Kingsbridge Estuary U3A Newsletter Jan 2020 16th Issue

Kingsbridge EstuaryU3A

NewsletterJan 2020 16th Issue

Walk and Pub Lunch group on a walk on theDartington Estate - Shared by Linda Coton

Photos of U3A at the charity stalls on quayduring fair week - shared by Jackie Stacey

Anne Widdicombe visit- Shared by Jackie Stacey

Visit of the Bordelais to the U3A French Class earlier this year

COMMITTEE

ChairmanTel: 856386

David [email protected]

Vice-ChairmanTel: 531377

Neil [email protected]

SecretaryTel: 857242

Jackie [email protected]

TreasurerTel: 842258

Linda [email protected]

Membership SecretaryTel: 854270

Pauline [email protected]

Speaker SecretaryTel: 07828136479

Glenn [email protected]

Groups CoordinatorTel: 843202

(Elizabeth) Liz [email protected]

Publicity OfficerTel: 07966882558

Myra [email protected]

Beacon AdministratorTel: 531715

Eric [email protected]

Committee Members Sally [email protected]

Liz [email protected]

WebsiteTEL. 852255

Steve [email protected]

NewsletterTEL. 531377

Neil [email protected]

CHAIRMAN’S CHAT - David Chubb

As I sit down to write this, how exciting!! well it dependson your idea of excitement, it's six weeks to the generalelection. My only comment is how fortunate we are thatour small West country town has an excellent U3A.November sees the start of the winter season so look atthe list of the many opportunities we have to participatein all our groups.Did you realise we now have four book groups, lots of ba-sic language courses, indoors outdoors we have some-thing for everyone.Our monthly meetings at Marlborough village hall contin-ue to be well supported. Our thanks to Glenn Wilkins ourspeaker finder for continuing to provide us with some re-

ally fine speakers on a range of subjects.We still at the time of writing have a few tickets left for the Christmas lunch at theDartmouth Golf and Country Club I look forward to seeing on the day Happy Christmasand a Good New Year to everyone.My thanks to Neil for standing in for me in the last couple of months.

JOYCE DRUMMOND

It is with a great sense of loss that we report the death of Joyce Drummond onArmistice Day. She had been unwell for a year or so but was still active until the lastmonth of her life.Joyce was an enthusiastic supporter of our U3A, having been our first electedChairman from 2012 until 2016. The monthly meetings were conducted efficiently andwith great good humour. She managed to visit every group during that time, alsoattending several County study days and seminars. Many will remember the picture ofher demonstrating the name of Squeezebelly Lane as part of a Local History groupvisit. She led the “gentle” Garden Group, took part in philosophy discussions, BookClub, and puzzled with the rest at Cryptic Crosswords.Joyce had qualified as a solicitor at Aberdeen University, a rare achievement for a ladyin those days. After moving to Surrey with her young family she devoted herself firstto the Girl Guides then to golf, which was to be a huge interest for the rest of her life.She was a founder member of the Golf Society of Great Britain, which she then ransuccessfully for many years. She was Chairman of English Seniors Golf and the EnglishLadies Golf Union as well being a Selector for Devon Golf, and an International Selectorfor English Juniors. This took her with the team all over the UK and abroad. She had awonderful way of encouraging golfers of any standard.Our friend will be missed by many in the community for her humour, wisdom, and thecourage with which she faced her sad decline.

Open Meeting - Sept. 2019Supplied by Liz Hext

23 groups were represented at the OpenMeeting this year. Most of those signed upnew people during the morning. Feedbackwas that it was a great morning with apositive atmosphere. The followingsynopsis was given to the Committee inthe September meeting: ‘Most of thegroups present signed up new peopleduring the morning; A new Garden Groupis looking more hopeful; A new memberhas volunteered to set up a DiscussionGroup; Astrid plans to start anotherSpanish group.

Kingsbridge Estuary U3A Open Meeting- Malborough Village Hall

The Open Meeting was well attended and we had some new members joiningthe U3A as well.

There were 23 groups displaying information about theirparticular interest.

Among those groups exhibiting were the Lunch Bunchwhich meets once a month on a Friday. This includesmeeting at a different pub or restaurant. There weregroups representing Church Visits, Petanque which meetson Wednesdays at 1.30 in the Recreational Ground. MahJong, a Walking Group with a Pub Lunch, a ClassicalMusic Group which meets in the Day Centre on 4th Mondayof each month from 2 p.m. til 4 p.m. There is beginners’

Spanish Group, a Book Club held on 1st Monday of each month from 2.30 – 4.30meeting in members’ homes. The German conversation Group meets on the 4thThursday of each month from 2.30 until 4 p.m. in members homes. Singing forpleasure is held in Charleton Village Hall every week on a Friday. The QuizGroup meets in different locations each month. The Creative Crafts Group offersmosaic, decoupage, knitting, cardboard murals and many more. The Group meetsin the Methodist Hall on the 2nd Monday of each month from 2 until 4.The Garden Visit group is looking for someone(s) who loves gardens andwouldn’t mind helping organise monthly visits. There is a Wine AppreciationGroup which meets at members’ homes. Greek Mythology meets in the GroupLeader’s home on 2nd and 4th Tuesday each. Canasta Group has vacancies andwould welcome new members. It meets in the Regal Club, Kingsbridge.

Bridge for players meets in West Charleton Village Hall on Friday afternoon.Bird Watching Group meets on 2nd Friday of each month. The Local HistoryGroup meets in Dodbrooke Church Hall on the 3rd Wednesday of each month.There were so many interesting Groups represented that it is impossible to dothem all justice.

Committee updatesSince the last Newsletter, we have had one resignation from the Committee for personalreasons. We were sad to loose John Davie from the Committee. John continues in hisroles of leading the German Language and Greek Sculpture/the Romans Groups. Wewould like to thank John for his help and continued support within the U3A.

Role title 2019/20 Committee AGM 2019/20 CommitteeDec 19

Chairman David Chubb David ChubbVice Chairman Neil Martin Neil MartinSecretary Jackie Stacey Jackie StaceyTreasurer Linda Coton Linda CotonGroups Coordinator Liz Hext Liz HextMembership Sec. Liz Playle / Pauline Mills Pauline MillsNewsletter Editor Neil Martin Neil MartinBeacon Eric Brooks Eric BrooksSpeakers Secretary Glenn Wilkins Glenn WilkinsPublicity Officer Myra Davidson Myra DavidsonHonorary President Elizabeth Jennings Elizabeth Jennings

Committee members John DavieSally Taylor Sally Taylor/Liz Playle

Web Master Steve Dooley Steve Dooley

MONTHLY MEETINGSWe have again had some amazing speakers and offer a big thanks to Glenn Wilkins whocontinues to get fantastic speakers for our monthly meetings. Over the next few pageswe will look back at some of the past speakers before we look forward to some of ourfuture speakers.

Billy “Scratch” Hitchen - A Salcombe Boy - Reported by Myra Davidson

Scratch gave a very informative, entertaining and lively talk onhis life as a seafarer. Scratch was one of the country’s first NHSbabies to be born in the early hours of 5th July 1948 and havinghis fearless character took full advantage of the freedom offeredas a young boy in post war Britain.At the end of the Easter school holidays in 1963, Scratch, at theage of 14, decided he didn’t like going to school any more eventhough his mother was the teacher. She was taking a class whenScratch ran away to sea. He slipped into the Saucy Sue androwed the one hundred yards to the Norian. He went aboardleaving a note on the Saucy Sue saying “Gone to sea on Norian.Be ok. Billy” He came up on deck when the Norian was at seaand met the Chief Engineer, he asked Scratch who he was and he

replied “I’ve signed on as cabin boy.” Scratch says, in his book, that that was themoment his childhood ended. He left home illiterate and innumerate and told us by thetime he was 19 he had been around the world five times. He returned to this country tojoin the Merchant Navy, and said the only tests he had ever taken were one for hiseyesight and a 25 yard breast stroke certificate. It was much later in his life that he wasfound to be dyslexic.In his first five years at sea he travelled from Cape Horn to the Indian Ocean and thePacific and from the most southerly tip of New Zealand to the North Atlantic andCanada and was able to teach himself to read and write during that time. Following thisadventurous time in his young life he had risen to many amazing challenges. Theseincluded oil drilling and exploration in Argentina to the construction of oil pipelines inthe swamps and jungles of West Africa.In 1973 Scratch finally returned to Salcombe and went on to spend the next 30 years inone of the most dangerous industries in the world. Fishing. He had a rapid rise toskipper and fished in every sea from Dover to Rockall. There were many accidents,collisions, storms and groundings so eventually he decided to “swallow the anchor” andcome ashore.Scratch set up two businesses after his forty years at sea. He has run both businesses forthe past twelve years very successfully, one being an export business selling liveshellfish to the Far East, and the other a boatyard sailing business and both are stillrunning today.

Miss Ann Widdecombe MEP. Reported by Myra DavidsonAnn is a highly engaging speaker and started withher adventures with Anton du Beke in StrictlyCome Dancing on the BBC. Ann had turneddown Strictly Come Dancing between 2004 and2009 because she was a serving Member ofParliament, but when she had left Parliament, shewas no longer concerned about the dignity of thework and would have time on her hands. Alsoshe had been well aware of John Sargeant and hisattempt at dancing, so she was not botheredovermuch about that part of it. She decided totake part in Strictly. Anton became Ann’s partnerand decided that she should spend as little time aspossible actually dancing, so he devised everyconceivable distraction to achieve this. Antonnever referred to Ann’s efforts as dancing. Helikened her to the Ark Royal being turned at sea.Two weeks after this happy thought, the ArkRoyal was decommissioned which, Ann, of

course, thought was hilarious.Ann was in the Strictly competition for twelve weeks which no one could believe,especially Ann. During this time she even performed the Kate Winslett role of thebalcony scene in Titanic. In the final weeks it was even mooted that Ann and Antonmight reach the finals. The judges were in despair, Anton was thinking of the two ofthem flying in to the middle of the dance floor from each end of the studio with thepossibility of a collision!!!When Ann left Strictly she went on a dance tour with Craig Revel Horwood and heasked Ann to do a pantomime with him, Snow White, with Ann playing Widdy inWaiting. Ann and Craig became great friends.After Strictly Ann was asked to take part in a number of television programmes, TheVictorians being one, where the cast thought they would be acting and going to hotels inthe evenings and overnight. Absolutely not, they ate like Victorians, dressed like them,slept in horrid old beds and were given no respite not even for toilets. The reality showswere not scripted.Ann made some documentaries, one being The Ten Commandments, the firstprogramme meant her travelling to Mount Sinai to study the relevance of the TenCommandments.Ann covered so many topics in her amazing life that it is impossible to deal with themall now.

ANITA EDGAR-COLE - October speakerSummary of the October MeetingOur speaker in October, a born and bred Kingsbridge lady, started24 years ago the El Shaddai Charitable Trust, set up to rescuestreet children and children at risk in India. She spends the wintermonths in India and the remainder of the year giving interestingtalks backed with amazing slides to promote the Trust to informpeople and organisations about her project.

During the October meeting, Glenn Wilkinsintroduced the speaker, Anita Edgar Cole.

Anita was dressed in a beautiful Indian costume inshades of royal blue, really lovely. She is the Co-Founder of El Shaddai, a charity which saves streetchildren in India. Anita started the charity 25 yearsago and is still running the enterprise. She will beflying out to India on Tuesday to continue her allconsuming work.

At present, El Shaddai has 4,500 childen in manydifferent homes and many different states. She sees herrole as very much fund raising, and she brought somelovely jewellery and scarves to sell for her children.

The children are found on the streets and some are “railway children” who jump on andoff trains to try and earn money from travellers. Most of the children are from theUntouchables who have a really rough time, they are not issued with birth certificates andtherefore cannot access any financial help, medicine or dentistry. Young girls are marriedoff as soon as they have their first period, after a few years the young women run awayfrom their abusive husbands and try to find love with someone kinder and more loving,however, these new partners will not accept the children, so these little mites are left onthe road side.

The slums, where many children come from, are run by “leaders” who tell the childrenwhat work they are to do. Things like sorting rubbish and eating rotting food to keepthemselves alive. The rubbish is sold for a few rupees which the leaders grudgingly giveto the children to buy food.

There was so much that Anita spoke about, it was enlightening and sad.

Anita called to tell us she had taken £332.40. She was so very grateful on behalf of hercharity.

Future Monthly Meeting Speakers 2020

January 31stWe are fortunate to have David Follett who in April 2007 was hit by a car whichresulted in a spinal cord injury meaning he is an incomplete tetraplegic. His list ofachievements as a class 1 Para-badminton athlete is mind-blowing but not only that heseems to be continually travelling the world to compete. His website, I don’t knowhow up to date it is, shows him to be 22nd in the world and no 2 in England. He hasbeen an Olympic torchbearer which he rated as a fantastic experience. His main focusis to attend the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo and he is training hard to reach the top 10players in the world. By the time we hear his talk “Tragedy to Triumph” we shallhopefully know whether he has made the team.

February 21stPaul Roberts is a retired BBC Bafta award winning dubbing mixer. During his careerhe has worked with a heap of stars and has mixed many classic comedy showsincluding: The Two Ronnies, The Goodies, Only Fools and Horses, Spike Milligan'sQ9, Open All Hours and To The Manor Born. Amongst many other programmes, Pauldubbed all the Rick Stein series until he retired and loads of major TV animations,documentaries and dramas. He will share with us how the appropriate music is teamedwith film tracks and much more.

March 27thMarch sees us welcome Professor Peter Edwards, a Fellow of the Higher EducationAcademy who retired from his post at Bournemouth University in 2007. Sinceretirement he has given talks and presentations on various aspects of Italian life andculture. His talk to us is entitled ‘ The Death of Venice’ and his illustratedpresentation will outline the major problems which lead to Venice’s flooding, showingsome of the major effects on its architecture and population. It will also offer somesolutions that have been implemented already and some possible solutions that havebeen proposed.

April 24thMoving into April, Dr Francis Burroughes BEM, a Lecturer and after-Dinner Speaker, who was honoured in the New Year's Honours list for his work in theLocal Community and for Charities, talks of life on a Victorian Country estate, whichhas now entirely vanished. During his talk entitled ‘ A Victorian Head Gardener’ wewill learn how to mow a lawn properly with a horse-drawn mower, how to growgrapes, and why William Robinson’s butler served his master a pear on a silver trayplus why the Ministry for War issued thousands of stirrup pumps in the Second WorldWar.

HEALTH, WELLBEING AND LIFESTYLE FAIRReported by Glennis Wilkins

A beautiful sunny day heralded in the HEALTH, WELLBEING AND LIFESTYLEFAIR organised by Norton Brook Patient Group. With a large selection ofinformation on hand in the form of Talking Newspapers, South Hams Hospital,Devon Sight, Triangle Cancer Support, The Cornelius Fund plus several otheramazing organisations, there was plenty to occupy people’s interests. Beautifulguitar playing and singing by two members of the U3A ‘Singing for Pleasure’group provided pleasant and calming background music. We experienced lots ofchat with current U3A members and members from other areas as well as beingable to create awareness of our extensive number of group activities and enlistseveral new members. The sunshine brought a constant flow of people which onlyseemed to slow down during the lunch period. The only downside was the windwhich was intermittent in its gusts and at one stage the whole display board waslifted into the air and landed on the playing area! Help, however, was soon on handfrom our fellow exhibitors who armed with rocks managed to reassemble the stand!

A big thank you to them.

Kingsbridge Estuary U3A summary of eventsReported by Myra Davidson

Regular attendees of KingsbridgeEstuary U3A monthly meetingswill know that there was none inAugust.

The September meeting was onFriday 20th September 2019 inMalborough Village Hall at 10.30.It was an Open Meeting with nospeaker, but lots of information wasmade available about many of theU3A clubs. There are some 45different ones on show as Liz Hexthas told us.

On Saturday, 7th September, at theKingsbridge Show, a stand was setup to help promote U3A activities.Members of the Committee werewith the stand all day to answerquestions. Quite a few leafletswere given out.

Finally, a gentle reminder that there is an annual membership fee of £15 whichmust be paid in order to attend any club meetings.

The Committee looks forward to seeing you all at future meetings.

Future Outings

Mon May 11th2020→Wed May13th 2020

Cornwall residential visit, staying at Bedruthan Steps Hotel,visiting gardens, Crantock Church, etc.There is a waiting list for this trip, please contact Tony Westlake531 562 or Judy 842217

Mon Sep 14th2020→Thu Sep17th 2020

Isle of Wight. This trip will be done in conjunction with -'Great Days Holidays'. We will be travelling by Coach, ContactTony 531562 or Judy 842217

Some fun and Games from the teamsHistory quiz complied by Cathy Drew and Liz Hext

How well do you know the parish church of St Edmund’s, Kingsbridge?

During a visit last year, members of the Local History Group were challenged to lookreally carefully around the church to see if they could find the answers to a quiz. These

were some of the questions.Why not pop in to the church one day and see if you can answer them?

1. Whose plaque is in the chancel dated 1667 and how is he connected with thechurch?

2. What is the connection between John Hawkins and Frances Shultz Drury?3. Where in the church are the Ten Commandments displayed?4. Who was killed in action in Thiepval in 1916?5. What is another name for a misericord?6. Which local family has a memorial plaque in the Lady Chapel?7. How is the grave stone of William Duncombe supported on the wall? Where

was William educated? And to what or whom did he leave all his money?8. How many flowers are depicted on the sea window?9. Which eminent naturalist lived in Kingsbridge and was buried in St Edmund’s?10. What is the font made of and how is it decorated?

For answers take the opportunity to visit Edmund’s Church

Here is something to help from the U3A history website,

St Edmund’s Church, Kingsbridge

‘A Guided visit with Elizabeth Weale, Sidesman, 16 January 2013’ written by CeliaStrong

The church was largely rebuilt at the beginning of the 15th century but Victorianrestoration makes it difficult to appreciate its historic past. We were very fortunate tohave the guidance of Elizabeth Weale to show us the important features which havesurvived and to tell us so much about the church.

A chapel existed on this site in the 13th century but the mother church was atChurchstow, a village 2 miles to the west. There was no burial ground at Kingsbridgeand in 1309 it is recorded that the parishioners petitioned Bishop Stapledon. Theycomplained of the difficulty of carrying their dead “up the mountain” to Churchstowfor burial. However it was more than 100 years before permission was granted “to theAbbot and monks of Buckfast to build a church in honour of the blessed Edmund,King and Martyr in their demesne and the vill which is called Kingsbrigg”. Even then,the inhabitants had to make annual offerings to Churchstow.

Thus towards the close of the 14th century the church was largely rebuilt though thetower and font belong to the earlier building. It was consecrated on 26th August 1414and next day its cemetery.

The church is on a hilltop site but became rather obscured by the Cornmarket, now theShambles, built in 1586. It is one of only two cruciform churches in this area and wasbuilt in Early English and Perpendicular style. The central square tower has a spire. OnSunday 22nd June 1828 about 1:00 pm lightning struck the spire, descending the ironbar supporting the vane and exploded making a large hole 15 feet below and scatteringstones over houses and gardens. Fortunately the church service had finished so no-onewas hurt.

The tower contains eight bells. In 1761 the bells were taken down and shipped toLondon to be recast, …..but the vessel was captured by a French privateer and thebells stolen, so a new set of bells had to be cast. These were replaced again in 1877.

Outside, visible in the stonework is the old entrance to the chapel between 2 sidewindows. At ground level a stone arch reveals the former entrance to the crypt.

Near the chancel door is a wall stone with the epitaph:

“Here lie I at the chancel door;

Here lie I because I’m poor;

The farther in the more you’ll pay

Here lie I as warm as they.”

This is the memorial of Robert Phillips (Bone Phillips) who died July 27th 1793 aged65 years.

Behind the church is the burial ground which is no longer used. In 1874 a newcemetery was formed at High House Point about one mile from Kingsbridge.

A turreted pillar to the left of the entrance contains spiral stairs to a room over theporch.

The porch has a stone archway and Tudor timbers. Entering the church, on the right isa water stoup constructed of a piece of ancient window tracery of very Early Englishdate.

The stone font is also Early English. The carved wooden cover has a special hoist andwas donated in the 1800s by Mrs Birks the mother of the Reverend Birks.

Aisles were added in the 15th century, forming chapels either side of the chancel andtraces of the original interior are still visible in places. The 15th century screensseparating the chapels from the chancel have rich tracery and above part of the northscreen is a Latin inscription meaning “Oh St.Edmund, Pray For Us.” There are spacesin the carving where saints stood. They were removed in the Reformation.

Panels from the rood screen with beautiful 15th century carvings, were used by theVictorians to form the pulpit and prayer desk. Two oak misericord choir stalls alsoremain from this early period but again the saints’ heads were removed from thecarvings in the Reformation.

The reredos of Caen stone was restored in 1889 and decorated in gold and colour.

Most of the stained glass windows are Victorian. The window in the former sidechapel to the left of the altar is plain except for a small central section of colouredmedieval glass. It is the coat of arms of the Earl of Devon.

There is a large Arts and Crafts window of pale colours called the Sea Window. This isto the right of the entrance door. It was installed by Mrs Birks, mother of Rev HerbertBirks, Vicar of St Edmunds 1895 – 1921. The unusually pale greens, blues and yellowsrepresent the waves of the sea and a section above has typical Arts and Crafts flowers.

There are a few important memorials in the church. Close to the Sea Window is amuch-admired memorial by Flaxman, made from Carrara marble and depicting amother and child. It is a monument to Frances Schutz Drury who was the wife of acaptain in the East India Company. She and her baby died on the way home fromBombay in 1817.

The memorial to the Rev George Hughes is interesting. He was vicar of St Andrew’sChurch in Plymouth until ejected for refusing to conform to the liturgy in the RevisedBook of Common Prayer under the Act of Uniformity in 1662. (2,000 clergy wereejected at this time.) After imprisonment on an island in Plymouth Sound, Hughes cameto Kingsbridge where he died in poverty in 1667. The memorial was paid for by ThomasCrispin, another Dissenter and founder of the Kingsbridge Grammar School. The Latininscription is said to have been written by the Rev John Howe, chaplain to OliverCromwell.

William Duncombe was the first schoolmaster of the Grammar School and on hismemorial it states that he died on the last day of December 1698 and left all that he hadto pious causes.

There are no memorials visible in the floor as a new floor was laid by the Victorians.

Near to the memorial by Flaxman is a glass case containing a number of items:

i) a photocopy of the 1309 Petition to Exeter for a Parish Church (and burial rights)instead of the existing Chapel. There is also a copy of the translation.

ii) an old churchwarden’s staff with finial of Arms of Kingsbridge is the oldestknown example of oxidised silver (pre 1850).

iii) examples of St Edmund’s Sunday School medals (late 1800s – 1920s).

iv) two old quill pens found in the vestry and glass ink pots.

The Victorian organ still has the wheel which was used for pumping. Anotherremnant of earlier days are the old gas lamp holders.

Celia Strong

The Quiz Section

The Quiz Section- continued - Word List

See if you can find the Autumn, Fall related words in our word search.

Apple Autumn ChangeCold Colour CrunchyDeciduous Earthy FallFires Harvest LeafLeaves November OrangeRake Red ScarecrowSquash Windy

The Quiz Section- continued - Word wheel puzzle

The goal of a word wheel puzzle is to create as many words possible with the letters inthe word wheel. You can only use each letter once and every word must have the letterin the centre of the wheel.

Can you find the 13 letter word?We have managed to get 90 words but no US spelling allowed, sorry

A smile from the Committee

The Scottish Faith HealerScotty asks, ‘Jock, how did you get on at the faith healer meeting last night?’Jock replies ‘He was absolutely rubbish, even the fellah in the wheelchair got up andwalked away'

News from outside KEU3A

Devon Link

In the U3A SW Financial Matters Workshop 14th June 2019, the followingdefinition/clarification was agreed:

In U3A context, “Third Age” means people who don't or no longer work full-time.There is no lower or upper age limit.

EventsThere are several really interesting Study Days, Workshops and Conferencesorganised by individual U3As, open to SW Region members. Unfortunately,individual members are often not aware of these events. Information, with supportingdocumentation, is posted on the South West Regional websitehttps://u3asites.org.uk/south-west/events. Examples of past events include:

Around the ClubsAstronomy

Neil Martin writes

Autumn and winter is a welcome time for astronomers: longer nights provide moreobserving opportunities, and colder winter air is less able to hold moisture so the hazeof summer skies dissipates, leading to better transparency however, this clarity cancome at the cost of a scintillating atmosphere, which may rob Solar System observersof sharp views. Make the best of each night’s conditions by selecting your targetscarefully and there are some great ones coming up over the next few months.

As we approach autumn and winter, the summer constellations are on the wane andnew ones loom into view. Early September is a great time to take a last look atCygnus in the heart of the Milky Way and, if you want a real challenge, the zodiacalconstellation of Sagittarius, with its Teapot asterism, low to the south.

Then it’s time to move on to more seasonal targets. Autumn is the time that thezodiacal constellations of Aquarius, Aries and Capricornus appear in the sky, alongwith some of the Perseus family: Andromeda, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Cetus, Lacertaand Pegasus.

Cassiopeia and Cepheus are circumpolar, so can be seen all year round, but they’reparticularly well placed at this time of the year. The ‘W’ shape of Cassiopeia, rich inopen clusters and emission nebulae, and the Great Square of Pegasus, with itsbeautiful globular cluster and galaxies, act as visual guides to their locations.Andromeda is an enormous galaxy that lies between the two and also happens to bethe most-distant object visible to the unaided eye.

As we move into winter, Perseus itself and family member Auriga become wellplaced. Both have beautiful open star clusters, while nearby is another familymember, Triangulum, with its famous spiral galaxy. Cetus with its barred Seyfertgalaxy and the zodiacal constellations of Pisces and Taurus are a clear reminder thatwinter is upon us.Orion and Gemini follow close behind. Orion is rich in nebulae and eagerly awaitedas an imager’s paradise, while Gemini presents planetary nebulae, open clusters andemission nebulae.Taurus, the constellation of the Bull, is packed with beautiful open clusters, asupernova remnant and unmistakable ‘V’ shape.In the New Year look out for the Winter Triangle formed by the bright stars Procyonin Canis Minor, Sirius (the brightest star in the Northern Hemisphere) in Canis Majorand Betelgeuse in Orion.

Between Canis Major and Canis Minor you’ll find Monoceros with its beautiful openclusters and several nebulae.

The zodiacal constellation of Cancer slides into an excellent observing position aswe approach spring, bringing with it beautiful star clusters.

Planets aren’t particularly well placed this season, especially for imaging. But that’snot going to stop us astronomers! With Neptune at opposition in Aquarius on 10September, this blue ice giant will be at its closest point to Earth. Although even atfull illumination it’ll only appear as a minuscule blue dot. Uranus will be visible inAries until January and will be at opposition on 27 October but, much like Neptune,this blue-green planet will appear only as a bright coloured dot. Saturn will be inSagittarius and best placed for observing in September, but as it heads for itsrendezvous with the Sun on 13 January next year, you really only have untilNovember to enjoy it.

Jupiter is an evening object in September and October, located in Ophiuchus. It’sthen a morning object in Sagittarius in February and March, but it will be low in thesky. Of the rocky planets, Mars will only be visible in December and January, as amorning object in Libra. Venus will be visible from December through to March,when it’s best viewed in Aries. Bear in mind that its phase increases as the monthsprogress. Planetary transits are relatively rare events, only occurring with the innerplanets, Venus and Mercury.

A transit of Mercury occurs on 11 November this year when the planet is nearperihelion and its disc is near 10 arcseconds across. The transit starts at 12:35UT with greatest transit at 15:19 UT, and ends at 18:04 UT.

Remember; only view this event using a safe solar telescope.

The U3A Astronomy Team meets monthly at pre-agreed dates in private membershouses to discuss scientific points of interest, mostly astronomical, but sometimesengineering, or in fact any topic of scientific interest, from the past month usingorganised methods of science approach. The team has a strong mechanical andmathematical background, which is needed to make any sense of the discussions. Ifthis sounds like you and you might be interested in going into deep mathematical andscientific detail, contact John on 560951 or click Astronomy on the U3A website toemail.

French exchangeReported by Elizabeth Corrie - U3A French group coordinator

The French Intermediate language group has an exchange with a group of a similarage in Bordeaux, who are learning English. This was set up a few years ago by JaneSturdee, who was then the French group coordinator.

The Kingsbridgites travelled to Bordeaux in May where we had a full and enjoyableweek, sightseeing and enjoying Frenchfood! Spouses and partners wereincluded. The aim is to speak Frenchwhile in Bordeaux and English when the‘bordelais’ come to Kingsbridge, whichthey did for four days during September.

Activities included a cream tea at TheBurgh Island Hotel, a day spent atMorwhellam Quay, where theyexperienced the rigours of a Victorianschool day as well as a train ride into theold copper mine and on the last evening,an excellent meal at The California Inn. Definitely an ‘entente cordiale’!

Our special thanks go out to Lindsey who cookeda delicious Cassoulet with salad, Joan provideda yummy pecan tart and Anthony who broughtthe red wine. All delicious and we toasted thepeople who weren’t able to be with us at theend of our Group’s season.

CHURCH VISIT GROUPSupplied by Liz Hext

On a pleasant October morning, theChurch Visit Group headed off tovisit two very different churches -both largely unaltered since theirconstruction.Our first stop (via the coffee shop forsome!) was at Yelverton, to visit theVictorian church of St Andrew.Before the eighteen hundreds, thiswas merely barren moorland andfarmland, within the parish ofBuckland Monachorum. By the late1880’s buildings had begun to springup and Yelverton Station was

constructed in 1885, bringing in many visitors to experience the delights of Dartmoor.Inevitably, a church was needed to fulfil the spiritual needs of locals and visitors, withthe Methodists being the first, in 1866.In 1891 a local architect, Charles King, was commissioned to build an Anglican churchfor 130 people. This first wooden structure was dedicated in 1895, but soon proved toosmall. It is now the attractive Parish Hall, adjacent to the church. Money was raised andland donated and in 1909 Sir Charles Nicholson, of the London firm Nicholson &Corlette, unveiled his plans for the new church.Sir Charles Nicholson specialised in designing ecclesiastical buildings and warmemorials. His work included 42 new churches, 9 new chapels and work on 9 cathedrals.He also took on the restoration of many medieval churches and designed churchfurnishings. Yelverton is considered to be one of the best examples of his work, and theinterior shows the influence of the Arts & Crafts movement. Inside,the church is beautifully light and airy, with the whole interiorbeing lined with slabs of warm, golden Ham stone. Nicolson didn’tlike stained glass, so most windows are clear, nor did he like pews,preferring wooden chairs. We were struck by the colourful roofdecoration – red and green in nave & aisles, red and blue in chancel,with black chequer work. There are also some delightful naturecarvings on the choir stalls by Violet Pinwill. (See photo.)

Church Visits Group - Continued

From here we drove down the pretty route to Bere Ferrers,where the 14th century church of St Andrew has one of themost striking settings in Devon, right on the banks of theRiver Tavy. The present church was built by the deFerrers family, helped by the revenues of the Bere silvermines, and completed in 1333. Much of what we can seetoday is unaltered 14th century work. The east windowcontains some of the oldest medieval

glass in Devon. It was here that in 1821 Charles Stothard, whilemaking drawings of the window, standing on a gardener’s ladder,fell to his death when a rung broke. Poignantly, he had in his pocketa note from his wife telling him to “take care not to fall from highplaces!”

The church contains a number of effigies,including those of Sir William de Ferrersand his wife from the early 14th century –with details such as belt buckles still visible.(See photo.) The late-Norman font, bigenough for total immersion, is supported onremarkable shell-like projections. Theancient oak pews were installed at the

beginning of the 16th century by Lord Willoughby de Broke, and show his coat ofarms. We were amused by the 17th century fireplace in the transept to keep the Lord ofthe Manor warm, with the large ‘squint’ opposite for him to view the altar. There is amoving memorial to ten New Zealand soldiers who were killed at Bere Ferrers railwaystation in 1917. They got off their troop transport train, believing they were alighting atExeter to receive food rations, but were on the wrong side & were all killed instantlyby an express train travelling in the opposite direction.

Our local churches have so much of interest to explore. Should you wish to joinus, please contact me.

Local History GroupA visit to Loddiswell Station - Supplied by Angela Taylor

If you had been travelling to Kingsbridge before the1960’s, you may well have taken the train along thePrimrose Line, which got its picturesque name from theDevon primroses which were carried by train for sale in themarkets of London. Leaving the main line, you wouldhave passed the stations of Avonwick, Gara Bridge andLoddiswell before reaching the terminus at Kingsbridge.

The line saw much history, especially in the Second World War, when it was a strategiclink for troops travelling to Slapton, as part of Operation Tiger. It also served as a linkto local resorts, such as Salcombe and Bigbury, which attracted many celebritiesincluding Agatha Christie, who wrote two books based on Burgh Island.

Sadly, when Beeching’s axe fell, the line wasdeemed redundant and summarily closed,with the lines and equipment quickly sold,and the stations allowed to fall into disuseand disrepair.Fortunately their fortunes changed when, oneby one, they were bought up and convertedinto family homes.Loddiswell is just one such, bought by a

couple from the North-east who lovingly restored it, and built a replica signal box, evenselling cream teas from the former platform. It is now the home of the Curzon family,

who have sensitively continued therestoration and who gave the group a verywarm welcome in July, to hear the history andexplore the site.It still retains the feeling of a station withplatform, signs, signal box and sidings area –and conjures up a bygone era! And we wereeven treated to tea and cake!

Our visit to the Station was just part of a very varied programme, which you canexplore via the U3A website. There is also an archive, which allows you to find outabout past topics. We invite you to take a look and join us at Dodbrooke Parish Hall onthe third Wednesday of each month – refreshments at 10 o’clock. Meetings start at10.30.

Cryptic CrosswordSupplied by Gill Matthews & Pat Greenwood)

Only joking.....no cross words please!

Patient Doctor my crossword is making me depressed.Doctor Try not to get 2 down!

Husband What's a 7 letter word for , 'easily perceived and understood'?Wife Isn't it 'obvious'?Husband It should be but I can't figure it out. That's why I'm asking!

Cyclops I think 4 down is 'Hawaii'. How do you spell it?Cyclop's Wife I think you need two i's!

Man I'm making up a crossword puzzle but can't think of a good clue for,'Armageddon'.Woman Oh well, it's not the end of the world!

An office manager is interviewing an applicantHe asks the woman if she has any unusual talents. She says she’d actually won a fewnational crossword puzzle contests. “Sounds good,” the office manager replies, “butwe want someone who will be just as intelligent during office hours.”“Oh,” says the applicant. “That’s good because that’s when I do most of my puzzles.”

We do not meet in office time but do meet twice a month on the 1st & 3rd Thursdaysin West Charleton Village Hall.

We have varied groups in ability - from the total beginners up to the seriously fiendish.Our group leader, Andy runs a course for the beginners and focuses on learning torecognise the different types of clues and how to answer them! The rest of the groupgets given help by way of letters to give confidence to our answers and these diminishas members progress up the groups.

It’s a friendly group which has grown in numbers and is well supported. Everyone iswelcome. If you are interested contact Andy via the website email.

Green PeasWritten and submitted by Gill Matthews

We would love to thank Gill for the following delightful piece for the Newsletter.

Please understand this cannot be read, but should be sung at full volume, to the tuneof Green Sleeves

ChorusGreen peas are all my joy.Green peas are my delight.

Green peas with fish and chips,Served on a Saturday night.

I really miss you when you’re gone.When you sold out I nearly cried.I love you in salads or in risotto.I love you steamed or stir fried.

You are clothed in dazzling green.Your flavour I’ll remember.

Contours: small but firm and round,Your texture soft and tender.

I love you for your deliciousnessI love you little green peas.I cannot get enough of you.

Another helping? Yes please!

PS: If you want to be a sad thing like me, check out the Internet, SS501 - GreenPeas, is a song by a South Korean boy band consisting of five members: KimHyun-joong, Heo Young-saeng, Kim Kyu-jong, Park Jung-min and Kim Hyung-jun. The song is quite lovely and I am not a music man - Comment from NeilMartin

Canasta GroupSupplied by Neill Irwin

The Canasta Group has now been going strongly since April2018. When Pat and I first volunteered to set up and run theCanasta Group about thirty U3A members said they wereinterested. In fact, sixteen turned up for the first, slightlyshambolic, meeting in the Methodist Church Hall, Kingsbridge.We had our first playing session later that month in the ParishHall, Thurlestone. We have had another 17 playing sessions

since then. We continued to meet at Thurlestone for over a year however bypopular demand we moved to the Regal in Kingsbridge in October this year. About twenty members have been coming to the sessions on a regular. or irregularbasis. At any session we usually have two or three tables. A few members alreadyknew how to play Canasta but most people are new starters. We have a steady flowof newcomers and they are most welcome. Our new venue means that we haveplenty of card tables and we are in walking distance for many U3A members.So, what is Canasta and should you have a go at it?Canasta a simple to learn and fun to play card game. It has been around for a longtime and many people have happy memories of played it in their youth. The focusof every session is on having fun. We do not have competitive league tables and noone gets upset if someone makes a mistake.The answer to the question “Should you have a go?” is definitely “Yes.” If youenjoy playing any card game you will enjoy Canasta. We give everyone whateverhelp they need to get started and most people master the basics of the game in theirfirst session.Our sessions are held in the Regal Club, Kingsbridge. We pay £2.50 a sessionwhich includes a cup of tea or coffee. We look forward to seeing you there.

Book Club 1- Supplied by Lyn MatthewmanMy husband (Gerald) & I (forgive me forbeing very magisterial) moved to Chillingtonin June 2011 – I had retired from teaching theyear before and he was continuing workingtwo days a week, remotely on a consultancybasis, for the Christian charity he had been

with for the previous eleven years.We came to this area to settle because our daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildrenlived in Kingsbridge and we had been visiting down here for the previous fifteen yearssince she went off to Plymouth University.We discovered that a U3A group was being started and we attended a meeting in Julyof that year, where we could sign up for any groups that appealed to us. I have alwaysbeen an avid reader and I quickly put my name down for the ‘Book Club’ – the onlyone that existed back then, although that soon changed. The ‘Book Club’ was led byChris Barnwell. We met in her lovely house in Duncombe St. for the first meeting inthe October of that year - I have been going ever since! In those eight years we haveread many, many books, most of which I have completed, only, giving up on a few thatreally floored me. The mixture of fun, laughter, good discussion, the shared enjoymentof the written word …….and cake, biscuits and tea or coffee(!!) has continued to keepme hooked.Chris has been an excellent leader and, for most of the time, hostess as well. She hasnow passed on the baton to Meryl Spencer and to me. We are sharing the duties withMeryl opening her home each month, providing the refreshments (ably assisted/distracted by myself) and collecting/returning the books each month to the Library. Myrole is to see to admin, sending out emails, collecting subs for our Library paymentsand keeping a register of attendances (being suitably qualified for that job with mythirty plus years in an Infant classroom!!!) plus anything else that comes up – like thisarticle.Happily, Chris is staying with our Club but we want to say a big THANK YOU to herfor all the hard work of the past eight years and for being such a superb leader andbeing so generous with her time and home.

Walk with Pub Lunch- Supplied by Andy Coton Walk Group Leader

The U3A Walking Group continues to thrive and attracts between 10 – 20 walkers on eachwalk.This year we offered two walks a month, one on the second Thursday , and the other onthe fourth Tuesday. The Thursday walk is usually up to 4 miles long with fairly easywalking, whilst the Tuesday walk is designed to be more challenging and be up to 6 miles.Walks are circular and normally start at a pub or café at 10.15am and return for lunch atabout 1.00pm. We aim to have a good walk and a social gathering for lunch in the pubafterwards.

Review of the years walks.We started the year off in January with two invigorating coastal walks at East Prawle andBeesands and then in February sought out the snowdrops and spring bulbs at Dartington

Hall Estate before enjoying the clifftopviews from Sharp Tor on Bolt HeadSalcombe.

On a very sunny day in March we went toDartmoor, and enjoyed climbing Sheep Torand seeing Burrator Reservoir at its best.Castles became a theme for April with a visitto Berry Pomeroy Castle and then toDartmouth Castle to wonder at the amazingbluebell woods at Gallants Bower.

Spring flowers were in abundance for ourMay and June walks to Hope Cove, Noss

Mayo and Harberton and the wild garlic was a sea of white in the woodlands aboveAveton Gifford.

In July we discovered the china clay works and quarries at Shaugh Prior, followed theriver bank up to Cadover Bridge and admired the views from Dewerstone Rock .

We ended the term with a coastal path walk from East Portlemouth, via Mill Bay and GaraRock which finished with a garden picnic in glorious sunshine!

Walk with Pub Lunch - continued

In September we started with a gentle stroll around Slapton Ley and then on toDartmoor for the lovely Dr Blackhall’s Drive from Bel Tor to the River Dart withgreat views of Dartmoor and beyond. The black rain clouds gave way to sunny

spells and we enjoyed anunexpected lunch out of doorsand a birthday cake for Liz.Frogmore Creek and WestCharleton walk was led byJames in October then we didthe more demanding coastalpath from Kingston around toWestcombe Beach taking in

the high cliffs of The Beacon and Holst Point. The views across to Burgh Islandand Hope Cove were stunning.

The River Avon featured in our November walks with autumn colour along theriver bank and railway line at Loddiswell and the Avon River Trail from Bantham.If you would like to know more about our walks and go on the waiting list pleasecontact Andy Coton Walk Group Leader on 01548 842258 or email:[email protected]

GROUP MEETING DAY LEADER

ANTIQUES 3rd THURSDAY PM MONTHLY RACHEL 560571

ASTRONOMY MEETING DAY AGREED BYPARTICIPANTS. CALL JOHN

JOHN [email protected]

BIRD WATCHING 2nd FRIDAY OF THE MONTH LESLEY [email protected]

BOOK CLUB 1 3RD THURSDAY PM MONTHLY Linda 531049([email protected]

BOOK CLUB 2 1ST MONDAY PM MONTHLYJAN [email protected]

BOOK CLUB 3 1ST THURSDAY PM MONTHLY TRICIA [email protected]

BOOK CLUB 4 FIRST MONDAY OF THE MONTH 2:30 -4:30 PM

JANE [email protected]

BRIDGE FRIDAY PM WEEKLY NIC [email protected]

BRIDGE /learners/improvers

PLEASE CONTACT ELAINE FORINFORMATION

ELAINE [email protected]

CANASTA 3RD TUESDAY PM MONTHLY NEILL [email protected]

CHURCH VISITS 2ND TUESDAY MONTHLY LIZ [email protected]

CREATIVE CRAFTS 2ND MONDAY PM MONTHLY GLENN [email protected]

CRYPTICCROSWORDS

1ST & 3RD THURSDAY AMEVERY MONTH

ANDY [email protected]

FRENCH LANGUAGE ALTERNATE THURSDAYS10.00AM to 12:00 NOON

ELIZABETH [email protected]

FRENCH CULTURE 1ST & 3RD TUESDAY AM EVERYMONTH

DAWN [email protected]

GARDEN VISITS VARIABLE DATES SEE THE WEBSITE OR CALL WENDY

WENDY [email protected]

GEOLOGY Suspended at the time of this going topress

Suspended at the time of this going topress

GERMAN LANGUAGE RECOMMENCES 25th SEPT 3:00PM,@ THE CRABSHELL

JOHN 714364j,n,[email protected]

GERMANCONVERSATION

PLEASE CONTACT JANE FORINFORMATION


GREEKMYTHOLOGY

2ND / 4TH TUESDAY PMMONTHLY

CAROLYN [email protected]


GREEK SCULPTURE/THEROMANS

MONTHLY LASTMONDAY 3:30 - 5PM- CONTACT JOHN

JOHN 714364j,n,[email protected]

HORSE RACING SEE WEBSITE FORDETAILS MERVYN 531465

ITALIAN MONDAYS AMWEEKLY

LESLEY 07866 [email protected]

LOCAL HISTORY MONTHLY, 3RDWEDNESDAY AM

ANGELA [email protected]

LUNCH BUNCH 3RD FRIDAYMONTHLY 12:30 FOR13:00 OR

1ST SUNDAY OF THEMONTH 12:30 FOR13:00 (Dartmouth Golfand Country Club)

SYLVIA GRIFFIN [email protected]

Jean Pengelly 853658

MAHJONG 2ND & 4TH MONDAYAM MONTHLY

ELIZABETH [email protected]

THE MUSIC GROUP 4TH MONDAY PMMONTHLY

Anthony Barlow [email protected] Brown (assist.) - 843201

PAINTING WEDNESDAY PMFORTNIGHTLY

ANNE [email protected]

PETANQUE WEDNESDAY PMWEEKLY

JENNIE [email protected]

PHILOSOPHY 1 TUESDAY PMFORTNIGHTLY

FRANCES [email protected]

PHILOSOPHY 2 1ST TUESDAYMONTHLY

MARY [email protected]

POETRY APPRECIATION WEDNESDAY AMMONTHLY

ANN [email protected]

QUIZ GROUP 3RD MONDAY PMMONTHLY

GLENN [email protected]

SCRABBLE 1ST AND 3RDMONDAYS OF THEMONTH IN THECRABSHELL 9:30 11:30

DEBBIE [email protected]

SHORT MAT BOWLS SATURDAY AMFORTNIGHTLY

TONY [email protected]

SINGING FOR PLEASURE FRIDAY AM TONY [email protected]

SPANISH FORBEGINNERS 1

WEDNESDAY AMFORTNIGHTLY




TUESDAYS 10 - 12:00FORTNIGHTLY



WEEKLY TUESDAYAM

SEE WEB SITE FOR INFO

STRETCH ‘N’ TONEGROUP 1

Harbour House in termtime only - Mondaymornings

JANET [email protected]

STRETCH ‘N’ TONEGROUP 2

West Charleton Hall -Thursday afternoons interm time only

TRISH [email protected]

WALK & PUB LUNCH 4TH TUESDAY AMMONTHLY

ANDY [email protected]

WINE APPRECIATION 4TH WEDNESDAY PMMONTHLY


Membership Report

We think we are quite a big U3A group, with just under 500 members, but I have beenhearing of some groups with 1000 plus! KEU3A has nearly 40 groups, so we are notdoing badly, and hopefully members are enjoying their membership, whether it is justcoming to the monthly meetings and enjoying the speakers, or attending various groups,or both!

Details of membership remain the same:Single member - £15 Two at same address - £28Affiliated Membership (Full members of another U3A Branch) Single £10, Joint £18Membership can be paid by cash, or cheque (made out to Kingsbridge Estuary U3A) orBACS (using Bank details Sort Code – 30 94 72, Account No 19545860, includingName and Reference ‘U3A Membership’) or Standing Order (to be set up with your ownbank with the above details on April 1st each year).

Membership/Renewal forms are available to be downloaded from the KEU3A website.Memberships will need renewing on April 1st 2020, but we will remind you before then.(New members from Jan 2020 get the bonus of 3 extra months).

Pauline Mills has kindly agreed to take over the Membership Secretary role from meearly in 2020, and I will assist. Pauline’s details are as follows:-The Old Nursery, Old Plymouth Road, Kingsbridge, TQ7 1FFe-mail - [email protected]; Mobile- 07759 397561 (Home- 01548 854270)

Reported by Liz Playle, Membership Secretary

Greek Mythology Group Article supplied by Joan Corrigall

Anyone who has ever visited the Greek islands will have felt the sense of history andtimelessness that pervades them and wondered about the Greek myths and legendswhich originated there. Our group meets fortnightly on Tuesday afternoons under theleadership of Carolyn Schofield who brings life to the old stories through maps and herexpert knowledge. Our members vary in their knowledge from the very erudite, able toread in the original Greek to amateurs like myself, who enjoyed reading the Greekmyths as a child and together with my next door neighbour even dressed up in mymother’s old nightdresses imagining ourselves to be Greek goddesses!In our group we are at present reading the Homeric Hymns which are poems in the styleof Homer and relate stories of the old gods. We started with the story of Persephone andDemeter. We read aloud and stop frequently for discussion and elucidation and a veryenjoyable time is had by all.

Some Greek island information from Neil MartinGreece has many islands, with estimates ranging fromsomewhere around 1,200 to 6,000, depending on theminimum size to take into account. The number ofinhabited islands is variously cited as between 166and 227.

The largest Greek island by area is Crete, located atthe southern edge of the Aegean Sea. The secondlargest island is Euboea, which is separated from themainland by the 60m-wide Euripus Strait, and isadministered as part of the Central Greece region.After the third and fourth largest Greek Islands,Lesbos and Rhodes, the rest of the islands are two-thirds of the area of Rhodes, or smaller.

The Greek islands are traditionally grouped into thefollowing clusters: the Argo-Saronic Islands in the Saronic gulf near Athens; theCyclades, a large but dense collection occupying the central part of the Aegean Sea; theNorth Aegean islands, a loose grouping off the west coast of Turkey; the Dodecanese,another loose collection in the southeast between Crete and Turkey; the Sporades, a smalltight group off the coast of Euboea; and the Ionian Islands, chiefly located to the westof the mainland in the Ionian Sea. Crete with its surrounding islets and Euboea aretraditionally excluded from this grouping.

This article excludes the Peloponnese, which has technically been an island since theconstruction of the Corinth Canal in 1893, but is rarely considered to be an island.

Creative Craft Group

The creative craft group continues tocover mosaic, decoupage, mark-makingand collage. Objects produced byskilful handwork, although being the‘in thing’ at the moment, become lessof a craft than they used to be withsimple, yet expensive, prepared shortcuts being available. Christmas for uswill be a time when we look atalternative ways to truly make our owncards, tags, decorations, etc. with HelenCurtis expertly demonstrating how wecan ‘spruce up’ our decorations.

In the New Year, we will looking at lino printing and jewellery making plus othernew skills. Our friendly group learns from the experience of other members alwayswilling to share ideas and interests. Several just continue with skills they haveacquired and enjoy practicing.

Come and enjoy the experience of learning something new. Nothing is right orwrong, it is merely an expression of yourself.

GermanSupplied by Neil Martin

Why do I go to German? It is a difficult language to learn, and hopefully even oneday master. Is it the friendly people, is it the great teacher, is it the great coffee inthe Crab Shell, the singing of the cook (as he prepares pizzas), or is it just that I ama masochist? Well I can say for sure it is not the singing, which is often at fullvolume until we ask for a respite, coffee is great, and I am a masochist, but it isalmost certainly the fantastic group of people who suffer the great teaching of JohnDavie. If you do not believe me, join us as we are always welcoming. Youcertainly do not have to be a good speaker to join us. The way we learn isexcellent.

The German group meets roughly every two weeks in the Crabshell.

If anyone wishes to join the German Group, please contact John Davie on 714364or click German Language on the U3A website.

Quiz Group

Congratulations to theKingsbridge Estuary U3AQuiz Team

The headlights

Only one point separated usfrom first place in the DevonLink Quiz Challenge inOctober, Well done to all.

Kingsbridge Estuary fielded three teams to take part in the Devon Link Quiz. It wasa very pleasant day. The teams travelled to the Redcliffe Hotel on Paignton SeaFront on Thursday 10th October.We started with lunch in one of the rooms overlooking the sea. It was beautiful.At 1.30 the quiz began and Kingsbridge had entered three teams. The quiz wasexcellent and there was a lovely atmosphere in the Ballroom.There were eighty questions in total and these were very varied coveringgeography, history, sport and other general knowledge.One of Kingsbridge’s teams came second withonly one point less than the winning team.The three highest scoring teams were givenboxes of chocolate eclairs.The Quiz Group Organiser, Glenn Wilkins, ishoping to enter teams in a lot of differentvenues. It is certainly a popular group.The Hotel has strong connections with DickFrancis, the mystery writer, and the teamswere only chatting about him before the Quiz,as a member of the group had had lunch withDick many years ago in the Redcliffe Hotel,and one of the questions involved DickFrancis!! A charming gentleman.

Garden Appreciation GroupVisit to Bickham House - 3 September

Article supplied by Lindsey FletcherRegarding Bickham House, I really enjoyed the visit.

The garden was small enough to becosy and you could introduce someof their landscaping and plantingideas into your own garden.The delightful owner, Julia Trem-lett, had such passion and on aver-age spent 8 hrs. per day in hertreasured garden, quite a feat in hermature years. Herknowledgeable gardener was veryhelpful and obviously loved his gar-den. There was an interesting varie-ty of horticulture including

vegetables and fruit trees.

Garden Appreciation GroupVisit to Orchid Paradise -15 October

Article supplied by Anne SeymourAlthough Ihave been toOrchidParadisebefore, Ifound thisvisit veryhelpful andinteresting.This wasbecause wehad thechance totalkindividually

to a gentleman who had worked there for nearly fifty years and had seen the interestin Orchids change.

Originally orchids were a luxurious item but nowadays they can be bought forunder five pounds and are readily available in supermarkets. This is due to thedevelopments made in Holland where orchids are grown in vast greenhouses andtheir growth controlled by temperature. Initially they are grown in a coolatmosphere, the temperature is then rapidly raised forcing the orchids to flower.

Orchids thrive in acooler atmospherein homes andrequire littlewatering.However, shouldthere be aproblem, OrchidParadise has aclinic on the firstWednesday of themonth when helpand advice is

given. My poor orchid only has one leaf (and even that looks dead) but help was athand. Once a week just run water through the pot, drain it and then spray the leaves

with liquid food. Three weeks later I have a second leaf and a stem of flowers isgrowing —- it works!!

There are hundreds of varieties of orchids on display and it is well worth a visit justto see how very different they can be, not only in structure but in perfume.

Some interesting facts about Orchids - Supplied by Neil Martin from Wikipedia

The Orchidaceae are a diverse and widespread family of flowering plants, withblooms that are often colourful and fragrant, commonly known as the orchidfamily.

Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of floweringplants. The Orchidaceae have about 28,000 currently accepted species, distributedin about 763 genera. {The number of orchid species nearly equals the number ofbony fishes and is more than twice the number of bird species, and about four timesthe number of mammal species}.

The family encompasses about 6–11% of allseed plants. The largest genera areBulbophyllum (2,000 species), Epidendrum(1,500 species), Dendrobium (1,400 species)and Pleurothallis (1,000 species). It alsoincludes Vanilla–the genus of the vanilla plant(see opposite), the type genus Orchis, andmany commonly cultivated plants such asPhalaenopsis and Cattleya. Moreover, since theintroduction of tropical species into cultivation

in the 19th century, horticulturists have produced more than 100,000 hybrids andcultivars.

The Music GroupPreviously known as Classical Music Appreciation Group

Since our last Newsletter, Odette Bailey, the leader of the Classical MusicAppreciation Group passed away unexpectedly. The Group have decided tocontinue the group as this would have been the wish of Odette. Anthony Barlow,will lead the group and will be assisted by Sarah Brown, who has sent in thefollowing:

"I am sure that many members will know about the very sad and sudden passing ofour leader Odette Bailey about six months ago.Odette was an amazing lady. Not only was she an excellent leader, making thegroup meetings interesting and informative with her knowledge of and research intoall the different types of classical music there are, she was also very kind and readyto help anybody. To me personally she extended the hand of friendship when I wasgoing through a very difficult time in my life.Anthony Barlow and I are carrying on the group, we think it is what Odette wouldhave wanted. Anthony will be the leader and I will give him any support that'sneeded. We will do our best to keep up to Odette's high standards while at the sametime helping the group to move forward.We would love to hear from anyone who is interested in joining the group. Wemeet in the afternoon on the fourth Monday of the month at the Day Centre next tothe Council Offices in Kingsbridge.

We decided to rename the group to "The Music Group" because the focus hasbroadened and will include Folk, Popular, Choral, Instrumental as well asOrchestral and the term "Classical" did not encompass the world of music we arecovering.

Contact details for Anthony and I can be found in this newsletter and on theKEU3A website."

Supplied by Sarah Brown

Wine Appreciation GroupSupplied by Eric Brooks

The Wine Appreciation Group in October was a voyage ofdiscovery into new terroir (that oenological term means territory,

in this case). We encountered grape varieties that were new to most of us, a new wayto chill white wine, and even a new word – autochthonous!

WHITESCataluyad was described as Spain’s hidden gem in Aragon. It is north east of Madridtowards Zaragoza and just south of the river Ebro. That makes it a bit south of the famousRioja region. The Macabeo grapes (AKA Viura) gave a wonderfully light fruity wine.The Mandarossa cooperative is near Agrigento in north-west Sicily . They claim that thealtitude, soil types and exposure have created ideal conditions for their Vermentino grapesto produce fruity fragrant wines. Less popular with the Group than the Macabeo above.

The Time Stone is an ancient granite rock north-east of Cape Town in South Africa. LikeStonehenge, it is said that it casts a shadow so accurate, that generations of travellers haveused it to mark time according to nature. Near here at Voor Paardeberg, Willie Mostertused a blend of Marsanne and Grenache blanc grapes to produce a wine with intense citrusand apricot flavours with a silky texture and fine mineral edge.The new way to chill white wine is to add a frozen green grape. It’s ice without the water!

REDSThe Melnik grape of Bulgaria is said to be wild, authentic and honest. A wine for theyoung at heart with a taste for adventure. Hearing that, the Group shuffled, uncomfortablewith what comes next! The grape variety, Shiroka Melnik, is an ancient variety with arich heritage, endemic to the Melnik region of Bulgaria. It is AUTOCHTHONOUS!Young & Wild wine, Melnik grape, is bursting with cherry, plum and strawberry fruitflavours – brilliantly bonkers! AUTOCHTHONOUS – indigenous rather than descendedfrom migrants or colonists.

The Aglianico grape fares so well around the slopes of Mount Vulture in southern Italy’sBasilicata region that it is now the only grape grown there. The vine originated in Greeceand was brought in by Greek settlers. Aglianico is also called the “Southern Barolo”because of similarities to the Nebbiolo grape of Piemonte, notably in Barolo.

Blaufränkisch Classic wine of Austria is aged in large oak barrels for about 9 monthsbefore bottling. It has emphasis on red fruit flavours with blackberry and spiciness in thenose. It has a strong body characteristic of this regional wine. Since 1985, Prof. AntonLehmnden has designed their wine-art labels.

Unfortunately Tony, the Group Leader was unable to join us. As hosts, Anne and I enjoyedthe evening and guests were very complimentary on leaving.If you want an honest opinion, ring A2B Taxis and ask the driver what they said whengoing home!

TRAVELLERS’ TALES

MEMBERS MEMOIRS

NOTE: Riveira travel give 10% of the total cost of your holiday, providing you tellthem at the time of booking, to the U3A.

Tongue in cheek memories of times past from twoXmas letters

Supplied by Jo Parkin

Dust if you mustA wonderful poem loved and shared by Mary Massey

A Poem written and shared by Michele Meyer

If you want to read more of Michele’s work please feel free to talk to her or visit herwebsite: www.michelesplace.net shapes of nature

Some Alcohol CuriositiesProvided by Eric Brooks - Cheers!

The attitude to drinking alcohol in different countries makes an interesting study.

In Muslim countries it is obviously forbidden to consume alcohol and any drinking byex-pats must be in private. The street cafes in Europe are in stark contrast and itwould be unthinkable to be unable to sit and have a cooling lager or tinto de veranooutside on days with some of the extreme temperatures.

Imagine a barbie in Oz with plenty of snags but no tinnies!

In the UK after the Blair era, access to alcohol is available in most towns and cities24/7 and this regularly causes night time problems for the police in big cities. Manytowns now have alcohol prohibition areas where it is forbidden to drink on the street -£100 fine at least. When I was a student in London many years ago it was well knownthat you could drink through the night because somewhere there was a pub with alicence to be open – Smithfield for meat porters, Billingsgate for fishmongers, CoventGarden for greengrocers, etc. A rite of passage was a night time pub crawl.

In North America they do not seem to have the same problems as the UK. Myexperience is limited to New Jersey recently and Canada some years ago, but it may betypical.

It is, and was, forbidden to drink alcohol in a public place. In summer, if the temperatureoutside is 38C, 100F, it can be difficult to get a lager to cool off. The usual palliativesare soda pop or iced tea.

In places where there are few bars the only other premises to serve alcohol are licensedrestaurants with a bar, or supermarkets and stores for the off-licence trade. Somerestaurants and hotels have a private outside area roped off, where it is possible to buy adrink and take it outside to enjoy it in the sunshine. (Don’t forget that the bartender ispoorly paid and his or her income depends on generous tips.) If you step outside theprivate area in order to drink in the adjacent public square with tables and chairs you arelikely to be arrested by the first cop who sees you.

Advert used in an ‘Addressing alcoholism in North Dakota at ADay for Prevention’

Memories (possibly cloudy!) of drinking difficultiesaround the worldSupplied by Eric Brooks

When I was in Canada in the 60s drinking in public was expressly forbidden. Your homefront lawn was unfenced, so it was regarded as a public place where drinking was notallowed.

Driving in Canada was another concern. In Alberta, if you were stopped by the RCMP(Mounties) you were likely to be arrested if you had an opened bottle in your car. Itwas no excuse that the driver had not been drinking! Breathalyzers came later. Afurther requirement was that if you had any liquor in the car, you had to be able toshow that you were on a direct route from the Alberta Liquor Control Board (ALCB)store to your home.

The ALCB was to control the sale of fire water to the North American Indians. Inearlier times the ALCB bought wines and spirits in bulk for bottling, often diluting thespirits. Mixed public drinking was blamed for riotous behaviour so from 1928 to 1967there were rooms for gender segregation.

Even in the UK in the 60s, Yorkshire ladies would only drink in a pub lounge, never ina bar.

In Canada in the 60s the sale of alcohol was forbidden on Sundays so bars and diningcars on trains were dry on those days. Do you remember dry Sundays in Wales whenthe natives had to cross the border for refreshment? I think dry Sundays may still applyon some Scottish isles.

The Province of Alberta in 1968 had a bible-punching Premier called Ernest Manningwho had regular radio slots. His quest was to stop planes flying over Alberta servingalcohol on Sundays! He did not succeed because he did not know how to enforce it.

Please drink responsibly, as it says on the bottle!(Do as I do. Ha Ha!)

Eric Brooks

Trip to Guinea

In March of this year, I was able to make a return trip toConakry in Guinea, West Africa, to present my PhDfindings to students at Sonfonia University studying for aMasters degree in social sciences, 30 years after receivingmy doctorate from the University of Nottingham!

Back in the 1980s, I began my research into the areas of health and education inGuinea, then under Marxist rule, and notorious in the west for being the only formerFrench colony to say ‘non’ to de Gaulle’s offer of being part of the Frenchcommonwealth of nations following independence. It seemed a fascinating state,the more so because very little was written about it and what works I did find wereall in French and only available through the Sorbonne!

Guinea was not only a Marxist country butwas largely closed to the west, whichprobably explained why so little wasknown about it. I got all the books andjournals I could lay my hands on but I wasalso determined to try to get to Guinea todo some research ‘sur place’. At that time,there was no Guinean Embassy in Londononly a German honorary consul, who gaveme what help he could, but could not issueme with a visa, which could only be done in Paris. Eventually, armed with all thedocumentation that I thought I needed and leaving behind for a month my husbandand two children, then aged 6 and 9, I boarded the flight for Dakar, Sénégal, andthen on to Conakry. Oh dear! When I finally got through immigration andcustoms, I was treated with great suspicion. Why had I come? I explained that Iwanted to write about health and educational development during the Presidency ofSékou Touré and if the authorities were not prepared to give me any information,what I wrote would be incorrect! This did not cut much ice. The tactic I eventuallyadopted was to sit outside the Ministry of Higher Education every day for a weekuntil I think they got tired of me and gave me the necessary letters of introduction.Once I had those and I was ‘bona fide’ the Guineans I met could not have beenkinder and it was then I fell in love with Guinea and its people. I also had a lot ofhelp from UNESCO and UNICEF whose offices were in Dakar and who gave mefull access to their files on Guinea.

So how was it that it took me so long to go back? And why go back?

After finishing my doctorate, we had flownwith our family to Lima, Peru for 5 yearswhere John, my husband, had been appointedchaplain to the English speaking communityand rector of the Church of the GoodShepherd (now known as the Cathedral) soGuinea receded into the background. Andlife moves on of course!

Elizabeth Corrie, the British Ambassadorand the handing over of Elizabeth’s thesis

Then, two years ago, I discovered that my son-in-law’s cousin, who is a diplomat,was working with the British Embassy in Conakry! I met up with him when hecame back to the UK and he said: ‘Why don’t you make another visit?’ He alsointroduced me to his Ambassador, Catherine Inglehearn, a delightful woman andvery different from the British Ambassadors whom I had known before, whopulled out all the stops to put me in touch with relevant people, one of whom, DrKader Kondé, I met in London last year. He has done a lot of work on the ebolacrisis in partnership with Public Health UK and the School of Hygiene andTropical Medicine, so a key mover and shaker in the health field in Guinea. Hetoo said: Why don’t you make another visit?

So at the end of March, I once again boarded a plane for Conakry to embark on aweek’s very full programme of visits and events organized by Kader, who alsoprovided me with a driver and vehicle to get around. As well as visitingeducational and health organizations, I was also able to link up with themissionary community there and, in addition, have a guided tour of Africa Mercy,the mission hospital ship that was spending 10 months in Conakry, offeringsurgical procedures to many hundreds of poor Guineans who cannot afford thecosts of health care.

Catherine, the British Ambassador, had suggested that I leave the one paper copyof my thesis, which I had brought with me, in the Embassy library and we had ameaningful handover ceremony on my last day. As my thesis had been dedicatedto the Guinean people, it was a very special moment; it really felt that after allthose years, I was leaving my research with those who had inspired it. Sadly,Guinea is still one of the poorest countries in the world, ranking 182 out of the 185countries on the UN Human Development Index.

But returning to where I began, my lecture to the Masters students at Sonfoniauniversity. This was not only to talk about the results of my research but tochallenge them to build on it. The Chevening scholarships awarded by the British

government via the Embassy to potential scholars will I hope encourage at leastone Guinean to take up this challenge.

From the web site for info:

Guinea is a country in West Africa, bordered on the west by theAtlantic Ocean. It's known for the Mount Nimba Strict NatureReserve, in the southeast. The reserve protects a forestedmountain range rich in native plants and animals, includingchimpanzees and the viviparous toad.

On the coast, the capital city, Conakry, is home to the modern Grand Mosque andthe National Museum, with its regional artefacts.

Elizabeth tells us that when she was there, there were a couple people fromKew Gardens looking for plants which only grow in Guinea. There areapparently quite a lot of them that are unique to the country.

Capital: Conakry

Vernacular languages: Fulani; Mandinka; Susu

For more information please use the following website:https://www.birdlife.org/worldwide/news/fighting-rural-poverty-community-empowered-conserve-guinean-mountain-reserve

Elizabeth thinks that this is an American venture but the British Embassy inConakry were supporting something similar.

Hello from a Past KBU3A member- Adventures of Anthea McWatt 70 years young and having fun

Many of you may remember me as Kingsbridge U3A Group Co-ordinator, prior to2017, when, after the death of my husband, I decided to sell my bungalow inChillington. Like millions of other women of my age, I had been caring for others forover fifty years; husband, children and parents. I decided that with no responsibilitiesto keep me grounded it was time to fly and that is exactly what I did to New Zealand,Australia, Bali, Hong Kong, Singapore, New Orleans, Boston and the Caribbean. Inbetween times, I bought a little cottage with a huge garden in Cornwall and which Irenovated including a whole summer hard landscaping the garden. However, that isanother story!Having sold my bungalow and put my belongings into store, I used an adventure travelcompany to arrange a two-week adventure trip through both islands in New Zealand,followed by time ‘to do my own thing’ in Sydney and Cairns in Australia. My stopovers were Hong Kong for three days on the way out, and Bali for three days on thereturn trip. My youngest daughter lent me a very large backpack that she had used todo her ‘round the world trip’ and drove me to Heathrow Airport to start my adventure.However, I had not quite realised the weight of my backpack and the effect it mighthave on my centre of gravity! On hauling it over my shoulder I realised that I waslikely to fall backwards like a crab with my limbs flailing in the air. Luckily, I gainedsome forward momentum and managed a nearly dignified exit into departures!! Mydaughter had pointed out that it should be me saying goodbye to her and not the otherway around!!

New Zealand was a fantastic experience. I wasthe oldest of the group of eight travelling in aminibus staying at different hotels and hostelseach night. North island, where we started ourtour in Auckland, was wonderful, visitinggeysers and mud pools on our way to Rotorua.At one overnight stop we stayed near a beachwhere you could scoop out the sand to reveal hotwater bubbling up allowing you to have a hotbath! Very enjoyable after body surfing thewaves in some quite cold water!At Rotorua we spent a night in a Maori villagewhere they demonstrated local crafts and thefamous ‘haka’ war dance. We were treated to asumptuous meal of chicken and delicious localvegetables cooked in underground pits afterwhich we all slept soundly in a mixed dormitory.All went well until the middle of the night, as isthe norm at my age, nature calls. It was then that

I noticed a figure creeping about outside. On further investigation it turned out to be aman. Fortunately, one of my group and therefore relatively harmless. As it turned out,he was extremely relieved to see me, explaining that he had taken his backpack to visitthe bathroom and had become disorientated resulting in him ending up withoutrealising it, in the wrong dormitory. It was at this point, when getting back into whathe thought was his bed, that he found it was already occupied by a young woman andtherefore beat a hasty, if somewhat embarrassed, retreat leaving his backpack behind!!We retrieved the backpack the next morning with many apologies!!For me, the highlight of North Island was white water rafting down one of the longestcommercial drops in the world; seven metres, or twenty-one feet! We kitted up inwetsuits and helmets each of us taking a handle and a paddle and carried our inflatableboat to the start of the river trip. By this time, my fellow travellers had decided that asthe eldest I should be placed at the front of anything remotely dangerous (I assumebecause they thought I had the least to lose), so that was where I found myself!!! Wewere shown the different commands for shipping the paddles (stowing them to avoidlosing them) and when not to paddle (when our guide was steering). Each set ofrapids was faster and steeper than the last and then we came to the main drop!!! Itwas fantastic. We paddled furiously to the lip of the drop, then shipped the oars, andsailed over the abyss!!! The boat nose dived into the swirling water, and then righteditself to bring us up spluttering and laughing. What an adrenaline rush!!! I justwanted to do it again, but unfortunately the current had other ideas and we werewhisked away towards calmer rapids. At this point my fellow travellers decided Ihadn’t had quite enough soaking and with no apology launched me over the side!This was to happen more than once the only downside being the bruises sustained as aresult of being unceremoniously hauled back into the boat, amid raucous laughter!!!!One of the most amazing things about New Zealand is the tropical rain forest, whichcan stretch for miles. I spent hours walking the trails and on one occasion went outafter dark to watch the glow worms twinkling like fairy lights. On another occasion Iwalked for a couple of hours through the forest to emerge at the bottom of a glacierwith a lake on which there were small icebergs!!!! Travelling on, we stayed at abeautiful hotel opposite a famous spa that had outdoor hot pools of all descriptionsand after spending the morning kayaking along secluded waterways that weaved inand around the river and lake, all with an abundance of marvellous flora and fauna, awelcome time was spent relaxing in these thermal pools,Our tour of North Island finished in Wellington. It was here that I visited the Te Papamuseum where in addition to the very interesting historical Maori artefacts, thefoundations of the museum had been exposed to show the way they had been built towithstand the earthquakes which are common occurrence in the region. This wasfollowed by a visit to the wonderful tropical gardens and a spectacular view of the cityfrom a cable car.We crossed Cook Strait by ferry and drove inland into Mt Cook National Park thenover the famous Arthurs’s Pass and dropped down into Queenstown for two nights.This was my favourite town. It was lovely, set alongside a huge lake, with boardwalksand boats, and surrounded by mountains. On day one, I set out to see what was at the

top of the mountain that sported not just a cable car, but one with bike racks andalongside it, a ski lift. Interesting!! I then discovered the ‘luge’!! This is like a go-cart with a joystick. When the joystick is pushed forward you accelerate rapidly andbraked when the ‘stick was pulled back. After some brief instructions from very niceman with a Glaswegian accent, I was off! Whizzing round and down a mountain withjust four small wheels and a joystick to control my descent was challenging, but greatfun. So, jumping onto the ski-lift I went back up for another run. This time I used themore challenging route which went over ridges and rises so that on several occasions Iliterally took off! The next day I used the ferry to go to the other side of the lake andspent a most enjoyable day horse trekking around a sheep station. Not onlyinteresting, but also very beautiful … and the horse behaved extremely well!The next part of the journey took me to the fiords of Southland. Here we sailed for acouple of days between high mountains and cascading waterfalls. The afternoon wasspent kayaking around the different inlets, and watching the wildlife, birds and seals.With no light pollution after dark, one was treated to a fantastic spectacle of a clear skyfull of sparkling stars with further delights in the early morning of the seals playingaround the boat.Our final destination was Christchurch. Here the devastation wreaked by anearthquake was still plainly visible even after a few years. Buildings were still beingcleared and large areas supplied with just the basic services. Poignant reminders of theloss of life showed in the messages from New York firefighters inscribed on a piece oftwisted metal from their city and in a variety of white chairs representing each personlost. But Christchurch is a city rebuilding itself and until new shops were built, the‘mall’ was a series of shipping containers with outside cafes and wonderful metalstatues to enjoy. While the cathedral was being reconstructed, a new one made ofPerspex and cardboard had been erected and very fine it looked too!I was sad to leave New Zealand, but the memories of my adventures will stay with me.My next stop was Sydney, the Blue Mountains, and Cairns, where I dived the GreatBarrier Reef. That is another story for another time.

Anthea

Blackberry pickingSupplied by Florence Rew

On a sunny September morning, I decided to raid the hedges for my winter supply ofblackberries. You’ll know the old wives tale about picking after the end of September!So, on with the boots, thornproof jacket, and bare hands, I set off. The first field wasstill in my ownership, rented out to a neighbouring farmer, always a great source ofblackberries. He had put up a new gate, with two large heavy catches which I was un-able to move, as well as being tied up with brambles. Should I climb over it? Definitelya thought, but stock proof fencing attached to the inside, made it Florence proof too.I then attempted to gain entry to the field also still owned by me, called Noah’ Ark,being used to keep an eye on poorly stock, and Carnival, Herbert’s old Hunter, in frontof my old home, only to find the dilapidated gate wedged shut with a thick, immova-ble pallet, by me, anyway!Not to be deterred, I decided to try Best Meadow, no longer mine but had permis-sion to pick blackberries anytime. I found a good gateway up the lane with a fine largepassing place, but as I drove onto it, I felt a great thud, with a “cer..clunk!” I haddropped about six inches off the tarmac!“ now, what do I do? no ‘phone, of course......” Just at that moment a man on a bicy-cle came by, and did I need any help? He looked thoughtfully under the car, andstroking his chin, said “I think, if you try, very very slowly, you might just make it” Atthe third attempt I did, waved at my knight or angel, made my way down to the vil-lage. Again, not to be defeated, I parked , and made my way to the another gate forthe same field. I was just about to enter, hedges ripe for harvest, when I ‘spied somecows and an enormous bull! The fact it was a Charolais and not a Friesian did little toencourage me. So, that was that! I went home , slightly discouraged and not a littlefed up!Two days later, not to be deterred, having had a chat with my son, the pallet was re-moved, I made my way to collect an almost full container of fruit, feeling very pleasedwith myself, despite some bleeding and thorns still in my hands, was consideringmoving to another patch, when I sensed a presence. As I turned, five heifers were soclose behind me, they could have snuffled my precious haul. I stretched out my handand tenderly stroked a nose....of course I didn’t, I flapped my arms and shouted“whoosh, whoosh” at them, whereupon they just settled back on their heels as if tosay” what’s your problem?” I slid sideways, keeping an eye on them, made a slow re-treat, blackberries in tact; job done!I had enough for about ten blackberry and apple crumbles, and no doubt my guestswill know just how precious and at what cost they’ll be enjoying their pudding!

The blackberrySome facts supplied by Neil Martin

The Blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in thegenus Rubus in the family Rosaceae.What distinguishes the blackberry from its raspberry relatives is whether or notthe torus (receptacle or stem) "picks with" (i.e., stays with) the fruit. Whenpicking a blackberry fruit, the torus stays with the fruit. With a raspberry, thetorus remains on the plant, leaving a hollow core in the raspberry fruit – ‘wellwho would have thought’.The term bramble, a word meaning any impenetrable thicket, has traditionallybeen applied specifically to the blackberry or its products, though in the UnitedStates it applies to all members of the genus Rubus – ‘they have to be differentdon’t they’.The usually black fruit is not a berry in the botanical sense of the word.Botanically it is termed an aggregate fruit, composed of small drupelets,‘personally I do not care it tastes good whatever’.One of the earliest known instances ofblackberry consumption comes from thepreserved remains of the Haraldskær Woman,the naturally preserved bog body ofa Danish woman dating from approximately2,500 years ago. Forensic evidence foundblackberries in her stomach contents, amongother foods. The use of blackberries to makewines and cordials was documented in the London Pharmacopoeia in 1696. Asfood, blackberries have a long history of use alongside other fruits to makepies, jellies and jams.The use of blackberry plants for medicinal purposes has a long history inWestern culture. The ancient Greeks, other European peoples, and nativeAmericans used the various part of the plants for different treatments. Chewingthe leaves or brewing the shoots into tea were used to treat mouth ailments,such as bleeding gums and canker sores. Tea brewed from leaves, roots, andbark was also used to treat pertussis. The roots, which have been describedas astringent, have been used for treatment of intestinal problems, suchas dysentery and diarrhoea. The fruit – having a high vitamin C content – waspossibly used for the treatment of scurvy. A 1771 document recommendedbrewing blackberry leaves, stem, and bark for stomach ulcers.Blackberry fruit, leaves, and stems have been used to dye fabrics and hair.Native Americans have even been known to use the stems to make rope. Theshrubs have also been used for barriers around buildings, crops and livestock.The wild plants have sharp, thick thorns, which offered some protection againstenemies and large animals.

Health and SafetySupplied by Barbara Butcher - a view of a more sane time

In the late 1950’s as a nervous sixteen yearold girl I started my first job as a traineelaboratory technician for a large dairy-pasteurisation and bottling company.

One of my first tasks was to climb up avertical rusty iron ladder on to the roof ofthe building to take samples from the brinetank to test it in the lab. It was used in thebottle washing process. My fear of heightswas not a consideration.

Many of the tasks involved using sulphuricacid and although we wore lab coats thesplashes of acid not only burned holes inthe coats but also in our blouses underneath.My mother was furious.

When we three lab girls went across theroad to buy a sandwich at lunch time theshop keepers teased us about the mothshaving been at us again.

Three nights a week I had to travel after work on three underground trains to the EastEnd of London to train for City and Guilds Physics, Chemistry and Microbiology,finally returning home by 10.00 p.m.

Of course this was nothing compared to the treatment of children, years before whoworked in appalling condition An act was passed in the late 19th century in whichchildren of 9 years were only allowed to work a 12 hour shift. Current Health andSafety was not introduced in the UK until 1974.

I am sure many of us have stories of the lack of safety during our early years and sincethen there have been many changes. Nowadays teachers are not even allowed to pickup or comfort a child who has fallen in the playground.

Neil adds - Barbara would be interested ifa) can you pick her out of the line up andb) a long shot question, can you help with any of the names two are named Barbaraand Jenny but she does not know the third.

A prompt from Steve

There are about half a dozen groups(out of 48!) which regularly email mewith updates to their pages on thewebsite. Many other groups simplymeet regularly and communicatethrough email so there is little need tohave anything other than the meetingschedule on the website. However, anumber of pages have lists ofactivities and events which have

clearly not been updated for some time, and pages where the initial enthusiasm forproducing meeting and visit reports has obviously tailed off. If Group Leaders couldreview their pages with a view to pruning out-of-date information, and revising textwhere necessary, I will be very happy to make the changes.

Group Leaders can email me any required changes at [email protected] Pleasespecify exactly what you want me to delete/change/include. The quickest and easiestway I have found is to copy the existing text in the webpage to the clipboard, paste itinto a blank word-processor document, amend it as required, then email the document tome.

When sending documents for inclusion (such as Visit Reports) if possible send them as"pdf". Most word processors give the option to save your document in this form, but ifthis is not possible send it to me anyway. When sending me pictures for inclusion onyour page, please supply a short title and a description, as these are required by thewebsite.

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TECHNICAL SUPPORTOur technical team of Vernon and Dave are looking for oneor two (or more) to assist at the monthly meeting with theprojector, microphones and general TECHIE STUFF!

If you think this is something you could do please get in touch with

First of all, a massive thanks to those U3A members who volunteerregularly to help with refreshments at the monthly meetings. Wealways pass around a rota to ask for help, but sad to say we are notgetting lots of people coming forward to help. As it only takes a fewminutes each meeting, please look deep and put your name forward.Lets help this small band of people who regularly help out. Give thema chance to have a coffee served rather than do the serving. We havearound a 100 members at each of our meetings and we only require

3 people to make and serve the drinks, you will get extra help to wash up and there is adishwasher, so there is no need to miss the talk. If 30 people would volunteer to help, itwould only mean helping once a year. Can you give us about 40 minutes of your timeonce a year? Please give it some thought and sign up next time the rota list is passed toyou. CHRIS BARNWELL

MONTHLY MEETING HALL SET UP

Continual help is needed to set up the hall by puttingout chairs and stacking back at the end of themeeting. THANK YOU TO ALL WHO HELP.

If anyone is going to book a holiday through Riveira Travel, we have a standingarrangement with them whereby they donate 10% of the total cost of the holiday tothe U3A which allows us to usethis money to subsidise things likethe Xmas Lunch. 2020.

NOTE: The U3A Committee isabsolutely not suggesting you useRiveria Travel, rather, if you areusing them, please mention youare part of the U3A.

We thank Judy Tyler and Linda Coton for supplying us withthe following update on the Riviera Travel taking us throughthe process for the U3A. Also Linda has just made a claim on

Riviera Travel for the latest commission from Judy's recent holiday (another£243.80) so it is definitely worth having as this will go towards next Xmas (2020)lunch costs! Well done.

To qualifyThe name of your U3A must be given at the point of booking for all telephone res-ervations. We must be advised of the U3A with this booking reference within24 hours if applicable to an online booking.Only one affinity partner can benefit for any one booking reference number.This offer cannot be backdated to past bookings that did not have the name of theorganisation given at the point of booking.All calls are recorded, so should any doubt arise over the naming of the group at thetime of booking, this can be investigated in full.

What is not commissionableSome elements are not commissionable – these include room or travel upgrades,insurance premiums and some additional supplements. Deck supplements areincluded on river cruise bookings but not sole occupancy supplements. Bookingsmade through a third party such as a travel agent do not qualify.

Claim ProcessIn the first 10 days of the month following that of the departure date, we willcontact the lead name with the amount due to be claimed and instructions on how toclaim.

For a group booking, one combined payment will be made for all people that travelon that booking reference number. Anyone that cancels after booking, and thereforedoes not travel, will not qualify.

Payment ProcessOnce the appropriate invoice has been received, we will aim to have payment intothe nominated account within 28 days or soon after.

Quiz Solutions

Quiz Solutions- Continued - Word Wheel

Alp amp ape gap lap lopmap mop pal pam par peapeg per pol pro rap repgamp gape glop lamp leap lopemope opal page pale pall palmpara pare peal pear perm pleapoem pole poll pome pore pramprom ramp rape reap repo romprope agape ample gallop gaper grapegrope lapel maple moper opera pagerpaler pearl polar pram proem proleremap repro roper ampler earlap gallopgroper paella pallor palmar palmer paroleplagal romper apogeal pergola program rampagegalloper parallel pellagra premolar paralegal parallelogram

From the astronomy group, The distinctive ‘W’ shape of Cassiopeia.

Walk with Pub Lunch and flowers, cannot ask for more

The speck is actually a picture of Mercury’s transit across the face of the suncaptured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory on 9 May 2016.

Documents

Kingsbridge Estuary U3A Newsletter Jan 2020 16th Issue