Fetcham U3A Newsletter
Fetcham U3A Newsletter
When the Duke of Wellington was asked on becoming Prime Minister “is it true you were surprised at Waterloo” he replied, “not half so surprised as I am now”. At a somewhat more modest level I am also surprised on becoming Chairman of Fetcham U3A but I guess it was in the tea - leaves.
At the AGM my first pleasurable duty was to express everyone's appreciation to Ian for his unstinting efforts over the past three years as our Chairman. Under Ian’s leadership membership has increased to over 400 and 50 special-interest groups formed together with a thriving social programme that is the envy of many clubs. Ian can retire with the knowledge that he has been instrumental in providing many interesting activities for Fetcham Third Agers.
Ian, will continue his responsibilities as the South East Area Representative on the National U3A Board of the Third Age Trust and will be around to offer advice in the coming year when we celebrate our 5th Anniversary and 25 years of the U3A in the UK.
With a new Chairman there is naturally an expectation that something will change. Let me assure readers that my philosophy is, “if it ain’t broke don’t mend it”, so no big changes in the way Fetcham does things, we have a successful formula. Fetcham U3A will however continue to evolve and improve, but changes will be Japanese style, small ones at a time.
In the next year I hope Fetcham will expand the group and social activities with more occasions when all members, and that includes associate members, can come together. The plans for our 5th Anniversary celebrations have yet to be finalised so ideas for events are welcomed. The Groups, as many of you well know, are stimulating learning experiences where we can share our knowledge and work to fill those ignorance gaps in a convivial gathering. Our Group Leaders have done a great job but there are still gaps in what we offer our members. Guildford has more than a hundred special interest groups, a product of its larger membership - an incentive for Fetcham to welcome associate members. New members bring fresh ideas into Fetcham and the opportunity to start new interest groups for the enjoyment of all. If you have ideas for new Groups let the Committee know.
Fetcham U3A’s success has been built on the dedication and commitment of many people. We have an energetic and creative Committee and with your active support the coming year promises to be an interesting and stimulating one for all.
Tony
Now that Tony has taken over as Chairman I would like to thank the committee for the kind thoughts expressed at the AGM and the
mementoes they gave me after my time at the helm. It was a rewarding opportunity to be able to work with others to expand the size of the U3A and the range of activities offered to members. The membership more than doubled and the number of groups has followed suit. Many U3As have around one group for every ten members but we seem to be doing better than that with one group for every eight members. Of course, groups vary in size and this does not tell the story of how many groups individuals have joined. Perhaps the New Year is a time to think about which new groups you would like to join; plenty of groups have vacancies and some groups like my own Industrial Heritage group are hiring a hall for upcoming talks to meet the demand for places. The committee are following the membership of groups so that they can attempt to match demand with opportunities to take part in group activities. If you would like to lead a group in a new area your offer would be very welcome.Collaboration with other U3As is very much in line with our Aims and Guiding Principles and members in Bookham and Leatherhead join with us and we with them for a number of interest groups. We have also been very much involved in the Central Surrey Region study day programme, with Bryan, as treasurer, and Sheila being in the small group that I lead which develops and puts on the programme for the region. This year Health Myths and Climate Change promise to be two of the more popular study days. We have been very fortunate to be able to use the Menuhin Hall as the venue for the study days, even before its official opening in January 2006, as it seats anywhere between forty and one hundred and forty, our current range of attendances, very comfortably and could take considerably more as the popularity increases.
Next year is the twenty fifth anniversary of the UK Third Age movement with, surprisingly perhaps, Yeovil being the earliest affiliated U3A still active with the Third Age Trust. It is also our fifth birthday so I am sure that there will be pleasant events organised to help the celebrations. One event that some of you may wish to put in your diary is the South East Area Conference on Saturday 31st March. The main speakers are the national chairman, Jean Goodeve, and Eric Midwinter who was the youngest of the founding triumvirate and is now the sole survivor. Laslett, Young and Midwinter were the original driving forces and they chose the structure in which the U3As are individual charities in their own right, so devolving the power to the local U3As and the enthusiasts who lead them. Fetcham members have attended the last couple of conferences, taking some display boards of group activities as well, and have enjoyed the day as well as being able to bring back the appreciation of others for the work exhibited.
The overall structure of the Third Age Trust is currently under review, as you may have seen from articles in U3A News. The consultation feedback closed at the end of November and now the working group will be putting together some concrete proposals. These will be considered at an Extraordinary General Meeting in about twelve months time if things go smoothly. It is perhaps important to make one or two points clear at the start; this will not change the way in which U3As run their own affairs as individual charities, it will only affect the way in which the Third Age Trust, our national body to which all U3As affiliate, operates. Currently the Trust has five officers and thirteen Area Representatives who cover geographical areas, such as the South East of England. At the moment I am half way through a three-year period as the South East Representative and I attend the meetings of all the regional groups in the South East. The regional groups can be heavily involved in collaborative events such as the Central Surrey Region study days, but not all regions are as active. As there are almost forty regions there should be more scope for encouraging collaboration at regional level and it might be better if all the regions were represented in the national structure rather than relying on the thirteen elected representatives from the Areas to be the go-betweens.
You may have been made aware of the major fire that badly damaged the National Office on Friday 1st December. It seems to have been caused by an electrical fault and fortunately it occurred after the staff had gone home and no one was hurt. The fire took the roof off as you can see from photographs earlier, and fire, smoke and water did a lot of damage to equipment and the educational materials in the Resource Centre. Lin Jonas and the staff were devastated by the fire but have been working hard to recover the situation. It looks like the office will open in temporary accommodation in January but it will be many months before they get back to the Bromley office. When I was asked to cascade the news I was busy with the phone and email letting all the U3As in the South East know what had happened, how things were developing and when services might be operating again. The existence of email made a difficult job so much easier. Most but not all U3A contacts could be reached by email and the news was quickly spread. Afterwards I was thinking about the relative ease of email communication and when I checked our own members’ details I realised that at least 55% of Fetcham U3A members have an email address. This was more than I expected and the figure could be higher because I know that some members have not yet got they email address on our records. Do let Brenda, our Membership Secretary, know when you acquire an email address. I know it makes my life as group leader somewhat easier because 75% of the Industrial Heritage members are on email.
Mention of email address availability brings me to one of my roles on the National Executive Committee where I have been asked to convene the Information and Communication Technology Advisory Group (ICTAG). In the role I recently attended a parliamentary group meeting on Digital Inclusion for Older People where the changes being planned for the next few years were being discussed. In the background was the recommendation in a House of Lords report that all isolated people in the UK should be provided with broad band connections by 2008 and the EU Riga Declaration that broad band access should be available to 90% of citizens by 2010 and digital exclusion for older people and disabled people should be halved by the same date. There will also be a rolling programme of digital switchover (DSO) across the UK from October 2007. After the large number of free courses teaching computer skills that have been provided by further education institutions, it is now felt by government and bodies such as Ofcom and Help the Aged that local voluntary support is the best way forward in introducing the older population to the digital age. At the very least this gives food for thought. It should also be a stimulus to activity in many areas, including the suppliers of hardware and software, who need to supply products that are more user friendly. In a U3A the computer group cannot be the answer to the nation’s need, but maybe the opportunities we can offer to members taking the first steps down the road will be very welcome, as will be the offers of help by those more experienced. It is interesting to note that one of the ICTAG members is involved in two EU projects in which several institutions are combining their efforts to produce simple teaching packages for absolute beginners, in several languages of course.
Very best wishes for all your activities in 2007.
Ian
Our erudite Publicity Officer felt that the following poem was appropriate for our Tea Dance!
Any resemblance to our members is purely in your imagination so don’t blame the editor!!
It's the Sunday Tea Dance and they'll all be here today,
Aches and pains forgotten, dance the afternoon away.
Foxtrots, quicksteps, waltzes, some are slow and some are nifty,
With memories of how it was, back in nineteen-fifty.
Norman's in the toilet and he's struggling to pee,
He's got trouble with the prostate and'll likely miss his tea.
Eddy's got a new love, he met in Thornton Heath,
She does a lovely tango, but she hasn't any teeth.
His latest fancy footwork nearly broke his partner's neck,
She mistook his outside swivel for a travelling contra check.
Ida's had her hair done and she's ready for the saunter,
She had a vindaloo last night that's coming back to haunt her!
Florrie's mini-skirt's revealing when she's spinning in the jive,
She really shouldn't wear a thong, approaching eighty-five.
They've had their tea and cake and chat, and had a little laugh,
And gamely rise with creaking knees to face the second half.
Norman's made it back in time for rumba number one,
His cucaracha's very neat but he's left his flies undone.
Vera's fallen over in a massive crimplene heap,
Bert's got indigestion and Mabel's fast asleep.
It's last waltz time and up they get for Humperdink's old tune
And then: Goodbye, good luck, take care, God willing see you soon.
| Tuesday 23rd January | The Ghurkha Soldier | William Shuttlewood |
| Tuesday 27th February | A Moving Talk | Peter Ede |
| Tuesday 27th March | Dentistry in Nepal | Roy Reece |
| Tuesday 24th April | Lord Mayor's Bodyguard | Peter Grove |
| Tuesday 22nd May | Radiation - Applications, Hazards and benefits | Prof. Ted Grant |
| Tuesday 26th June | Saddle sore in Montana | Ann Chance |
| Tuesday 24th July | Royal Star & Garter | Pat Jilla |
| Tuesday 28th August | Climate Change | Derek Smith |
| Tuesday 25th September | National Trust | Andrew McElwee |
| Tuesday 23rd October | Rudyard Kipling | Geoff Hutchinson |
| Tuesday 27th November | AGM + A Meaty Talk | Keith Weston |
| Friday 9th March | Quiz Night (7:30pm to 11:30pm) | Old Barn Hall, Bookham |
| Wednesday 11th April | Group Leaders Lunch (1pm to 5pm) | St. Mary's Church Hall |
| Sunday 24th June | Afternoon Boat Trip | from Walton Bridge, Thames |
| Friday 14th September | Autumn Event | Old Barn Hall, Bookham |
| Tuesday 16th October | Fetcham U3A's 5th Anniversary (Open Day 2pm to 5pm) | venue to be announced |
| Tuesday 4th December | Christmas Party 2-5pm | St. Mary's Church Hall |
Associate Members should contact Winnie (Publicity Officer) for information concerning the above events
See later item for Outings, Theatre Visits & Travel
| Alpine Gardening | Alan | 3rd Monday at 14:30 | Status: Vacancies |
| Antiques & Collectables | Marilyn | 3rd Wednesday 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: Full |
| Aviation & Technology | Lawrence | Contact Lawrence for details | Status: Full |
| Ballroom Dancing | Enid | Contact Enid for details | Status: Full |
| Book Club | Penny & Elaine | 1st Wednesday at 14:00 | Status: Full |
| Bridge | Pam (with Lhd/Bkm) | 2nd & 4th Thursdays at 10:00 | Status: Vacancies |
| Bridge For Beginners | David | Contact David for details | Status: Vacancies |
| Card Craft | Jan | Contact Jan for details | Status: Full |
| Computing | Tony | As advertised | Status: Vacancies |
| Cookery | Diana | 2nd Tuesday at 12:00 | Status: Full |
| Creative Writing | Reg (with Bookham) | Contact Reg for details | Status: Vacancies |
| Current & Social 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 09:45 | Status: Full |
| Explore London Walking (2) | Tony & Joan | 4th Monday at 09:45 | Status: Full |
| Family History (1) | John | 4th Thursday at 14:30 | Status: Full |
| Family History (2) | Neville | 3rd Tuesday at 14:30 | Status: Vacancies |
| 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 | Fridays at 09:30 | Status: Full |
| Gentle Movement 2 | Enid | Mondays at 09:30 | Status: Vacancies |
| Gentle Movement 3 | Enid | Fridays at 11:00 | Status: Full |
| Gentle Gentle Movement | Enid | Mondays at 11:00 | Status: Vacancies |
| German Conversation | Tom | Contact Tom for details | Status: Vacancies |
| Industrial Heritage | Ian | 3rd Monday at 10:00 | Status: Vacancies |
| Italian for beginners | Marilyn | Contact Marilyn for details | Status: Vacancies |
| Local History | Keith | 1st Tuesday at 10:00 | Status: Vacancies |
| Mah Jong | Margaret | 2nd & 4th Thursdays at 14:30 | Status: Vacancies |
| Military History | Heather (with Bookham) | Contact Heather for details | Status: Vacancies |
| Music Appreciation (1) | Bryan & Penny | 2nd Wednesday at 19:45 | Status: Full |
| Music Appreciation (2) | Hugh | Contact Hugh for details | Status: Proposed |
| Needlework (1) | Eileen | 2nd & 4th Fridays at 10:00 | Status: Full |
| Needlework (2) | Group Leader needed | Status: Proposed | |
| Outings & Theatre Visits | Sheila | Status: Places generally available | |
| Parchment Craft | Genie | Alternate Thursdays at 10:00 | Status: Vacancies |
| Play Reading | Geoff | 1st Thursday at 14:30 | Status: Vacancies |
| Renaissance Art | Leslie & Bryan | Contact Bryan for details | Status: Proposed |
| Scrabble For Fun | Janet | 3rd Wednesday at 19:30 | Status: Vacancies |
| Singles Dining | Genie | Contact Genie for details | Status: Vacancies |
| Spanish Conversation | Anna (with Bookham) | Alternate Mondays at 14:30 | Status: Full |
| 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 | 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) | Bob & David | 2nd Wednesday at 20:00 | Status: Full |
| Wine Appreciation (5) | Contact Enid for details | Status: Vacancies |
To join a group please contact the group leader to check on vacancies and programme.
To join a proposed group speak to Enid, Groups Co-ordinator at the Monthly Meeting or contact the group leader.
To suggest new ideas for groups speak to Enid at the Monthly Meeting.
Would group leaders please keep Enid informed of any changes to the information given above.
Associate Members should contact Enid for information concerning groups. a
Art (4) - Painting Workshop
English Literature
Flower arranging
History - Classical Period
History of Music
Listening to Music
Opera (2)
Science
Session for Songsters
Woodwork
Contact Christine at Bookham for more information
On Friday evening, 1st December, there was a serious fire at the premises of the National Office in Bromley. Most importantly nobody was in the building. A large part of the offices was severely damaged. They are in the process of looking for temporary accommodation and will be operating a skeleton service out of employees' houses. The Resource Centre service is temporarily suspended while they attempt to salvage as much of the stock as they can.
Head Office has asked us NOT to contact the office at all by phone for the moment, if there is any urgent communication required use the Contact Us link on their website as they can retrieve those communications more easily. They will keep members posted via the website.
Since the last report our regular programme consisted of visits to the Constable Exhibition, Dulwich Picture Gallery, Watts Picture Gallery at Compton, the exhibition of the Mouth and Foot Painters with Leighton House, the Renaissance in the Home and the Holbein exhibition and a visit to Florence. (See later article)
Our program for the beginning of 2007 is:
Friday January 12th a shared lunch with the Music Appreciation Group at the Meridiana East Horsley
Wednesday 28th February a meeting at Mary’s for a video on Hogarth. If you are interested in coming to this please let Bryan know (Jenny will be out of the country then)
Wednesday 28th March a visit to the Hogarth Museum. Again please let Bryan know whether you are coming.
Jenny
In September 2006 we visited the popular RAFA Shoreham Air show in glorious weather offering perfect flying conditions in the picturesque surroundings of the South Downs and Lancing College on the northern side of the Airfield.
The whole display was meticulously organised and featured a varied range of aircraft from the 1930's until present day including several Spitfires and two Hurricanes in mock battle with a Messerschmitt ME108, The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, a Catalina, Mustang, Kittiwake, B17, Sea Vixen and Harrier amongst military types.
Civil types were represented by a D.H.Dragon Rapide, the four Stearmans of the Utterly Butterly Aerobatics Team with their fearless young lady wing walkers braving G-force loop and barrel rolls whilst the pilots performed dynamic feats of formation flying, which brought spontaneous applause afterwards from the crowd.
Also noteworthy were the aerobatics by a team of four extra aircraft of the sort which compete in the Red Bull Air Races seen on TV. recently.
Seen for the first time, was a high performance sailplane pilot, towed by a light aircraft flying aerobatics, exhibiting great skills by mirroring those manoeuvres whilst still under tow.
Needless to say we all returned that evening after the display with added suntans and some red noses.
In October two separate groups were organised to visit the National Air Traffic Service at West Drayton, near to Heathrow where we had very interesting tours giving us up to date information on the management and systems used currently to regulate air traffic in the SE England quadrant. Our Guide took us into the main Control Room and explained in detail the main features of the system including a radar screen whereby one can obtain detailed information on the moving images, such as aircraft type, airspeed, departure/the destination information, country of origin, etc. and how a special indicator appears on the screen should a case of collision avoidance action become necessary. Soon however this Centre will be moving to Swanwick, near Southampton where the latest equipment has been installed.
During our first visit, someone from the Centre came up to our group and said to Jim, "I have a feeling that I know you from somewhere.!" That somewhere transpired to be Great Bookham since both the Controller and Jim live there. It’s a small world we live in sometimes!
Our meeting in December was a "Pilot's Forum", whereby three pilots, two from Fetcham and Leatherhead U3A's plus a personal friend, gave individual presentations by PowerPoint and film on past experiences in aviation, with questions from the floor. This proved to be most successful, and so we hope to plan another event on similar lines in this next year. If we can find a suitable location where we are not restricted to seating capacity we might open up this event to Bookham and Leatherhead U3A's, as we know that there is considerable interest in the area.
Lawrence
At our June and July meetings at the Old Barn Hall Bookham, Graham entertained us with his ideas on customising tool bars and making backups and everyone joined in the Q & A session with their particular hint to solve those annoying little bugs that make computing so much “fun”. The numbers at these meetings did not cover the hire of the room so future meetings will be in member’s homes.
The results of the course survey in the summer showed 9 votes for a beginners course, 4 for an improvers and 2 for a digital photo course. Unfortunately not enough to mount our own courses but the good news is that Ruth at Leatherhead U3A has found a few places on its courses for Fetcham members. There are also good reports of the Learning Advice Centre at the Leatherhead Theatre, open for advice on computing courses on Wednesdays and Thursdays between 10:00am and 4:00pm. These courses are supervised and are suitable for improvers who can work through the training sessions on the computer without too much help. To find out more call the Learning Hub on 0208 453 5371.
For Beginners there is some good news : Tony (our Speaker Secretary) has kindly offered to give one-to-one tuition to Beginners on their own computers and in their homes. Tony will teach basic use of the computer, how to use the mouse and draft a document in “word”. Please contact Tony for further information and to arrange a lesson.
The next Computing Group meeting is on Tuesday 23rd January 2007 when one of our new members, Keith will talk about his experiences in using “microsoft moviemaker” and he will be followed on Tuesday 27th February by Graham telling us how to “copy records, tapes onto CD’s” and more on using CD’s for back-ups.
Tony
Since August we have been lucky with the weather and enjoyed outings to Walthamstow, the Rotherhithe Peninsular and Islington. The latter walk included lunch at a pub alongside the Grand Union Canal. Our December walk will be more local-taking us along the Mole at Cobham with lunch at l’Auberge at the Plough.
Diaries have been consulted and dates chosen for the coming year, the areas to be visited will be discussed over lunch in December so it won’t be all pleasure!.
Linda
We visited the Society of Genealogists in East London in September - a truly treasure-house of records! We have asked if they would consider allowing U3A groups to pay a special group subscription.
In October we were delighted to hear of several members successes in their researches. One member has finally discovered her Italian fathers roots, another has been handed his family tree “on a cd-rom” from a distant relative and a third member has discovered that Bedfordshire and Surrey Library services can arrange for the temporary loan of records between Libraries which will save a trip to Bedfordshire next time he wants to check a parish record.
In December we are joining Bookham and Leatherhead Groups for a talk on researching Parish records.
John
We are just coming up to our first anniversary and whilst still a smallish group have enjoyable monthly meetings. Not everyone had previous experience and the newcomers are making good progress.
We also have our experts both on the computer and using censuses and parish records and two members provided displays for the AGM. We have members from Fetcham and Bookham and are looking for new members.
Neville
For dates of Bridge meetings in 2007 please see the Fetcham U3A Web site.
Pam
As a special event inspired by Leslie's lectures, nine of our Art Appreciation Group travelled to Florence on a five day visit to see some of the paintings that Leslie had shown us on slides.
We spent a morning in the Uffizi gallery where we saw Botticelli’s famous Birth of Venus amongst other paintings that Leslie had shown.
The equestrian paintings in the Duomo were the next attraction and there some of us climbed up the 460 steps to the top of the dome.
We also saw the Palazzo Medici-Riccardo, San Marco and the Brancacci Chapel. We managed a day in Siena looking at the Museum and the cathedral where we very lucky as the floor was uncovered and we able to see the exquisite mosaics which are only visible for viewing for 2 months of the year.
Our last morning there was a visit to the Santa Maria Novella instead of ‘retail therapy’ - How keen can one get!!!!!
During the trip we found some memorable restaurants. We came back vowing that there will be more trips, such as this.
Jenny
The European History Group has been running now for nearly two years, with a membership of about seven. We have been following J M Roberts’ book “The History of Europe”, which has taken us from Neolithic times to near the end, currently, of the 19th century. Many fascinating insights have been obtained, particularly regarding the impact of social and economic factors on European, and thence world, history. (aspects often overlooked in history as learnt at school)
Roger
We continue to meet usually twice a month to discuss a wide range of topics. Members have prepared detailed talks on their experiences in countries such as France, Ireland, USA, Poland and the Canary Islands as well as describing visits to art galleries, concerts and the Concorde tour at Brooklands. Lively discussions followed and we have extended our vocabulary.
We had a splendid joint celebration of Bastille Day on July 14th in glorious weather. At our Christmas social we enjoyed singing French carols and we read French poems.
Bonne année à tout le monde!
Lesley
We have almost finished our course book, Sueños 2, and turned to lighter things for our last meeting before Christmas. We were pleased to welcome a new member who has lived and worked in Spain, and what better way to introduce him to the group than with some chat about his work there, a few Spanish carols, and contributions of food of a vaguely Spanish origin. As you can see we had quite a feast, accompanied by sherry or Cava.
We are a very regular loyal group, some of who must have been meeting since the formation of Bookham U3A. However, as you see, there are now a number of Fetcham members too and it is a joint group. I'm afraid we have no more vacancies at the moment.
Cheers! Salud y Feliz Navidad
Anna
During the past months, the two Sunday Lunch Clubs have continued to meet and numbers are still growing, although we have not caught up with the appreciators of wine yet!
The two clubs joined forces on 3rd December and twenty-two, out of our combined membership of twenty-nine, sat down to eat an excellent meal in a private room at the Preston Cross Hotel, Little Bookham. As usual, and in keeping with our status as a Faculty of an august University, we exercised our minds in addition to exchanging erudite conversation. We extended our word power in a cunning quiz and we studied the history of the Christmas tree. This has its origin in the Paradise Tree, decorated with apples, which was the centre-piece in a medieval Germanic mystery play about Adam and Eve. Its development to celebrate the birth of Christ came later. Not a lot of people (i.e. members of other Faculties of our University) know this - but you do now!
Why not come and join us and learn something new - such as which cheese it is that is made backwards. Maybe we'll catch the "wino's" up yet!
Geoff and Fred
The wino’s are keeping quiet this Edition! There are four very active groups, but they felt it only fair to let the other university faculties such as the “Noshers” have space in this erudite Newsletter!
Editor
Mary, our leader from the beginning of the Group, moved away in the summer and we all wish her well in her new home. Since then we have been quite lazy, although, as a group, we visited Sandown Craft Fair and a great day was had by all. We returned home tired and penniless!
Some of the techniques we have tackled are; flowers embroidered with silk ribbon, crochet scarves and beaded necklaces. As you can see we have explored a wide range of needlework, using sewing, knitting and beading needles!
After putting our heads together ,trying to plan an interesting and varied programme for 2007, we have decided to start the year by learning how to create lampshades.
We have also recently welcomed new members and have had to close the membership once more as we have no vacancies.
Eileen
Music Appreciation Group 1 ended a successful year with 3 excellent evenings to finish. September allowed me and my wife to indulge ourselves with our favourite composer, Mozart. Although we played a little of the usual tunes associated with him we also played several of his less known compositions along with details of his short life which went from great times to very sad times. His wife gave birth to 7 children but only 2 survived infancy and childhood. The evening culminated with his requiem, which although composed for another patron provided a fitting end to Mozart’s life and our evening admiring a genius at work.
In October we listened to the soundtrack of ‘Starlight Express’ which, if one had seen the show on stage brought back fantastic memories of the theatre visit. Those who had not seen the show realised what they had missed. Unfortunately they haven’t brought out the video of the show yet so we can only have the CD to listen to until the show comes round again. I am sure that they will bring out the video some day but we have to be patient.
With the recent death of Malcolm Arnold we thought in November it would be a good time to reflect on his music and his life. One of our members had recorded a program from the television about him and with additional material from CD’s, records and tapes we had a great evening.
I would like to thank all of the music group members for their efforts during the year and look forward to 2007, most of which is already mapped out.
We ended the year with a Drinks and Music supper at Patricia and her husband David's place. We all bought something to eat and the desserts were something to die for. David provided the music of some Christmas carols, a bit of Jazz and a bit of Rock and Roll. The group were allowed to do something they get shot for at our monthly meetings. They talked and talked all evening and drowned the music for most of the time. but it was great to get all 14 of the group together for the first time.
We are looking forward to 2007 when we get together with the other members of the Art appreciation group (most are members of both) for our annual meal out.
Bryan & Penny
Since the last newsletter, we have explored countryside round Albury and Chilworth, Hatchlands Park, Oxshott Heath and Esher Common – all with good weather, which is quite amazing!
Future walks planned are:
25th January 2007 approx. 4 miles Reigate Heath. Meet at 10.30am at the car park in Flanchford Road, Reigate. (about 10.5 miles from Fetcham) The walk is undulating in places, with 6 stiles. We will have some lovely views of the North Downs. Refreshments afterwards, if required, at The Jolly Farmers, Buckland, which has a deli and farm shop.
22nd February 2007 approx. 3½ miles Ockham Common. Meet at 10.30am in Ockham Common Pond Car Park. (about 6 miles from Fetcham). The walk is virtually flat and most should be quite good underfoot. We will see Chatley Heath Semaphore Tower, Bolder Mere and the disused Wisley Airfield. Refreshments afterwards, if required, at the recently refurbished Black Swan, Old Lane, Ockham.
22nd March 2007 approx. 3¾ miles The Thames Path to Sunbury Lock. Meet at 10.30am in the large car park at Cowey Sale, by Walton Bridge (about 10 miles from Fetcham). The walk is flat and follows the towpath all the way to Sunbury Lock and returns the same way. It should be good underfoot, whatever the weather. Refreshments afterwards, if required, at The Minnow, Thames Street, Weybridge.
26th April 2007 approx. 4 miles Sheepleas. Meet at 10am at Sheepleas Shere Road Car Park. (about 6 miles from Fetcham) The walk is undulating in places and goes through the woodland and grassland parts of Sheepleas. We hope to see wild flowers including bluebells and cowslips. Refreshments afterwards, if required, at The Duke of Wellington pub, East Horsley.
Additional details of all the walks are available at monthly meetings on the U3A website.
Jo & Ernie
This small, friendly group continues to meet on the 3rd Monday of the month (unless that is a Bank Holiday). Recent walks have been to Peaslake, Abinger, Mickleham, and Headley. The walks for 2007 will be on:
| Monday 15th January | Monday 19th February | Monday 19th March |
| Monday 16th April | Monday 21st May | Monday 18th Jun |
| Monday 16th July | Monday 20th August | Monday 17th September |
| Monday 15th October | Monday 19th November | Monday 17th December |
Walks are usually between 4 and 6 miles long and may involve some stiles and gentle climbs. New members are always welcome. If you have any queries about the walk do ring Margaret beforehand and she will either answer your questions or put you in touch with the person who will be leading that particular walk.
We rendezvous at the Lower Shott car park in Great Bookham (near the fishmonger) at 9.30 a.m.. We then take the minimum number of cars to the start.
There is no need to book in advance so if it's a lovely morning and you feel like a walk, do just turn up. You should be able to identify us!
Margaret
The air raid siren rang out and a strident voice shouted "Put those ruddy lights out!" Down came the blinds, up went the lights and our Wartime Dance began. The occasional sound of aircraft echoing around the hall reminded us that we were at war. The Old Barn Hall was turned into an air-raid shelter, with tattered curtains keeping out the light at the doors, but was bedecked inside with Union Jacks, bunting and Second World War posters. A trio of Union Jacks and printed stories about the war were on each of the tables in the very full hall.
The tickets had sold well after a slow start and we were pleased to be able to welcome guests from other U3As. Tuxedo Junction turned back the clock with a suitable programme of music and it was so pleasant to have a band and singer who didn't burst your eardrums! We realised that people were swapping wartime stories with such enthusiasm that the dancing was slow to start, but it soon picked up as old tunes brought back memories. A display board at the back of the hall held more than 20 original drawings by Connie's father, actually created whilst he was at war, which we had been able to digitally enhance to get the full effect, and genuine wartime memorabilia and items of clothing were also on show.
Wartime type food, but not with a wartime taste, was served from the NAAFI, Camp coffee from the WVS Canteen (the kitchen) with evaporated milk accompanying the dessert, making some people realise how good the taste still was even though they hadn't used it for years.
During the interval there was a parade of those who had taken the trouble to don wartime attire with a prize awarded to Jane, a member of Bookham U3A, for her 1940's costume complete with fur wrap and saucy hat. The raffle had over 20 items, many with a wartime theme.
After the interval the dancing continued, this time with much more gusto - including jitterbugging - and the evening drew to a close with everyone singing wartime songs, the words being displayed on a screen. Suddenly, the All Clear sounded, the warden threw open the doors declaring that we could go home, but not to touch anything on the way, just in case!
As usual our Social Events ladies came up trumps with the food and our silent but strong gang of men decorated the hall so beautifully that it seemed a pity to take it all down at the end. I must thank them all again for their support - it makes such a difference when you know you can rely on such a great team!
Winnie
Peter Ling gave a fascinating talk on the Concorde aircraft after our AGM on 28th November. Peter was a Flight Engineer on Concorde for 13 years and obviously ate and breathed Concorde during that time. It was revealing to learn of the problems, the triumphs and the political machinations during its life.
This table lists the chronology of its birth, life and retirement.
This was an aircraft ahead of its time. Each aircraft carried 100 passengers, flew at twice the speed of sound and cost £23 million to build in 1977. In the UK it did not make a profit until British Airways was privatised and the initial capital costs written off. Initially 70 were ordered but the oil crisis in 1970 coupled with the crash of the Soviet built Tupelov supersonic aircraft and political resistance from the US dramatically dampened the enthusiasm from other airlines and eventually only 20 were produced with only 14 in commercial service.
It is a salutary thought that British Airways did eventually make profits out of Concorde thanks largely to charter rather than scheduled flights.
| Mid 1950's | Original design studies at Farnborough and in France |
| 1962 | Anglo/French Agreement to proceed |
| 1963 | BOAC ordered five Concordes |
| 1965 | Work begins on first prototype (001) in France and (002) in UK |
| March 1969 | First Flight of 001 in France |
| April 1969 | First Flight of 002 in UK |
| 1971 | US cancelled its own supersonic transport programme |
| 1971 - 1974 | Four Pre-production models produced used for testing and training |
| Jan 1976 | First aircraft delivered to British Airways |
| Jan 1976 | First commercial flights - BA to Bahrain; Air France to Rio |
| 1976 | US Congress banned Concorde landings in US |
| May 1976 | First commercial flight to Washington US |
| Feb 1977 | US lifted ban on over-water supersonic flights |
| Dec 1977 | Flights extended to Singapore |
| Early 1977 | New York banned Concorde flights to New York |
| Oct 1977 | US Supreme Court overturns New York's ban |
| Nov 1977 | First scheduled flights from Paris and London to New York began |
| Jan 1979 | Braniff Airways leased 10 Concordes from BA and AF to fly in US |
| Jan 1986 | Concorde celebrated 10 years in service with 71,000 supersonic hours |
| July 2000 | Air France Concorde crashed on take off killing all 109 on board |
| July 2001 | Supersonic verification flight after various modifications following crash |
| Nov 2001 | Relaunch of Concorde flights |
| June 2002 | Queens Jubilee fly past |
| Oct 2003 | Last Commercial Flight |
| July 2006 | Brooklands Concorde Experience opened |
John
Winnie and team are to be congratulated on another successful party, but I’m not sure about stretching our cerebral capacities to their limits!
Thanks to Geoff Roles for creating the Murder Mystery and the Play Reading Group for portraying the characters.
What a nasty lot of suspects – “type cast!” I’d say, “I’d have locked the lot up and thrown away the key!!”
However, I still think it was the Mulled wine ‘wot done him in’.
Editor
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The study days are held in the Menuhin Hall, Stoke d’Abernon. Study days start at 9.30am with registration and finish at 4pm. The cost including coffee/tea and biscuits will be £9, with attendees bringing a packed lunch. Booking is necessary and forms should be available at the Monthly Meetings or from your U3A Secretary. The booking forms are circulated at least three months in advance of each study day. Please send the completed forms to our Bookings Secretary, Jennifer. We have the use of a splendid, spacious hall, but we do encourage you to send in your bookings early to help our Booking Secretary. For the latest information please see www.fetchamu3a.org.uk/studydays.htm.
Alison - Banstead, Arthur - Horley, Bryan & Ian - Fetcham, Jennifer - Kingston & Sheila - Bookham are the Study Day Committee.
Associate Members should contact Ian for the relevant forms.
Unless otherwise stated, price includes coach transport from Bookham
| Thursday 22 February |
Visit to de Morgan Centre, Wandsworth and William Morris Gallery, Walthamstow (All day visit) |
£16.00 pp |
| Monday 19 March |
Mozart’s opera IL SERAGLIO (sung in English) by English Touring Opera at the Hawth, Crawley (Evening) |
£17.50 pp |
| Wednesday 18 April |
HIGH SOCIETY – cast includes Wayne Sleep Woking (Matinee) | £23.00 pp |
| Wednesday 2 May |
Trevor Nunn’s PORGY & BESS London’s Savoy Theatre Make own travel arrangements (Matinee) |
£20.50 pp |
| Wednesday 23 May |
THE PRODUCERS – on tour ex London. Woking (Matinee) | £33.00 pp |
| Thursday 21 June |
A SLEEPING BEAUTY TALE Northern Ballet Theatre’s new production Danced to Tchaikovsky’s original music Woking (Matinee) |
£22.00 pp |
| 8 – 15 May | Visit to CRETE | |
| 25 Sep – 1 Oct |
7 day visit TO ITALY’S CAMPANIA REGION staying at Sant Agata near Sorrento. Excursions to Pompeii, Herculanium, Naples, Paestum, Amalfi Coast etc. Details and Booking Form on request. (twin sharing) |
£615 pp |
Contact Sheila for further details or to book events. Send cheque (payable to BOOKHAM U3A) with booking form to Sheila.
The next edition of Fetcham in Focus is due out in May 2007. Please email your copy to John or Judy by 1st April.