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First I would like to thank all of you who attended the AGM on the 10th April 2018. As agreed, I am
including the AGM Minutes within this newsletter to ensure they are correctly distributed this year.
Following on from the AGM we enjoyed an extremely interesting and entertaining talk by Carol Andrews on
Metals Maketh Man.
The New Members Coffee Morning event on the 16th March was well attended and thank you to all who
came along to welcome our new members.
A topical discussion is the new General Data Protection Regulations and how they affect us all as U3A
members. Following attending a training event with the U3A and discussion with their trainers I have put
together an article, included in this newsletter, which I hope explains our position. If anyone has any
queries or concerns please contact me.
It is encouraging to see that our two newest groups Understanding Russia and Lace Making are flourishing.
The subject of loneliness is currently in the news and you may have seen the Independent Age leaflet in the
latest TAM magazine. People join the U3A for a variety of reasons, not only to learn and share their
experiences but also for the companionship and having others to talk to. As our membership grows our
groups are getting full and I hear from new members who have tried to join a group just to be told it is
full—discouraging particularly if you are a new member. I understand that some groups have learnt
together and are at an advanced level so it would be disruptive to have a total beginner join but they could
have a waiting list for beginners. I further understand that each new group needs a leader and that is not
always easy to find. I know Mike had a very good discussion about this at the last Leaders and Convenors
meeting. I would welcome comments from the membership about this issue so that it can be discussed
further at the next Leaders and Convenors meeting.
In the meantime if you are feeling you would like to lead a group but are nervous, why not have a word
with Mike or myself about the possibility of an experienced leader giving you some helpful guidance—they
have a lot of good advice waiting to be passed on.
Wendy Gundry
HAYWARDS HEATH & DISTRICT
WELCOME TO YOUR
SUMMER 2018
Issue No. 104
Contact
Newsletter Editor
Wendy Gundry
Next Deadline: 9th September 2018
CHAIRMAN’S LETTER
When I joined a history walk in Haywards Heath, organised through the library, we passed by a
Blue Plaque in The Broadway—have you noticed it high up on the wall?
Introducing Commando—a red chequer pigeon, bred on this site in
Haywards Heath by Sid Moon. Sid Moon was a pigeon fancier who had
served with the Army Pigeon Service during the First World War and he
offered the service of his pigeons to the war effort in 1939. Commando
carried out more than ninety missions during the war and received the
Dickin Medal (the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross) for three
particularly notable missions in June, August and September 1942 in
which he carried crucial intelligence to the Special Operations Executive, the British Intelligence Agency, from
German occupied France providing vital information enabling the Allied forces to be better equipped to fight
and defend themselves.
The Haywards Heath Blue Plaque honouring a pigeon is one of only two in England, the other being to
honour Mary at Exeter.
Trivia Information—a total of 70 Dickin Medals have been awarded since it was introduced in 1943 to
33 dogs, 32 pigeons, 4 horses and 1 cat.
YOUR COMMITTEE 2018/19
Role Name
Chairman
Newsletter Editor Wendy Gundry
Treasurer Eric Bassett
Hon. Secretary Mary Armour
Membership Secretary
U3A Email Distributor Michelle Burdis
Groups’ Co-ordinator Mike Gardiner
Assistant Groups’ Co-ordinator
Webmaster Peter Caddy
Speakers’ Secretary Pam Wheeler
Venues and Special Events Officer
Equipment Officer Paul Roberts
Information and Publicity Officer Michael Misler
Refreshments Organiser Susanne Roberts
Gift Aid Officer Alex Sansom
We now have a full committee and are looking to recruit
deputy committee members for the following roles:
Chairman
Secretary
Membership Secretary
Groups’ Co-ordinator
It can be daunting joining a Committee and immediately
taking on all the responsibilities that come with a specific
role. As a deputy you will be able to help share the workload
of the committee member whilst gaining experience of what
the role entails.
If you would be interested in discussing this further please
contact the Chairman.
Full contact information can be found on the website.
We had another enjoyable event with almost 100 members attending. However, I knew nothing about
Betty Murrell and it was interesting talking to Alastair Porter and Graham Stanley and learning more
about how the day came about and what the intentions may have been.
Introducing Betty Murrell
Betty and her husband, George, lived in Savill Road, Haywards Heath and, although they were not
Founder Members of the Haywards Heath U3A they were amongst the first members to enrol in January
1991. Within a few years they took over the Heritage Group, originally known as ‘Discovering your
Heritage’, with George as Leader and Betty as Convenor. They ran it as a team for many years and hired
the main hall at Clair Hall by virtue of the numbers the Group attracted to its meetings. In addition to the
excellent speakers they arranged, they also organised trips to distinguished venues such as the
Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, the Mansion House, the British Museum and Lambeth Palace in
London—long before there was an Exploring London Group.
In 2001, as a spin-off of the Heritage Group they started the Wider World Group, taking on the
Leadership of that Group in addition to their Heritage roles.
George pre-deceased Betty but Betty continued to be active in Heritage and Wider World under new
leaders and in the U3A generally until her death in January 2012. Shortly afterwards we learned that
Betty had bequeathed the Haywards Heath & District U3A £20,000. A sub-committee was set up and the
Betty Murrell Day was born.
Having a better understanding of how this event came about, the interests Betty and George had and
taking account of the feedback received we will be looking at a slightly different format for 2019.
BETTY MURRELL DAY—15th May 2018
I arrived on 17th May at 9.00am at the Uckfield National Golf Centre to represent the ‘Pastels and Mixed Media Painting’ Groups 1 & 2 of the Haywards Heath U3A at the annual ‘Betty Murrell Day’ with a display of their work.. This year we had decided to produce some mini-art pictures. Members had painted various designs on post-cards, which were offered for sale at £1 each for the benefit of the Mid-Sussex Parkinsons Society charity. There were two large displays and two smaller ones showing well over one hundred post-cards.
There were 97 U3A members present at the event and they showed considerable interest during the intervals in the Group’s painting display. Over 53 post-cards were bought. Another member of the Art Group was also representing her ‘Lace Group’ at the next table.
Lynne Tomes is the leader (01444 450626) [email protected] of both groups and Dora Felix is the Convenor of Group 1. Contact Lynne if you are interested in joining either of the groups who meet on Monday afternoons at the King Edward Hall, Lindfield.
Pam Smitherman—Convener or Group 2
HAYWARDS HEATH & DISTRICT
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Minutes of the 28th Annual General Meeting of the Haywards Heath and District U3A held at Clair Hall, Perrymount Road, Haywards Heath on Tuesday 10th April 2018 at 2.00pm
Present: Alex Sansom Chairman Mary Armour Secretary Eric Bassett Treasurer Mike Gardiner Groups’ Co-ordinator Wendy Gundry Vice Chair & Newsletter Editor Paul Roberts Venues & Special Events Officer Susanne Roberts Refreshments Organiser Peter Caddy Assistant Groups Co-ordinator Michelle Burdis Assistant Membership Secretary Diana Cawdery SUN Representative ex officio
Plus 131 members.
Welcome and Introduction:
The Chairman welcomed Members to the meeting and introduced the current committee members present. Fay Jones, Member-ship Secretary, and Pam Wheeler, Speakers Organiser were unable to be present.
Apologies:
Apologies had been received from Shirley Sanderson, Rosemary Knowles, Nicola Smith, Sarah Tapp and David Ransom.
3. Tributes:
The Chairman then asked for a minute’s silence to remember the following members who had died during the year – Lynne An-derson, Anne Dawson, Beryl Gamse, Pamela Robinson, Yvonne Stock, Roger Turner, Sylvia Cockrane, Alan Sawyer, Sylvia Brad-ing, Pam Corbishley, Bridget Jeram and Dorothy Logan.
Alex thanked Pauline Parkyns our Welfare Officer, for her continued commitment.
4. Approval of the Minutes of the 27th AGM held on 11th April 2017
Approval of the Minutes was proposed by Alex Sansom and seconded by Ray Jones. This was unanimously agreed and they were signed by the Chairman as being a correct record.
5. Matters Arising
Alistair Porter said it was difficult to know if there were any matters arising as no-one had a copy of the Minutes. Wendy Gundry said she thought they had previously been circulated. She acknowledged that no copies were available today but said nothing could be done retrospectively. She will ensure this does not happen next year.
6. Chairman’s Address: Alex Sansom
Alex said that it would be his last report as he was standing down in favour of the Vice-Chair, Wendy Gundry and he felt sure we would give her the same support that had been given to him over the past couple of years, for which he thanked the members.
Since the last AGM we had held a very successful Betty Murrell Day at a new venue, the East Sussex Golf Centre near Uckfield. We had attended the Lindfield Village Day and supported the Cuckfield Christmas Tree Festival. The June Coffee Morning hosted by the Instrument Group was followed by a very successful summer concert in July and the retiring collection raised £135 for Know Dementia.
The speaker at our July Open Meeting was Katy Bourne, the Police Crime Commissioner, at the October meeting we had a speak-er from SS Great Britain and in January this year our own Peter Leigh.
We have held further Coffee Mornings including two Welcome New Members mornings, our first Group Leaders Appreciation Day and arranged a successful Silver Sunday event. Page 2
A Christmas Concert was held at another new venue, The Ascension Church, which proved excellent, and a retiring collection raised £131 for Neil’s Club. Thanks to you all for your generous contributions.
We can now look forward to another Betty Murrell Day again at ESGC and the application form for this is in the latest News-letter, and a very full day has been planned and represents excellent value at £10, being heavily subsidised by the Betty Murrell Fund.
We have now got our Gift Aid reclaims back on track, and so far this year we have received over £1,350 so you can see the im-portance of this, and if you haven’t signed up, and are eligible please do so. Although I am standing down as Chairman, I intend staying on as Gift Aid Officer.
After several years our Membership Secretary, Fay Jones, is retiring from the Committee and many thanks to her for her hard work with considerable support from Chris Roe. The membership has grown to 1052 so far this year with over 200 new mem-bers. As Fay is not present I will present her with a small token of our appreciation at a later date. We therefore have two vacan-cies on the Committee, including a Publicity Officer and with in excess of 80 groups there is a great deal of administration to be done. Please think about how you can help.
A lot of work is carried out by Group Leaders and Convenors and our thanks to them for their hard work. There is also another group of people who help behind the scenes, without whom, the smooth running of the U3A would not be quite so smooth, but the problem with naming names, is that I will probably forget someone whose contribution is equally important, but you know who you are.
I conclude by thanking the Committee for their support, Leaders for their continued dedication, the unsung supporters and you, the members of this excellent organisation, which is the U3A.
7. Treasurer’s Report and Adoption of Accounts: Eric Bassett.
Eric said that we had received £4,000 from Gift Aid last year, thanks to the hard work of Alex and Fay, and the Treasurers job had been made easier because of this. There is nothing significant in this year’s accounts and we have a surplus of £3,600, main-ly due to Gift Aid. The Betty Murrell account stands at £8,740 which means we should be able to hold another one or two days.
Eric asked if there were any questions from the floor; Tim Smith asked if we needed to sign a Gift Aid form annually, and the answer was No.
Adoption of the Accounts was proposed by Alan Colgate and seconded by Jean King. By a show of hands all those present gave their approval.
8. To approve the appointment of the Independent Examiner of the Accounts for 2014/15
Eric thanked Geoff Martin for examining the Accounts, who has said he is prepared to continue as Independent Examiner of the Accounts. This was proposed by Jill Butler, seconded by Graham Stanley and was approved by all present.
9. Election of Chairmen and Committee Members
Alex Sansom said that Wendy Gundry is installed as Chairman as she is the only nominee. Proposed by Alex Sansom and se-conded by Alistair Porter. Elected.
Our current Secretary and Treasurer had both indicated that they were prepared to continue in office, as have all the existing Committee Members other than Fay, so I would like to propose that they are elected “en bloc” unless any member objects, which they didn’t. All re-elected
10. National AGM.
Alex said that the National AGM was held in August last year and we have not been advised yet of this years’ dates, but it is held in Nottingham. The Committee will keep the matter in hand and anyone wishing to attend will have expenses paid.
Alex said that he had to advise all members that following discussions between Head Office and the Charity Commission it has become necessary to amend object 2 of our constitution from its current wording:
To advance the education of the public of Haywards Heath and its surrounding area and in particular middle aged and older people who are not in full time gainful employment;
The provision of facilities for leisure time and recreational activities with the object of improving the conditions of life for the above persons in the interests of their social welfare.
To: “The Advancement of education and, in particular, the education of older people and those who are retired from full time work by all means, including associated activities conducive to learning and personal development.”
Page 3
PLASTIC WRAPPERS
Congratulations to Jean Sedgley for her letter
which appeared in the Spring Third Age Matters
magazine.
Recently I received a magazine in what looked like
a plastic wrapper but it had a note on it :
DON’T LANDFILL THIS WRAPPER
PUT IT IN YOUR COMPOST BIN
It appears it is made out of potato waste! Whilst
the science is not new it is good to see some
companies are now taking the need on board and
embracing a solution.
BRIAN HIGH
DOROTHY LOGAN
JEANNE O’KEEFFE
DOREEN SCHOFIELD
This has been approved in committee, however we are obliged to advise you that this has been done and convey this to Head Office.
You can see from the Agenda the forthcoming events and we look forward to seeing as many of you as possible.
12. Questions or Comments from the floor
Jenny Porter gave a vote of thanks to Alex Sansom for stepping in as Chairman and doing an excellent job.
Chris Goring asked about the new law on Data Protection and Wendy Gundry said that she had been on a study day and it was being put into place. First it will just involve new members, but something will be sent out to all members in due course explaining what changes need to be made.
Jo Slaughter said that there is a problem parking at the Methodist Church on a Monday afternoon, but it was agreed that there is nothing we can do about parking problems when we hire the hall.
Alistair Porter asked if there was an item on the agenda re subscriptions as he thought this had to be discussed annually. Alex Sansom said it has not been discussed in Committee as there is enough money in the bank this year, and so no need for an increase. Last year subs were not raised, but Hall Fees were. Alistair pointed out that Article 6v, of the Constitution said there was a recommendation to discuss this, so it was proposed by Mike Misler and seconded by Alex Sansom that there be no increase this year in subscriptions. This was agreed.
There was some confusion about Michelle Burdis’ position as Membership Secretary, but it was agreed that as a member of the Committee she could be appointed Membership Secretary without a vote.
Linda Newman asked, if you are a member of another U3A do you need to pay full subs. here? Alex Sansom said that you only need to pay National Capitation once, irrespective of how many U3A’s you belong to. Haywards Heath U3A had de-cided that the admin costs of checking this make it not worthwhile to reduce the fees by £3.50p for the very few mem-bers who belong to more than one U3A.
Nancy Bray from Art Appreciation asked if a new slide projector could be purchased, as the present one is very old. Gra-ham Stanley said it is rarely used and they may not still be available to buy. Alex Sansom said that Paul Roberts is taking over as Equipment Officer and will be checking the condition of all equipment and where it is held.
It was asked when tickets for Betty Murrell Day will be sent out, and Wendy Gundry said there are no tickets, if you have booked you have a place. Timings for the day are Coffee at 9.15am and close approx. 3.45pm.
13. Any Other Business - None
The meeting closed at 2.45pm.
GDPR GUIDANCE FOR HAYWARDS HEATH & DISTRICT U3A MEMBERS
Like me you will probably have been swamped with different communications from various other
organisations who have you on their database advising you to “opt in” to keep receiving communications
from them. These organisations are having to contact you to confirm that you still want to hear from them
and to assure you in respect of how they will treat your personal data and your rights are in respect of this
going forward.
Not all organisations need you to “opt in” in this way – it all depends on why an organisation needs to
retain your data and what their lawful basis for processing that data is – these can include legitimate
interest, consent and performance of a contract. The U3A Trust has taken legal advice and been advised
that the most suitable lawful basis for U3As to use are performance of a contract and consent.
As a local U3A we will be going forward using the lawful basis of contract. To explain what this means:
For you to be a member of the U3A we need to collect the following information:
1. Your name
2. Your postal address
3. Contact information as per your preference – email/telephone/letter
4. Gift Aid Information
This information is stored on our membership database which is handled by our Membership Secretary as
the Data Controller. The Controller has a responsibility to keep your data secure. Team Leaders of groups
collect other information such as name and contact information (ICE) from members of their groups direct.
Therefore, they are controllers of that data in their own right and there is no direct data relationships
between the U3A and the groups, unless that personal data is transferred.
On occasion we may need to gather information from you in respect of your dietary or mobility needs if
you are attending a specific function or event. That information is only used for that function or event and
is deleted immediately following the event.
If you choose to leave the Haywards Heath & District U3A your data will be removed within 1 month of
your leaving. However, if you have agreed to enhance your membership fee through Gift Aid we have a
legal obligation to keep your name and address for a statutory period of 6 years.
As a U3A we take a number of photographs at our events or when on visits. Photographs can be classified
as personal data and therefore going forward consent will need to be obtained for both taking and
displaying photographs. Most of our photographs tend to be as a group and it is then sufficient to ask any
member who does not wish to be in the photograph to move out of shot. It would normally be accepted
that any photographs taken in this way would only be used for personal use, within the group or through
our local U3A newsletter. If it is likely to be used for anything else that would need to be specifically
advised at the time.
Please be advised that if on occasion a third party is used for an event – such as a coach trip – and they
request additional information about yourselves which you provide directly to them the safekeeping and
use of that data would be covered by the third party’s GDPR policy not the U3A.
2
Your rights in respect of data gathering and retention are:
1. You can lodge a data access request to check the information we are holding on you, what we are us-
ing it for and to make sure the data we hold is accurate.
2. You have the right to be forgotten – if you use that right your membership would have to cease.
3. The right to data portability – taking your data to other service providers.
Because of the lawful basis through which we collect your data we do not need you to physically consent to
us keeping your data, but we will be including a Privacy Policy on our new and renewal membership forms
starting in August 2018. The privacy policy will also ask if you consent to receiving our quarterly newsletters
and the Third Age Matters magazine. If you do not wish to receive either of these we can remove that option
but still retain the necessary data in respect of your membership.
Full details in respect of GDPR guidance from Head Office can be found at https://www.u3a.org.uk/advice/data-protection/390-gdpr-revised. If you have any concerns or would like to discuss anything in respect of GDPR and the Haywards Heath & District U3A policy, please contact Wendy Gundry on [email protected].
Date Event/Time Venue Information
29/06/2018 Coffee Morning
10:00—11:30 am
Methodist Church Hosted by Art of Photography 1 & 2
11/07/2018 Open Meeting
14:00—16:30 pm
Clair Hall—Main Hall Talk by Mike Burn
I Love Paris (and the Ile de France)
28/07/2018 Summer Concert
14:00 pm Methodist Church—Wesley Hall
09/08/2018 Enrolment Day
14:00 pm
Clair Hall
14/09/2018 New Members Coffee
Morning—10:00—11:30 am
08/10/2018 Open Meeting
14:00—16:30 pm
Clair Hall—Main Hall Hurstpierpoint College Big Band
14/10/2018 Silver Sunday St. Edwards Hall
Lindfield
30/11/2018 Coffee Morning
10:00—11:30 am
Methodist Church Hosted by Exploring London 3
08/12/2018 Christmas Concert
Dates for your Diary
Haywards Heath & District U3A
Enrolment Day Thursday 9th August 2018— 2:00 PM
Clair Hall, Perrymount Rd, Haywards Heath RH16 3DN
We look forward to seeing you at this year’s Enrolment Day. Please arrive no earlier than 2 pm to give
our volunteers the opportunity to be all set up for when you arrive.
Please bring your renewal cheque for £14 with your HHU3A membership number, your email address
(if you have one) and telephone number written on the back. This will save queues and give us an
opportunity to check all our records are up to date.
If you are unable to attend in person and are sending your cheque through the post please remember
to put your HHU3A membership number, your email address (if you have one) and telephone number
on the back before posting.
Please send your cheque with a stamped addressed
A5 envelope to:
HHU3A Membership Secretary—Michelle Burdis
84 Harlands Road
Haywards Heath, West Sussex. RH16 1LS
If you have any queries regarding your membership
please ring Michelle on 07517 028626
The Haywards Heath U3A Summer Concert will take place at the
Wesley Hall, Methodist Church on Saturday July 28th at 2 pm.
One of the themes is to be Shakespeare in Music and will feature
pieces from Kiss me Kate, West Side Story and other works.
We hope several groups will take part so do come along to support
them.
We look forward to seeing you.
Christine Colbourne
A maritime poser
Homo-Sapien ÷ Rent = ? What is the only word in the
English language that ends in ‘mt’?
Free membership is available to all our members aged
90 years or over on the 1st August each year. Members
do need to notify the Membership Secretary as we do
not keep this information. You will need to advise
Michelle that you wish to renew each August.
Bryan McAlley recently contacted us to say he was looking at the possibility of setting up a Repair Café
based in Chailey and he wondered if anyone within the U3A might be interested in helping get the project
off the ground. Bryan currently volunteers at both Forest Row and Horsham Repair Cafes but notices that
there is not one in or near Chailey.
Bryan is hoping to gain the support and interest of Chailey Parish Council and will be submitting an
application for a grant to cover the initial registration of Chailey Repair Café with the Repair Café
International Organisation. He has also applied to Chailey Parish Hall to have the use of the hall for 5 hours
on the same Saturday each month at a discounted regular user rate.
The project is already being publicised in local newspapers and magazines.
There are over 1400 Repair Cafes worldwide—more information about the cafes can be
found at https://repaircafe.org/en.
Repair Cafes are free meeting places where volunteers with repair skills in all kinds of
fields repair things such as clothes, furniture, electrical appliances, bicycles, crockery,
appliances, toys and much more. Visitors bring in broken items from home which might
otherwise be taken to the tip. They watch while the specialist starts working, perhaps
learning something about repairing as they do so. They can also enjoy a cup of tea or
coffee whilst they are waiting.
If you would be interested in volunteering either as a repairer or simply to help manage the Repair Café
sessions—the commitment is only 3 hours once a month—contact Bryan via email [email protected]
We receive numerous requests to inform our
members of different events, surveys etc.
Occasionally we hear of something that would
seem relevant to our membership so I have
started up this section for your information.
However, please be aware if you attend or
participate in any of the events you do so at
your own risk and independently with no
liability towards HH&D U3A.
If you are a tax-payer please consider completing a Gift Aid
declaration when you pay your subscription this year. If you have
already completed a Gift Aid declaration you do not need to do this
again.
You are eligible to complete a Gift Aid declaration if your donation
is no more than 4 times what you have paid in tax in the tax year
(6 April to 5 April).
DO YOU HAVE AN INTEREST THE ITALIAN LANGUAGE?
Parli Italiano? You don’t need to be fluent or even that far along in your own study
of the language—there would be a lot of support.
If you are even a tiny bit tempted to lead our Italian Beginners Group—to learn as
you help others become familiar with the basics of the language—please contact
Rose Mortenson via email—[email protected].
FRENCH (DAY TO DAY) 1
With the loss of Brian High this group Is trying to muddle through alone.
They need a teacher with a good knowledge of the language to help develop
conversational and linguistic skills. They do touch on some of the intricacies of French
grammar and use CDs, articles and books etc. which they translate from French in
order to improve their vocabulary and increase their confidence in using the
language.
The Group has its preferred learning method so If you would be interested in finding
out more about the group’s current level and whether you could help please contact
Michelle Burdis via email on [email protected]
This is your Newsletter—designed to share information, past and future events, news
etc. amongst all Haywards Heath U3A members so I welcome YOUR FEEDBACK on what
you would like to read about in the newsletters going forward.
Please send your feedback and newsletter items for AUTUMN—September 2018—
deadline 9th September 2018 — [email protected]
FINALLY
A BIG THANK YOU FROM ME
TO ALL OF YOU WHO SENT IN ARTICLES
FOR THIS NEWSLETTER.
PLEASE CONTINUE TO DO SO.
All contributions are welcome—we would particularly like
Information on Groups and Outings
News and views via letters to the Editor
ANSWERS :
Maritime Poser—Man overboard
Only word in the English language that ends in ‘mt’ - Dreamt
