A Newsletter for the Carlisle and District U3A

A Newsletter for the

Carlisle and District U3A

Carlisle and District U3A is a Registered Charity No carlisle1073444 Www.u3asites.org.uk/Carlisle

A New Members Pack may be obtained from the Membership Secretary

AUTUMN EDITION 2018

All Dressed Up…...But where were they going?

Answer on page 4

This Newsletter was printed by Colophon Print & Design of Carlisle

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Message From the Chairman… Firstly a big thank you to everyone who took part in our Summer Shindig in July - it was an enjoyable afternoon and great to see so many of our members performing or showing off their skills. For those who came just to watch, it was fantastic having an appreciative audience and I hope you enjoyed the afternoon. I will repeat here what I said on the afternoon - I am proud of our U3A, the membership continues to grow and that is due to the friendliness and hard work everyone puts in to make the experience enjoyable. With this newsletter you will also be receiving notice of our AGM, please remember that this is an important meeting and that we need to have enough members to form a quorum. For those who have never attended an AGM, please note that we try to keep the business end to a minimum (45 minutes is the average), there is no entry charge, tea/coffee and refreshments will be served afterwards. Our Group Leaders Meeting will take place on 29

th November This is a

chance for the committee to get to know our Group Leaders, it is always good to put faces to names. It is also a chance for us to discuss important issues and one of the topics will be the new Beacon administrative system that we have adopted with the support of the Third Age Trust. Looking forward to seeing many of you at the AGM,

Hilary Farrer

Monthly Meeting Programme

All meetings start at 2pm and are held at the Harraby Community Centre and

are followed by tea/coffee and biscuits

20th.September Carlisle & District U3A Annual General Meeting

16th. October Passports, Assassins, Traitors & Spies Martin Lloyd

15th. November Bees & Painting with Beeswax Lorraine Priestley

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CARLISLE & DISTRICT U3A

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

THURSDAY 20th SEPTEMBER 2018 @ 2pm

HARRABY COMMUNITY CENTRE

Edge Hill Road Carlisle CA1 3SN

PLEASE MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO ATTEND THIS

IMPORTANT MEETING

Meeting followed by Tea/Coffee & Refreshments

A copy of the Trustees Annual Report which will be presented at

the AGM can be obtained from Janet Dutton—Secretary.

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Committee Nomination Forms

If you would like to join your U3A Committee then

nomination forms can be obtained from the

Secretary….details can be found on the Executive

Committee page.

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Here is the answer to the question posed on the front page…..

On the 30th of June a contingent - well 8 to be precise, from Carlisle U3A English

Country Dance Group attended the Assembly Ball at Crawfordjohn. The Ball is an

annual event hosted by Nicolas Broadbridge and the Assembly Players. The theme for

this years ball was dances from the Lowlands. All the dances were collected or

choreographed from Dutch sources. There were approximately 80 people from around

the UK and there were even some dancers from other parts of Europe.

We started with an afternoon workshop to practise for the evening event. Dinner was

offered at 6 pm for those who wanted it after which we changed into our evening attire

ready for the dancing at 7.30 pm. We were spoiled in the interval with a supper of

strawberries and cream. Our hosts always do us proud. Carriages were called at 11 pm

after a thoroughly enjoyable event.

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The Playreaders

The Playreaders group have vacancies for members. We meet once a month at my

home in Burgh by Sands on a Friday afternoon. We read comedies, mysteries and family

dramas. We are a friendly and welcoming group. There are no lines to learn, easy

reading from highlighted scripts by established playwrights and contemporary authors,

old favourites and rising stars. Anyone interested? Please ring Dorothy Ford on 01228

576436.

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The Readers

The Readers is a long established group that has lost most of its original members but the

structure remains the same. About twice a year we make book suggestions either from

experience or recommendation. On the day , the suggestee introduces it—explaining why

they chose it—invariably that is the one session they miss that year (but always with good

reason). We only read paperback books which are available in shops , online or in charity

shops or occasionally something selected from the library groups list. Without being ‘cliquey’

The group is warm, friendly and new members will be made very welcome. We do not

pressure anyone to speak - nor do we aim for high intellectual discussion—although we try

to stay focused on the book, sometimes a member’s own experience is enlightening and

helps give a back story to the plot. We meet at The Vallum House Hotel on Burgh Road on

the last Thursday of the month—from its inception the group has only had women

members, not from choice or a decision but because only women have joined us, but all are

welcome and that means men too! Interested then please contact Jan Dunckley

01387371344 or 07941101686 if you would like to join us.

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.THE SUMMER SHINDIG

This was held last month at Harraby Community Centre as part of our Monthly Meetings. It was a great success with over 140 members enjoying an afternoon of entertainment from various groups as well as displays from Craft, Rag Rugs, Knitting, Photography and Painting Groups. It is hoped that this will become an annual event to which you as members could invite your friends and neighbours to experience a taste of Carlisle & District U3A

A Display of English Country Dancing lead by Shirley Leighton

Following are a few photographs taken at the event and a BIG thank you to the Digital Photography Group for the photographs. More photos can be seen on the Carlisle & District website.

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THE UKE3A WITH LEADER TONY THORNTON

TAI CHI DEMONSTRATION LEAD BY KAY BARRIE

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SINGING FOR PLEASURE LEAD BY JEAN POSTHLEWAITE

POETRY APPRECIATION READ BY YVONNE SPENCER

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LINE DANCERS LEAD BY MAZ BURGESS

ONE OF THE DISPLAYS ON SHOW

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Environment Group

We all use it but how does it affect the environment? In the Autumn the group intend to consider many aspects of transport starting with the progress on the development of electric cars and then following our interests to linked topics.

We have also planned a visit to Egger's Hexham plant which produces wood-based panel products. This follows up on our recent discussions about the use of land to grow trees producing wood that can be used effectively in many areas as a sustainable resource. We also want to find out how they consider the environment throughout their manufacturing processes .

We meet every first Thursday of the month at the Victory Hall Dalston from 1.30 to 3.30 starting on 6

th September. Each meeting begins with

discussing 'hot topics' – environment news – before moving on to a specific subject such as the ones above. For more details contact Barbara Sanderson 0169772469 or email [email protected]

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“Sole Mates” Walking Group

We used to be called “Inclined to Ramble”, and we are still so inclined, but recently decided it was time for a name change. After much discussion, we are now called “Sole Mates”.

We meet on the second and fourth Thursday of each month, and are a friendly walking group, with time for conversation and for stopping and looking. Walks are usually 5 to 7 miles but we may occasionally stretch to 8. Both pace and terrain are moderate, varying from farmland to lower fells, riverside to woodland.

Geoff Goldie, our long standing co-ordinator recently stepped down from the role and we would like to THANK him for his work over the years and hope that the group will continue in the same tradition.

The new group co-ordinator is Sue Parmley….so if you are interested in joining this happy band of walkers, she can be contacted on 01228

560153 or email [email protected] for details of forthcoming walks.

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Art History Group

The Art History Group formerly known as “Artecs” (Art Detectives) was started by Judith Waugh about 20 years ago – and it still has some founder members.

The group is relaxed and informal – we all decide on a theme – recently food in art – but it can be an artist, a style, an era or a country. We started with rock art and have progressed to present day artists via Renaissance, Baroque, Neoclassicism, through to Romanticism, Impressionism, Fauvism Surrealism etc. although not always lineally. Next year (September) we will be looking at Welsh artists.

We have also looked at statues, made from various materials, and carvings as well as water-colour, oil/acrylic and photographic depictions on canvas, board and walls. Most summers we have a ‘trip’ – day visits to The Laing gallery in Newcastle, Art exhibitions in Kirkcudbright, Museums in Edinburgh and Liverpool and have twice had lectures just for us in Tullie House. We have had several short holidays in Spain – where we saw works by Goya and Picasso Guernica, Belgium - where we visited a tapestry factory, Italy and Paris – (we also went there for 1 day to see a special exhibition).

There are two ways of learning in this group - own research and listening to and discussing a presentation. We each choose an aspect/artist we are interested in in relation to the topic and then, over a period of meetings, make a presentation (often courtesy of Wikipedia) – which can be a paragraph or pages - enhanced by examples of the work we are talking about. Questions or comparisons are welcome – hearing another’s interpretation is always enlightening; none of us is an ‘expert’. No-one is expected to produce work if they are not comfortable doing so – although experience tells us that having done it once, everyone has been keen to do their next one.

We meet 3rd Wednesday of the month at Belah Community Centre at 2.00pm. Please

contact Jonquil Webster at [email protected] or 01228 675675 if you are interested

in joining us

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Birdwatching and Wildlife Group

The group has enjoyed a successful year. Our visits have included Caerlaverock WWT,

Langholm , Cardewmires Quarry and to put the ‘icing on the cake’ our visit to Bellymack

Hill Farm to see the Red Kites...amazing!.

We’ve taken a break for the summer but hopefully will restart on 21st. September. If you

are new to our U3A and would like to join the group then email me at

[email protected] for further details

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Gardening for Pleasure

After a summer of wonderful visits, we are gearing up for the winter

programme.

Meetings are held from 2-4pm, on the third Monday of the month

New venue for meetings: we will be meeting at the Gosling Syke offices of

Cumbria Wildlife Trust, Houghton Road, Houghton. There is plenty of

parking, and it is on a Bus route. Importantly, this new venue will give us

space for practical activities as well as speaker presentations.

Monday 15th October: Establishing the new group.

Getting to know each other and what skills we have in the group. Plus, a

review of the aims, approach and progress to date, and discussion of what

next.

Monday 19th November: Containers and Colour

Planting up container: Bulbs , Perennials - which compost? which container ?

– Long lasting display and interest – colour combinations. Hands on activities

Note: Please take a photo of a pot NOW that you are proud of or one that

has not worked as well as you had hoped, and bring it with you to the

meeting in November.

December: no meeting

Monday 21st January: Plants with Altitude!

Neil Huntley from the Hardy Plants Nursery will give us an illustrated talk on

Alpines. The nursery specialises in propagating plants rarely available in this

country. Neil comes to us following his success at Tatton Park recently,

where he was awarded a gold medal. There will be an opportunity to

purchase plants at the meeting.

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Monday18th February: Pruning for improved crops/flowers and shape.

Always something that feels a bit tricky . Today, we’ll learn what to do and

look for, and practise our skills.

Monday18th March: Successful seed planting and propagation

Maureen Flett, RHS Speaker and Gardening for Health asks members to take

seeds NOW and bring them to the meeting, where there will be a 'seed

swap'. The seeds should be labelled and preferably in paper envelopes.

Maureen will also talk about gardening in older age without doing damage

to ourselves.

Monday15th April: Movement and Sound in the garden, Views and vistas

and wildlife.

We’ll use learning from our visit to Chapelside, Mungrisedale and other gar-

den visits this summer as well as you own wider experience. What does it

do? what can we do in our gardens?

Any change to the topics advertised will be posted on our U3A web page.

Fiona Merritt group co-ordinator [email protected] 01228 495364

-o0o- Sunday Lunches 2nd. September Dukes Head Inn Armathwaite CA4 9PB Main & dessert £13.95 7th. October Dog and Gun Inn Skelton CA11 9SE Main, dessert, and tea/coffee £15.95 4th. November details will be posted on the U3A website. 2nd. December I will be booking Heather Glen Country House Restaurant CA4 9QQ details on the website when available. Booking must be made by the Wednesday prior to the lunch. Numbers in some places will be limited to 24 so early booking is essential. For more information and booking contact Bob Reed 01228 561861 or email [email protected]

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