Stanford-le-Hope and District U3A · Peter Woodcock I stood in for Dave Snow this month and the bird watching was at Chafford Gorge, ... Wednesday afternoon Boules/Pétanque We start

Stanford-le-Hope & District U3A –September 2019 Newsletter Page 1

Stanford-le-Hope and District U3A

September 2019 Newsletter

Investigating the Thames Barrier Photo by John Turp

Some of the information to look out for in this edition:

• Orders are now being taken for 2020 U3A diaries at £2.75 each. Please put exact

cash or cheque in favour of Stanford-le-Hope and District U3A in an envelope with

your name, membership number and address on and give it to Graham Hodgson.

• Time to book the Christmas Meal – see page 2 and the last page which you need

to tear off and fill in.

• Check Line Dancing forward dates – see page 13

• Enjoy the photos of the many trips.

• Last chance for the Harvest Tea see page 3

• Don’t forget the Flu Jab – page 8

Newsletters will now be handed out to you when you arrive, but you may only be given one copy. This is so we can make sure everyone who attends the meeting gets one. If you need more newsletters for members, any spares will be available at the tea break in a box at the back of the Hall.


2019 Christmas Lunch at Langdon Hills Country Club

Two dates to choose from:

Thursday 19th December and Friday 20th December

Both days are 1:0’clock for 1:30.

Tickets are £24.00 each.

Please see Carol Munro for Thursday’s choices and Win Miller for Friday’s choices at our

September, October and November general meetings.

If you have no preference please let us know as this could help greatly to ensure both days are

viable, numbers wise.

Cheques or cash for £24.00 to SLH U3A Social.

Menu choices are included on the back of this Newsletter and will be available at each

general meeting.

It will help very much if you would complete your choices before queuing for your ticket.


Stanford le Hope & District U3A Harvest Afternoon Tea

Finished gathering the crops and bringing in the corn?

If it’s time for a cup of tea then join us for an afternoon tea at

Langdon Hills Country Club.

Thursday 26th September 1:0’clock with hayricks and tractors at 3:0’clock.

The price is £17 each.

Make harvest time, a time to celebrate, farmer’s style and dress

in our autumn colours.

Ladies, please dress for an autumn garden party and gentlemen, checked shirts and

mismatched ties please, just like farmers do. A cloth cap and braces would complete the

picture.

Of course, the dress code is optional.

Tickets from Carol Munro at our August and September general meetings.

Cheques to SLH U3A please.

Please also contact Colin Munro


A Great Day out at Sandringham.

Two coach loads of happy U3A’ers

made the long trip to Norfolk on a

lovely August day – but the house

was minus its famous occupants.

The grounds were beautifully kept

and so was the church which was

interesting and richly decorated.

We wandered around the few rooms that were open;

cannons and weapons in the Great Hall and stuffed

sofas everywhere. Best of all were the stables – no

horses – but lots of shiny, luxurious vehicles, the

contents of a woodworking school for apprentices and

the most amazing small vehicles including a miniature

James Bond DB007 complete with revolving number

plate.

photos by Jenny Lees and Chris Henderson


Established Interest Groups

(In alphabetical order, apart from Ambling and Rambling which are under Walking)

Birdwatching

Dave Snow 07490 069740

Peter Woodcock

I stood in for Dave Snow this month and the bird watching was at Chafford Gorge,

Essex Nature Reserve. Six met in the car park at 10.00am to walk round the Gorge

on a lovely sunny morning. Unfortunately we did not see many birds but saw

coots, swans and Canada Geese on the lake. We did see some nice butterflies but

on the far lake there was a female Great Crested Grebe with three chicks, one

riding on her back and the other two trying to climb on as well. I have never seen

this spectacular sight before. The Visitor Centre is now closed but the local church,

All Saints in the town square, serves lovely tea, coffee and cakes. Thanks to Chris

Gomm for her research. A lovely morning was had by all.

Book Group

Ann Bailey

Dawn Lloyd-Warne 01375 461885

We will meet again in September, having read a travel book, The Cyclist who went out in the Cold, by Tim Moore.

Wednesday Boules/Pétanque

Dave Jardine 01375679410

The boules group has been enjoying the good weather, but we will play all through the winter too. In September we will start our singles competition: let’s see if the girls can beat the boys again! We meet at 10.00 for 10.30am start at the Pegasus Country Club in Herd Lane, followed by coffee or tea at 12.00 with lots of chats and laughs.


Wednesday afternoon Boules/Pétanque

We start to play at 1.00pm but please join the morning group for a coffee and chat first.

Friday Boules/Pétanque

Colin Munro 07770 854318

Carol Munro With 30 members we are a very friendly group of Petanque’ers; all with varying skills and all of us improving. Must be the coffee! However good we may think we are; our unpredictable Hardie Park terrain soon

brings us back to reality. Our terrain area allows for 4 matches and a maximum of

24 members to play at any one time, so it is important that we are all ready to

throw by 10:o’clock. It soon gets very noisy with moans and groans and ooh’s and

For those who are keen to visit historical buildings and places of interest for free (some of which are not normally open) look up Heritage Open Days 13 to 22 September 2019 which is nationwide: https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/

For those who are interested in visiting historical, government properties, museums and

buildings of architectural interest in London for free - look up the Open House weekend

London 2019 (21 to 22 September) . Find them on https://openhouselondon.open-

city.org.uk/ There should be a guide that you can download before the event so you

know what is on. Some places you can only visit if you have pre-booked and a few

important buildings you have to enter a ballot in order to have any chance of access and

it may already be too late. You can however just turn up at other places but may have to

queue to get in. If you are going to do that - the best idea is to pick an area where there

are several places you are interested in going round because if there is a long queue

outside the first site you can walk by and go onto the next one. Sometimes the line of

people will have dwindled in the two hours before the closing time so make a note of

closing times and try again later in the day. There are also some walks and tours you can

go on https://openhouselondon.open-city.org.uk/walks_and_tours

https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/

https://openhouselondon.open-city.org.uk/

https://openhouselondon.open-city.org.uk/

https://openhouselondon.open-city.org.uk/walks_and_tours


aaah’s but mostly with lots of laughter. The match I’m playing in is usually the

noisiest…I wonder why?

With gales and heavy rains forecast for Friday 9th, we didn’t expect anyone to turn out. Along with Mick and Win Miller, Carol and I just went for coffee. However, armed with weather apps on our phones, eighteen of us turned up, brilliant!

To make our efforts worthwhile, we played in lovely sunshine with

Photo by Colin Munro warm balmy breezes. English Summer, it can’t be beaten……can it?

British Sign Language Group

Jenny Radford 01375 676338

We meet every Wednesday at 2.30 pm in the Corringham Social Club on the

corner of Lampits Hill/Giffords Cross Road. We have fun learning basic British Sign

Language, helping each other to improve our skills and learn new signs.

Canasta

Pauline Kerridge 01375 462232

The Canasta Group meets every Wednesday afternoon at the Pegasus Club in

Herd Lane, Old Corringham from 2pm until about 4pm. All newcomers are

welcome as we seem to be enjoying ourselves.


Charity Craft

Jean Jardine 01375 679410

07551 952211

We meet at Dawns lovely home on the fourth Friday each month at 2pm, and so hope to see you on Friday 27th September. It won’t be long before the hats and mittens and Barbie clothes we have been making will help to fill the shoe boxes. Thank you all for helping to put smiles on children's faces

Cribbage

John Green 01375 676441

The Cribbage Group meets fortnightly at Gardner Hall, Fobbing from 2pm. Next

Cribbage dates are 17th Sept, 1st Oct and 15th Oct. Cost £1 for Hall hire and

refreshments. All welcome

Family History

Peter Craggs 01375 643749 /07759 817821

Diane Wallace


Due to holiday commitments we knew that the August meeting would have fewer

members attending than normal but in fact slightly more people turned up than

expected – so we must be doing something right! Two of our members had shared

research problems in advance and some suggestions were made at the meeting

but no solutions found as yet.

Several of the members present related childhood memories of the war – including one who as a four-year-old didn’t know what the air raid siren meant when he first heard it in 1939, but luckily the older child he was with did and got him to safety.

The meeting as usual finished with an amusing tale provided by Brian McDonald. He wasn’t present at the meeting but he had emailed in his contribution which was much appreciated.

The next meeting of the group will be at the Evangelical Church Hall in Fobbing Road on September 18th at 2pm and we will be looking at the topic of emigration of ancestors – especially to Australia, USA and Canada.

Advance warning - 16th October meeting will be about proving whether the people you are investigating really are the ancestors you think they are. If you can sort out an example of how you proved someone was your ancestor (or indeed you found out they weren’t your ancestor) please bring it along to this October meeting. Incidents where one record gave the wrong information about an ancestor will also provide useful examples of why you should not rely on one piece of evidence. An 89-year-old who seemed to have children between the ages of 19 and 5 years old in the 1861 census caused amusement at the August meeting (in fact these were grandchildren but this only became apparent when census information for other years was checked.) Looking at actual cases will help people who are new to Family History research and also provide ideas for those of us who are stuck.

A future meeting before Christmas will cover the topic of National Service – so if you have any tales to tell you have got some time to get the information and maybe some memorabilia together.


The next computer session at Basildon Library will be on 2nd October at 2pm. This will allow you to use 2 genealogical websites and a newspaper library website for free over a period of 2 hours. Please let Diane Wallace know if you are planning to attend – in case we need to share computers or have a waiting list. (Note the nearby Westgate car park is now charging and using ANPR cameras – so don’t get caught out.)

The meeting on September 18th will be our 5th Birthday. When we look back, we can see that the group started out quite tentatively but has grown in confidence since then, with members now willingly contributing to discussions and taking on roles (even at the last moment) to make it all work. There is a real sense of comradery and fun. We did wonder early on if we would run out of subjects to discuss but the list keeps growing!

Flower Arranging

Christine Lambert 01375 678131

Linda Tilbury 07928 221626

If you like flowers and foliage then why not try flower arranging rather than just

putting them in a vase. Come along and enjoy a morning creating something

special to take home. We are all enthusiastic and friendly, helping one another to

do the best possible, so if you feel like unleashing your inner artist, come and join

us!

We also enjoy workshops and days out, where we are guided by professionals. We

meet 1st Wednesday of the month at Gateway Peoples Centre in Stanford High

Street between 10am and 12pm. The cost is £2 for the hire of the hall plus any

flowers you need to purchase

French Conversation

Diane Wallace

August was a more leisurely month – with one of our sessions being cancelled due

to prior commitments. We have concentrated more on listening to French spoken

by native speakers. We will continue to meet in one another houses in September


discussing general and set revision topics - looking briefly at grammar points that

come up during the course of the session.

Gallery Visits

Jenny Lees 01375 360786

Chris Henderson

We will be in touch by emails. Do send us any suggestions for galleries to visit. There is a William Blake Exhibition at Tate Britain from 11th Sept until 2nd Feb.

Gardening Group

Madeline Beesley 01375 678576

It was a beautiful day, the sun shone for us and the food everyone contributed was delicious. We held a photograph competition, the subject of which was A Nice Aspect of Your Garden. The competition was judged by our guest judges Peter and Beryl Woodcock,

who chose a beautiful photo of a bee on a lavender plant which was taken by Chris Gomm.

Our runner up was Elaine Downs who took a lovely photo of a flower-planted wheelbarrow.


photos by Madeline Beesley We finished the afternoon with a supposedly very genteel game of Quoits which amid lots of laughter turned out to get really competitive.

The Gardening Group meet on the first Monday of the month in Corringham Library. This group is now full but if anyone would like to start another

I would be more than happy to help out.

Golf

Paul Brice 07788 452852

The Golf group meets on the first and third Monday of each month teeing off at 1pm. The location is Dunton Hills Golf Club along the A128 towards Brentwood but before the A127. Cost is £7 per 18 Hole Round for us Oldies. All holes are par 3 by the way.

Golf is proving tiring during this heat wave so people should ensure they use their

preferred sun protection lotion and drink plenty of fluid, preferably water, to

ensure staying hydrated.

Each player decides how many holes they wish to play and then pays their green

fees directly to Dunton Hills. All welcome irrespective of playing ability.

We cannot supply clubs but can supply balls and tees if required.

Holiday Travel


07551952211

Carol Smith 07845 233640


Line Dancing

Mary Jupp 01375 674623

Carol Lockyer 01375 674732

Line dancing is a weekly class held at Horndon Village Hall, SS17 8LB.

Every ‘once in a while’ we find that we have sufficient funds to cover the hall hire and expenses, so we have a free week. However, most of our members are happy to donate the usual fee to charity and we are pleased to say we have collected £70. This time it is for the Epilepsy Society. Thank you to all those who contributed to this worthy cause. As it starts to get very busy at this time of year here are some advance notices for your calendar/diary: 1) Please note there will be no dancing on 27th November 2019 2) Our Christmas event will be at the Langdon Hills Golf Club on the evening of Friday 13th December 2019. 3) Our last dancing session before the Christmas break will be on 11th December 2019. 4) We will return after Christmas on the 8th January 2020

Italian Beginners

Ron White 01375673561

Due to holidays and other commitments we were only able to hold one session

this month. The meeting was well attended and we covered several different areas

starting off with talking about family. We continued on the theme of clothing and

colours and expanded this to buying clothes in the hope that, should we use it in

Italy, we will end up with what we wanted. Next we learnt the months and days of

the week using these to construct short sentences. Finally we looked again at the


past tense, learning how to say what we had done or where we had been. It is

early days but I am hopeful that this will add a new dimension to our conversation.

Local History Group

Julia Harding 01375 671519

We continue to get together on the last Monday in the month at the Evangelical Church Hall in Fobbing Road at 2 pm; our next meeting will be Monday, 30th September.

Peter Watson will be joining us at the September meeting to give a talk on The History of Stanford Le Hope. As Peter does these talks on behalf of the Stanford-le Hope Forum a collection will be held at the meeting for this worthy cause. All members are welcome to attend our monthly meetings and join us on our trips out (provided there is space). We are always interested in hearing the experiences of those members who grew up in the area.

If you are not on my mailing list and would like to join us for our meetings or future trips please contact me.

Local Research Projects

Diane Wallace

Sue Green 01375 676441

For our first project we are investigating the changes and growth of Stanford-le-

Hope from 1950, including shops, industry, financial services, pubs, churches,

transport and entertainment. Progress in August slowed down a little but another

interview has taken place and a written contribution adding extra information

about the day to day running of a family business has been finalised.

Transcription of interviews is also continuing, but as ever this is a time-consuming activity. On the plus side there is interesting information coming to light and amusing anecdotes to be heard. More transcribers would be helpful if anyone has some spare time amongst all your U3A activities and family life. We use a free program which stops and starts the recording as you type and automatically allows


you to work showing the audio recording on one window and the text being typed in another. Next month we hope to complete most of the outstanding interviews and gain access to a few more original photos.

London Walks

Dave Snow 07490 069740

Brian McDonald

The day of our recce and the actual day of the walk could not have been more different!! On the recce the temperature was 38 degrees, while the weather on the walk was mixed to say the least - one minute warm (19 degrees), the next pouring down!

Photo by Chris Henderson Photo by Brian McDonald

Nevertheless, 32 walkers were there for our trip around Hyde Park. We saw numerous sculptures and fountains (some even with water!) and we walked through the rose gardens. Lunch was taken alongside the Serpentine when we heard from Pat how easy it was to make building mistakes and why the café jutted out into the lake.

We heard about Henry VIII, Oliver Cromwell, Queen Caroline and the Duke of Wellington as well as why No 1 London was so called. Did you know that Marble Arch has rooms inside – it


took us a while to spot the round windows! And look at the wildlife too! An interesting day… despite a bit of rain. !

Eating under the umbrella by Brenda McDonald

Lunch and Chat

Chris Brown 01708 852023

The Lunch and Chat Group meets on the first Friday of the month 11:00am at the

Langdon Hills Golf and Country Club, Lower Dunton Road.

We hope we are a friendly and welcoming group and enjoy meeting new

members. We discuss any topic that members bring along and then usually have a

lively and entertaining meal together with a lot of laughter. If you are interested in

joining us please contact Chris Brown so that the right size table can be booked.

Mixed Craft Group

Kay Alcon 01375 415290 The group works as a team sharing ideas and inspiration, leading the workshops, passing on skills and knowledge of their chosen craft. There is always plenty of advice available between members offering techniques and places to go to obtain materials. We have a swaps table where books and materials are put on display for anyone to take away usually free of charge. The group meets monthly on the first Tuesday of every month at the Methodist Church Hall, High Street, Stanford-le-Hope SS17 OEY2pm until 4pm There is a monthly charge to cover the cost of hall hire


In July we enjoyed making cross-stitched initials. And some of our members

extended their work into making named bags and labels.

By Kay Alcon by Sharon Brown

Old British Motor Cycle and Car Enthusiasts

Graham Edgings 01375 677425

Due to holidays not all the group were

available to take part in the events but

several of us did manage to attend the

show at Langford Steam Museum at

Maldon. Marc Alcon took a BSA motorcycle

which he had rebuilt. The following

weekend we went to the Canvey Island

Classic Car and Bike Show. This time Marc

took his classic car, Colin Wale took his

Lambretta Scooter which he also

rebuilt and I took a BSA Bantam

which I had rebuilt. All in all we had a

good time at both shows. Here are

the three of us at the Steam

Museum and with our "Classics" at

Canvey.

Photos from Graham Edgings camera


Places of Interest

Colin Munro 07770 854318

Carol Munro Our ‘Places of Interest’ group’s latest trip was to the Thames Barrier. 35 of us made the trip via C2C to West Ham, Jubilee line to North Greenwich and bus to the Barrier. We arrived around 11 o’clock in time for a cuppa before our guide Pam arrived at 12 o’clock taking us to a conference room to give a very interesting talk.

She explained the original concept for the need for flood defence to protect London from flooding. The contract to design and build the barrier was awarded, and the successful company gave the design task to a young man, Charles Draper, who came up with the idea, based on the valve of a gas cooker, of a series of half round cylinders supported by concrete piers stretching across the river, that would

lie flat on the river bed and then rotate to form a solid barrier when high tides and storm surges were anticipated

This revolves to form an impervious plug

Photos by Chris Henderson


Construction began in 1974, with completion in 1982, at a cost of £534million. Built across a 520metre section of river at New Charlton, it has four navigable 61metre spans and two 30metre spans, supported by 9 concrete piers.

During the barrier’s entire history, it has been closed 184 times. It was originally designed to protect London until 2030 but it is now estimated to be able to achieve this until 2070.

Photo by Jenny Lees Photo by Mick Miller We were then taken to another building where there was a working model of the barrier and a film showing the various procedures involved if a closure is necessary. It takes an hour and a half to complete a full closure but, in an emergency, this can be achieved in 20 minutes. We then walked along the ‘Thames Pathway’ to see the structure close up, which is very impressive.

Photo by John Turp


Play Reading 1 Julie Coker 01268 931850

Tea CAKE and Play Reading

Deb Foster 01375 677971

Last month we read Annie, One, Two by David Summers. Three wealthy, widowed sisters lived together in a luxurious house on a private sheltered estate for the elderly. The source of their money was a mystery, something to do with World War II. On the 50th Anniversary of VE Day the first one of them is murdered, and, in true Agatha Christie style, the case was solved. The culprit was seeking revenge for them being notorious 'Allotment-Annies’. We had a lot of discussion and amusing suggestions as to how these ladies had acquired that name. It transpired that they were war brides who married American soldiers to collect the monthly allowance the US Government automatically allotted to servicemen’s wives.

Advance Notice Email. The weekend before our General Meeting we send out an advance notice email to all our members who have given us details. This alerts you to what is happening at the meeting and lets you know of any events coming

If you are not receiving this email, please notify Paul Brice

so that we can check/add your details to our database

U3A noticeboard

Used for General Meetings, as you enter the room to your right it will be on a

table. On it will be displays, including photos of the Executive Committee

Members and Buddies plus a copy of our U3A’s Policy Document.


Photography Group

Jenny Lees 01375 360786

Chris Henderson

Once again, our trip to Colchester for a photo walk was thwarted by the weather forecast. Strong winds, gales etc. were to wreak havoc across Essex, so, to maintain the safety of our members, I called it off.

However, they couldn’t have got it more wrong!

After lunch the sun came out so I sent out a message for anyone who was interested to meet up at Westley Heights at a certain time.

These unscrupulous women made bigamy a business, sometimes 'marrying ' up to six husbands! It is believed that some Allotment-Annies ‘specialised’ in airmen, anticipating that their higher mortality rates would increase their chances of collecting the ten thousand dollar jackpot Government insurance cheque, issued if their husband was killed in action! As well as reading an entertaining play we certainly furthered our education!


A small group, including a prospective new member had a lovely walk around the park and also discovered a new area that I hadn’t seen before. There were some

attractive houses in amongst the trees and the biggest surprise for me was discovering two fantastic porkers. One of them was using its snout to make his muddy pool bigger. Very entertaining!!

Photos by Brian McDonald and Jenny Lees

On Friday September 13th we will be going to Finchingfield and Thaxted. I hope the person that suggested it knows the route. We’ll meet at quarter to 10 at the Springhouse for car share

Quilting


The Quilting Group is small but very friendly; we meet on the first Monday every month at 2pm until 4pm. In that time, we exchange ideas, give advice if needed and we also drink tea, coffee and eat cake and biscuits. I haven't any spaces at the moment. Anyone can come along and see what we do, and then open another group. We will always help.

Quiz

Ann Bailey

Get in touch if you are interested.

Scrabble

Magda Norris

Our next Scrabble dates are 17th September, 1st and 15th October at Gardner’s

Hall. Fobbing 1400-1600pm. Cost is £1 pp and includes tea/coffee and biscuits. We

always welcome new members


Singing for Fun

Julie Coker 01268 931850

Ann Bailey

Sketching and Painting

Margaret Schofield

The Sketching Group met at the RSPB centre at Rainham Marshes. The weather

was very hot, no breeze, even though we were close to the River Thames. We

were carrying our chairs, paints and drawing equipment. We started to follow the

path, chatting away, as usual, looking for a suitable area to be inspired!!!!! We

were amazed at the growth of the reeds and foliage that obliterated the view of

some of the wetland areas. We didn’t see many birds at this stage. Could it be…….

chatty ladies?

We meandered, wearily, round the paths, still carrying our chairs. To our

amazement we spotted blackberry bushes! Well! They housed the biggest,

plumpest, juiciest blackberries you ever did see! They tasted delicious!!! Juice

running down our chins, we trudged on and then we were astounded to find

bounteous purple, black sloes. They were huge! Fantastic for sloe gin! Nature that

provides – incredible! Are we nearly there? Huff! Puff! However, we eventually got

down to the business of sketching and painting, in the comfort of a hide and a

much-needed sit down! There was wild life here! Ducks, coots, moorhens, many

bird species, filled our picture window. We remained, totally absorbed in our

chosen subject. Wonderful! We completed our morning with a coffee stop in the

café, looking out at the stunning views of the Thames area.


Spanish

Chris Gomm 01375 406285

We are a small group with varying abilities, although most of us have some knowledge of Spanish that we are building on. If you'd like to join us please contact me for further information. We usually meet on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday monthly from 2:00 to 3:30. However, because of holidays and other commitments we sadly will not be meeting during September. We will reconvene at 2:00 on Tuesday 8th October.

Sunday Singles

Ann Wiltshire 01375 643629

Pauline Thorpe 01375 679571

There is now a regular group who come but it would be nice to see some new faces

as well as the regulars. We visited The Ship at East Tilbury for our August lunch.

Stanford-le-Hope & District U3A Sketching & Painting Group - Calendar 2019

All meetings are on a Monday from 10am until about 12pm

(Contact the leader if you wish to car share or would like a lift to the venue)

Date Venue Postcode

19th Aug Rainham Marshes (RSPB), Purfleet RM19 1SZ

16th Sept Coalhouse Fort, East Tilbury RM18 8PB

21st

October

Hardie Park – review of the Sketching Season SS17 0PB


Thirteen of us had a very good meal and enjoyed the company. September’s meal

will be at Reids in Billericay on the 28th. Book your place at the General Meeting.

Ten Pin Bowling

Jean Jardine 01375 679410/ 07551 0952211

We are going back to The Hollywood Bowl at Basildon Festival Park as our group enjoyed the bowling better there. We will meet at 10.00 am for a 10.30 start on each first Thursday of the month. The next session will be on 3rd October – we hope to see you there.

Suggestion Box Close to the Noticeboard should be the Suggestion Box. Paper and pens or

pencils should be found beside it but if not, there should be spares inside the box. All the

suggestions put in there will be looked at, but it is helpful if you put your name on the paper you

use, so the Executive Committee can get back to you directly. If the piece of paper you use is very

small – it may not be seen when the box is checked

Newsletters are printed and saved for members who require it in a larger format, as long

as they have given their name to the Newsletter Editor or another member of the

Executive Committee beforehand.

If you want to see if the large print version would help you, there is usually a spare large

print version in the box of newsletters at the entrance to the Hall at the general meeting.

Have you ever looked at the website? The photos are all in colour!! It’s where we

advertise our events and display pictures of past events It also has our official documents

such as the Constitution, our Policy and Privacy documents and advice for group leaders and

those wishing to start a new group. Links to other websites, such as the National U3A and

organisations that could be helpful to our members can be found. To view the website enter

this address into the address bar of your browser https://u3asites.org.uk/slh OR You can

just type SLHU3A.

https://u3asites.org.uk/slh


Trips – Day and Theatre

Chris Gomm 01375 406285/07551952211


Ukulele

Peter Woodcock

We play every Wednesday from 13:00 until 14:30 at the Pegasus Club, Herd Lane,

Corringham. Anyone wishing to join us will be welcome.

Walking: Amblers

Tessa Duggan 01375 670212


The August amble took place on a beautiful

morning, in Gloucester Park, Basildon. We had

just had the hottest August Bank Holiday

weekend on record, but the morning of our

amble was perfect weather.

• Please note that tickets cannot be sold prior to 1.30pm on the day of

the General Meeting.

• We do not allocate seats on coaches for day trips.

• We will accept cash or cheques payable to ‘SLH U3A Social’

• Unfortunately, should you need to cancel your booking we will only be

able to give a refund if we can resell your place.


We enjoyed a lovely walk and chat around the park, watched the ducks squabbling

on the lake and

were amazed

that we had the

park pretty

much to

ourselves.

Finishing the

walk, we headed

to the Sporting

Village cafe

where we had

refreshments.

Thurrock Thameside Nature Park, Mucking Wharf Road, SS17 0RN, is the

destination for our September amble. Great for ship and bird watching, with views

across to Kent, it will be a good venue for our first walk of Autumn. Meet in the car

park by the Visitor Centre at 10.30 am on Thursday 26th September. Hope you

can join us.

Ramblers

Chris Gomm 01375 406285/07905 117622

Our Rambling group normally meets on the third Thursday of the month but because of holidays and other commitments we sadly will not be rambling during September. We will reconvene on Thursday 17th October. Please watch this space for further information.


Wine Appreciation Graham Hodgson 01375 675588


07551 952211

After learning about the history of Australian wines we had three tastings:

Lock Keeper’s Reserve Chardonnay White 2018 (Vivino 3.7)

A mouth-watering dry white with sweet nectarine and soft oak aromas with a lingering palate of caramelised peach flavours. The mighty Murray is Australia's longest river bringing water to the sun-drenched vineyards of the Riverina region in South Eastern Australia where these Chardonnay grapes thrive. Grape Variety: Chardonnay 92%, Semillon 6% and Verdelho 2%. Alcohol content: 13 %.

Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Red 2017 (unrated)

Silky, savoury and refined with flavours of redcurrant and ripe cassis. The stunning Great Southern and Margaret River regions lie at the south-western tip of Australia, bordered on three sides by oceans. Cooling breezes temper the strength of the sun allowing for a cool ripening period, ideal for premium red wines. This elegant blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot has wonderful purity of fruit flavours, smooth texture and complexity. Grape Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon 80%, Merlot 15%, and Shiraz 5%. Alcohol content: 14 %.Burra Brook Rose 2018 (3.7) A deliciously fruity style of rosé with flavours of ripe red fruits and pink grapefruit. A refreshing wine packed full of juicy summer berry characters, carefully blended to express the vibrant aromas and flavours. Grape Variety: 49% Grenache, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Shiraz, 10% Riesling and 6% Tempranillo. Region: South Eastern Australia. Alcohol content: 12.5 %. Our next meeting will be on September 19, when we will concentrate on South African wines.

Don’t forget the FREE Thurrock Memories of the 2nd World War at the

Thameside in Grays. It began on Monday September 2nd and runs until 11.00am

on Friday 20th September. Normal times 10am to 4pm.


Interest Groups Timetable

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Week

1

am Gardening Tenpin

Bowling.

Boules (Hardie Park)

Lunch & Chat.

pm Quilting.

O.B.M & Car E.

Golf

Mixed

Craft.

Italian

Beginners.

Family History

(computer).

British Sign Lang.

Canasta.

Ukulele.

Boupm (Pegasus.)

French

conversation

.

Lunch & Chat.

Week

2

am London Walks Boules (Pegasus).

Line Dancing

Boules Hardie

Photography

pm London Walks Spanish BS Language.

Canasta.

Ukulele.

Boules pm(Pegasus.)

SLH &

District U3A

General

Meeting

Photography

Week

3

am Sketching

&Painting

Boules (Pegasus).

Line Dancing.

Rambling

Boules Hardie

Gallery Visits.

pm Singing for Fun.

Golf

Italian

Beginners.

Family History.

BS Language.

Canasta.

Ukulele.

Boules pm(Pegasus.)

French conv.

Wine

Appreciation

.

Gallery Visits.

Book Club.

Week

4/Last

am Boules (Pegasus).

Line Dancing.

Ambling Birdwatching.

Boules Hardie

pm Local History Spanish BS Language

Canasta

Ukulele

Boules pm(Pegasus)

T.C.& Play

Reading

French conv.

Charity Craft

SCRABBLE and CRIBBAGE meet on Tuesday every 2 weeks. Play reading 1 is every 6 weeks. Places of Interest is

every 2 to 3 months.

This table is just a general guide to help members and potential group leaders plan.

Events such as Bank Holidays and group trips may result in a particular monthly meeting for a group being cancelled

or the date being changed. Check with the group leaders to confirm that a scheduled meeting is going to occur.

Stanford-le-Hope and District U3A does not accept any responsibility for errors or omissions in this publication.

You are advised to verify details including dates, times, venue and costs with the organiser of any event. The

views expressed may not represent those of this U3A. Please seek permission before using any material in part

or in whole


Contact Details for Interest Groups

Key to symbols next to interest group name:(*) = Full, (+) = Some spaces left in the group, (n/a) =

members can turn up and join in, (bk) = members can take part but will need to book in order to do so.

This is correct at the time of going to print. For updates contact the Interest Groups’ Co-ordinators. Apart

from a very few exceptions you must be a current member of our U3A to take part in our Interest Groups.

Charity Craft

Group Leader Phone Email

Ambling (n/a) Tessa Duggan 01375 670212


Bird Watching (n/a) Dave Snow 07490 069740

Peter Woodcock 01375 675245

Book Group (+) Ann Bailey

Dawn Lloyd-Warne 01375 461885

Boules(Wednesday

am & pm) (n/a)

Jean Jardine

& Dave Jardine

01375 679410

Boules (Friday) (n/a) Colin & Carol Munro 07770

854318

British Sign Language

(*)


Canasta (+) Pauline Kerridge 01375 462232

Charity craft(+) Jean Jardine 01375 679410

Cribbage(+) John Green 01375 676441

Family History (+) Peter Craggs

Diane Wallace

01375 643749

Flower Arranging (+) Christine Lambert 01375 678131

Linda Tilbury 07928221626

French Convers.* Diane Wallace

Gallery Visits (bk) Jenny Lees 01375 360786

Chris Henderson

Gardening Group * Madeline Beesley 01375 678576

Golf(+) Paul Brice 07788 452852

Holiday Travel (bk) Jean Jardine 01375 679410


Italian* Ron White 01375 673561

Line Dancing* Mary Jupp 01375 674623

Carol Lockyer 01375 674732

Local History (+)

Any trips (bk)

Julia Harding 01375 671519

Local Research (+) Diane Wallace

Sue Green 01375 676441

London Walks (*) Dave Snow 07490 069740


Interest Groups’ Co-ordinators: Paul Brice 07788 452852


If you have an idea for a new interest group, or would like to lead (perhaps as part of a team) a completely

new group or another version of an existing group (in order to eliminate a waiting list) please contact

Paul or Jean.

Please let your interest group leader know if you no longer wish or cannot attend their group on a permanent

basis or are likely to have a prolonged absence. Your name can be taken off a full group’s list if you have not

attended for 3 months without notifying the group leader, and you can then be replaced by another member

who is on the waiting list for that interest group

Brian McDonald

Lunch and Chat (bk) Chris Brown 01708 852023

Mixed Craft (+) Kay Alcon 01375 415290

O. B. Motorcycle &

Car (+)Any trips (bk)

Graham Edgings 01375 677425

Places of Interest* Colin & Carol Munro 07770 854318

Play Reading 1* Julie Coker 01268 931850

T. C. & Playreading* Deb Foster 01375 677971

Photography (n/a) Jenny Lees 01375 360786

Any trips (bk) Chris Henderson

Quilting* Carol Smith 07845 233640

Quiz (n/a) Ann Bailey

Ramblers (n/a) Chris Gomm 01375 406285

07905 117622

Scrabble (+) Magda Norris

Singing for Fun (*) Julie Coker 01268 931850

Ann Bailey

Sketching &

Painting(+)

Margaret Schofield

Spanish Improvers (+) Chris Gomm 01375 406285

Sunday Singles (bk) Ann Wiltshire 01375 643629

Pauline Thorpe 01375 679571

Ten Pin Bowling (n/a) Jean Jardine 01375 679410

Trips – Day & Theatre Chris Gomm 01375 406285

(bk) Jean Jardine 01375 679410

Ukulele (+) Peter Woodcock 01375 675245

Wine Appreciation (*) Graham Hodgson 01375 675588


mailto:679410%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%[email protected]


Dates of General Meetings

These are on the second Thursday of the month at The Springhouse Club from

2.00pm until 4.00pm.

Please can members help us by not arriving at the Springhouse Hall until 1.30pm which is the

time from which we have the Hall officially booked. Committee Members and Speakers need

time and space to set up the room to be able to deal with things such as the projector,

attendance, membership and distribution of Newsletters.

If members arrive early it hinders this process.

Stanford-le-Hope & District U3A Dates for your Diary

Date Type of Event Details

12th Sept 2019 General

Meeting

Ian Keable– ‘Charles Dickens – Conjurer, told through

one of his Billboards

24th Sept 2019 Trip Denbies Vineyard in Surrey

26th Sept

2019

Trip/Event Harvest Afternoon Tea at Langdon Hills Golf Club

– tickets on sale now

30th Sept

2019

Meeting Executive Committee Meeting

10th Oct

2019

General

Meeting

Heather Simmons – Daisy Bowlers – professional

singers

10th Oct 2019 Group Accounts

Deadline

Deadline for all interest group accounts from 1st April

2019 to 30th September 2019 to be received by

Treasurer

24th Oct 2019 Trip Bombay Sapphire Gin Distillery

28th Oct 2019 Meeting Executive Committee Meeting

31st Oct 2019 Print Deadline Articles & photos for November Newsletter

14thNov 2019 General

Meeting

Charlie Haylock – ‘History of Surnames’

25th Nov 2019 Meeting Executive Committee Meeting


28TH Nov 2019 Trip Waddesdon & Christmas Fair

12thDec 2019 General

Meeting

Open Meeting – details to follow

No Newsletter

19th Dec 2019 Christmas Lunch

1

Date for 1st Christmas Lunch at Langdon Hills Golf Club -

tickets on sale Sept and Oct meetings

20th Dec 2019 Christmas Lunch

2

Date for 2nd Christmas Lunch at Langdon Hills Golf Club

– tickets on sale Sept and Oct meetings

9thJan 2020 General

Meeting

Tom Way (Wildlife Photographer) – ‘African Imagery’

10th Jan 2020 Group Accounts

Deadline

Deadline for all interest group accounts from1st April

2019 to 31st December 2019 to be received by

Treasurer

13th Feb

2020

General

Meeting

Peter Jones (Author) – ‘How I met Kylie Minogue’

12th March

2020

General

Meeting

Arthur Brooks – Old Time Musicals ‘A Taste of Musical’

9th April 2020 General

Meeting

Deborah Brady – ‘A Female in Fleet Street’: My Life as a

Former Photo Journalist

14th May 2020 General

Meeting

Mel Rees (Anthony Mann) – ‘My Family and Other

Setbacks’ – Stories of Family Life

11th June

AGM 2020

General

Meeting

Sophie Biebuyck (Hearing Charity) - ‘Hearing Help

Essex’ – Talks on Living with Hearing Loss

9th July 2020 General

Meeting

Tony Diamond – ‘The History of Chocolate’

13th August

2020

General

Meeting

Christine Beddle - ‘The Essex Scrubber’

10th

September2020

General

Meeting

Peter Batty – ‘Hidden Gems of Kent’


8th October

2020

General

Meeting

Darren Lerigon (Modern Mint Gardening Club) – ‘A

Very British Garden’

12th November

2020

General

Meeting

Martin Lloyd (Author) – ‘Passports, Assassins, Traitors

and Spies’

10th December

2020

General

Meeting

Open Meeting – Agenda to follow

Contact details for Stanford-le-Hope and District U3A

Chairman – Colin Munro

Vice-Chairman/Speakers – Bernie Smith

Treasurer – Graham Hodgson

Assistant Treasurer – Jean Jardine

Secretary –Davina Brown

Membership Secretary – John Green

Website Administrator – Michael Farman

Website Administrator – Christine Gomm

Newsletter Editor – Chris Henderson

Advance Notice Email Co-ordinator – Paul Brice

Interest Groups’ Co-ordinator – Paul Brice

Disabilities Co-ordinator – Magda Norris

Suggestions Box and Policy Document – Richard Fox

Welfare Officer/Buddies – Maureen Nicholas

Stanford-le-Hope and District U3A Website


National U3A Organisation: National Officewww.u3a.org.uk

Tel 020-8466

Printed by the Diocesan Print Unit, 53, New Street, Chelmsford, CM1 1A


http://www.u3a.org.uk/


Stanford le Hope & District U3A Christmas Lunch at Langdon Hill Golf Club Thursday 19th or Friday 20th December 1pm for 1.30

Starters

Chef’s home-made soup

served with roll and butter

Pate’ Maison served

with toast and chutney

Fanned Melon with fruit

Main Course

Roast Norfolk Turkey - soya basted and served with stuffing

& chipolata sausage wrapped in bacon

OR

Roast Topside of Beef

served with Yorkshire pudding

OR

Fillet of Salmon

served with Hollandaise sauce

OR

Vegetarian option

Desserts

Traditional Christmas Pudding

with Brandy Sauce

Yule Log

Ice Cream

All of the above are served with the Chef’s selection of

seasonal vegetables and gravy

Dessert to be followed by coffee/tea and mini-mince pies.

Print name:

Sit with (2 names)

Thursday 19th December Friday 20th December

Please tick here if you are flexible as to the day


Documents

Stanford-le-Hope and District U3A · Peter Woodcock I stood in for Dave Snow this month and the bird watching was at Chafford Gorge, ... Wednesday afternoon Boules/Pétanque We start