from Richmond to Hampton Court

Peter and Janet Lambert

Wednesday 23 August Summer event and Tea Party. Chinnor Village Hall.

Sheila Tunstall

Tuesday 5 Sept London Theatre Visit, Wind in the Willows

Sheila Tunstall

October TBC Stratford Tour including behind the scenes at the Theatre

Pat Samuel

Tuesday 28 Nov Tour of the BMW Mini Plant, Cowley

Andrea Sommerhalder

Monday 4 Dec Christmas Luncheon at the Oxfordshire Golf Club

Sheila Tunstall

December TBC Sunday Matinee at Albert Hall for a Christmas Concert

Andrea Sommerhalder

Chinnor & district U3AAnnual General Meeting

2.30pm Thursday, 20th July 2017Chinnor village Hall

20 Contact May 2017

Well here we are again – another New Year. Let’s hope that 2017 will be as successful as our first year for the Strollers. However, it would be lovely if more members offered to lead or help lead a walk. It doesn’t have to be very far away and I am sure you will get plenty of help to organise it.

Our new year started in January with a guided walk around the old part of Thame. Our group assembled at the Town Hall on a crisp, very cold day. Our guides, Rosalie Gibson and Maurice Kirtland from the Thame Historical Society, were very knowledgeable about Thame, having lived there for most of their lives. After explaining all about the history of the buildings to the group we were treated to tea and biscuits in the Barn Centre – very welcome on such a cold day. Our final visit was to St. Mary’s Church. The history of this church is fascinating, and Rosalie and Maurice didn’t disappoint with their knowledge of all that had gone on there over many hundreds of years.

Our second visit of the year should have been to Haddenham. However, due to warnings of a storm with very high winds it was decided to postpone. Frustratingly on the day the weather wasn’t actually too bad at all!

We did, however, go to Haddenham in March. Sixteen of us went along and braved the very wet weather. Brian Dowse had organised the walk with a good friend of his, Michael, who has lived in Haddenham all his life. Unfortunately due to health problems in the family, Brian was not able to join us but Brian’s friend who is a real character, gave us a lot of interesting information about this very old village. We all enjoyed his wit and knowledge and everywhere we walked everyone seemed to know him. Our first port of call was the church, which is so often seen in Midsomer Murders. Michael recalled the times as a boy when he went there each Sunday and had lots of stories to tell. As the weather was not too good, we were taken to the Museum, which is absolutely fascinating, and well worth a visit. It is packed full of interesting artefacts donated by the people of Haddenham. Of course our visits always culminate at an eatery and following our rather damp walk we partook of a well earned coffee and cake at Haddenham Garden Centre.

Our walk in April will again be to Watlington and will be led by Pat and Peter Hearmon, who will be guiding the Strollers around the back lanes, and to the lovely church which we didn’t visit

your U3A and youAs you may know, the National U3A was originally conceived as an organisation to offer older people a ‘third age’ for the pure pleasure and joy of learning, following on from the first age of childhood and the second age of paid employment or parental responsibility. The concept is that anyone, irrespective of their age, educational qualifications, and without any entry requirements, or examinations, could study any subject they wished. Information and learning is acquired by forming self-managing study groups of members with similar interests, and exchanging knowledge and experiences. This unique self-help ethos becomes sustainable when members are willing to offer their services to other members.

One of the U3A’s original principles was that all members should have an individual or group project which each member can research and record.

To live up to this original U3A ideal, your current committee is keen to develop a research project for all Chinnor members to become involved in. We have no specific project in mind and are looking to the membership to suggest possible ideas. Perhaps you have a specific interest that you feel can be expanded upon and shared with others.

If you can suggest a suitable subject for such a project please contact a member of the committee before June 30th.Mike DixBusiness Secretary

last time we were in the town. We will then stroll along to the Carriers Arms for one of their very reasonably priced home cooked meals.

In May we are going to Dorchester on Thames. Further details of this will be advertised at the main meeting in April.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have contributed to these events. They have provided us with some lovely places to walk, enabled us to get to know each a little better, make new friends and given us fun along the way. Keep it up.Val EdwardsGroup Co-ordinator

Winter walks with the Strollers

Contact May 2017 21

Spring is on its way!Elections for the U3A National Executive

CommitteeThe U3A National Conference and AGM is being held from the 29th until 31st of August 2017 at which the National Executive Committee (NEC) is elected.

The committee comprises four officers and twelve regional trustees. All committee members are eligible to serve for three years. The officers have to stand for election/re-election every year, but the trustees, once elected, serve their three years without needing re-election.

Our Regional Trustee will have completed her three years and this region, (The South East), therefore needs to nominate a replacement.

One of the officers has also completed three years and a replacement needs to be elected.

If you wish to consider standing as our Regional Trustee, or as one of the four officers, or nominating another member, please contact: Michael Dix, Chinnor U3A Business Secretary at chinnoru3acontact@gmail.com.Michael Dix

Creative WritingFor the Carol Concert we enjoyed writing about different experiences of opening Christmas presents at various stages in our lives. Since then we have written about ‘Bicycles’ (illustrated mostly from our own lives), and started stories beginning with ‘Are you sure you checked?’ (we could all come up with various scenarios on that).

Where would you go with: ‘Agony is socially unacceptable. One is not supposed to weep.’? One person wrote a poem, another about the unexpected points when grief hits and how differently men and women handle it, and someone else refuted the idea altogether, as the British stiff upper lip is increasingly out of fashion.

Soon we plan to combine with the Greater Thame group for a poetry workshop. Some of us are fairly confident, but others view the idea of writing a poem with considerable apprehension. But as always, boredom will not be on the Creative Writing agenda!Ann LongGroup Co-ordinator

22 Contact May 2017

Card ClubThe Card Club continues to go from strength to strength. I think half the attraction is the laughter that ensues from our sessions. They say ‘laughter is the best medicine’ and we certainly leave with a big smile on our faces.

At one meeting, we saw someone walk slowly past the window, look in and then turn around and walk slowly back again – still peering in! They were obviously wondering what on earth we were up to.

Sometimes we play as one big group on one long table. Other times we divide up into tables of four or six. Just as the mood takes us.

We do have our serious moments – when some would like to have a game of Newmarket, Whist or Solo for instance. As one member said – ‘we don’t play Bridge and we don’t play Snap but we play everything in between’.

Not everyone comes every time, of course, which means that we can always accommodate new people. Come and see if you can stand the pace! Do bring a pack or two of cards, a pencil and some paper in case you want to make notes.

Two hours never seems long enough for a couple of games – time really flies. It seems more like 15 minutes when the time comes to pack up and go home.

The Village Centre, as always, does us proud and brings in the tea trolley so that those who wish to stop for a breather and a quick gulp of tea needn’t leave the room.

We have our favourite games, of course, but are always willing to try something new.

By the time Contact comes out the next sessions will be the 7th and 21st June and the first and third Wednesdays of the month thereafter. We meet at 2pm and leave at 4pm.

Please do come along and join us if you want to – there won’t be any limit on space now.

Also bring along any card games you know of that you would like to share with us and we will give it a go (we might already know it of course).

Here’s to the next good hand!Dorrie OliverGroup Co-ordinator

Chinnor U3A reunites old friends

I retired in July 2016 and immediately applied to become a member of the Chinnor U3A, as my wife has been a member for some time. Knowing quite a few members already both personally and through my wife’s membership of some of the groups, I was luckily accepted and began to get involved. My first choice was the Computer group as I had worked with computers for many years and they were also my hobby.

After attending my welcome meeting and viewing a copy of the November issue of Contact I was surprised to see a name I recognised in the ‘Welcome new members’ section on page 4. Now I thought that’s not a name that you see very often and could it be the same person I knew over 30 years ago when I worked for CGS Mastercare in High Wycombe? I sent an email to Ro, our Membership Secretary, to ask if she would pass my contact details on. She did and within a few days I received a delighted call from my old friend and one time ‘Boss’.

We talked about old times and decided to meet up for a meal with our respective spouses at a local hostelry. Time has not been kind to either of us physically but we remembered names and faces and discussed what we’ve done since 1982. We met again at the November meeting and will no doubt be enjoying another repast in the not too distant future.

So, to Chinnor U3A I say, thank you for reuniting me with a long lost friend.Chas Large

YOUR SUBSCRIPTIONSYour membership is due for renewal on

1st June 2017.If you have not completed a Direct Debit/

Standing Order mandate you will receive an email advising you that your subscription

is now due. For those who do not have an email address,

your renewal form will be enclosed in with this issue of Contact.

Please send your subscriptions to Rosemary Webb, our Membership Secretary.

Contact May 2017 23

programme May – October 2017Monthly Talks are held at 2.30pm in the Village Hall

Coffee Mornings are held at 10.30am at the Village Centre

MAY12th Coffee Morning18th Volcanoes and Dragons John Tyler

JUNE9th Coffee Morning15th A Passion for Pearls Frances Benton

JULY14th Coffee Mornng20th Annual General Meeting

AUGUST11th Coffee Morning17th CALIBRE: books for the visually impaired Speaker TBC

SEPTEMBER8th Coffee Morning21st Another Icarus: The Rise and Fall of Percy Picher and the Art of Flight Roy Smart

OCTOBER13th Coffee Morning19th 40 Years Bomb Disposal and Still Ten Fingers Ian Jones

U3A Christmas Carol Concert

Our annual Christmas Carol concert was held on Tuesday 13th December in St Andrew's Parish Church courtesy of Maggie, our Rector.

It was another successful event with the choir coached and directed by Graham Smallbone in fine voice. We had the usual ‘items’ by individual U3A members and it was enlightened by the musical performances from Jane and Peter Honeyball – guitar and vocals, and from Ruth Ruddock with a solo flute performance of Faures Sicilienne

At the close we had coffee and cakes and a social time discussing the concert, Christmas and the year ahead. An enjoyable time for all.

As before, our thanks to Maggie, Graham and to all the participants and helpers.It will now soon be time to be thinking about this year’s event. Tempest Fugit!

Bryan Roebuck

24 Contact May 2017

Interest Groups – at a glancePlease contact the Co-ordinator before attending a group for the first time

Amendments since the last issue of this list are shown shaded

Group Co-ordinator/s Day of Month Venue Times

Archaeology and Bryan Roebuck 4th Monday Various 10.00-12.00 Geology Christine Prior Nick Marriner-Kyle

Art History Rosemarie Heasman 3rd Friday Village Centre 10.30–12.00 Elan Preston-Whyte Not December

Bridge Stuart Baker 2nd & 4th Thursdays Village Centre 2.00–4.00 Not December

Cards Dorrie Oliver 1st & 3rd Wednesdays Village centre 2.00–4.00

Computers Colin Sear 1st Friday Village Centre 2.30–4.00 Robin Preston-Whyte Not August

Creative Writing Ann Long 2nd Monday ‘Phone 10.30–12.00

Digital Photography Richard Carver 2nd Monday ‘Phone 2.00–4.00 Not Sept or Dec

Family History George Hunter 1st Thursday Village Centre 10.30–11.30

French: Beginners Janet Erskine 1st and 3rd Monday ‘Phone 10.00 Experienced ‘Phone 'Phone

Gardening A & B Ann Hine 3rd Wednesday Various 10.30–12.00 A (pm) & B (am) 2.00–3.30

Handicrafts Janet Roebuck 1st, 2nd & 3rd ‘Phone 2.00– Groups 1, 2 & 3 Wednesdays

History Hilary Goodchild 3rd Friday Reading Room 2.30–4.00

Holidays & Outings Sheila Tunstall Various Various Various

Literary Appreciation Clive Bray 4th Wednesday ‘Phone 10.30–12.30

Music Group 1 Bill Parkinson 3rd Friday ‘Phone 2.00–4.30

Music Group 3 Jim Trimmer Last Friday ‘Phone 2.30–4.30

Music Group 5 Janet Williams 2nd Thursday ‘Phone 2.00–4.00

Music Group 6 Pam Buckingham 2nd Monday ‘Phone 2.30–4.30

Patchwork Val Pullen Third Friday ‘Phone 10.00–12.00

Poetry Mavis Rimmer 2nd Monday ‘Phone 2.00–4.30

Play Reading Pam Clark 2nd Friday Reading Room 2.00–4.00

Reading Ann Goold 4th Thursday ‘Phone 10.30– Not Sept or Dec

Science & Technology Chas Large 4th Friday Methodist 2.00-4.00 Church Hall

Singles/Dining Valerie Welford Three weekly Various

Swimming Anne Marie Lord Monday Risborough 2.00–3.00 Thursday Springs 10.00–11.15 Friday Pool 10.00–11.00

Walks:Long Walks Ray & Christine Barnett 1st Tuesday Various 10.00–1.00

Walks: Mixed Walks Peter Hetherington 3rd Tuesday Various 10.00–

Walks: Short Walks Graham Stone 2nd Wednesday Various Summer 2– Not December Winter 1–3

Walks: Strollers Valerie Edwards 1st Friday ‘Phone 11.00

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