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NO.13 JULY 2017
R O Y S T O N
www.u3asites.org.uk/royston
Spring is
here and
the days
are getting
longer
again so
to keep
Inside this issue:
Welcome message June meeting May meeting
1 1 1
Five Mile Walks group History group
2 2
Flower Arranging group Pudding group
3 3
Gardening group Theatre group
4 4
Wine Appreciation group
Dates for your diary
Guide to Interest Groups
5 5 5
Interest Groups Contacts
Royston U3A Committee
6
6
“ Following the AGM, I
would like to thank you all for your support and for
re-electing me and other committee members for a further year. I would also like
to thank standing down committee members Reg and Kathy Hounsell and
Deirdre Smith for all their hard work to make Royston U3A the success it is today.
A big welcome to our new committee members taking
on the following roles:-
Vice Chair, Sandra Walker
Treasurer & Speakers Secretary, Barbara Andrew
Secretary, Karen Heaton
Existing Groups Co-ordinator, Joan Westcott
New Groups Co-ordinator, Sharon Camilletti
My thanks to them for
volunteering to come onto committee for the coming year.
Jackie Gellert Chairman
Pearls of Wisdom
Jason
Middleton
Pearls have been prized for thousands of years – and gem expert Jason Middleton showed us why at May’s meeting. The world’s oldest gemstone has a unique appeal and he brought along ropes of shimmering pearls of all shapes and shades to illustrate his point. “The pearl forms in molluscs which date back millions of years,” he said. “It’s one of the earliest life forms on the planet and is quite simply a miracle of nature.” What makes pearls unique is that unlike other gemstones mined from the earth they need no special cutting or polishing to release their natural beauty. Pearl jewel-lery has been treasured by many cultures and civilisa-tions and for centuries
divers risked their lives searching for natural pearls before the world’s first cultured pearls were created in Japan in the early 1900s. Cultured pearls now domi-nate the market and Hong Kong is the centre of pearl jewellery activity. Jason gave an insight into the
vast variety and qualities of pearls from different shores, what to look for and how to care for them to preserve their natural beauty. “When it comes to measure- ing quality, lustre is the main quality to look for in these beautiful natural gemstones” he said.
On the trail of the Anglo Saxons
An excavation by a local archaeologist in a quiet corner of East Anglia led to one of the most spectacular discoveries of the 20
th
century. Veronica Bennett told the story of how Suffolk archaeologist Basil Brown excavated a burial mound in the grounds of a country house at Sutton Hoo in 1939. It revealed an Anglo Saxon ship with a burial chamber containing a stunning collection of treasures dating back to the seventh century. It was quite a haul, with a magnificent helmet, sword and shield, gold coins and beautifully crafted silverware among the objects – surely commemorating a high
was the son of yeoman
farmers. He had an amazing
brain and a thirst for
knowledge and he was a
remarkable archaeologist.”
Veronica Bennett
ranking man or even a king. Veronica illustrated her talk with pictures of the treasures – replicas are on show at the Sutton Hoo exhibition centre as the originals are in the British Museum. “The Anglo Saxons were
quite an amazing people
and the exhibition centre
brings Sutton Hoo to life,
informing people
about its place in
the regional, national
and international scene
of the times,” she said.
Paying tribute to Basil
Brown she added: “He
“There were so many it used to look as if almost every door was a pub and on cattle market days pubs near the top of the market opened at 6am,” said Mike.
The 50 strong audience included four members who grew up in Royston and recalled their childhood memories. John Bishop lived at the Falcon Inn in Melbourn Street where his father was the publican and Sue Bishop's maiden name was Halstead, a close relative of Jack Halstead who ran what is now Mica Hardware.
History group leader Reg Hounsell said: “What was so striking was that despite the demolition of a lot of buildings there are still many in the town centre that are recog-nisable today.”
The group’s next meeting will be on July 11. Contact Reg Hounsell on 01763 241805 or [email protected]
Mike
Lawrence
PAGE 2
‘despite
demolition of a
lot of buildings
there are still
many in the
town centre
that are
recognisable
today’
Victoria’s diamond jubilee, children paddling in the pool on the Heath in the 1930s, and the brewery on the Morrisons site which burnt down in the early 1900s, all depicted the changing face of the town.
Then there was the huge variety of stores from butchers and grocers to blacksmiths and furniture shops, although they were overshadowed by the number of pubs.
Umpteen pubs with shops and tea rooms tucked in- between, plus a host of interesting characters summed up the Royston of yesteryear.
Royston historian Mike Lawrence took the History group on an entertaining slideshow walk around the town from the 1880s up to the 1950s.
Scenes like The Bull Inn decked in flags for Queen
Beales café on The Cross -
at one time used by a dentist as his monthly surgery!
ROYSTON U3A NEWS I JULY 2017 www.u3asites.org.uk/royston
Stepping out in Barkway On a beautiful summer morning 31 walkers led by Julie Vaughan set off on a five mile walk from the Tally Ho pub at Barkway, taking in the High Street which is part of the old London to Cambridge coaching route and is lined with 15th and 16th century houses, some of them thatched.
We continued along foot-paths to Reed, stopping to visit the old village school and parish church with its Anglo Saxon entrance. The walk rounded off with a visit to Barkway Parish Church before arriving back at the Tally Ho for a welcome lunch.
Taking a trip down memory lane
If you have a favourite walk like Julie that you would like to lead please let us know and Peter Andrew and I will be pleased to walk the route with you to confirm that it is suitable for a future walking day. Our next walk will be on July 12. Details will be posted on the website.
The Five Mile Walks group
on their return to Barkway
after a very pleasant walk
2
Eric Heaton and Peter Andrew
‘Ready
ROYSTON U3A NEWS I JULY 2017 www.u3asites.org.uk/royston
Jackie Gellert
thumb to grip the flowers
and use our teeth to tie the
string around the posy –
this manoeuvre actually
worked well but was quite
amusing to watch every-
one trying it. At the end of
the session we all left
clutching our posies, not
for the Queen but for our
own homes. Buckingham
Palace will just have to
wait a while.
During British Flower Week in June the group held a further session using a selection of British grown flower to produce a loose bunch arrangement.
The group’s next meeting will be on Monday July 31 at 10am when we will create a table centre arrangement.
If you are interested in joining the group contact Jackie Gellert on 01763
248097 or [email protected]
Saying it with flowers made it look easy but the
handling, twisting, gripping
and securing of the fresh
spring flowers took an
immense amount of con-
centration. Stem-by-stem
something quite beautiful
began to evolve although
quite a lot of guidance and
assistance was necessary.
As complete beginners it
was quite difficult and it
would have been a lot
easier if we each had two
pairs of hands. A profes-
sional trick we learnt from
Kenia was to hold out ones’
‘it was quite
difficult and
would have
been a lot
easier if we
each had
two pairs of
hands’
On a cold and windy May
day eight flower arranging
novices turned up at
September Flowers in
Market Hill Square for the
first Royston U3A flower
arranging workshop session
run by the owner, Kenia.
Her plan for our group was
to create a posy fit to
present to the Queen.
After Kenia demonstrated
the fundamentals of how to
create a beautiful arrange-
ment, we all then began to
put into practice what we
had been shown. Kenia
The group with their beautiful posies
Jackie Gellert
Queen Victoria’s favourite pudding Pudding group members
were treated by Liz Wells
to puddings that were
favourites of nobility in
the seventeenth century
onwards.
Cooking as we know it
today wasn’t the case back
then; it was the ladies of the
house who bought recipe
books for their cooks to
work from. Most people
have heard of Mrs Isabella
Beeton (1836-1865); her
name is particularly associ-
ated with her first book, the
1861 work Mrs Beeton's
Book of Household Man-
agement. There were
others who also produced
recipe books such as
Hannah Glasse an English
cookery writer remembered
mainly for her bestselling
cookbook, The Art of
Cookery made Plain and
Easy, first published in
1747. She was probably the
first domestic goddess –
well ahead of today’s
Nigella Lawson.
We learnt that Queen
Victoria had a very “sweet
tooth” and the royal
kitchens were kept busy
catering to this particular
aspect of their mistress’s
appetite. Her favourite
pudding was the Sussex
Pond, a pudding that
Heston Blumenthal recently
revived by putting an
orange into his Christmas
pudding – the original
Sussex Pond steam
pudding had a lemon in it.
Liz treated us to the
Sussex Pond followed by
Hannah Glasse’s cherry
pie pudding and to finish
with we tasted a scrump-
tious rice pudding. Thank-
fully, for the sake of our
waistlines, the group
meets only once a rnonth.
The group’s next meeting
will be on July 20 at 1pm.
To join the group contact
Liz Wells on 01763
247460 or
Liz Wells
PAGE 3
PAGE 4
Theatre news
ROYSTON U3A NEWS I JULY 2017 www.u3asites.org.uk/royston
The delights of Kathy Brown’s garden In May, 46 members of the
Gardening Group enjoyed a
coach outing to gardens in
Bedfordshire and Bucking-
hamshire. Our first stop
was The Manor House at
Stevington to visit the
garden of cookery writer
Kathy Brown. With Kathy
and her husband as guides,
we had a very informative
tour of the 4.5 acre garden.
Started in 1991 as a
cottage style garden, new
areas have been added
over the years including an
ornamental grass parterre,
winter garden, edible flower
garden and wildflower
meadow. A bonus for us
was that before the formal
tour we were able to walk
round and then sit in the
garden and sample the
wonderful cakes Kathy
makes to go with a
welcome cup of tea. My
favourite was the lemon
drizzle and lavender cake!
After lunch at Frosts
Garden Centre in Woburn
Sands we visited Ascott
House, a fine Jacobean
house at Wing in Bucking-
hamshire with extensive
landscaped gardens.
Preserved by the National
Trust, Ascott House was
built in the reign of James I.
Donated to the National
Trust in 1949 by the
Rothschild family, it
contains important collec-
tions of books, paintings
and Chinese porcelain.
An unexpected extra on the return trip was our coach driver taking the route through Woburn Abbey Country Park for great views of the deer herds.
Reg Hounsell
The group’s next meeting on July 13 will be a talk about the importance of bees. Contact Val Fairbanks on 01763 230724 or [email protected]
Kathy Brown with the group
Deirdre Smith
Linda Hack
They Can’t Take That
Away From Me and ‘S
Wonderful. The show
depicting Paris in the mid
-1940s was spectacular
with wonderful scenery,
dancing and music. All in
all we had a great time
and a big thank you to
Anita Crook who led the
group when Deirdre
Smith was unable to go.
The Dominion Theatre in
London was our destination
in April to see An American
in Paris - and we were not
disappointed.
This critically acclaimed and
multi Tony Award-winning
Broadway musical was in-
spired by the Oscar winning
MGM film featuring many of
George and Ira Gershwin’s
timelessly popular songs
including I Got Rhythm,
At the beginning of May
the Theatre group went to
see Arthur Miller’s Pulitzer
Prize winning Death Of A
Salesman at the Cambridge
Arts Theatre. Following the
production difficulties with
the sudden death of Tim
Pigott-Smith, we saw in
reality the play’s premiere in
Cambridge. The substitute
lead actor Nicholas
Woodeson took on the role
of Willy Loman and did it
well, even though he
needed his script on stage.
Widely considered to be one
of the greatest plays of the
twentieth century, Death Of
A Salesman is about the
cost of not being able to let
go of the American Dream.
The group enjoyed the play
but agreed that at three
hours long, it was quite a
marathon to sit through. A
very cultural afternoon.
‘the show was
spectacular
with wonderful
scenery,
dancing and
music’
Theatre group members at the Dominion Theatre, London
PAGE 5
Easy Guide to Interest Groups
For frequency and contact details about all interest groups please see the chart on the next page or
check out our website for more information www.u3asites.org.uk/royston Announcements about future
theatre trips and excursions will be posted on our website when details become available.
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
MORNING Flower Arranging Fitness Birding Walking: Strollers Book Club 2
Meditation Seated Exercise Book Club 3
Five Mile Walks
Patchwork
AFTERNOON Current Affairs Book Club 1 Clay Shooting Ballroom & Latin
Dancing Petanque/Boules
Curry Club Bridge for Beginners Wine Appreciation 1 Gardening Pilates
French Conversation History Wine Appreciation 2 Golf
Pottery
(Hand Building) Mixed Crafts
Tai Chi Pudding
EVENING Jazz Appreciation
Dates for your diary
July
Tuesday 25, 2pm
Royston Parish Church
Martin Johnson will give a talk on
ANTARCTICA - the ‘White Continent’ and its amazing wildlife
September
Tuesday 26, 2pm
Royston Parish Church
Bill Barr will give a talk on
FROM PLOUGH TO PLATE
August
Royston U3A excursion to
SUTTON HOO and
WOODBRIDGE Postponed from July 18
until Autumn 2017
Look out for full details and a booking form on
our website.
ROYSTON U3A NEWS I JULY 2017 www.u3asites.org.uk/royston
A perfect summer evening On one of the hottest days
of the year 35 members of
the two Wine Appreciation
groups got together and
travelled by air conditioned
coach to Newmarket for a
Food & Wine Extravaganza.
On arrival at Palace House
the group spent time touring
the National Horseracing
Museum exploring works of
art, silver, bronzes and arte-
facts including silks worn by
famous jockeys Lester
Piggott and Frankie Dettori.
After a short break to cool
down the group reassem-
bled in The Tack Room
courtyard for an al fresco
Food & Wine Extravaganza.
The wines were chosen by
Gil Riggans of Corney &
Barrow in collaboration with
the Tack Room head chef
Adam Spicer to complement
each course of the French
themed gourmet menu he
had specially prepared for
us and what a menu it was!
Chef‘s adventurous food and Gil’s selection of wines could not have been better matched and we were so lucky with the weather to be able to sit
outside to enjoy the occasion. A great success and everyone wanted to know when can we do it again?
Ralph Gellert
ROYSTON U3A NEWS I JULY 2017
Get it in the News If you’re involved in a group why not publicise it in Royston U3A News? Send in a short report of your latest meeting or outing - photos welcomed too - to Pam Dajda at [email protected] or phone 01763 246234
Chairman Jackie Gellert [email protected] 01763 248097 Vice Chair Sandra Walker [email protected] 01763 241896 Treasurer & Speakers Secretary Barbara Andrew [email protected] 01763 245363
Secretary Karen Heaton [email protected] 01763 242989
Membership Secretary Marion Martin [email protected] 01763 246876 Minutes Secretary Sylvia Fuller [email protected] 01763 243006 Existing Groups Co-ordinator Joan Westcott [email protected] 01763 220812
New Groups Co-ordinator Sharon Camilletti [email protected] 07725 847303
Publicity Pam Dajda [email protected] 01763 246234
Royston U3A News Ralph Gellert [email protected] 01763 248097
Committee Member George Karger 01763 245988
Co-opted Committee Member Eric Heaton [email protected] 01763 242989
Royston U3A Committee
R O Y S T O N
Interest Groups Don’t forget to check out our website for more information
www.u3asites.org.uk/royston
GROUP DAY FREQUENCY GROUP LEADER CONTACT DETAILS TIME
Ballroom & Latin Dancing Thurs 2nd & 4th Thurs of month Jackie Gellert [email protected] 01763 248097 4:45pm
Birding Wed Monthly 1st Wed Carol McGeoch [email protected] 01223 207354 8:30am
Book Club 1 Tues Monthly 1st Tues Deirdre Smith [email protected] 01763 244700 2:00pm
Book Club 2 Fri Monthly Variable Janet Burton [email protected] 07984 600295 11:00am
Book Club 3 Wed Monthly last Wed Elizabeth (Lee) Towers [email protected] 01763 241488 10:30am
Bridge for Beginners Tues Weekly Mike Thrower [email protected] 07737 400348 1:45pm
Clay Shooting Wed Variable Frank Martin [email protected] 07831 898234 2:00pm
Current Affairs Mon Monthly Variable George Karger 01763 245988 4:00pm
Curry Club Mon 12:00pm Monthly Variable Reg Hounsell [email protected] 01763 241805
Excursions Variable Occasional Annette Guttridge [email protected] 01763 241818 Variable
Fitness Tues Weekly Kathy Hounsell [email protected] 01763 241805 9:30am
Five Mile Walks Wed Monthly 2nd Wed Eric Heaton [email protected] 01763 242989 9:45am
Flower Arranging Mon 10.00am Monthly Variable Jackie Gellert [email protected] 01763 248097
French Conversation Mon 1st & 3rd Mon of month Elisabeth Goodman-Spain [email protected] 1:00pm
Gardening Thurs Monthly Variable Val Fairbanks [email protected] 01763 230724 2:30pm
Golf Thurs Weekly Ralph Gellert [email protected] 01763 248097 1:00pm
History Tues 2:00pm Monthly Variable Reg Hounsell [email protected] 01763 241805
Jazz Appreciation Wed Monthly 2nd Wed Reg Hounsell [email protected] 01763 241805 7:30pm
Meditation Mon 10:30am 2nd & 4th Mon of month John Froggett [email protected] 07900 210808
Mixed Crafts Thurs Monthly 3rd Thurs Rosie Cowsley [email protected] 07809 047380 2:00pm
Patchwork Wed 10:00am Monthly 1st Wed Maureen Strugnell [email protected] 01763 241967
Petanque / Boules Fri Fortnightly John Bishop [email protected] 01763 246703 2:30pm
Pilates Fri Weekly Kathy Hounsell [email protected] 01763 241805 2:00pm
Pottery (Hand Building) Mon Fortnightly Variable Rosie Cowsley [email protected] 07809 047380 2:00pm
Pudding Thurs 1:00pm Monthly Liz Wells [email protected] 01763 247460
Seated Exercise Tues Weekly Kathy Hounsell [email protected] 01763 241805 10:45am
Tai Chi Mon Weekly Reg Hounsell [email protected] 01763 241805 3:00pm
Theatre Trips Variable Occasional Deirdre Smith [email protected] 01763 244700 Variable
Walking: Strollers Thurs 1st & 3rd Thurs of month David Walker [email protected] 01763 241896 10:15am
Wine Appreciation 1 & 2 Wed Monthly Variable Jackie Gellert [email protected] 01763 248097 2:00pm
If you have an interest that you would like to share with others let us know by contacting Sharon Camilletti, New Groups Co-ordinator
