Fetcham U3A Newsletter
Fetcham U3A Newsletter
Central Surrey Region Study Days
Renaissance Art
Barn Dance
Awards Ceremony Visit
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STOP PRESS The visit by Black Rod on the 25th October has been cancelled.
Letter from Black Rod’s SPS received 18:38 on 19th September
Jakki Perodeau SPS to Black Rod, and Clerk to the Lord Great Chamberlain.
I am writing on behalf of Black Rod who is presently away from the office to apologise on his behalf for the fact that he will
be unable to address Fetcham U3A on 25th October. The reason for this being ceremonial duties within the House of Lords. Nine
new "people's" Peers have been announced by the Crown and will be introduced into the House of Lords commencing 12th October.
Regrettably one of the introduction dates chosen by the Crown is 25th October and Black Rod as you know has a leading role in
such ceremonies.
Black Rod is, as yet, unaware of this clash of dates. He returns to the office next week. I thought it advisable to let you know
as soon as possible and hope that you will understand his unavoidable inability to address your group.
Our Speaker Secretary, Margaret, has achieved a major success in arranging for Lieutenant General Sir Michael Willcocks
KCB Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod and at Arms of the House of Lords to address our U3A at the Yehudi Menhuin School
of Music on the 25th of October this year.
A former career soldier, he was commissioned into the Royal Artillery from RMA Sandhurst in l964.He served in Malaya, Borneo,
Germany, Northern Ireland, Turkey/Iraq, the Middle East and the Balkans. He has a London University Honours Degree. He attended
Staff College at Camberley in 1976 and the Higher Command and Staff Course in 1988. He commanded 1st Regiment Royal Horse
Artillery from 1983 to 1985 and was Commander Royal Artillery 4th Armoured Division from 1989 to 1990.
Before becoming Black Rod, he was based in Brussels from July 2000 as the United Kingdom Military Representative to NATO, the
European Union and the Western European Union. His previous appointments included: Deputy Commander Operations of the
Stabilisation Force (SFOR) in Bosnia-Herzegovina for a year from March 1999; Assistant Chief of the General Staff from 1996
until 1999; Chief of Staff Allied Command Europe Rapid Reaction Corps, (ARRC) from 1994 to 1996 during which he carried out the
planning for, and subsequently deployed with, the Peace Implementation Force, (IFOR) in Bosnia-Herzegovina; Director General
Land Warfare, responsible for Army doctrine and force development, during which appointment he led the Defence Cost Review Study
on Training and the Joint Headquarters Follow-On Study which led respectively to the establishment of the Joint Services Command
and Staff College and the UK's Permanent Joint Headquarters; and Director Army Plans and Programme. In 1991 he was Chief of Staff
Land Operations for the period of the Gulf War and its aftermath which included the Kurdish relief operation.
He was made CB in 1997 and KCB in 2000. He was awarded the United States Meritorious Service Medal in 1996 and 2000.
He is Honorary Colonel of 1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery and a Colonel Commandant of the Royal Artillery. A member of the
European-Atlantic Group since 1994, he was a Commissioner of the Royal Hospital Chelsea from 1996-1999.
He is married with three children and his interests include fishing, shooting, music, reading, sailing, and tennis.
Welcome to an active programme of events for the fourth year of Fetcham & District U3A. At the start the founding committee
members were concerned that there might be a general reluctance to forming viable interest groups, but this year we are offering
forty four different groups in various fields of endeavour. I hope you all find a group or groups that suit your interests.
Our new groups for Gentle Movement and Renaissance Art are recruiting at present. The range of opportunities available extends
to those groups in Bookham and Leatherhead U3As which have vacancies and where we do not have a group of our own, speak to Enid
about these options, to the regional study day programme listed elsewhere in the Newsletter and to the summer schools
organised by National Office or by our local South East Area at Chichester, which runs from Wednesday 28th June to Saturday 1st
July next year.
We are holding the October monthly meeting in the new concert hall at the Yehudi Menuhin School, when a talk by Black Rod on his
historic parliamentary office promises to be very popular. We have made this an all-ticket occasion with tickets free to members
and £1 to guests, inclusive of tea in both cases. Winnie is responsible for issuing the tickets and she will be at the
September meeting. The new hall holds three hundred people and we are looking forward to having
the opportunity to have a larger meeting in this splendid venue. Feedback forms on how the arrangements have worked and seeking
your views on future monthly meetings will be provided on the day.
For the moment we are endeavouring to make best use of St. Mary’s church hall by moving the groups information into the side
room and by moving Sheila and the theatre/outings table to the back of the hall. In addition we have decided to keep the
doors closed until 2pm to enable the setting up of the chairs and equipment to proceed safely and efficiently. The initiative
of having an August meeting was well received, attracted over one hundred members and will be included as part of the 2006
programme. We are looking for volunteers to help with the setting up at the start of the meetings. If you can help please
contact me.
The Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held on Tuesday 22nd November and the Notice of the AGM is included with the Newsletter.
Three members of the committee are standing down at the AGM having served their terms of three years. Marilyn, our
Membership Secretary is retiring from the committee and I would like to offer the thanks of the U3A to Marilyn for her splendid
work since the start when she was a founding committee member. Brenda and Enid have indicated that they are
willing to continue working for the U3A and will be seeking nomination for the elections to the committee. I hope other members
will consider offering their services for committee membership and for other roles such as the Social Sub-Committee and the Tea
Rota that keep the organisation running so energetically and enjoyably to the benefit of all members.
I recently attended the Annual Conference and AGM of the Third Age Trust at Leicester University on behalf of our U3A. It was
a splendid occasion with some noteworthy lectures on the art of glass making and publishing. We also had an impressive
presentation of classical Indian dance by several young people who were just starting on professional careers in dance. One of
the girls had had a professional debut with a two-hour solo dance at the age of sixteen. The expressive way the complex tales
of men, women and gods were told was marvellous to behold. The resume before the dance did help with the interpretation. As
well as those activities there was plenty of opportunity to discuss ideas that had proved popular elsewhere, and even to
consider the possibility of making contacts with U3As in Spain and Cyprus, or NZ and Oz, while on holiday. The main motion
debated was on improving the recognition of regional groups of U3As in the structure of the Third Age Trust. The motion was
passed by an overwhelming majority.
Edna Wright from Sussex had been the Area Representative for the South East on the National Executive Committee (NEC) for two
years, but after making some very valuable contributions over the period she stood down at the AGM. I was elected as the new
Area Representative for the South East, which covers Kent, Surrey and East and West Sussex. I look forward to learning more
about the management and development of the Third Age Trust and contributing in some small way. The growth in membership of
56% over the last five years is very encouraging and a healthy financial position was reported at the AGM. One of the
objectives of the Third Age Trust is to expand the provision of U3A activities and the network of U3As to fulfil the demand
that is very apparent. Personal recommendation works very well locally but the NEC is working to increase our profile across
the country. Good news is often difficult to publicise, but the efforts are being made – an edition of the Radio Four
programme “You and Yours” on U3As is in the can but we have not heard when it will be broadcast.
At the conference the main theme was “The Challenge of Change – a vision for the future” and the discussion focussed on the
responses needed from all of us. Keeping interested and healthy is all part of the message and I hope our U3A is providing the
best kinds of opportunities for you. Very best wishes to you all for the next year of Fetcham & District U3A.
Ian
| 17th September | Barn Dance | Old Barn Hall, Bookham |
| 27th September | My Life in Music | Maryetta Midgley |
| 25th October | The Office of Black Rod | Lt Gen Sir Michael Willcocks |
| 22nd November | AGM+ The Fishmonger’s Tale | Ron Fowler |
| 9th December | Christmas Party with entertainment | St Mary's Church Hall |
| 24th January | A Word on Plays | Roy Russell |
| 28th February | Westward with the Vikings | Sam Hall |
| 28th March | Biggin on the Bump | Bob Ogley |
| 25th April | Surrey Trading Standards | TBA |
| 23rd May | Campaign for the protection of Rural England | Colin Langley |
| 27th June | A Fist Full of Feathers | Pauline Murphy |
| 25th July | The History & Magic of Playing Cards | Ray Hampton |
| Alpine Gardening | Alan | 3rd Monday at 14:30 | Status: Vacancies |
| Art - Mixed Media (1) | Margaret | Alternate Thursdays at 10.30 | Status: Full |
| Art - Mixed Media (2) | Janet | 1st & 3rd Tuesdays at 14.30 | Status: Vacancies |
| Art Appreciation | Jenny | 4th Wednesday at 14.00 | Status: Vacancies |
| Aviation & Technology | Lawrence | Contact Group Leader | Status: Full |
| Book Club | Penny & Elaine | 1st Wednesday at 14.00 | Status: Full |
| Bridge (with Lhd/Bkm) | Pam & John | 2nd & 4th Thursdays at 10.00 | Status: Vacancies |
| Bridge For Improvers | Status: Proposed | ||
| Computing | Tony | As advertised | Status: Vacancies |
| Cookery | Diana | 2nd Tuesday at 12.00 | Status: Vacancies |
| Current Affairs | Alfred | 2nd Tuesday at 14.30 | Status: Vacancies |
| European History | Roger & Gail | 2nd Tuesday at 16.00 | Status: Vacancies |
| Explore London Walking (1) | Linda | 1st Monday at 9.45 | Status: Full |
| Explore London Walking (2) | Tony & Joan | 2nd Monday at 9.45 | Status: Vacancies |
| Family History (1) | John | 4th Thursday at 14.30 | Status: Full |
| Family History (2) | Status: Proposed | ||
| French Conversation (1) | Anna | 1st & 3rd Mondays at 14.15 | Status: Full |
| French Conversation (2) | Lesley | 1st & 3rd Tuesdays at 14.30 | Status: Full |
| Gardening | Beryl & Joan | 1st Tuesday at 14.30 | Status: Vacancies |
| Gentle Movement 1 | Enid | Every Friday at 10.00 | Status: Full |
| Gentle Movement 2 | Enid | Contact Group Leader | Status: Vacancies |
| Industrial Heritage | Ian | 3rd Monday at 10.00 | Status: Vacancies |
| Investment Club | Tony & John | 4th Thursday evening | Status: Full |
| Local History | Keith | 1st Tuesday at 10.00 | Status: Vacancies |
| Mah Jong | Margaret | 2nd & 4th Thursdays at 14.30 | Status: Vacancies |
| Music Appreciation (1) | Bryan & Penny | 2nd Wednesday at 19.45 | Status: Full |
| Music Appreciation (2) | Status: Proposed | ||
| Needlework (1) | Mary | 2nd & 4th Fridays at 10.00 | Status: Full |
| Needlework (2) | Status: Proposed | ||
| Outings & Theatre Visits | Sheila | Various times and dates | Status: Contact Sheila |
| Parchment Craft | Genie | Alternate Thursdays at 10.00 | Status: Vacancies |
| Play Reading | Winnie & Geoff | 1st Thursday at 14.30 | Status: Vacancies |
| Renaissance Art 1300-1500 | Leslie & Bryan | Wednesdays at 14.30 | Status: Vacancies |
| Scrabble For Fun | Janet | 3rd Wednesday at 19.30 | Status: Vacancies |
| Singing/Choir | Patricia | Contact Group Leader | Status: Vacancies |
| Singles Dining | Genie | Contact Group Leader | Status: Vacancies |
| Sunday Lunch Club (1) | Geoff | 1st Sunday at 12.00 | Status: Full |
| Sunday Lunch Club (2) | Fred | 3rd Sunday at 12.00 | Status: Vacancies |
| Walking (1) | Jo & Ernie | 4th Thursday morning | Status: Vacancies |
| Walking (2) | Margaret | 3rd Monday 09:30 Lower shott | Status: Vacancies |
| Wine Appreciation (1) | Jo & Ernie | 3rd Tuesday at 14.30 | Status: Full |
| Wine Appreciation (2) | Geoff | 3rd Tuesday at 14.30 | Status: Full |
| Wine Appreciation (3) | Chris & Rosemary | 2nd Tuesday at 19.45 | Status: Full |
| Wine Appreciation (4) | 3rd Tuesday at 14.30 | Status: Proposed |
When the weather was fine we took the opportunity to paint scenes in the garden. When it rained we were moved to take inspiration from the talk on Velasquez and attempt self portraits. A display board is being assembled for exhibition at a Monthly Meeting, showing a range of paintings of plants, animals and scenery.
This summer we have enjoyed drawing and water colour in each others gardens. We had an expedition to Polesden Lacey, where we
painted the front aspect of the house.
One of our members excelled herself by winning the cup for the “Blue Theme”, and a medal for second place overall, in the
Fetcham and Bookham Art Group’s exhibition.
In the autumn we aim to experiment with some different techniques, mainly in watercolour.
We have places available for new members—contact Janet for details.
In April we saw the Monet, Turner, and Whistler exhibition at the Tate Britain, then some of us went to view Somerset House in
May. In June we visited the Watts Gallery at Compton nr Guildford on a very hot day.
We were going to go to London in July to visit the Arts and Crafts Exhibition at the V&A but due to the aftermath of the earlier
events in London it was cancelled so we had a meeting to discuss our future program.
August saw a group of 9 people going up to the Pictures in Britain Exhibition at the Tate Britain.
September we are going up to the National Gallery to view the Stubbs exhibition and are also going down to see the Charleston
Farmhouse near Polegate which was the home of Vanessa Bell family and friends.
The Group is eagerly awaiting Leslie Pitcher's series of lectures on the Renaissance.
The main aviation season started in May 2005 with the Great Vintage Flying weekend at Hullavington Wiltshire.. Due to the
British weather running true to form it became the Great Washout weekend which came after a very sunny start. We were treated
to a spectacular slow flying display which included a short take-off and landing by the Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer. And sat
in the cockpit of the World’s biggest Bi-Plane, the Radial Engine Antonov AN2. Joe Burton viewed a 1930 built De Havilland Fox
Moth still flying and then realised he had flown in it as a passenger when still a young boy.
Other visits included the Miles/Beagle Aircraft reunion at Shoreham. The British aircraft fly-in at Popham, when the weather was
really fine. A good turn out provided some exciting viewing and more recently the Redhill Airshow which featured Tornado,
Spitfire, Mustang, Seafury, Catalina and Chinook Helicopter. A sight to gladden any young man’s heart.
We are looking forward to the Shuttleworth Pageant and Duxford Air Show in early September.
The book reading group has been going now for a full year. We have thirteen members and all have contributed with good ideas, to make this a very happy clan I hope our range of books continues to interest us all. I must admit since starting out Elaine and I have read books we might not have considered before, but this is what it’s all about. In June we read ‘Spies’ by Michael Frayn, a story about war time England and children thinking there was a spy in their street. Then ‘The Lady and the Unicorn’ by Tracy Chevalier, a story about an ancient tapestry and the people involved who wove it. As there was no august meeting we decided to try a double sized book entitled ‘The pillars of the Earth’ by Ken Follett. This gripping historical novel starts in 1123 and tells the story of the building of a new gothic cathedral and is told through the eyes of one of the stonemasons and his family. Our other books in the pipe line to read are ‘Persuasion’, ‘Scarlet Feather’ and ‘The Queen’s Fool’ and that brings us up to Christmas.
Leatherhead, Bookham and Fetcham U3A Bridge will continue to meet at St. Mary's Church Hall, Fetcham, on the second and fourth
Thursday mornings from 10.00am to 12.30pm. Rubber is played on the 2nd Thursday and Chicago on the 4th Thursday.
Please note the following dates when bridge meetings will be held as below:
Rubber: 8th September; 13th October; 10th November; 8th December
Chicago: 22nd September; 3rd November; 24th November; 22nd December
The Hall has been booked for 2006. Subscriptions are due in advance at £1.50 per session. If 4 lessons are paid in advance
they are discounted to £4.
Please continue to sign the attendance book on each visit. Newcomers are requested to leave full details on their first visit.
Tuesday 12th July '05 at 7:00pm, Waterfield Room, Old Barn Hall, Church Road, Great Bookham.
Presentation on " e-bay" by Tony followed by question and answer session.
The Group held two excellent well attended meetings in the last quarter. At the May meeting Bryan introduced the basics
of Excel and showed how to portray the data in a variety of graphic forms. He was followed by Graham who brought us down
to earth with his use of Excel for managing our domestic budgets. At the July meeting Tony showed how we could auction
off all those unwanted items in the attic using the E-Bay auction site. On both occasions our panel of relaxed “experts” shed
light on our computer problems and proffered practical solutions.
The next meeting of the Computing Group is on Thursday 1st December in the Harrison Room at the Old Barn Hall Bookham when Colin
will talk about “using Excel as a database”. Contact Tony if you want to speak on a topic or have it included in the programme.
The eight week Improvers Course starts on Tuesday 20th September at the Howard School. The course will cover file handling/Explorer, improvers word processing, Excel, PowerPoint, formatting and templates, tables, pictures and Word Art, internet searches, back-ups and personalising toolbars. Course registration forms available at the monthly meetings and from the Group Leader.
Programme of Lectures
| 20th September | Window interface, file management, Explorer | Michael |
| 27th September | Formatting & using Templates | Hugh |
| 4th October | Creating Word Tables | Graham |
| 11th October | Using Clip Art Pictures & Words | Michael |
| 18th October | Creating a Power Point presentation | Tony |
| 25th October | Half Term | |
| 1st November | Excel, an introduction to spreadsheets | Graham |
| 8th November | Mail Merge & Class options | Michael |
| 15th November | Using Internet Explorer & Search Engines | Graham |
An eight week Digital Photography Course will start in January 2006, further details will be available in the Autumn. Contact the Group Leader for further details.
The Cookery Group has got off to a flying start with an increasing number of members. For our meetings so far we have tasted a
variety of soups, wonderful pâtés and mousses and cold starters and now we all have many interesting new recipes to try. For our
August meeting we had a picnic at Polesden Lacey on a beautiful day with everyone providing part of the lunch.
Plans include attending a recording session of Ready, Steady, Cook when a suitable date is announced. Next month we will all
bring our favourite kitchen gadget or tool. Later we will explore other cookery subjects – we have only tried three so far.
Since our last report we have continued to make monthly trips to London and have walked along canals in Bow, and through Regents
Park to Little Venice; paid two visits to see parts of Chelsea which incorporated tours or the Chelsea Pensioners Hospital, and
The Army Museum.
In August we had an “Awayday” trip to Arundel – visiting the Castle in the morning and having a Blue Badge guided tour of the
town in the afternoon. In September we are visiting Eton College and Windsor.
This group was born out of the success of "The London History Group" We meet on the second Monday of each month at Cobham
Station between 9.30 and 9.45 to catch the 9.58 train.
It may be possible to accept another 4 members into the group - more at the next U3A Tuesday meeting.
So far we have visited The City - west of St Paul's, Courts of St James's and the Temple and Fleet Street. Unfortunately the Temple Church was closed because of the bombings on the previous Thursday - however there will be another visit to the church soon.
Thanks to all our walkers for their excellent company - it has been great fun. Many thanks and regards.
We continue to attract maximum numbers to our monthly meetings and have a waiting list, so if anyone is willing to start a second group there is a nucleus of potential members. Since April we have paid group visits to Surrey’s Local History Centre in Woking where we had a conducted tour “behind the scenes” and to the Family Records Centre in Islington. We have also arranged to spend a day at the National Public Records Office at Kew in October. Meanwhile members continue to research their own family histories with considerable success.
Both groups have continued regularly, following much the same format as previously. The year has provided a number of subjects of topical interest relating to France and Europe, to which we have added our personal experiences; visits, holidays etc. We again held a joint celebration on Bastille Day (July 14th) and by the time you read this, members of our groups will have experienced Keith's magnificent déjeûner gastronomique in Wimereux on September 2nd, joined by others from Fetcham U3A.
Patricia
The variety of music which we seem to appreciate never ceases to astound me. In May we watched the video of Cliff Richards
‘Heathcliff’. He really is talented you know!
The next meeting we had the music from the films, ‘Harry Potter’, ‘Lord of the Rings’, ‘The Mission’, ‘Cptn. Corelli’s Mandolin’
to mention but a few. Then we had a quiz of the music from the war films. We all recognised the tune but was it from ‘The Guns
of Navarone’, ‘Where Eagles dare’, or ‘The Battle of Britain’. We get a lot wrong but it was fun. In July we went to the other
extreme and watched the video of ‘Tales of Hoffman’, beautifully sung in French. The story was a bit weird (I couldn’t get my
mind round it all of the time) but the singing was very enjoyable. There was no meeting in August.
Our next few meetings will see us listening to various Choral works and music from the Ballets before the build up to Christmas,
gosh is it really that close?
The group continues to meet regularly twice a month at members’ homes. We are continuing with beading projects and are making
‘Precious Parcels’, which combine embroidery skills and beading. At the end of May several of us had an outing to Ramster House
near Chiddingfold where an exhibition of Needlework and Embroidery was being held. We enjoyed a fascinating morning looking at
the exquisite displays of many different examples, followed by lunch, and then a walk round the gardens which are famous for the
rhododendrons and azaleas. The weather was fine and hot and the gardens were looking at their best.
Further to our production of the quilts etc for the orphanage in Zambia in memory of Rhianna Davenport, Val Hook has heard from
the Home that a new Hall has been completed where the local church and wider community are able to meet, and the Home is due to
open in September. We hope then to receive some photos of the finished project complete with quilts and teddy bears on the beds!
| 6th October | Nelson & Napoleon Exhibition Commemorating Battle of Trafalgar | Greenwich | £20.00 |
| 10th December | Christmas Celebration | Royal Albert Hall | £20.00 |
| 19th October | Otherwise Engaged—Simon Gray’s new play | Woking | £15.50 |
| 27th October | La Travita by Northern ballet Theatre | Woking | £19.50 |
| 9th November | The History Boys | Woking | £15.50 |
| 23rd November | The Real thing | Woking | £15.50 |
| 15th December | Billy Elliott (matinee) | Victoria Palace London | £43.00 or £28.00 |
We meet in a member's house on the first Thursday of the month to talk about, and then read, a published play. We don't take it too seriously - the more mistakes there are in the "sight-reading" of the script the more fun there is, We need a few more "gentlemen actors" but, sadly, we cannot accommodate more ladies at present.
Meeting at lunch-time on Sundays for a good meal which someone else has prepared continues to be popular, to the extent that there are now two groups in existence. We have explored many interesting venues where we have enjoyed good fellowship and good conversation on matters of current interest. Visitors are welcome when accommodation permits. Geoff can give you more information about both groups.
Recent routes have included Norbury Park in May, the Wotton Estate in June, the Sheepleas in July and Ranmore in August. The
weather has been kind to us for all of these walks. However, we were greeted with temperatures of 30° for the Wotton walk, but
as much of it was under trees, we managed to keep cool.
Please note that from October, the walks will start at 10.30am.
Future walks planned are:
September 22nd 3.5 miles Epsom Downs. Meet at 10am in the car park at Tattenham Corner (over the road from the Race Course).
The walk is undulating in places with no stiles. Refreshments at The Rubbing House pub afterwards, if required.
October 27th 3.5 miles Bookham Commons. Meet at 10.30am in the car park in Commonside, just off Church road, near Bookham
Station. A flat walk, with 2 stiles. Refreshments at Ye Olde Windsor Castle afterwards, if required.
Sheets with additional details are available at the monthly meetings, or from Jo and Ernie.
The group meets at 9.30 am on the 3rd Monday of the month at the Lower Shott car park, Guildford Road in Bookham. We then
drive to the start of the walk in the minimum number of cars. Each walk is between 4 and 5 miles and any hills are taken at a
gentle pace! Some of us like to round off the morning with a drink or a bite to eat.
New members of the group are very welcome. If you would like further information ring Margaret.
The next walks are on September 19th, October 17th, November 21st and December 19th. Put the dates in your diary!
This summer has seen us indulge in two very different but immensely enjoyable visits. In July we went with members of the two
other U3A wine groups to Waddesdon Manor, a magnificent National Trust property near Aylesbury. We started with a visit to the
Lafite-Rothschild wine cellars, then went into the House, which is filled with treasures in every room. After lunch in the
Stables Restaurant, we had time to admire the wonderful gardens and aviary before returning home.
In August, our group went to Lurgashall Winery, near Petworth. Professor Jordan Schooler, the proprietor, told us about the development of the Winery and we saw ‘behind the scenes’. They produce up to 500,000 bottles a year of country wine, meads and liqueurs, all from natural products. Mr Schooler was very informative and hugely entertaining and we finished our visit with five tastings – elderberry, plum and silver birch wines, English mead and raspberry liqueur – wonderful! After making many purchases, we went on to The Hollist Arms in Lodsworth for an excellent lunch – it was a great day – and the sun shone again!
| Friday 14th October | Kings & Princes of the Keyboard John Hursey, Open University To be held at the Yehudi Menuhin School, Stoke d’Abernon |
| Friday 11th November | Has the EU a future? John Broad, Gordon Williams, Steve Isaac, Hugo Frey & John Roberts With U3A & Outside Speakers To be held at the Yehudi Menuhin School, Stoke d’Abernon |
2006 |
|
| Friday 10th February 2006 | Jane Austen Jill Anderton & Marion Dell, Open University To be held at the Yehudi Menuhin School, Stoke d’Abernon |
| Friday 10th March 2006 | Industrial Archeology Alan Crocker & Paul Sowan, Surrey Archaeological Society To be held at the Yehudi Menuhin School, Stoke d’Abernon |
| Friday 12th May 2006 | Views on a Changing World – Iraq, Afghanistan & China Gail & Roger, Phyllis May & Jean Thompson. All U3A Speakers To be held at the Yehudi Menuhin School, Stoke d’Abernon |
| Saturday 15th July 2006 | Mozart: Salzburg & Vienna – A Celebration Janet Canetty-Clarke, University Lecturer, Conductor & Pianist To be held at the Banstead Community Centre |
Booking is necessary and booking forms will be available at Monthly Meetings. Jennifer Anning acts as bookings secretary.
A Weekly Art History Course of Twenty Sessions will start on Wednesday 28th September.
The Course will be given in Fetcham Village Hall, John Rumble Room at 2.30pm.
Renaissance Art from 1300 to 1500
Session 1 – Introduction
Sessions 2 to 4 – Early 14th Century Italian Art
Sessions 5 to 7 – International Gothic Art
Sessions 8 to 14 – The Renaissance in Florence
Sessions 15 to 16 – Early Flemish Painting
Sessions 17 to 18 – Piero della Francesca and the Palace at Urbino
Sessions 19 to 20 – The Cult of Classical Antiquity
As with the Art in the Ancient World series, there will be about thirty slides per session, with many showing close-up details so that we can get a better idea of artistic techniques etc. Lists of slides, with location, date and dimensions etc. will be provided. The notes for the first three sessions are already available. The notes will contain literary/documentary texts relevant to the artistic works, to be studied before the next session. Certain questions can then be discussed at the start of the session. Such texts will include, for example, extracts from Vasari’s “Lives of Artists”, original contracts between artists and patrons, extracts from the accounts of the Dukes of Berry and Burgundy showing their artistic tastes and treatment of artists like Van Dycke, “extracts from Alberti’s “On Painting”, Castiglioni’s “Courtier”, apocryphal Biblical texts illustrated by Giotto at Arena Chapel, extracts from Cennini’s “The Craftsman’s Handbook” etc.
The cost of the course up to Christmas, covering room hire, handouts and tea/coffee and biscuits, will be £20. Cheques made out to Fetcham U3A should be handed in at the Monthly Meeting to Enid or Bryan, or can be posted to Bryan. Please remember to refer to the Art History Course and to include your contact details. Arrangements for two required venue changes on 12th October and 9th November will be available at the first meeting at 2.30pm on Wednesday 28th September in the John Rumble Room at Fetcham Village Hall.
The second Fetcham & District U3A Barn Dance was held on Saturday, 17th September, at Bookham Barn Hall. This is, of course, a perfect venue for a Barn Dance, and the members and their friends who came to enjoy a fish and chip supper and a live band had a wonderful evening.
The Band was called “The Crooked Stovepipe” and had Don on accordion, Gilly on keyboard and Dave on second accordion (they do have a violinist as well but he was away in China!). The Caller, Peter, was extremely amusing and from the first dance he had us all laughing at his wonderful line of patter, quite apart from the helpless mirth that accompanied our attempts to follow his instructions without crashing into each other or ending up facing the wrong way or dancing with the wrong partner! The directions were very clear, the music was perfect, there was enough space for us all to dance, but somehow the majority of people (there are always a few people who can get it right straight away!) spent anxious moments turning left rather than right, or even ending up trying to dance with someone in the set next to them. Then there was the problem of remembering which was right or left in the heat of the moment, and during the Oxo Reel there was some confusion of when you were meant to form a circle or a cross! I know this does not sound like rocket science, but believe me you had to be there to understand the problem!
Supper was a choice of fish and chips or chicken, followed by delicious desserts and a cup of coffee. People had brought their own wine or drinks with them and there were nibbles on the tables when we arrived. The evening was very well organised and thanks should be given to Winnie, Brenda, June, Joan and Beryl, and to Yvonne for organising the raffle.
Patricia
Ian, Arthur Browne – Regional Representative for Central Surrey U3As - and I attended the Awards Ceremony of Adult Learners’
Week, co-ordinated by NIACE, the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education and supported by SEEDA – South East England
Development Agency - at Denbies Vineyard on Wednesday, 25 May, 2005.
Introduced by Charlotte Hawkins, of Meridian Television, Adult Learners’ Week Awards recognised and celebrated the achievements
of learners from across the country, many of whom have overcome substantial difficulties to achieve their goals. One of the
successes each year has been in broadening popular understanding about how, why and what adults learn. We found many award
winners had overcome seemingly insurmountable problems in order to unlock their passion for learning, knowing the way it will
open doors, transform their lives and touch other people. The pride with which they received their awards was inspiring and
moving to those of us who are able to take education and learning in our stride. Very little appeared to be known about the
U3A organisation, although a few had heard about it in some form or another. We were therefore able to talk to people over
refreshments after the ceremony and, as we had taken along boards showing some of the activities we pursue, could show them
how diverse our interest groups are. The social side was also stressed as an important part of the organisation.
We hope that we have been able to ‘spread the word’ to those more mature that, when you eventually retire or have more time,
there is a world out there for continuing education in the way you want to go and a great social empire in which you can be an
important player, if you choose to take part. Sharing dreams and hopes for the future is not only for the young; it has its
time and place in every generation. At the end of the evening we came away feeling that every single participant was an
inspiration to us all.
Winnie
Did you know that if you enter Fetcham & U3A into Google you get 72 links?
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General Information - Restaurants, Pubs and Hotels
Our website info is growing and it has been suggested that we gather together your ideas for good restaurants, pubs and hotels
in the area where you have eaten (or drunk) to create a comprehensive list. This list could also include those which you would
NOT recommend - where you have had bad meals or poor drinks. It is a way of sharing info between members for the benefit of all.
As much detail as possible would be helpful, please, i.e. lunch or dinner, Sunday lunch, etc. I will thin it out if necessary.
Please let me have your recommendations and I will make sure they are included - no names will be attached to the recommendation.
Winnie