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Newsletter May 2018
Learn, laugh and live. Meet people, learn new skills and have fun.
Registered Charity No: 515733
Tynedale
https://u3asites.org.uk/tynedale
Monthly Meeting: May 1st 2018
Maria Chester: The Third Age Trust - International Work of the U3A
In 2007, Maria became the National Subject Adviser in American Archaeology and was also Chairman of her local U3A (East Berwickshire) until 2010. She was then invited by the Third Age Trust to deliver Summer Schools at Harper Adams University in Telford and at the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester. The 2018 National Summer School at RAU will be about “British Art Between the Wars”.
In 2015, she became a founding member of the International Committee to the Third Age Trust, which was created in order to support the work of the International Association of Universities of the Third Age and was elected Secretary General in May 2016. Maria is also tutoring Spring annual courses with the Berwick Educational Association.
After studying Fine Arts, Maria decided to go deeper and studied Art History, becoming a Professor in Pre-Columbian Civilisations. She also developed an interest in Archaeology, which gave her a frame for her constant research. She is multilingual and enjoys travelling. She has taught in several South American universities as well as private institutions.
She was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina but has travelled the world and lived for 20 years in Caracas, Venezuela where her daughter, Ines, was born in 1988. Since 2003, Maria has lived with her husband and beloved blind dog in the Scottish Borders.
We meet at 2.00pm in the Great Hall at Hexham Abbey for registration and tea/coffee, followed by announcements at 2.15pm (note change of time) and the talk at 2.30pm.
Northumberland Day
Please come along and celebrate Northumberland Day with fellow members at the Beaumont, in Hexham, from 2 - 4 pm on Monday 21st May. We need you to join us to make the afternoon a fun occasion. There will be tea and
cake and a social quiz on the theme of Northumberland.
There is a charge of £4.50 and we need to collect the money in advance. Please send cheques made payable to Tynedale U3A to: Wendy Dale, 21 Hencotes, Hexham NE46 2EQ by May 14th or pay Wendy at the May monthly meeting.
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https://u3asites.org.uk/tynedale
Excellent Day on Energy
In last November’s newsletter, Iain Moffat wrote a piece entitled “Look what you missed” about a regional event held at the Centre for Life in Newcastle about Microbes and Antibiotics and after reading it I was convinced he was right, I had missed an opportunity. Therefore, when the Energy Day was advertised at Durham University I decided I wasn’t going to miss this one. I wasn’t disappointed.
The venue, a modern comfortable lecture theatre, was very welcoming and the day was planned well with short informative lectures from a variety of academic disciplines from the Durham Energy Institute. We heard from a Physicist, Economist, Biochemist, Geochemist, Geologist, Electrical Engineer, Geographer, Historian, Anthropologist and Social Scientist. There was something for everyone and I enjoyed it all and learned so much. The abstracts can be found on the regional website.
Wendy Dale
Barbara Honoured Our Membership Secretary, Barbara Herring, has given long and distinguished service to Tynedale U3A. In the north east region of U3A, Barbara has served as Chair for the past year, standing down at this year’s AGM. The Tynedale Committee thought it was timely to nominate Barbara for inclusion in the national U3A Roll of Honour and we were delighted when the Third Age Trust approved our nomination. To mark the occasion, Barbara was presented with a certificate, signed by the national Chair and presented to Barbara at our monthly meeting in April. The honour is richly deserved and for
once, Barbara – who knew nothing about the nomination – was left speechless!
Enquiry Matters
Have you ever contemplated helping an organisation with their research? Below are details of two organisations looking for assistance:
The National Leather Collection www.nationalleathercollection.org is looking for individual, or groups of, U3A members who are interested in researching people, places, articles, stories, or sporting memorabilia connected with our local leather industry for their developing UK museum. Email: [email protected] for details and tell us if you decide to take part - others may join you!
Any member interested in researching possible local women from the Chartist Land Company tables (1839 - 42) to see what happened to them, should contact a team at Royal Holloway College on [email protected]. A North London U3A member at [email protected] is happy to talk to any U3A member interested in this housing initiative where subscribers raised £2.10 shillings to enter a lottery to buy a plot of land and escape from poverty.
If you would like to develop your skills for doing research online there is a short (four hours over two weeks), free, online course on Future Learn https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/searching-and-researching Two of us have done it and found it useful and interesting but not too challenging!
Compiled by members of the Tynedale U3A Research Support Group
Janet Grime [email protected]
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https://u3asites.org.uk/tynedale
Group News
Fed up with eating the same old fodder? Want new food ideas and recipes? Would a cookery demonstration or class help? We’ve got all the right ingredients for a perfect solution. Lesley Theobald, a one-time Home Economics teacher, has offered to run a workshop that will address a range of culinary issues from food shopping to cooking to eating out and sharing. We are collecting names of those interested and then we can agree some dates. Whilst the session will primarily be aimed at cooking for one person, many of the difficulties can also apply to cooking for two so please don’t hesitate to get in touch and join our list. Please contact: Margaret, Groups Liaison Secretary, either by e-mail at [email protected] or telephone 01434 689123.
We have a number of suggestions for new groups that are waiting at the starting blocks for a few more members to join before they take off and run. These include: Photography, Latin Learners 2, Gaelic, Bird Watching 2, Wine Appreciation 2, Art Appreciation 3, Beginners’ Spanish, History, and Ex-Rock Climbers and Mountaineers. Also Sunday Lunch 2 has space for a few more people.
If you’re interested in joining any of these subject groups, want more information or have further suggestions please contact Margaret, Group Liaison Secretary, by e-mail at [email protected] or telephone 01434 689123. Thank you so much to Colin Argent for his past work as Convenor of the Geology Group, and welcome to Steve Rozario who has taken over from Colin.
Create and Craft Group
The Create and Craft group meets fortnightly in members’ homes. We undertake individual projects ranging from needlework and knitting to paper based crafts and we also attend events such as Woolfest in Cumbria for example. In January we attended a workshop led by Ann Shepherd about needle felting.
None of us had tried this before but at the end of a half-day session, we had all learnt a new skill and had managed to produce a needle felted animal. Please contact our convenor Christine on 01434 - 600875 if you’d like to know more.
Garden Party - Save the Date!
We are hosting a Garden Party from 2pm – 4pm on Wednesday July 11th 2018 at the home of Barbara Herring.
Afternoon tea will be provided, we hope to have music and there may be the possibility of undertaking a short, guided walk beforehand for those interested.
There is provision for wet weather, should the need arise.
The event is free but numbers will be limited and members will need a ticket to attend.
Check out next month’s newsletter and the web site for more information.
Needle felting workshop
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https://u3asites.org.uk/tynedale
Update from Elizabeth Porter, Regional Trustee, North East.
As the winter reluctantly draws to a close, the North East region celebrates the creation of a new U3A: Cramlington and District. It was a real pleasure to attend the Inaugural Meeting of this new U3A and witness the eagerness with which the new Convenors recruited Interest group members. The new Committee will be supported throughout their first year by three of the Third Age Trust Volunteer team, who have guided them throughout the induction process.
With a team of ten Third Age Trust Volunteers, we have a structure in place to advise and support U3As across the region. The team had already completed its training on CREATING NEW U3As. They have now completed training with the Third Age Trust on PROBLEM SOLVING and CONFLICT RESOLUTION. Two members of the team have been able to work in confidence with individual U3A Committees who were experiencing a range of problems, including attracting new members, amending a constitution, dealing with growth, designing publicity material, and Insurance issues.
As Regional Trustee I am planning delivery of several one-day “forums” for Committee representatives across the region from the early Summer. The intention is to share good practice on a range of issues which the participants themselves will choose to discuss. It is hoped the first of two Forum Days will be in the north of Northumberland to enable U3As there to travel easily to the venue; and the second to be in the south of the region, near the border with Yorkshire. Dates and venues will be announced shortly.
As part of my national responsibilities I am chairing the National Research Sub-Committee. We are putting together a three-year strategic plan for the Third Age Trust from a Research and Shared Learning Projects perspective. I am also working on a National Research Project which is looking at the impact on people of belonging to a U3A. It is the intention to present the results at a meeting in the House of Commons in July.
I will attend my second National Conference in August on the Nottingham University campus and look forward to meeting the members from the North East U3As.
Elizabeth Porter April 2018
Hadrian’s Wall Group
The Group covers not just the Wall, but the other forts covering the northern Roman defences. Have a look at our programme (click to go there). In May we are going to High Rochester and Risingham, two of the most important forts in the 3rd century, both in hostile territory , far more likely to be attacked than the Wall forts. Learn who these Romans were; 99% had never been
to Rome. Click the picture above and Prof Ian Haynes will explain.
We are a study group not a walking group. Have a look at the website, there are guides to 30 forts and a further 40 articles and galleries with over 900 pictures and diagrams and we are adding videos as well. See the site map. The site has had nearly 9000 visitors from 88 counties, so it’s worth a look, just Google u3ahadrian. If you interested phone or email me: Tel: 01434 602262. E-mail: [email protected] http://www.u3ahadrianswall.co.uk/wordpress/ http://www.u3ahadrianswall.co.uk/wordpress/programme/
John Sandiford
Whitley Castle Roman Fort NW of Alston
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https://u3asites.org.uk/tynedale
Membership Renewals - Have You Done Yours Yet?
Membership Renewal forms and Gift Aid mandate forms have been sent to all members either by email, or ‘snail’ mail and can also be found on pages 5 and 6 of the April newsletter. Payment can be made by cheque or bank transfer and we regret that cash will only be accepted as the very last resort. Your Mem-bership number is important, please make sure you quote it when making a bank transfer - payment details are on the renewal form. The number is extremely important when doing bank transfers!!! If members have never had any reason to receive numerous monies by this method, you probably don't realise how important it is, as names on the bank statements don't always identify sufficiently, particular-ly when the account is in joint names. PLEASE, PLEASE check all the information requested on the re-newal form to make sure we have your details up to date, particularly email addresses and telephone numbers, and let us know of any changes - you can stop at the “Members” table at the monthly meeting and ask to check yours. For data protection reasons this will not be on open display.
We have to update our system regarding Gift Aid and would ask everyone who wishes to, to complete the new authority when renewing subscriptions so that we can continue to claim Gift Aid refund of In-come Tax. A new Gift Aid form is sent out with your renewal notice. Thank you to all members who take part in the Gift Aid scheme - it helps to keep our subscription fee down.
There will be a “Collection Box” at the next couple of monthly meetings where you can place your sealed envelope, or you can post it to the Membership Secretary. All renewals will be processed as soon as pos-sible after receipt, and your new membership card and programme card will posted to you as soon as possible. (We are NOT asking for SAEs this year.)
Alternatively you can contact me by phone on: 673016 or 07851085476, or by email at: [email protected]
Barbara Herring Membership Secretary
Ladycross Nature Reserve Forthcoming Events
May Walks
Wednesday 16th May: Owl walk. Meet at 6pm at quarry gates. Contact Merilyn on 01434 689889.
Tuesday 22nd May: Woodcock walk 1. Meet at 8.30pm at quarry gates. Contact Joan on 01434 673245
Wednesday 30th May: Woodcock walk 2. Meet at 8.30pm at quarry gates. Contact Merilyn on 01434 689889
Booking is essential for the walks - Please leave your name and contact number and we will confirm.
A charge of £5 each for non-members and £4 each for members is made to support the upkeep of the reserve and to raise funds for a classroom. As well as the walks above, we are hoping to organise some walks during the day. We are also having our Art and Craft Café on Saturday 14th July. More details nearer the time.
Joan Jewitt
Third Age Trust National Newsletter
Local U3As have been asked to encourage members to sign up to receiving the newsletter directly. You can use the following link https://u3a.org.uk/email to do this.
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2018 Programme at a Glance
June 5th Philip Caine, Author: Barrow to Baghdad and Back
July 3rd Margret Jacot: Treasures of Persia
August No Meeting
September 4th Jessica Turner: Northumberland Areas of Natural Beauty
October 2nd Paul Weighill: Thirty years of the Fire Service
November 6th A C Everatt: David Jones - Soldier and Poet
December 4th Fools Gold, acoustic duo: Stories with Strings
January 8th John Sadler: Northumbria in the Viking Age
See the Events section of the web site for full details of all meetings, speakers, outings and much more.
We meet at 2.00pm in the Great Hall at Hexham Abbey for registration and tea/coffee, followed by announcements at 2.15pm and the talk at 2.30pm.
Your Committee
Chairman Mike Worthington - 606215 [email protected]
Vice Chair Alistair Sinclair - 394158 [email protected]
Business Secretary Sally Pearson - 674896 [email protected]
Treasurer John Sandiford - 602262 [email protected]
Membership Secretary Barbara Herring - 673016 [email protected]
Programme Secretary Wendy Dale - 606215 [email protected]
Group Liaison Secretary Margaret Earl - 689123 [email protected]
Newsletter Editor Sue Charlton - 684475 [email protected]
Joint Website Manager and Publicity Officer Kevin Stephens - 01661 843 347 [email protected] …………………………………….o0o……………………………………...
Website Assistant Seán Mac Nialluis [email protected]
NEXT MEETING: Tuesday 5th June 2018
Please send your contributions for the June Newsletter to the editor at: [email protected] by Thursday, 24th May.
https://u3asites.org.uk/tynedale
New Members
Our membership has increased significantly since last month. We are very pleased to welcome: Pamela Gibbard, Anne Moyle, Jan Wilkinson, Graeme Howorth, Vivien Hubbuck, Tim Wrigley, Barbara Mansfield, Bob Potter, Andy Bogle, Pegge Bogle, Anthony Warren, Bruce Reed, Susan Wilson and Ronald Conolly.
Contact Details
