Croydon U3A Magazine

Summer 2017

The Third Age Trust (Operating as the University of the Third Age)

Croydon U3A Reg. Charity No. 102946612

Website address www.u3asites.org.uk/croydon

Croydon U3A Management Committee 2016 – 2017

Chairman Brenda Kidd 01737 557557 Publicity chair@croydonu3a.org.uk

Vice Chairman and Cariss Smith 8668 9562

Business Secretary businesssecretary@croydonu3a.org.uk

Membership Secretary Barry Goodwin 8405 0101

Gift Aid Co-ordinator membershipsecretary@croydonu3a.org.uk

Treasurer Paul Smith 8651 2682

treasurer@croydonu3a.org.uk

Groups’ Co-ordinator Diane Mackay 8777 5122 groupsco-ordinator@croydonu3a.org.uk

IT Co-ordinator Bob Ferguson 8127 5110

itco-ordinator@croydonu3a.org.uk

Social Secretary - Annette Carter 8406 1654

Outings socialsecretary-outings@croydonu3a.org.uk

Committee Support Alfreda Wall 8686 5239

committee-support@croydonu3a.org.uk

Venue Hire Co-ordinator Joy Ellery 8657 7973 and Archivist venuehireco-ordinator@croydonu3a.org.uk

New committee members David Apps Ian Dorrn

Jenny Wilson

Magazine Editor – Gordon Thynne (8660 1481) gordon_thynne@tiscali.co.uk

Magazine Design – Barbara Lister

Members who receive the Magazine online may on occasion wish to obtain a

‘hard copy’. Some copies will be available at General Meetings for online

recipients to purchase for £1. This is subject to sufficient copies being available.

Table of Contents Editorial Chairman’s message No Signs of Slowing Down Cinderella Stamps (Shared Learning Project) London SE network: Historic Greenwich study day U3A in London and Easter Conference Outings:

Mapledurham Reports from General Meetings:

The Man who drew Oliver Twist Archaeology of the Thames

Groups: Early Medieval History History of London 4 Poetry for Pleasure Walking Group Play Reading

Creative Writing: Short Story: ‘Security’ part 2 Just another Job The Smell of Tatami

Deep in the Heart of Texas Senior Moment Memorial seat

1 2 3

3 - 6 6 - 10

10 – 11

12 – 14

14 - 20 20 – 21

22 – 23 23 - 24 24 - 25 26 - 27 27 – 28

28 - 29 29 - 30 30 - 32 33 - 34

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Cover Picture – Start of 9th June Walk in the Park for Alzheimer’s Society

Photo by Jenny Wilson

Editorial

You will find good and entertaining contributions in this issue. There‘s an example of Barnaby Powell’s sparkling prose, humour from Peter Steptoe, an introduction to the world of ‘Cinderella’ stamps from Anne Davey Orr of Norwood U3A, and news of Group activities. Brian Clacey’s deeply – felt article, ‘Tatami’, reminds us of the potency of smells to arouse the past. We hang on every word of Colin Read’s ‘Just another Job’.

In the Summer issue of 2016, I invited members to let me know the whereabouts of ‘Judas’ trees. A few did. In Coulsdon there are two and a half (the last is growth from a tree that was cut down, no doubt in ignorance). They do seem to be rare, and the more to be prized for their magenta-coloured flowers in May.

Reminded by Brian about the nostalgia-evoking power of smells, let me offer one that stops the track of time for me: privet in flower. But why, I know not. Are there some which take you back?

The last issue explained why there is a statue in Croydon of Jorrocks (the character created by R S Surtees) leaping his horse over a fence. I’ve since read Jorrocks’ Jaunts and Jollities. There’s an account of the Surrey Hunt gathering at The Greyhound, Croydon and then following a fox to Addington Heath, Hayes Common and Keston. On other occasions, The Derby Arms, Croydon, and The Red Lion at Smitham Bottom are where the meet gathers. But the book is not wholly a paean to hunting. Jorrocks travels to Paris by boat and coach (rather different from Eurostar); and on a boat to Margate (where he loses his pantaloons whilst bathing). On a coach from London to Brighton, the first break for refreshments is at The Feathers, Merstham. The book is a lively picture of aspects of the England and France of the first quarter of the 19th century.

We are grateful to all our contributors. The deadline for the Autumn issue will be 11 October. I look forward to a harvest, a cornucopia … (steady on, old chap!)… well, many contributions.

Enjoy the Summer!

Gordon Thynne

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Chairman's Message

Croydon U3A is one of the oldest U3As in the country so it is with great pride that we are celebrating our 30th anniversary. Jenny Wilson is organising the events and recently a sponsored walk took place at Lloyd Park in aid of the Alzheimer’s charity. Despite the torrential rain and gales, the gazebo did not blow down, the banners were flying and 30 members took part. Others came as stewards and supporters. “When the going gets tough, the tough get going!” We all completed the one mile course and some enjoyed it so much they did it again! The refreshments in the café at the end were very welcome. We are delighted that over £500 was raised and more money is still being donated. Well done and thank you to all those who participated and made it such a successful and worthwhile event.

The next event is going to be a Quiz all about Croydon with all the questions and information in the Bulletin. There will be prizes as well so make sure you take part.

Our membership is increasing all the time, which now stands at 721 and is likely to overtake last year’s total. We are always happy to meet new members at the designated coffee mornings and enjoy a lively exchange of information and new ideas.

Interest groups are the life blood of U3As and we are encouraged to have a ratio of 1 group for every 10 members. I am pleased to see that we fulfil this requirement and we welcome and support any new groups which are introduced.

We are looking forward to our Summer Activities this year with 15 different talks and activities taking place. We thank in advance, all our U3A members who are going to lead these groups. There is something for everyone, so be adventurous and try something new. It could be the start of something good!

Brenda Kidd

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No signs of slowing down… Croydon U3A’s 30th Anniversary

On Friday 9th June, 30 members rose to the 30th Anniversary Challenge. They braved the rain to celebrate Croydon U3A’s milestone birthday with a sponsored walk in Lloyd Park, raising funds for the Alzheimer’s Society. They came together, armed with waterproofs and brollies, to raise money for all our futures. Currently there are over 850,000 people suffering from a form of dementia in the UK, with 42,000 of these being under 65 years of age.

Would ‘CROYDON’ be your category if you were a contestant on Mastermind? If so pit your wits against other members by entering the 30th Anniversary Quiz in the Bulletin.

Look out for further details of the 30th Anniversary Tea Party in September.

The Croydon branch of U3A was established in 1987 and is one of the oldest groups in the country. Currently there are over 700 members with 60 different groups catering for a broad range of interests and talents.

Jenny Wilson

Cinderella Stamps – Shared Learning Project

I am not a stamp collector but I keep stamps that I find interesting visually, have a noteworthy date, depict a person I admire or a location which is interesting politically, such as Check Point Charlie, the crossing between East and West Berlin during the Cold War. Recently I found an old postcard which I was about to throw out until I noticed that it was of Palmyra with a Syrian stamp on it depicting Hafez al-Assad, the current president’s father. That is of particular significance now since much of the ancient Semitic city has been destroyed by Isis.

When I received an email about a Royal Philatelic Society London (RPSL), University of the Third Age (U3A), Shared Learning Project (SLP) to design and create Cinderella stamps I was intrigued. Would we be depicting Cinderella?

Of course that is not what this very special area of stamp collecting is about.

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When I received an email about a Royal Philatelic Society London (RPSL), University of the Third Age (U3A), Shared Learning Project (SLP) to design and create Cinderella stamps I was intrigued. Would we be depicting Cinderella?

Of course that is not what this very special area of stamp collecting is about.

Our group was initiated into the world of Cinderella stamps by the RPSL, through a presentation at the British Library of their collection, and Jean-Pierre Frossard’s very diverse collection of unusual stamps. Two artists, Nicholas Phillips and Nathan Cohen, for whom the stamp is both a motif and a format, showed their work and encouraged us to be creative in how we interpreted the stamp. A Cinderella stamp can be almost any size (within reason) and any shape (within reason) and on any subject: cars, hotels, films, anniversaries, tea, football etc. The one thing it cannot be is a postage or revenue stamp.

Our brief was to produce a ‘universal’ U3A stamp representing the movement or to create individual stamps of the activities we each were interested in. While I chose to represent all 16 activities, others opted for one or two.

There were representatives from seven U3A regions in the group including me from Norwood U3A: Epsom and Ewell, Islington, North London, Portsdown, Richmond-upon-Thames, South East London. Some of the group were also members of the RPSL which was a great help. Our project leader was Robert Mott of Epsom and Ewell and our facilitator at the RPSL was the curator Mark Copley. We met every two weeks at the RPSL headquarters in Devonshire Place, Marylebone, a treasure trove for the philatelist.

The project started in March 2016, our aim was to make a presentation of the finished stamps in May. Robert found a printer in Germany who could print adhesive stamps at a reasonable cost.

Our challenge then was to create finished artwork that the printer could work from. I had originally thought that I would do a drawing to represent each activity until I realised how long it would take. I opted then to do everything digitally using ClipArt graphics. I installed new InDesign software on my computer and learnt how to use it (probably incorrectly) as I went along. The artwork was sent online to Germany and within three weeks our finished stamps arrived back at the RPLS.

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I opted to do what we were exhorted to do by Nathan Cohen - think outside the box. Potentially I had 16 stamps to produce to cover our 16 activities. So I designed two sheets which when stuck together back to back and cut along the correct perforations would fold into a little book.

The finished stamps went on display at the RPSL in July 2016 and featured in the first world Cinderella Stamp Congress hosted by the RPSL from 16 - 18 September.

For our presentation I mocked up portrait photographs of each participant as stamps which were stuck onto envelopes with our names and districts printed on them. With the agreement of the group I designed a cancellation stamp and had it made at the Rubber Stamp Company in Belfast so that our portrait stamps were displayed, cancelled by a stamp bearing the U3A logo which looks very similar to a Post Office cancellation stamp. Our envelopes were exhibited alongside the stamps we created.

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At the World Congress six foot high banners telling the story of the U3A/ RPSL Shared Learning Project were exhibited.

Paul Leonard, from Richmond-upon-Thames U3A cleverly included a stamp with an inverted image on his sheet, in a nod to the American ‘Inverted Jenny’ stamp of 1918 in which a JN-4 plane appears upside down - the most famous error in American philately. The estimated value of that stamp because of the error is $977,500.

Cinderella stamps have been around for almost as long as postage stamps and have been created for advertising, promotion, and political propaganda. Stamps were the first form of mass communication and the Cinderella in its own subliminal way is a largely uncharted historical record.

The word ‘Cinderella’ has, by analogy, come to mean one whose attributes were unrecognized, or one who unexpectedly achieves recognition or success after a period of obscurity and neglect - a bit like the University of the Third Age which was founded in France in 1973 and now has branches throughout the world.

Anne Davey Orr

Historic Greenwich Study Day

This day, June 5th, was arranged by the U3A Network for South and East Greater London. Croydon is part of the Network, and it was good to see about ten of our members there.

The Howe Lecture Theatre at the University of Greenwich proved to be a good venue.

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William Palin, Conservation Director of the Old Royal Naval College, spoke about the current conservation of the ceiling of the Painted Hall. (It was last restored in the 1950’s when toxic chemicals were used to remove 15 layers of varnish.) Erecting the scaffolding to allow the team of conservationists safe access has taken four months. The project is due to be finished by the end of 2018.

Originally, James Thornhill (subsequently knighted) won the competition to paint the Hall, it was said because he was ‘Protestant, English and cheap’. It was the first time an Englishman had been chosen for such a project. The choice carried some risks, but was amply justified. Thornhill began in 1708 and completed it 20 years later. He was not just a fine draughtsman and painter but had a masterly understanding of the ‘architecture of space’.

Slides illustrated the grand theme of the triumph of peace and liberty over tyranny. King William III and Queen Mary sit under a canopy of state, surrounded by the cardinal virtues. Under his feet is the ghostly figure of tyranny, looking strangely like Louis XIV.

A sketch of the design had prompted the supervising committee to ask Thornhill to introduce maritime features. Hence two naval ships representing naval power, underpinned by merchant activity and the sciences.

A local favourite of Thornhill’s was a naval pensioner whom he portrayed as ‘Winter’. In a corner of the last section he completed in the Upper Hall is the figure of Thornhill himself, extending one hand behind him as though to receive a gratuity.

The Hall was a tourist attraction from the first. You could buy Thornhill’s guide to the painting, and be accompanied around by one of the pensioners.

During its life the Hall has not just been a dining room. It has been the backdrop to important events, such as the lying in state of Nelson in January 1806. In the 1820’s it was converted into the first national gallery of naval art, before the gallery’s contents went to the National Maritime Museum.

It was restored for use as a dining room by the Royal Naval College in the 1930’s. From this date the conservation team have found a gravy stain probably from a young officers’ food fight. This has been removed but the signatures of the painting conservators over the years will stay.

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The Hanoverians from the Upper Hall with Thornhill (on the right)

(Courtesy of Old Royal Naval College)

During its life the Hall has not just been a dining room. It has been the backdrop to important events, such as the lying in state of Nelson in January 1806. In the 1820’s it was converted into the first national gallery of naval art, before the gallery’s contents went to the National Maritime Museum.

It was restored for use as a dining room by the Royal Naval College in the 1930’s. From this date the conservation team have found a gravy stain probably from a young officers’ food fight. This has been removed but the signatures of the painting conservators over the years will stay.

As well as the conservation of 40,000 square feet of painting, the current project includes the transformation of the undercroft to become a reception area for visitors. This will also help to preserve the Hall by stabilising the variations of heat and humidity it suffers. The cost is being met from the Heritage Lottery Fund and money the Old Royal Naval College has raised – and has yet to raise.

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In the afternoon we heard Christine Riding, Head of Arts and Curator of the Queen’s House, talking about the recent restoration of the House. It was designed by Inigo Jones, who brought Palladian architecture to Britain.

The Queen’s House was begun in 1616, but there was a pause after the death of James I’s queen, Anne of Denmark, in 1619 and it was not completed till 1630. Charles I gave it to his Queen, Henrietta Maria. The Civil War intervened, and it was again occupied after the Restoration. Later it became an art gallery attached to the Maritime Museum.

A problem was to which period to restore the interior, and how to represent its stature as a palace of a queen, and a house that was lived in. The solution has involved a careful choice of wall colours in different parts, the opening up of windows, and the housing of three times the number of objects previously on display. Judging by the slides shown, the result is superb. The circular (‘Tulip’) staircase is a star attraction.

(Courtesy of Royal Museums Greenwich)

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A questioner asked about the ‘Armada’ portrait of Queen Elizabeth I [one of three versions, and purchased for the nation in July 2016]. It is currently being restored, and will be hung in the Queen’s House.

The day included talks by U3A members on three Shared Learning Projects: on developing an exhibition on the WRNS links to the Old Royal Naval College (opening in July); on personal histories connected with the Battle of Jutland (1916); and about recording the current conservation of the Painted Hall.

Finally, Helen Johnston, Senior Community Archaeologist, talked about the Thames Discovery Project, including the foreshore at Greenwich where remains of a jetty attached to the former Tudor Palace, have been identified. One of the odd bits of information I gleaned is that you are no longer free to ‘mudlark’ on the Thames. You have to get a permit from the Port of London Authority. (For more information about the Thames Discovery Programme see the website: www.thamesdiscovery.org ).

The London SE Network is to be congratulated for staging this ambitious and well-attended event.

GT

U3A in London and their Easter Conference 18-20 April U3A in London is based at Hampstead Old Town Hall, near Belsize Park Tube station. Many of its lectures and study groups take place in and around this building. Their 45 page booklet lists many language classes, plus tuition in lots of other subjects. There doesn’t seem to be the same emphasis that we in Croydon have in participatory home –based groups.

Many of us know their Summer School at the conveniently located St Bride’s Institute. This was the first Easter Conference that I had attended. I met people from all parts of the country, not just London, but no one from Croydon. One problem was getting to Belsize Park for a 10.30 start – some ingenuity was required!

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The Easter Programme was straightforward: a total of ten presentations, mostly power-point projections, and all in a large, somewhat old-fashioned lecture theatre These were accompanied by not only tea and coffee breaks but also an excellent buffet lunch in a splendid atrium.

I won’t give details of every lecture, but I can send anyone who is interested a copy of the programme. The theme was ‘London: A Capital City’, and this allowed a variety of aspects, historical and cultural to be featured. One talk, by Shirley Levy, with the rather misleading title of ‘Dick Whittington’s London’, was outstanding. It was a comprehensive talk on medieval London in words, graphics and illustrations. Coming on the first day, it was a hard act to follow, but other talks were of a high standard.

I hope that U3A London will continue to mount these Easter Conferences, and that they will be well publicised. I strongly recommend them.

David Talbot

Outings

Mapledurham

On Thursday 25 April a full coach left Croydon under uncertain skies. After a clear run, we were deposited beside the Thames near Caversham Bridge. A tablet on the Reading end of the bridge was unveiled by Edward, Prince of Wales in 1926, but it adds that ‘but for unforeseen circumstances’ he would also have opened the bridge to traffic. What were those ‘circumstances’, and did heads roll? Many of our party betook themselves to the Griffin pub beside the river; others penetrated into Caversham, much spoilt by through traffic.

A double-decked boat took us upstream to Mapledurham. The ‘skipper’ relayed much information about houses on the banks, turning to those of us on the upper deck, whilst continuing to steer the boat with eyes at the back of his head. He was scathing about the decline in the standard of river upkeep under the Environmental Agency compared with the Thames Conservancy which kept banks clear, dredged the river and safeguarded islands.

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Cavendish Bridge

At Mapledurham we were divided into two parties for guided tours. It’s a very large, pink-brick house, dating from the Tudor times, and much enlarged in the 1920’s. It looks out on to a typical country house park with specimen trees. The latter included a Cedar of Lebanon planted by the Queen Mother in 1982 (the year of Prince William’s birth), a tall Gingko and a Judas tree (in flower).

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Sir Richard Blount (pronounced ‘blunt’), who bought the estate in 1490, was a Catholic, as were his descendants. They added an aisle to the nearby church so that they could continue to worship as Catholics – it is still privately-owned. Our guide pointed out a triangular pediment high up on the side of the house facing the river, covered by oyster shells as a sign that the house was ‘Catholic’ and would shelter those of the faith.

The estate was used in the making of the film, ‘The Eagle Has Landed’ in 1976, and for other films, including ‘Midsomer Murders’ and ‘Miss Marple’.

Compared with many country houses, few of the rooms were open to the public. They were handsome, with the usual quota of pictures of ancestors. (The house continues to be owned by direct descendants.) Notable was the Elizabethan cantilevered staircase.

The skipper and our guide to the house had been good, but the star was the miller (also the water bailiff and the estate manager). In the low confines of the mill, his clear voice held us spellbound. There had been a mill on the site since before the Domesday Book. The oldest part of the present mill dates to the 15th century. It is the only commercial mill still in operation on the river. Former millers, producing white flour from two wheels for the London market, became wealthy. The mill, now with one wheel, still produces flour which, after ‘dressing’, is about 80% white.

Part of the water wheel had recently broken, so no flour was being produced at the time of our visit. We learnt that it was vital to ensure that, when the millstone was turning, there was always flour being ground. Otherwise, sparks might be struck which could ignite flour dust. In impressive operation outside was the Archimedes screw turbine, generating power for sale to the grid (approximately 500,000 KWH a year). The miller was adamant that screw turbines do not chop up fish – they just pass through. He referred to reservations on the part of some people about installing a modern turbine in an old mill, but reminded us that the principle of the Archimedes screw is over 2000 years old.

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Water Mill

In the shop this visitor bought a packet of ‘Miller’s Mix’ – a blend of semolina and bran. The pudding was tasty.

After tea and biscuits we boarded the Banstead coach for the return journey. We got home – eventually!

Thanks, Margaret and Annette.

GT

Reports from General Meetings

The Man who Drew Oliver Twist

On 10 May Ian Keable gave the General Meeting an illustrated talk on the life and works of George Cruikshank (1792 – 1877).

Cruikshank was born into the 18th century trade of satirical print engraving. His father Isaac taught both George and his elder brother Robert Isaac to draw caricatures which were printed and sold as single sheets. George’s early work shows tricks he would have learned from his father for hiding lack of competence in formal techniques of perspective, portraiture and life drawing. Ian pointed out that all figures are lined up with a wall as backdrop (to avoid perspective), their heads are in profile (simpler than full face portrayal) and with hands grasping objects or in pockets.

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In 1811 Isaac Cruikshank died – having just won a drinking competition! (Heavy drinking was another area where George followed his father’s example.) George carried on the satirical print business, lampooning the Prince Regent regularly for his affairs with older and busty women.

The monarchy controlled which party formed the government at this time. Parliament was unrepresentative – many constituencies being effectively in the gift of large landowners, and expanding industrial cities having almost no representation at all. There was growing dissent about why ‘the virtuous should be ruled by the bad’.

In 1819 there was an incident in Manchester, when a public meeting attended by about half the town’s population was attacked by the yeomanry. This became known as the Peterloo massacre in a parody of Waterloo. There was a mounted sabre charge and 17 people were killed. This led to further biting criticism of the government. Ian showed us Cruikshank’s illustrations for a pamphlet by William Hone, the Political House that Jack Built, which was published in 1820. This used the metre of the nursery rhyme but contained criticism of the Prince Regent’s behaviour.

Hone’s pamphlet was one of Cruikshank’s first woodcut illustrations of a text – the two being printed together. The pamphlet sold 100,000 copies.

Picture credit: Internet Book Archive from Flickr Creative Commons

This shows Cruikshank’s cartoon of the Prince Regent from William Hone’s the Political House that Jack Built.

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The Government had responded to criticism after Peterloo by the Six Acts – one of which raised the tax on newspapers and another tightened the law of seditious libel. Ian showed us Cruikshank’s response, a satirical print entitled ‘A Free-born Englishman’ protesting against these gagging measures.

Cruikshank’s next move was to produce book illustrations. One of the first being Life in London for which his knowledge of the pleasures of the town made him a good choice. Commissions to illustrate many popular 18th century popular stories followed including Robinson Crusoe.

Picture credit; Internet Book Archive from Flickr Creative Commons

Ian pointed out the vivacity of Cruikshank’s drawings. For example the real looks of surprise shown by both man and dog here.

Many of the prints used by Ian are in the British Museum’s prints and drawings collection which can be searched online at

https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/search.aspx .

Around 1836 Cruikshank met Charles Dickens and agreed to illustrate Sketches by Boz. At this point Cruikshank’s illustrations got a prominent credit on the frontispiece as he was better known than the author.

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Cruikshank then produced illustrations for Pickwick Papers and Oliver Twist but his relationship with Dickens became strained over control – for example Dickens wanted no illustration for the end of Bill Sykes but Cruikshank produced one anyway. They did not work together again.

Picture Credit: British Library from Flickr Creative Commons illustration from the letters of Charles Dickens (below).

Ian told us that the adult figures included the young Dickens (near the screen) and Cruikshank (close to the basket of bottles).

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Cruikshank’s illustration of the end of Bill Sykes

In 1847 Cruikshank – still a heavy drinker – produced a series of temperance prints (‘The Bottle’) showing a family descending to ruin due to alcohol. When he was challenged about the lack of consistency between his work and his own behaviour he ‘signed the pledge’ and became a speaker at temperance meetings.

A second series, The Drunkard’s Children, continued the family’s degradation, ending with the suicide of the young girl at the back of the family group (then a fallen woman) by leaping from a bridge.

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Picture of the bailiffs seizing goods from ‘The Bottle’ series.

In the 1860s Cruikshank spent two years on a grand scale painting for public exhibition called the Worship of Bacchus (again on temperance themes). This however was a rare commercial failure.

During his life Cruikshank married twice but during his second marriage he also started a family, which he kept secret, with the maid servant Adelaide, setting her up in a home nearby and having ten children together. At his death he left Adelaide some furniture and wine (causing comment that he was a drunkard half his life and then a hypocrite for the rest).

In his sixties he was attending life drawing classes at the Royal Academy, so he was a lifetime learner always striving to improve his work. His last works were at the age of 83 and he was buried in St Paul’s when he died aged 85.

Barbara Lister

Picture credit (overleaf) National Library of Medicine from Flickr Creative Commons from the Drunkard’s Children

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Archaeology of the Thames

At the General Meeting on 14 June Elliot Wragg of the Thames Discovery Programme (TDP) (www.thamesdiscovery.org) gave us an informative and wide-ranging description of the archaeological excavations along the foreshore of the Thames.

In 1665 Samuel Pepys mentioned that artefacts had been found on the foreshore, but it was not until the 19th century that the first digs were undertaken - on the South Bank at Southwark. Items from prehistoric, Roman and Viking times began to be found. In the mid- 19th century Ivor Noel-Humes called for local museums to take responsibility for their stretches of the Thames. Nowadays many different organisations provide funding and expertise. These include Historic England, TDP, Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA), Thames Explorer Trust, Thames 21 (rubbish clearance), and Tideway (construction of the super sewer).

Preservation of remains is much better in water, but sometimes the use of carbon dating can be more problematical, so that at any site various finds have to be evaluated together to confirm dating.

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Wooden posts have been reliably dated to 4500BC. Prehistoric pottery has also been found and it is believed that, at this time, water was boiled by heating flints in a fire and then placing them in a pot of water. Fish traps have been found from ancient times and up to 1000AD (late Saxon) when for some unknown reason their use was discontinued.

In front of Greenwich Palace a jetty has been found which dates to the time of the Tudors (Henry VIII). At Rotherhithe a jetty has been found, with whalebones in part of its construction. Apparently, whaling was common around the Thames estuary in the 1820’s. At Burrell’s Wharf near Deptford a whole skull with teeth and the rest of the skeleton has been found. It has been dated to 1735-1805 and is that of a teenager. There are various theories as to how this person lived and died, but no proof.

Brunel’s ship, The Great Eastern, was so heavy that arrangements were made to launch it sideways. Tickets were sold for the event, but on the day it proved immoveable! It was another two months before it finally entered the water.

At Fulham Palace, Saxon wattle and a modern pistol have been found side by side.

At Isleworth Ait is moored a boat which was built in the early 20th century. It was used in World War 1 and then became a houseboat. It was used again at Dunkirk, and there are watercolour paintings of what it looked like at that time.

In 1928 there had been a very dangerous river surge at Millbank and it was realised that if the river wall was demolished, many would die. In 1940, German bombers headed for the docks and the threat was taken very seriously. Special units were deployed to plug any breaches in the river walls as soon as they occurred.

TDP provides guided walks of various sites and training courses for those who would like to volunteer.

Ann Barlow

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Groups

Early Medieval History

The Romans left England, King Alfred burnt the cakes, the Vikings pillaged and raped and Canute failed to rule the waves before William the Conqueror... um er… conquered us. That is about the sum total of general knowledge of the so-called Dark Ages.

As a French provincial museum said, ‘few people know much about this period’. It was to remedy this defect in my knowledge of early medieval history that I set up the Group. It was inspired by our daughter’s enthusiasm for the subject at Durham University. Armed with the textbook she used, the Group began to look at the period 300 to 1000 AD, across Europe.

It was a challenge, particularly at first, because nobody in the fledgling Group had studied this period, even though we had some history and one archaeology graduates among us. So it had to become a co-operative effort.

We began with the great migrations when the peoples of Europe moved great distances, as the western Roman Empire disintegrated. Each member took a particular tribe and tracked their progress across Europe and North Africa. (Contributing is not onerous: it means speaking for 10 - 15 minutes.) As we looked at the migrations (or invasions if you prefer) it begged the controversial question: ‘why did the western Roman Empire decline?’

We all felt we needed a grounding in an area we basically understood, and so we chose to examine Britain and Ireland after Roman troops were withdrawn. England rapidly became a patchwork of new kingdoms while the Romano-Britons were confined to Wales and Cornwall.

Prompted by the British Museum’s blockbuster exhibition on The Vikings we switched to the Scandinavian invasions of Britain and Ireland. Having studied the period, it made the excavated Viking longboat all the more exciting.

The group then turned to the European mainland, looking at the Byzantine Empire, which inherited the mantle of the Romans. We have also studied the creation of France and the rise of Charlemagne, who created the largest European empire since the Romans and before Napoleon. Then it was the turn of Italy and the Lombards.

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It is not all politics and warfare: the church, religion, agriculture, trade and how people lived all come into the story. Over time new members have joined the Group bringing their expertise and fresh insights. We now have a member who studied the period at degree level and who has suggested new books to read and explained more about the writers. (It helps to know that ‘X is a Marxist historian’!)

What have we got from the Group? Firstly it has jelled and friendships have been made. Joint visits were made, with museum talks, in conjunction with the Archaeology Group (now the Historic Visits Group). Secondly we now know much more about this period, which is anything but ‘dark’. And thirdly we can ignore those museum notices saying people know little about early medieval history.

The founders of U3A in this country wanted to establish self- learning, and I believe the Group is fulfilling that dream.

Lindsay Offer

If interested, email: offerfamily@yahoo.co.uk

History of London 4

The group are now settled in our new meetings venue, Purley United Reformed Church, where we meet on the 4th Wednesday afternoon. On the 3rd Wednesdays we go to see exhibitions and museums relevant to the city.

One recent outing was to the City of London Police Museum. This is a new Museum which opened last October inside the Guildhall Library and deals with the Square Mile’s own police force. The museum is quite small - it was possible to fit in a visit to the nearby Bank of England Museum on the same day – but is full of fascinating stories. The cases covered include the last of the Jack the Ripper murders, the Siege of Sidney Street and the IRA bomb at

the Old Bailey. There is also information about the early housing of police officers and the City Police tug-o-war team which won the gold medal at the 1920 Olympics in the Tug-o-War. It was the last time this was an Olympic sport, and they are still the recorded reigning Olympic champions.

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We have also recently visited the exhibition, ‘Tunnel, the Archaeology of Crossrail’, at the Museum of London Docklands. Each of the station sites for the Elizabeth Line was excavated and each had unique finds.

The pictures show GWR 1930s pottery from Paddington, and ginger and mustard jars from Crosse and Blackwell at Tottenham Court Road.

As there was a clash with the Mapledurham visit, we are planning to go to the Tunnel exhibition again before it closes in early September.

Barbara Lister

Poetry for Pleasure

The renaming of the poetry group as ‘Poetry for Pleasure’ is so much more accurate. Our small group finds the sessions very pleasurable. Yet we feel too many people are reluctant to join us as they are daunted by the idea of ‘poetry’ and have misleading expectations.

They say: ‘I know nothing about poetry ‘. We say: ‘Well, now’s your chance. Aren’t such opportunities what the U3A is all about?’ One of our members joined only because it was something different from her other groups. Now she is pleased she took the plunge.

They say: ‘But I don’t understand it.’ We say: ‘You’ll find there’s really no need.’ It depends on the poet and many are difficult. The eminent Robert Browning, when asked the meaning of some of his lines is reported to have said, after puzzling over them, that when he wrote them only God and Robert Browning knew the meaning, but now it was only God.

The power of poetry is such that the rhythms and the unique choice of words from our amazing language are more than enough to charm you.

If reading a poem at home, try to read it aloud, and you may see more in it straightaway. And hear that sound.

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In the session we each read our choice of poems aloud, but if a member would prefer not to that’s perfectly acceptable.

We also try to find and bring DVDs or cassettes, with actors interpreting the relevant poet. (Could you resist my recording of Richard Burton reading the love poems of John Donne?!) We then discuss in a very informal way our idea of the meaning and whether or not the poem appeals to us. We add to our knowledge by sharing bits of information gathered from books and the internet on the poet’s life and critics’ views of his work.

The poets are chosen by consensus one or two months ahead: they can be of any period. A member may have one they are keen to choose, or we may pick a poet of different period or style from the month before. We have to bear in mind the poor availability these days of poetry books in libraries.

It happens that our present group have all joined within the past two years so we have plenty of subjects to choose from. We have often remarked on the output of some poets, one session failing to do them justice.

The masters, Keats and Shelley, have great appeal. The not-so-well known John Clare who had an unhappy life, but wrote evocative poems on nature, opened our eyes. We wondered somewhat about T S Eliot being judged ‘England’s most popular poet ‘ in a recent poll, but we discussed extracts from ‘Four Quartets’ and other of his serious poems before concluding with a treat from Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats.

We’ve seasoned our programme with some ‘lighter’, but no less clever, English poets such as John Betjeman. For ease of reading and poems with ironic humour in today’s world, Wendy Cope and U A Fanthorpe could well win over a new member nervous of ‘poetry’. We loved them. Our Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy also contributes the brilliant ‘The World’s Wife’ in this style.

The Poetry for Pleasure Group is not about writing poetry or studying the mechanics. Rather, it‘s about appreciation. It is ideal for those who enjoyed and learnt a few poems at school but have not followed up their interest. Some of us from that background have found the impetus to read more poetry.

Gwyneth Stokes Kimble

gwyneth1@btinternet.com tel 07789 315333

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Walking Group

Feeling venturous, I joined the Group’s walk from Tonbridge to Hadlow, a distance of 10 ½ miles. It was going to be a hot day so I’d filled my water bottle to the brim. There were only three of us. Heather and Mike were very keen walkers, so my mettle would be tested. Mike led the way, frequently consulting the directions downloaded from the Saturday Walkers Club. The park around the Medway, and the new clapboard houses suggested elegant living. I envied the couple seated outside a pub by the river enjoying coffee. No such dalliance for us! A haze of orchards, with some elegant Georgian mansions, followed. Like intrepid walkers, we ignored a path diversion sign, and I appreciated the sweet eglantine whilst the leader scouted ahead to find the way.

In Tudeley church we duly admired the windows by Marc Chagall, the result of a commission to memorialise a drowned daughter of a local family. Most are of an intense blue (to which my camera failed to do justice). Sarah was the daughter of a Jewish father and an Anglican mother. As the website says, Chagall was an inspired choice – a Russian Jew who often featured Jesus in his work.

The churchyard of Capel church, in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust, provided some much needed shade for our al fresco lunch.

Tudeley Church, east window

We still had miles to go to Hadlow, whose tall tower we had earlier seen to the north. Imagine my dismay when we turned south! I had the temerity to question the leader. His answer was a patient appeal to the Saturday Walkers who know the most attractive way to take. Nevertheless I was relieved when our path turned, through another orchard, in the direction of Hadlow.

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Not much remains in my memory of the walk between Five Oak Green and the Medway, save large fields and a ‘des res’ requiring TLC. I had said to myself that once we had crossed the river, we’d be on the home straight. The incentive to keep going was strengthened by the suggestion of tea at Hadlow.

The ‘Des-Res’

(Thus the weary desert traveller has the prospect of an oasis held out before him.) My mettle was being tested as I regularly lagged behind, but still with the leader in sight.

Hadlow reached at 4.30, the contest was between tea and transport. The latter won, and a bus was not long in arriving. It was even hotter in the bus than outside, and at Tonbridge ice creams and (for me) tea were essential to both physical and mental restoration.

A worthwhile outing, stimulating curiosity in the country beyond.

A Foot Soldier.

Play Reading

The Play Reading (Croydon) Group has been going for many years. As the name suggests, we read plays aloud but do not ‘perform’ or rehearse them, other than perhaps using a different accent if we feel capable of that. We do not read the play in advance, so there is no homework involved.

I joined the Group back in 2011. During the last six years, we have welcomed several new members to swell the ranks of our long- standing members. It is a good mix of ages and diverse backgrounds and, yes, we do have some men.

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Using play sets borrowed from the library, we each take a part or sometimes two of a wide variety of plays by well-known authors - PG Wodehouse, Agatha Christie, Alfred Hitchcock, Terence Rattigan, Alan Bennett and Noel Coward.

Our list has also included plays translated into English from their original language, such as Antigone by Jean Anouilh, The Miser and The School for Wives by Molière and A Doll’s House and Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen.

We have read plays written by members of the U3A and more recently, one of our members used text available on the Internet to produce scripts for the play, ‘Twelve Angry Men’ by Reginald Rose. He even provided a couple of small props to add authenticity. Every session is different and gives us the opportunity to forget everyday issues and concerns, if only for a little while.

We haven’t tackled any Shakespeare plays yet but have certainly not ruled this out.

Cariss Smith

Creative writing

Security (Part 2)

[Part 1 related how the Company vainly tried to improve the security of its commercial vehicle depot by employing a failed police dog]

Some years later, the subject was raised at one of the Group’s South London Depots. Despite warnings from head office, it was decided to approach the Battersea Dogs’ Home for a suitable canine candidate. This turned out to be a not yet full grown Alsatian of an extremely nervous disposition.

‘The mere sight of this size dog will discourage the youth from vandalism,’ said the Sales Manager. The General Manager was not convinced as he had heard the stories regarding guard dogs from head office. The SM was persuasive and he was, in any case, the key holder whom the police phoned whenever there was a break-in.

They left the dog comfortably ensconced in his new home with the complete run of the parking lot. SM had hardly arrived home when there was a telephone call from the police, stating that passers-by had reported cries from an animal in great distress. He hurried to the depot only to find that the new guard dog was lonely and suffering from clinical depression.

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Each time SM attempted to leave, the dog set up a cacophony of heart-rending cries. Much against his will, SM took the animal home, whereupon its spirits revived and it resumed the tail wagging propensities of its kind.

Each attempt to persuade the dog to remain on guard was met with calls from the police following reports of the sufferings of an animal in extreme pain. The GM was of the opinion that the dog was not a suitable candidate for the position but the SM was not to be dissuaded. Training could be had for a price, and the dog was enrolled in a class guaranteed to accelerate the process of growing up.

‘How did it go?’ the General Manager enquired.

‘Don’t ask,’ was the reply, and GM had to use all his powers of persuasion to elicit a response.

‘The large class consisted entirely of lady owners but their pets were of both sexes,’ intoned SM. ‘Our dog was delighted to be present in such exalted company and to show his appreciation attempted to mount any animal that he got near. It was all extremely embarrassing.’

‘He’s a sex maniac as well as a manic depressive,’ said a thoughtful GM.

It was agreed that the Alsatian should be retired to SM’s home as a pet and other means found to tighten up security.

Peter Steptoe

Just Another Job

It was a raw December day, the fire in the front parlour was blazing and Bert's grandchildren were happily playing at his feet, no doubt looking forward to Christmas. As he tucked into yet another mince pie with his afternoon tea, the peace was shattered by the telephone.

‘It's for you Bert,’ his wife called out.

He took the receiver. ‘A booking Monday week, you say?’

He checked his diary. ‘OK, I can do that; send me the details.’

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Bert was considering retirement from his main occupation and now only took jobs on a casual basis. The pay was not great, and he had to run a corner shop just to put food on the table. It would mean taking the train to Norwich on the Sunday and an overnight stay so that his head was clear before the main meeting with his client the following morning.

Sunday came. He packed his bag, bought his ticket, and the train meandered leisurely across country, pulling into Norwich a good half-hour late. ‘Why are Sunday trains so unreliable?’ he pondered. ‘I suppose they have to do the maintenance work sometime, but why is it always my train that's delayed?’ There was no restaurant car so he'd bought some sandwiches for lunch, having pre-booked bed and breakfast and an evening meal at a reasonable hotel he'd used before.

Norwich on a Sunday afternoon in the 1950’s wasn't much to write home about. All the pubs and shops were closed, of course, as he hurried from the station to the hotel to check in. His shoes crunched in the light covering of snow .Then he was off to see his client for the preliminary meeting, as was customary. Bert always liked to be prepared.

The hotel seemed to be under new management. He duly entered his name and address in the hotel register but hadn't had to show his occupation before. He need not have worried.

Next morning he had breakfasted, settled his bill and was long gone by the time the bored receptionist idly browsed the register. His entry read: Name: Albert Pierrepoint. Occupation: Hangman.

Colin Read

The Smell of Tatami

[The subject for the meeting of the Creative Writing Group was ‘When I opened the door, I paused: the smell was unmistakeable’.]

Waves of emotion engulfed me as I was whisked back in time, the images from the past flooding my consciousness. I read somewhere that smells are so evocative due to the olfactory nerve's proximity to the brain. I know nothing of that, but the smell of tatami had me standing in the entrance hall of my in-laws' house forty years previously.

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‘Tatami’: the dictionary defines it as ‘rush-covered straw matting forming a traditional Japanese floor covering’ - making it somehow sound flimsy and insubstantial, but it isn't: it's stiff and solid, and when its domestic days are done, it often finds a second life on the ground around fruit trees - although whether this is to cushion the fruit when it falls, to block the growth of weeds, or as a combination of the two, I don't know, but I often noticed it placed around peach trees in the area where I lived.

But here I am once more, standing just inside the sliding front door all those years ago, taking in that distinctive smell. I didn't know it then, of course, but my mother-in-law must have renewed some of the tatami in honour of my visiting, hence the noticeably grass-like fragrance, redolent of new-mown hay in a far-away English meadow. Is that why it branded itself on my mind so deeply - because of the memories back then associated with my home country on the other side of the globe? And now the very opposite. How fickle our emotions can be!

At the time, my wife and I had no plans to live there, but it transpired that's what we finished up doing, eventually residing in an additional room added to the house especially built for us - one that didn't have tatami, by the way - and remaining there for some six years.

On that first day I was ushered into the shady interior with the politeness and ceremony that only the Japanese can muster. The building was, by the standards of that country, ‘old’: constructed just pre-war, when my mother-in-law was first married. Her husband was called up during the conflict, and died in China, along with many other local men. As a young widow, her family considered she needed to remarry, which she did, but the union turned out not to be a very happy one. Yet more victims of a war, claimed long after the guns had fallen silent - so much sadness, or even downright misery, for so many people.

I had reason to consider this when, a few years into our stay, there came the occasion of the thirty-third anniversary of the death of my father-in-law, a milestone of some significance in the Buddhist tradition. It took place in the summer months, with the heat still causing the tatami to give off some of its fragrance, despite its being no longer new by then. Mother-in-Law had bought

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a new butsudan - a family-shrine in the shape of a tall, narrow piece of furniture, with double doors which opened to reveal a photograph of the deceased, along with such items as scrolls of calligraphy, certificates of qualifications earned by the departed, letters considered to be important, a bowl of polished brass used as a gong to summon spirits, on a cushion together with its striker, and another bowl - this one sand-filled - into which burning sticks of incense could be inserted. This new butsudan was, I believe, made of teak, and if so, must have cost a considerable sum of money.

Relatives, friends, and neighbours crowded the house on the day of the ceremony. We were all seated on the tatami in front of the butsudan to listen to the priest give his sermon and pray for the soul of the departed. Not being able to understand much of this, I fell to thinking about the emotions Mother-in-Law must have been going through: how she'd became widowed at such a young age, her remarriage, and the resultant trials and tribulations. All that might have been. The life she might have lived - who on earth knows what would have happened?

In fact, Mother-in-Law died at ninety-seven, with both her children by her first husband having predeceased her. One of her remaining sons lives alone in that house now, and although I'm sure he does his best, I'd guess dust is gathering on the expensive butsudan. He himself was divorced many years ago, so he lives the life of a bachelor, cooking simple, well-tried recipes, watching TV, and drinking - probably too much of both the latter.

Of the other people of significance to me, they're all gone. That life has gone, the whole pre-Internet, pre-mobile phone, ‘pre-connected’ world has gone.

All that remains is the unmistakable smell of tatami.

Brian Clacey

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Deep in the Heart of Texas

Arriving at nightfall in the southern U.S.A., you know at once it’s Texas, as the car headlights pick out the roadside signs – Nagadoches, Whispering Oaks, then more explicitly The Yee Haw Ranch and Hollering Woman Creek. I go to sleep to the sound of the Union Pacific freight trains rumbling past for minutes on end with their soft horns and mile-long strings of wagons – and awake to huge blue skies streaked with clouds which seem to have been snagged on a nail and strung out like lint. The sense of space is overwhelming.

Seguin is a pleasant rural township some forty-five minutes’ drive out of San Antonio. The countryside is flat farmland littered with scrub oaks and the place is much as I imagined – a broad grid of avenues shaded by low-hanging trees with single-storey houses set back from the street, some with rockers on their porches and pick-up trucks in the car ports, others with ‘outback’ saloons to cover the vast distances between major cities, viz., 250 miles to Dallas. In Europe we have to build on the rubble of ancient civilizations. Here in Texas they have the luxury of tabula rasa to found a home, a plot like no other, for each family their own God’s little acre.

My host takes me to a local barbecue lunch in Luling, a one-street railway town nearby. At the City Market they serve slabs of brisket beef and sausage on grease-proof paper to us and the locals, who dress like the ‘gallopin, yodellin buckeroos’ of cowboy films complete with twirled white moustaches, ten gallon hats and authentically distressed Levis.

San Antonio itself lies at the heart of Hispanic Texas and along the trail of the frailes or friars who set up the original Catholic missions all the way to the Pacific coast. It’s also the site of the famous 1836 Battle of the Alamo during the revolutionary war of independence from Mexico. There are still lingering animosities towards the Union here in the South among descendants of Confederates, who tend to blame the blacks for their loss in hastening the abolition of slavery. The emancipation of the black slaves and their migration northwards in search of freedom has created something of a vacuum, eagerly filled by Hispanics from the south, chiefly Mexico, but also from Central America and even Bolivia and Colombia.

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I speak in English and Spanish as part of an outreach programme to several classes at the local elementary school in Seguin. Many hands shoot up when I ask who is bilingual and I emphasize the importance of speaking another language to the few remaining monoglots amongst them.

Next day we make a trip to Fredericksburg, the centre of German settlement in Texas, to visit the Museum of the Pacific War, a theatre of far greater engagement to Americans than the war in Europe. Admiral Nimitz, who took over naval command after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour, was a local boy and his foundation runs the installation which houses an extraordinary record in films, photos, voiced recollections and historical narrative of the superhuman effort to overcome the enemy, leading up to the fateful decision to drop ‘Little Boy’ on Hiroshima to end the war. On the way back, the sunset is a glorious Baroque cataract of silver sunbeams filtered through a giant reredos screen of cloud. It’s such a dramatic vision, one half expects a thunderclap and a mighty voice commanding ‘Feed my sheep!’

On my last full day, I’m invited to watch the U.S. play Uruguay at rugby in San Antonio. The game is a revelation for its high level of skill, passion and amazing defence work. The U.S. finally prevails 29-23 after a very evenly matched contest. The Americas have their own Six Nations – the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile – which are now all contenders to contest the World Cup.

On the morning of my departure, I attend with my hosts a Sunday service at the local Episcopalian church. After a stirring sermon on salt not losing its savour, an old missionary doctor gives an illustrated talk on his thirty-five years spent alleviating poverty in Honduras. We pray that President Donald’s trespasses may be forgiven and thank the Lord for the doctor’s life.

The trip has been something like living in the future: technology has now advanced communications so rapidly that almost any info., film, music, book, medicine, even human contact is instantly obtainable. You could, without irony now, call it ‘awesome’.

Barnaby Powell

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Senior Moment

[In the Spring issue, I related a ‘senior moment’ and invited members to share

theirs. Peter Steptoe has been courageous enough to do so. Editor]

My friend came one Sunday for a lunch of cheese and biscuits. As it was a lovely Spring day we decided to go out. We parked the car at the back of the White House [Norwood Grove], examined the adjacent bowling green, noticing its pristine condition, and then walked towards the lodge that bestrides the boundary between Croydon and Lambeth. Onwards and upwards we bordered Streatham Common and arrived eventually at the Rookery. I try to visit at least once a year, and always bemoan the non-working water feature – due to the leaking Victorian pipe-work – and hope that some philanthropist will pay for its repair. I hoped that the Japanese Cherry tree would be in full bloom and (behold!) for the first time in ten years my visit coincided with the display.

I need a helping hand these days as my feet don’t always seem under control. I felt the uneven flag stones more acutely than usual. Resting on one of the park benches we idly watched the passers-by, and remained for some time in the White Garden.

We returned to the White House the way we had come, and then went home to cook the evening meal. At ten o’clock I escorted my friend to the car and said farewell. I was ready for bed, climbed the stairs and began to undress. It was only then that I noticed I was wearing my bedroom slippers, and realised why my feet had been so sensitive to the uneven flagstones.

Peter Steptoe

Memorial Seat

On a seat near Hampton Court Bridge:

In memory of Peter Goodwin

1948-1994

Gone Fishing

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