Newsletter - u3asites.org.uk · reserved Mack and Mabel tickets, February is your last chance to pay. Janet Whitchurch has a few spare tickets available for Calamity Jane, (see below).

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Our speaker for the January was DrIrfan Malik, a local GP known to someof our members, and his subject was

the role played by his ancestral village during the First World War.Dulmial is a village approximately 100 miles south of

Islamabad in modern day Pakistan. Its locals have a long history ofbeing courageous and warlike, and sol-diers from this area have supported theBritish since the time of the Indian Mutinyin 1857. The village is famous for havingsent 460 to fight for the Empire duringthe First World War, over 100 of thembeing Viceroy-commissioned officers. This was the largest contribution of anyvillage in South Asia.

In the Second World war more than 800 villagers took part, and after par-tition they also contributed to the Indian and Pakistani armies. In 1925 their con-tribution was acknowledged by the gift of a cannon by the British. The formernaval gun was transported from Jhelum first by train and then in a cart drawn byup to 16 oxen over a period of two weeks. It was mounted at the entrance to thevillage with a plaque, and as a result

Dulmial is known in Pakistan as "the village with the gun”. Undi-vided India's contribution to the First World war was over 1.5 mil-lion troops, Muslim, Hindu and Sikh. Of these 13,000 wereawarded gallantry medals including 11 V.C.s. Some 75,000 werekilled, incuding 9,000 on the Western Front. As well as men, near-ly 200,000 animals and nearly 4 million tons of supplies were sentover to Europe, at a cost of £19M in today's money.

Dr Malik went on to detail how the troops were organisedand the campaigns in which they were involved, and the contribu-tion to both wars made by other members of the Empire. A veryinteresting talk. Photographs courtesy of Dr Malik.

http://u3asites.org.uk/carlton-gedling/home

Newsletter

Issue No.81 February 2019

This is an opportunity for new members, and anyone wishingto find out more about the U3A, to meet and have a chat to

some committee members and group conveners in a smallerless formal setting than the monthly meeting. Coffee is for

sale along with the usual range of beverages and the meetingwill take place at the Willowbrook Pub at 10:45 - 11:45 am

Thursday 28th February

Guest Speaker

WWI veterans at the inauguration of the memorial,including Dr Malik’s great-grandfatherNick Clark

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Having your photograph on your membership card is a great way for your Committeeand Group Convenors to put a name to a face. At the February general

meeting you can have your photo taken by a member of the photographygroup to be put onto your 2019/20 membership card. If you already have

your photo on your current card there is no need to have another onetaken, unless you would like to change it. Alternatively, if you would prefer usto use one of your own you can email it us at

[email protected] Graeme Bunting

General MeetingsThursday 21st Feb 10:30 Speaker - David Bell

“The Plague Doctor” David is not a qualified medic nor is he an historian. However he does spin a terrific yarn and he will not

only make you think but he will also make you laugh out loud and make you feel good about yourself.You will be entertained in a uniquely amusing fashion into a 17th century world where both medical

diagnosis and treatment were equally outrageous.

Thursday 21st March 10:30 Speaker - Jack Perks“Diary of a Wild Life Photographer”

A natural history photographer who has a Degree in Marine and Natural History Photography. BA(hons).He has worked on various BBC shows such as Springwatch, Countryfile, The One Show and The Great

British Year to name but a few. He is also passionate about the conservation side working andvolunteering for Organisations like the Wild Life Trust, RSPB, etc.

Could all our members please note that if the weather and driving conditions were bad on the day of aGeneral Meeting, there is a possibility that Richard Herrod, or your U3A Committee, could decide to

cancel the meeting.

If that happened we would post a very obvious notice on the Carlton & Gedling U3A websiteand we would also email all our members, so please check those before setting out from home

If you do not have an email address, you may ring our U3A number 0778 742 7200 and speak to a member of the committee.

Greenfingers invites you to an Open MeetingSpeaker Janette Merillions - ‘Gardening for Shade’

Gedling Road Methodist Church NG4 3EXMonday 4th March - 10.30 for 10.45

£3 incl. tea and biscuits

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Theatre visitsNew to our programme this month isFaust, an opera by the Frenchcomposer, Gounod. Disillusioned withlife, the aged philosopher Faust callsupon Satan to help him. The devilappears and strikes a bargain with thephilosopher: he will give him youth andthe love of the beautiful Marguerite, ifFaust will hand over his soul. Faustagrees, and Satan arranges matters sothat Marguerite loses interest in hersuitor Siébel and becomes infatuatedwith Faust. Faust initially seems to loveMarguerite in return, but soon abandons her. Her brother Valentin returns from the war and is furious to findhis sister pregnant. Will Faust repent his destructive actions, and can his soul, and Marguerite's, be saved?This is a revival of an acclaimed production directed by David McVicar. The performance lasts around 3 ½hours – think of all the musical notes you get for your money!!

The Memory of Water is a hilarious and heart-breaking drama about what we fear most – losing someoneboth in life and death - a play about family, grief and the unreliability of memory. Expect tears and laughterin Nottingham Playhouse’s new production of Shelagh Stephenson’s Olivier Award-winning comedy.

Still selling: Romeo+Juliet by the Matthew Bourne dance company, with music by Prokoviev. This is apassionate and contemporary re-imagining of Shakespeare’s classic love story. Finally, if you havereserved Mack and Mabel tickets, February is your last chance to pay.

Janet Whitchurch has a few spare tickets available for Calamity Jane, (see below). If you cannot collectyour reserved tickets at the February General Meeting she will take them to the venue on the day.

Collect Tickets: Made in Dagenham 7.30pm on Friday 15th February, Calamity Jane 2pm Saturday 23rd

February, Daughter of the Regiment, 12 noon, Sunday 3rd March

Theatre Trips on offer:

New Opera Faust, live broadcast from the Royal Opera. 6.45pm Tuesday 30th April, Cineworld at theCornerhouse (£15). Organiser: Paul Martinez. Sign up and pay for tickets.

Musical Mack and Mabel by Carlton Operatic Society, 2.30pm Wednesday 8th May 2019 Theatre Royal(£22) Organiser Linda Spencer. Last chance to pay for tickets

Drama The Memory of Water Friday 17th May, 7.30pm Nottingham Playhouse (£7.50) Organiser BasiaArch Sign up and pay for tickets

Ballet Matthew Bourne’s Romeo & Juliet, 2pm Thursday 3rd October 2019, at the Theatre Royal (£31)Organiser Anne Porter Last chance to pay for tickets.

Musical Calamity Jane 2pm Saturday 23rd February, The Space, Nottingham Girls’ High School (£12.50)Organiser Janet Whitchurch, Collect tickets.

Paul Martinez

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Trips and VisitsTRIP TO YORKWED 29TH MAY

Leave Richard Herrod AT 8.30Cost £11.00

At the February meeting we will be selling ticketsfor a trip to York in May. For most people Yorkwill need no introduction and there is so much tosee and do. For 2000 years Romans, Vikings anda host of Kings, Queens and Archbishops haveleft their mark on this city. It has perhaps themost complete city walls in Britain, the Shamblesand, of course, York Minster.

You can go down York Dungeon and learn ofEric Bloodaxe, the Witch Pricker (no joke, checkTrip Advisor) and Dick Turpin. Somewhat lessscarily you can follow York's Chocolate Story andlearn about Rowntrees and Terrys. Or learnabout the Vikings at the Jorvik centre.

There are plenty of shops to cater for mosttastes including 2 branches of the legendary Betty's tea rooms. The cafe on St HelensSquare has beautiful interiors inspired by the original Queen Mary liner.Hope to see you there.Sue and Noel Lake

The Shambles

Interest GroupsWe beganby hearing astory from

last month on the theme “Occasion”. Rememberingthe first day of school, with “new”uniform, dinner money, missingmum, breaktime milk, sums andwriting – and the bliss of the belland being met by grandma andgoing home.

Then we moved on to thismonth’s theme of “Sloth”. The firstauthor wrote of God’s upset at laziness ofhumans and them not being prepared forChristmas – gift shopping in August.The second author wrote of olden times when twingirls had different attitudes to preparing for winninga suitor. However the dutiful one gave her sister

the gift of her hard work to her sister so that bothhad the future they wanted.

The third author wrote of a slothful Nicholasbeing nagged by his wife when he went to his“men-in-sheds” club. However, he had been

making toys for children and when his wife– who was a retired midwife – wascalled to the pub for an emergencybirth, Nicolas had already deliveredthe boy child in the shed. Wequickly realised the twist in theNativity story.

The fourth author wrote of alazy recruit in the army and the rest

of the squad’s relentless help for him.Next time the theme is “clergy”. Come and tellus your story.

Creative Writing

Tabby

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Nuala Leyden

Art Appreciation Group In January the group met at a member’s home,where our discussion was on the art of Ethiopia.

Historically, Ethiopian art is largelyecclesiastical. This is due to the fact thatthe country claims to have been the firstto declare itself a Christian country.

We first looked at some of their pre-Christian art, which dated from the 4thcentury. This was a number of stelae orobelisks, some of which are still standing.After their conversion the stelae wereabandoned, and by the 10th century theirinterests turned to the building of theirfamous ‘rock churches’, hewn for rockfaces of cut from the surface of the earthdown.

Inside these churches are oftendecorated in frescoes and reliefsculptures which retell biblical stories,with a distinctive Ethiopian influence.

Christine Russell

RUFFORD COUNTRY PARK

This month it is difficult to pick out a highlight of ourday bird-watching. The weather was wonderful-having a coffee outside Rufford Mill with the sun onyour face, you could believe spring was around thecorner- and the variety of woodland birds and ducksand gulls on the lakeside was rich and diverse.

We started our visit with some good sightings ofsome colourful Jays, followed by both male andfemale Bullfinch with their richly coloured breasts.Also in the woodland were Nuthatches,Treecreepers, Chaffinches, Goldfinches, Goldcrestsand even some Green Finches, and between us wesaw plenty of Great Tits, Long-tailed and Blue Tits.For some of us, it was the first time we had seen aGreater Spotted Woodpecker, quite spectacular,although he frustratingly kept hiding behind some branches. There were Dunnocks, Robins and Jackdaws.

The quirky Mandarin Duck with its fantastical colours and tufts and upstanding side wings entertainedus for some time, and it was good to take a long look at the beauty of the feathers on the Canada Geese,Greylag Geese and Muscovy Ducks, which are all very keen to come close in the hope of food-which theydefinitely do not need.

We saw about half a dozen Goosander (male and female) sailing majestically across the lake, lots ofBlack-headed Gulls, which confusingly do not have black heads in the winter, some Common Gulls. Someof us even spotted a Kestrel perched on a fencepost on the way to Rufford and there was a possiblesighting of a Sparrowhawk, difficult to confirm because of the glare of the sun (in January!) With twelvepairs of eyes, good binoculars and patience, it is surprising just how many species you can see.

Next Meeting: 8th February Gedling Country Park

Greater Spotted Woodpecker

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Theatre ReviewsSt. Wilfrid’s Church, Wilford.

Eighteen members of the group joined me to visit St.Wilford’s Church, Wilford, which overlooks a bend inthe River Trent as it turns towards Trent Bridge, underthe old Toll bridge which now carries trams destined forClifton South. We were met by Raymond Hutchins andhis wife, Pat. Ray gave us a talk about the church, itshistory, interesting features and the people associatedwith the church and the village of Wilford, includingHenry Kirk White (1785 – 1806) the poet, who drewinspiration from Wilford and Clifton. Then we enjoyedrefreshments provided by Raymond’s Wife, Pat, in theChurch Office, which is thought to have been the old“Tithe Barn”, where a third of the village produce wasstored to provide a stipend for the priest.The church dates from the late 14th century, thought to

have been founded by Gervase de Wilford around 1361. The chancel dates from 1430 and the clerestoryand tower later in the 15th century. There was a reordering ofthe church in the later 19th century, when the aisles wererebuilt, and a vestry was added. The organ dates from 1878,built by Henry Willis. In the graveyard, between the churchand the river stands a Gazebo, built in 1757, its basement issaid to have been a mortuary for drownings in the river. In1980 it was restored after a fire in 1976. The graveyardcontains war graves of 8 soldiers of the First World War andan airman of the Second World War.The village get its name as a contraction of “Wilfrid’s Ford”, StWilfrid being the patron saint of the church. St. Wilfrid was aSaxon missionary bishop, his name being given to the Romanford near the village to distinguish it from the “Bridge-ford” ofEdward the Elder, a little further downriver.

Religious Architecture

Mike Johnson

Please notethat we havehad a small

change of venue and we now 2–4 pm meet on :-1st and 4th Fridays at Richard Herrod

2nd and 5th Tuesday at the WillowbrookThe card game of canasta is played with two

packs of cards including the four jokers. It is easyto learn (one afternoon is usually enough), but thenhas enough variation to provide infinite enjoymentand the chance to apply some cheeky strategies.

Just as a change this month we held twosessions when our members, if they wished, couldlearn to play Rummikub. This game popped up atour Christmas party and surprisingly many of ourgroup had never heard of it. Three of us were ableto teach about fourteen of our members who arenow searching the games shelves of the charityshops or looking for a bargain on ebay.

So in February we are back to canasta withoutdistractions – please join us if you are willing andable.

Canasta Group

Lynne Jaremczenko

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Nuthatch

Kestrel

Forty Grouchy girls met after theChristmas Break ready to putthe world to rights.

Should we rebel againsteverything American e.g. Halloween, Black Friday, junk food.Greed and commercialism at its worst was the general consensusbut there were some things we did like such as Mutli- PlexCinemas, Music that has come from the States and of course KeyLime Pie!

Junk food has become a world wide problem and we cannotblame the USA entirely, responsibility has to come from theconsumer.

Is tradition always a good thing? And should children be taughttraditional nursery rhymes, country dancing and Morris dancing?Traditions should be encouraged and must not be lost, its part ofour heritage and nursery rhymes are part of learning language,development and history. New traditions evolve but the old shouldbe nurtured and applauded. Country Dancing is good forcoordination and should be encouraged in schools, it is a lovelyBritish tradition.

Self-Service check outs are they useful? We acknowledgedthey are useful when working correctly, however we didn’t like the fact that they were putting people out ofjobs. We like to be served by a person rather than a machine.

Grouchy Girls

Maggie Martinez

Reminder to new and existingmembers of the Real Ale Group weare visiting The 15th DerbyCAMRA Winter Beer

Festival at the Roundhouse in Derby.We are meeting at Victoria Centre Bus Station at the

Red Arrow bus stop on Friday 22nd February at 12pm. Wewill be travelling on the Trent Barton Red Arrow. Please noteconcessions do not apply on the Red Arrow now.

We are planning on getting a discounted Group ticket.For CAMRA members the entrance to the Beer Festival is freeand OAPs are also free at lunchtime.

We would welcome any ideas for other events and trips outmembers would like to take part in during 2019. You do not needto share a love of Real Ale…some of us actually drink Lager!

Real Ale Group

Lindsay Angus

Jnternational Dining The InternationalDining group will begoing to Yammas

on Thurland Street on Thursday 21 March, meeting at 7pm. Themeal will be a Mezze, which will consist of a variety of Greek dishes.The cost per person will be £20 including the tip. I have eaten thereand can recommend the food and service.I will collect the money at the general meeting on 21st February,I will be in the meeting room.Everyone is welcome Pat Downing

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Avocet

Kusadama flowers

Origami folded paper flowers made by the craft group in January.

Craft Group

Rofie Clennell

Twenty two members set off as usualfrom Ranmoor Car Park to travel toBeeston Fields Golf Club where we

parked up. We walked up Beeston Fields Drive, the “posh” houses being noted as we passed by, and thenup to Bramcote Park and Bramcote Woods, going as far as the bridge over the A52 leading to Stapleford. We returned passing Beeston reservoir and onto Cow Lane before reaching the golf club again wherewe were able to get a drink and snacks with a good view of the golf course. The weather was kind to us,although a little icy in parts, but we all survived.

Five Miles and a Cup of Tea

Terry Bartram

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At our January meeting sixmembers took part in a

workshop on Englishpaper piecing led byJackie. English paperpiecing involveswrapping paper shapesin fabric and thenstitching the fabrictogether to make aplacemat, table runneror larger piece. We areonly at an early stageso other members can

join in next month. This is a project which can be spread overseveral months.

Other members of the group sewed their own work whichincluded cross stitch, skirt alterations, completing a fabricChristmas tree and making children’s cushions.

Thank you to Jackie.

Sewing Group

Pam Bartram

Greenfingers We had a multi choice quiz to get us thinkingfor the February meeting. Members wereasked if they knew why reindeer moss is so

named, where the monkey puzzle tree comes from and the old fashioned name for atomato. Most of us admitted that we hadn’t really got going in our gardens yet andwere waiting for some better weather. We talked about possible future speakersand trips which four of the group have undertaken to arrange. RHS HarlowCarr and Barnsdale are being considered so watch this space for furtherinformation. Please see the separate information about our March speaker,who comes highly recommended and the meeting is open to any U3A member.The monthly subs will be slightly higher to cover costs.

( Answers: reindeer eat it, Chile, love apple) Nicola Dandie

Days Without End by Sebastian Barry

For some strange reason our choice of books for the past year have mostlycome under a big umbrella of ‘misery, injustice and cruelty’. The stories

have tended to be based on real events, such as the French revolution in the ‘Tale of Two Cities’, Stalin’sGulag in ‘One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich’, the cold war with Russia in ‘The Spy who came in withthe Cold’. Perhaps it’s a reflection of the shocking realities that have occurred throughout history.

‘Days Without End’, by Sebastian Barry was our book for this month and fitted comfortably into thecategory of suffering, misfortune and cruelty. It tells the tale of 2 young boys who come together and forma strong bond through their need to survive in poverty and homelessness. They fortunately come across abar that needs young pretty boys to dress up as females and dance with the local lead miners. Nothingmore, “They need the illusion, only the illusion of the gentler sex”. When the boys’ manhood begin to showon their faces, the two survive, by enlisting in the army fighting the Native Americans and then in the civilwar. As Barry puts it “The only pay worse than the worse pay in America was army pay. But you were gladto get work because if you didn’t work for the few dollars you starved”.

Without exception we all agreed that ‘Days without end’ was a good read and Sebastian Barry anexcellent writer. Whilst some thought they would not enjoy the book as it was a ‘cowboy and indian’ typestory, comments were that they couldn’t put the book down and thoroughly enjoyed the novel. One personeven read it again. The descriptions of the American countryside; the conditions and events were vivid andin many parts poetic, reflecting Barry’s ability as a poet. It’s a book I think we would all recommend.

Book Group

Jean Berry

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Striders Walks January 2019. The cold weather and icy conditions discouraged thefaint hearted but 8 of us set off from Vicar Water after watching theducks dancing on ice. Conditions underfoot were quite treacherous as

there had been a shower of rain which had frozen on the surface of the paths however, we completed thewalk without any mishaps by avoiding the worst of the ice. Places of interest along the way included amock-up of some First World War trenches with an account of the events during 2 days in 1917, the ruinsof the Kings Palace at Clipstone along with an account of its use by the Plantagenet royalty as well as thelisted headstocks near the end of the walk. Refreshments were then enjoyed at the tea room at VicarWater Country Park before we returned to Gedling. Convenor Brian Shield

February 2019. Keith is leading the February walk which is about 8 miles in length and visits BrierleyForest and Silverhill Country Park. It is mainly on good paths or forest tracks and is relatively flat. Keith willsend out further details nearer the time. Meet in the car park on Ranmoor Road at 9.00am on Thursday28th February and bring a packed lunch. Convenor Brian Shield

The String Quartets ofHaydnIt’s not the usual practice for thepresenter at our meetings toreport their own offering but due toa failure by myself to give KathRobins, a willing volunteer, theprogramme notes, on thisoccasion the rule has to bebroken. To avoid complaints ofbias however, I shall stand to oneside and let my alter ego do thework.

Born in 1732, Joseph Haydnreceived his limited formal musicaleducation as a chorister in theCathedral church of St Stephen inVienna. At the age of 18 he leftthe choir without a patron oremployment. To earn a living hetaught music and played the violin.In this role he taught the children of a Baron von Furnberg. To entertain the baron he joined with the Baron’s steward, the parish priest and a local cellist and wrotehis first series, Opus 1 and 2, of quartets. Unlike the later quartets with fourmovements they had five and offered with very little scope for the cello. There then followed a ten year gap in which no quartets were written. Haydn then found a patron in aCount Morzin as his Kappelmeister. Aside from his duties in providing church music Haydn producedanother group of quartets which were much closer in form to the modern work with four movements andwith the cello having a greater role although not yet being treated with the same respect as the violins andthe viola. The writing for the first violin also became more sophisticated, due in part to the availability ofLuigi Thomasini, a virtuoso violinist. By opus 20 the cello was also given an equal status with the violins.

Another break of nine years followed when Haydn was in the service of Prince Nicholas Esterhazywhen his talents were devoted to writing operas for the stage and the prince’s marionette theatre. After thisgap there followed a very productive period culminating in opus 64 Hadyn then took a break in London withthe impressario Salomon where in addition to his symphonies the late quartets were written.

Whereas many of the quartets played were unknown to our CMAG the Cmajor quartet opus76 wassufficiently well known to have some of our audience singing along to the Austrian national hymn.

Classical Music

Joseph Haydn playing quartetsanonymous painting from the StaatsMuseum, Vienna

He who Hears (aka David Dobbs)

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Pints and Pubs

January saw us atthe Richard Herrod Centre for another entertaining talkby Bob Massey. This time Bob regaled us with stories ofPubs and Pints. We heard how Pepys described the pubas the heart of England, and how its origins can betraced back to Roman taverns.

We learnt the difference between taverns (drinksonly) and hostelries/inns (overnight accommodation withfood). Two examples of local coaching inns are theGrosvenor on Mansfield Road and the Robin Hood andLittle John in Arnold. Coaching inns have either abalcony or window that is level with the top of the coachto allow the luggage to be easily unloaded.

Bob also explained the difference between ale andbeer. Ale is made with just malt whereas beer is madewith malt and hops and was introduced from theNetherlands. In Anglo-Saxon times women used to brewthe ale and would put a branch up on a pole to signifythat the ale was ready. This is the origin of the pub signas we know it today. We have Richard II to thank for thisas he compelled landlords to display signs in 1393.

During the English Civil War beer was taxed to raisefunds. During this time it wasn’t unusual for a pub tochange its name depending upon who was winning atthe time. By 1700 a license was needed to brew beer. In1735 John Leper of Arnold was charged with brewingwithout a license and fined one shilling.

In 1830 the Beerhouse Act was introduced. Itabolished the beer tax and extended the opening hoursof licensed public houses. The Act also introduced theBeerhouse and Beershops - premises which could sellonly beer.

Another entertaining talk by Bob, with lots ofquestions for him to field.

Our next meeting is on 19 February 2019 at 2pm, atRichard Herrod, when we will welcome the return ofDorothy Ritchie, who will be talking about the history ofthe Lace Market. In March, she will be leading us on awalking tour of the Lace Market, to show us the buildingsetc. covered in her talk.

Anne Palmer

This month the grouptook the opportunity ofthe coach trip to

Manchester to visit the Museum ofScience & Industry. This is housedon the site of the world’s firstpassenger station, ManchesterLiverpool Road, which opened as apart of the Liverpool & ManchesterRailway in 1830. Much of theoriginal station survives as well asthe extensive warehousing

associatedwith thestation’soriginalfunction as alink betweenthe manufacturing centre of Manchester andthe International shipping port of Liverpool.This was the principal means of transfer ofraw materials and finished goods betweenthese two cities before the building of theManchester Ship Canal in 1894.

The preserved buildings have been creatively converted to exhibition space. On display arefascinating items relating to science and technology, transport and local industry. We were particularlypleased to see the remains of George Stephenson’s “Rocket”, currently on loan to the museum.

Special thanks go to Sue and her team for arranging the transport which made it so easy for us to visitsuch an interesting place.

Railway Enthusiasts

Nick Clark

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Grumpy Old Men We havehad twomeetings

since the last newsletter, and some commonthemes have emerged. Under the general headingof Transport, the first grump is that the ticketmachine in Ranmoor Rd car park isn’t workingcorrectly and so after two hours we Grumpys haveto go out to get a fresh ticket. This led on to acomplaint that as cars have got bigger over theyears the car park spaces haven’t,Chelsea tractors take more than their fairshare, perhaps they deserve the odddent.!!!January’s meeting was unusual inthat potholes weren’t mentioned at allat all, but come February - herewe go again! The RAC haswarned that pothole-induceddamage to your car is 2½ timesmore likely than a decade ago.The government has given extramoney for road repairs but is itbeing used for this or just fordeficit reduction by localauthorities? What followed was aspirited debate about the best way todrive over traffic calming bumps whileminimising damage to suspension -straddle one bump or drive over two? Thelatter seemed to be the most popular (except whenthere’s oncoming traffic!).

I’m surprised that hasn’t come up before, butSMART MOTORWAYS - good or bad? Theconsensus was they’re OK if managed correctlyand. the refuges are closely spaced. However, dataseems to be accumulating that a collision withstationary car is more likely on a smart motorwaythen an old-style one. No surprises there..

Apparently there are many bridges on our roadsystem unsuitable for 44 Tonne lorries, and cash-strapped councils do not have the finance to repairthem all. We can only hope that HGV drivers obeyweight restriction notices.

In the category of “I don’t believe it!!” Wediscussed such topics as British aid still being sentto some of the world’s most corrupt states; footballclubs charging hundreds of pounds for children tobe mascots at the start of games; police responses

to emergency and priority callsbecoming ridiculously slow (though we

have sympathy with a severelyunderstaffed police force trying to

cope with admin-cloggedsystems,); Hastings pier sold toa businessman for £100,000

after a Lottery funded refit of£12M and then being closed “foressential repairs &improvements”; the NHSredundancy revolving door -(500M in redundancy has been

paid to staff some of whomimmediately re-join the service on

new salaries); “Shrinkflation”, wherepack size decreases while the price

remains the same (remember the oldWagon Wheel?) - we all regretted this

but were shown how to modify the new,skinnier Toblerone bar by inserting chocolateorange segments in the gaps. Genius!; and lastly -“Januhairy” - don’t ask!

A final entry - we note with sadness that Fullersof London has been sold to Asahi of Japan after174 years as a family business. Does this meangoodbye to ESB, London Pride and others?

Tarra Two

Textile CraftsIn this month’s meeting we revised the making of mitredsquares and more information about the group project(the blanket) was shared.

Next month’s meeting (at 10:00 on Friday the 1stMarch at the fire station) will cover arm knitting and willbe led by Lynne. An email concerning materials requiredby members wishing to take part in this workshop hasbeen circulated. Gill will try to advise and remedymember’s problems during the meeting. Please bring anyprojects you wish to continue to the meeting.

Gill & Lynne

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The topic for the History Group wasevents that happened on this day i.e7th January throughout history and

what a splendid and colourful tapestry we managed to weave.Topics ranged throughout time from the Zoroastrians, about 1000BC, to

2018 when Sydney experienced its hottest day since records began. Therewere heads of state like Emperor Hirohito the 121st Emperor of Japan whoreigned for 62 years and Catherine of Aragon (almost a head of state)who died on this day in 1536.

We travelled across the globe to Cambodia where Phnom Penh fell tothe Vietnamese in 1979, to Jamestown in Virginia which was destroyed byfire in 1608, to Iceland where there was a collision between a British frigateand an Icelandic gun boat in 1976, to Calais which England surrendered toFrance in 1558 and to Panama which saw the first boat to pass along thecanal in 1914.

Characters of all sorts featured too. On this day Francis Bacon becameLord Chancellor. He was a spy,philosopher scientist and essayistand "a nasty piece of work". Thesecond Earl of Essex who led arevolt against Elizabeth I and wasthe last person to be beheaded inthe Tower of London. We also heard from the diaries of SamuelPepys about his activities on this day.

There was the abolition of slavery in the USA, the patent for thefirst typewriter, the founding of the British Library, the first gasballoon flight across the Channel, the publication of the first comicfeaturing Buck Rogers and Tarzan. the attack on the offices ofCharlie Hebdo in Paris and the last day before rationing started inWW2.

Finally we touched on science with the discovery of Jupiter'smoons by Galileo in 1610 and we finished with a brief history oftime. Not Stephen Hawking but the development of calendarsthrough the millennia leading to the fact that today was Christmas

Day in the Ukraine.Our next meeting is on 4th March when the theme will be "Pills, Potions and Pox Cures" - medicine

through the ages. All are welcome.Noel Lake

Please send contributions for next month’s issue by

Sunday 10th March to [email protected]

Articles for the website should be sent to Graeme Bunting

The Newsletter is published by The Carlton, Gedling & District U3A. (Reg. Charity No. 1157211)Views expressed are not necessarily those of the U3A or Editor

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Time Group Meet at Details Contact14 Thu 09:30 Cycling For Fun Meet at 50 Willow Road, Carlton Tom on 0780 094 939614 Thu 11:00 Coffee Morning Top Spot Club Maggie on 0115 955 928514 Thu 11:00 Religious Arch. Meet at the venue Mary Magdalene, Hucknall Mike on 0794 991 024114 Thu 12:00 Ten Pin Bowling MFA Bowl Brenda on 0115 962 575714 Thu 13:30 Art Gedling Road Meth. Christine on 0115 915 752514 Thu 14:00 Opera Study A member's house La Fille du Regiment intro (1) Paul on 0115 955 928515 Fri 10:00 Science Richard Herrod Antibiotics Steve on 0784 111 143515 Fri 16:00 Table Tennis C-le-W Academy Andrea on 0752 709 032415 Fri 19:30 Theatre Nottm Arts Theatre Made in Dagenham Coleen on 0745 0938 77716 Sat 09:30 Cycling For Fun Meet at 50 Willow Road, Carlton Tom on 0780 094 939618 Mon 10:30 Family History Richard Herrod Brenda on 0774 201 748218 Mon 14:00 Tea Dancing Richard Herrod Helen on 0115 955 472318 Mon 16:15 Drama Carlton Fire Station Discussion and readings Pat on 0791 866 532219 Tue 14:00 Local History Richard Herrod Talk on the Lace Market Graham on 0115 956 179120 Wed 10:00 Bonsai A member's house Shaping/wiring/potting pt 1 Paul on 0115 955 928520 Wed 10:00 Singing for Pleas. Netherfield Baptist Allan on 0115 911 304520 Wed 14:00 Bridge and Whist The Willowbrook Ken on 0115 956 278021 Thu 10:00 Internat. Dining Richard Herrod Collecting money Pat on 0791 866 532221 Thu 10:30 General Meeting Richard Herrod David Bell: Plague Doctor Tom on 0780 094 939621 Thu 14:00 Opera Study A member's house La Fille du Regiment intro (2) Paul on 0115 955 928522 Fri 10:00 Singing for Pleas. St Georges Centre Allan on 0115 911 304522 Fri 12:00 Real Ale Appreciation Derby Winter Beer Festival Richard on 0751 421 213422 Fri 14:00 Canasta Richard Herrod Lynne on 0777 180 195722 Fri 16:00 Table Tennis C-le-W Academy Andrea on 0752 709 032423 Sat 00:00 Cycling For Fun Meet at 50 Willow Road, Carlton Tom on 0780 094 939623 Sat 14:00 Theatre Nottingham Girls HS Calamity Jane Janet on 0115 840073325 Mon 10:00 French Conv. Mapperley Golf Club Brian on 0115 926 505325 Mon 10:00 Sewing Carlton Fire Station Pam on 0115 926 002625 Mon 10:30 Discussion A member's house Space Exploration Lynne on 0777 180 195725 Mon 14:00 Committee Meeting Richard Herrod Tom on 0780 094 939625 Mon 18:30 Wine Lovers 4 Age Concern Chilean wines Steve on 0784 111 143526 Tue 09:30 5 Miles + tea Ranmoor Road Annesley & Linby walk Terry on 0797 084 273626 Tue 14:00 Music Apprec. Richard Herrod Eric on 0115 952 375727 Wed 10:00 Music for Fun Netherfield Baptist Charles on 0115 915 752527 Wed 14:00 Bridge and Whist The Willowbrook Ken on 0115 956 278027 Wed 14:00 Scrabble The Willowbrook Lynne on 0777 180 195728 Thu 09:00 Striders Walking Ranmoor Road Brierley Forest & Silverhill CP Brian on 0115 956 767028 Thu 10:45 New Members The Willowbrook Sally on 0778 754 114528 Thu 11:00 Coffee Morning Top Spot Club Maggie on 0115 955 928528 Thu 13:00 Crafts Thursday Carlton Fire Station Do your own thing Rofie on 0115 955 4471

1 Fri 10:15 Textile Crafts Carlton Fire Station Lynne on 0777 180 19571 Fri 14:00 Canasta Richard Herrod Lynne on 0777 180 19571 Fri 16:00 Table Tennis C-le-W Academy Andrea on 0752 709 03242 Sat 09:30 Cycling For Fun Meet at 50 Willow Road, Carlton Tom on 0780 094 93963 Sun 12:00 Opera Study Broadway Cinema La Fille du Regiment Paul on 0115 955 92853 Sun 12:00 Theatre Broadway Cinema Daughter of the Regiment Paul on 0115 955 92854 Mon 10:30 Greenfingers Gedling Road Meth. Speaker: Janette Merilion Nicola on 0115 940 15074 Mon 14:00 History Study Richard Herrod Medieval pills, potions, cures Lynne on 077718019574 Mon 14:00 Tea Dancing Richard Herrod Helen on 0115 955 47234 Mon Drama Cancelled Pat on 0791 866 53225 Tue 10:00 Railway Enth. Meet at Nottm Station National Railway Museum Nick on 0115 987 25945 Tue 14:00 Book Club Carlton Fire Station The Siege by H Dunmore Maggie on 0115 952 31855 Tue 16:30 Indoor Bowls Richard Herrod Mick on 0115 987 4239

Carlton & Gedling U3A Diary: FEBRUARY 2019Date

MARCH 2019

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Time Group Meet at Details Contact6 Wed 10:00 Singing for Pleas. Netherfield Baptist Allan on 0115 911 30456 Wed 14:00 Bridge and Whist The Willowbrook Ken on 0115 956 27806 Wed 14:00 Scrabble The Willowbrook Lynne on 0777 180 19577 Thu 10:00 Tai Chi Richard Herrod Sally on 0778 754 11458 Fri 09:00 Bird Watching Richard Herrod Minibus trip to Potteric Carr Nuala on 0115 960 85258 Fri 10:00 Singing for Pleas. St Georges Centre Allan on 0115 911 30458 Fri 11:30 Grumpy Old Men The Willowbrook Ian on 0115 911 46818 Fri 13:00 Crafts Friday Carlton Fire Station Japanese Washi Tape Rofie on 0115 955 44718 Fri 16:00 Table Tennis C-le-W Academy Andrea on 0752 709 0324

10 Sun 16:00 Deadline for March newsletter submissions Nick on 0115 987 259411 Mon 10:00 Classical Music St. A member's house Beethoven David on 0115 955 472611 Mon 10:00 French Conv. Mapperley Golf Club Brian on 0115 926 505311 Mon 18:30 Wine Lovers 2 Burton Road C.C. Dry Muscat and Carmenere Paul on 0115 955 928512 Tue 10:15 Photography Meet at Clough statue Lace Market Frank on 0771 198 523112 Tue 10:30 Grouchy Girls The Willowbrook Maggie on 0115 955 928512 Tue 14:00 Canasta The Willowbrook Lynne on 0777 180 195712 Tue 14:30 Poetry Apprec. A member's house Rene on 0115 841 848113 Wed 10:00 Music for Fun Netherfield Baptist Charles on 0115 915 752513 Wed 14:00 Bridge and Whist The Willowbrook Ken on 0115 956 278013 Wed 14:00 Scrabble The Willowbrook Lynne on 0777 180 195714 Thu 09:30 Cycling For Fun Meet at 50 Willow Road, Carlton Tom on 0780 094 939614 Thu 10:15 Religious ArchitectureMeet at Nottm Station St. Wulfram's, Grantham Mike on 0794 991 024114 Thu 11:00 Coffee Morning Top Spot Club Maggie on 0115 955 928514 Thu 12:00 Ten Pin Bowling MFA Bowl Brenda on 0115 962 575714 Thu 12:50 Art Appreciation Djanogly Art Gallery Work influenced by Bauhaus Christine on 0115 953 672514 Thu 13:30 Art Gedling Road Meth. Christine on 0115 915 752515 Fri 10:00 Science Richard Herrod Steve on 0784 111 143515 Fri 16:00 Table Tennis C-le-W Academy Andrea on 0752 709 032418 Mon 10:30 Family History Richard Herrod Brenda on 0774 201 748218 Mon 14:00 Tea Dancing Richard Herrod Helen on 0115 955 472318 Mon 16:15 Drama Carlton Fire Station Discussion and readings Pat on 0791 866 532219 Tue 14:00 Local History Meet: Weekday Cross Walking tour of Lace Market Graham on 0115 956 179120 Wed 10:00 Bonsai A member's house Shaping/wiring/potting pt 2 Paul on 0115 955 928520 Wed 10:00 Singing for Pleas. Netherfield Baptist Allan on 0115 911 304520 Wed 14:00 Bridge and Whist The Willowbrook Ken on 0115 956 278020 Wed 14:00 Scrabble The Willowbrook Lynne on 0777 180 195721 Thu 10:30 General Meeting Richard Herrod Jack Perks: Wildlife photog'y Tom on 0780 094 939621 Thu 19:00 Internat. Dining Meal - Yammas Pat on 0791 866 532222 Fri 10:00 Singing for Pleas. St Georges Centre Allan on 0115 911 304522 Fri 14:00 Canasta Richard Herrod Lynne on 0777 180 195722 Fri 16:00 Table Tennis C-le-W Academy Andrea on 0752 709 032425 Mon 10:00 French Conv. Mapperley Golf Club Brian on 0115 926 505325 Mon 10:00 Sewing Carlton Fire Station Pam on 0115 926 002625 Mon 10:30 Discussion A member's house Fair Trade Lynne on 0777 180 195725 Mon 14:00 Committee Meeting Richard Herrod Tom on 0780 094 939625 Mon 18:30 Wine Lovers 4 Age Concern Muscat and Carmenere Steve on 0784 111 143526 Tue 09:30 5 Miles + tea Ranmoor Road Lambley Top & GCP walk Terry on 0797 084 273626 Tue 14:00 Music Apprec. Richard Herrod Eric on 0115 952 375727 Wed 08:30 Trips and Visits Richard Herrod Nuclear Bunker & Nantwich Sue & Noel 0753 500 595427 Wed 10:00 Music for Fun Netherfield Baptist Charles on 0115 915 752527 Wed 14:00 Bridge and Whist The Willowbrook Ken on 0115 956 278027 Wed 14:00 Scrabble The Willowbrook Lynne on 0777 180 195728 Thu 09:00 Striders Walking Ranmoor Road Brian on 0115 956 767028 Thu 11:00 Coffee Morning Top Spot Club Maggie on 0115 955 928528 Thu 13:00 Crafts Thursday Carlton Fire Station Japanese Washi Tape Rofie on 0115 955 447129 Fri 16:00 Table Tennis C-le-W Academy Andrea on 0752 709 0324

DateMARCH 2019