24
The Messenger Northumbria U3A Regional Quarterly Newsletter April 2017 Prudhoe and District U3A’s trip to a Toilet Roll Factory (yes really!) Full story inside

The Messenger Northumbria U3A Regional Quarterly ... · PDF fileNorthumbria U3A Regional Quarterly Newsletter April 2017 ... Hip, hip, hip hooray, ... The Messenger April 2017 6 HIP,

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

Page 1: The Messenger Northumbria U3A Regional Quarterly ... · PDF fileNorthumbria U3A Regional Quarterly Newsletter April 2017 ... Hip, hip, hip hooray, ... The Messenger April 2017 6 HIP,

The Messenger

Northumbria U3A Regional

Quarterly Newsletter

April 2017

Prudhoe and District U3A’s trip to a Toilet Roll Factory (yes really!)

Full story inside

Page 2: The Messenger Northumbria U3A Regional Quarterly ... · PDF fileNorthumbria U3A Regional Quarterly Newsletter April 2017 ... Hip, hip, hip hooray, ... The Messenger April 2017 6 HIP,

The Messenger April 2017 2

Contents

The Editor’s Desk ......................................................................................................................... 3

Notes from the Chairman ............................................................................................................. 3

The Beacon Story, by The Beacon Team, with an introduction from our Regional Trustee .............. 4

Hip, hip, hip hooray, by Ken Bladen, Saltburn District U3A ............................................................ 6

Art Appreciation Group, by Annabel Andrews, Ponteland U3A ...................................................... 6

A trip to the Antarctic, by Kelvin Rushworth, Wooler U3A ............................................................. 7

‘Age’ Related Problems, by Gwen Tuck, Prudhoe And District U3A ................................................ 7

Trip to SCA Prudhoe, by Steve Warner, Prudhoe And District ........................................................ 8

The Birth, Growth and Spread of the English Language, by Pamela Read, Morpeth U3A ................. 9

Women at the Laing, by Catherine Stevenson, Newcastle U3A .................................................... 12

Hadrian’s Cavalry, by John Sandiford, Tynedale U3A ................................................................... 13

German Intermediate Group, by Marianne Wells, Ponteland U3A ............................................... 14

Berwick Creative Writers, by Maureen Raper, Berwick U3A ........................................................ 14

Singing for Pleasure, by Margaret Thompson and Pat Fleming, Saltburn District U3A ................... 14

Update from The Regional Research Support Group ................................................................... 16

Geography Competition 2017 and 2018, by Jeff Armstrong, Berwick U3A .................................... 16

Update on Trust Consultation, by John Lloyd, Wearside U3A, and John Leiper, Alnwick U3A ........ 17

An Open Afternoon, by Bill Wooldridge, Prudhoe And District U3A ............................................. 18

Sailing Adventures, by Kelvin Rushworth, Wooler U3A ............................................................... 19

Latest Regional Events ............................................................................................................... 19

Painting on Wood Group, by Marion Pope, Ponteland U3A ......................................................... 20

Our AGM, by Marjorie De’Ath, Newcastle U3A ........................................................................... 20

Keeping Busy! by Peter Welsh, Wessington U3A ......................................................................... 21

Hard Brexit, by Ken Creen, Whitley Bay U3A ............................................................................... 22

Committee and Contacts ............................................................................................................ 24

Page 3: The Messenger Northumbria U3A Regional Quarterly ... · PDF fileNorthumbria U3A Regional Quarterly Newsletter April 2017 ... Hip, hip, hip hooray, ... The Messenger April 2017 6 HIP,

The Messenger April 2017 3

THE EDITOR’S DESK

Welcome to the April edition!

This edition has reports of trips to toilet roll factories, a wander through the English Language story, an introduction to the Beacon Membership system and much more. There are also plenty of events coming up! Don’t forget the Regional AGM, April 26th, at Bede Tower, Sunderland. Meeting starts 10:30am.

Thanks as always to this quarter’s contributors, and to those encouraging more submissions from their other members. Submission deadline date for the next edition is Monday 3rd July.

Please remember, this is your newsletter. Anything you find interesting may be of interest to other members!

Enjoy!

NOTES FROM THE CHAIRMAN

2018 looks as if it is going to be an interesting year! We are now looking to take part in the Great Exhibition of the North hopefully to be held around Newcastle and Gateshead in the summer of that year. We have a small group of 5 (an extra to the Events Sub Committee) looking at how we can be involved and represented at what promises to be an interesting summer.

Whilst coming home on the bus from our first meeting, I overheard a snippet of conversation from a couple in front of me talking about names and it set me thinking about my own situation! What I am called. The question of a woman being a “Chairman”. I know there are a lot of members of the fairer sex out there who object to being called this and I am at a total loss as to why. Enough of this nonsense. If we take every element of maleness out of references which could apply to the fairer sex what are we left with? Here are just a few examples. I am not a ‘wo…’, nor a ‘fe….’. Am I a ‘per…’, a ‘hu…’? Am I a member of the species called ‘…kind’? Does any member of the fairer sex look at a ‘…ual’ to see how things work? How about ‘…aging’ the household chores! When driving my car would I just ‘…oeuvre’ it around the corner? What about having my nails done – a ’…icure’; would I write a ‘…uscript’? What about if I made something in a factory, would I ‘…ufacture’ it? If I lived in a big house would it be called a ‘…sion’? Oh, I could go on and on! Please let me use the tag ‘man’. It is, after all, the genus to which I belong – I am not a piece of furniture. I delight in being a woman, a human, and yes – a Chairman!

Page 4: The Messenger Northumbria U3A Regional Quarterly ... · PDF fileNorthumbria U3A Regional Quarterly Newsletter April 2017 ... Hip, hip, hip hooray, ... The Messenger April 2017 6 HIP,

The Messenger April 2017 4

THE BEACON STORY, BY THE BEACON TEAM, WITH AN INTRODUCTION

FROM OUR REGIONAL TRUSTEE

In recent months, several members at meetings have said that they had not heard of the online Membership Management system, Beacon, which several U3As in the region have adopted. Here is an up to date report on the system.

If you are interested in it, the Beacon contact for the Region is Alan Swindale, who can be contacted at [email protected]

As more people become involved with the Beacon Project there will be some who are not aware of its origins. The aim of this note is to record the history of the project over its first two years from its beginning in January 2015 to now, January 2017.

In 2014, the NEC’s IT committee realised the potential for an online Membership Management System to help U3A committees manage their U3As and communicate with members. Some U3As were already using commercial online systems such as Wild Apricot. The IT Committee’s then Chair, Antony Hughes, invited members interested in the subject to a meeting in London in January 2015. Some of the attendees had already created online systems for use by their own U3As. They agreed to come together to create a system that any U3A could use. This they did during early 2015.

After extensive testing during the summer, in Autumn 2015 a few guinea-pig U3As started using the system ‘live’. It proved to be a big hit and soon there were dozens of U3As lining up to use it. The system was given the name ‘Beacon’.

From the start, the NEC welcomed the initiative and work of the volunteers in creating a system that could be shared across the whole movement. However, by early 2016 they were concerned about the long-term sustainability of the project given that it was fast becoming a critical resource for a growing number of U3As. Two meetings were held with the Beacon Project Team in Spring 2016. It was decided:

1) that the NEC would hire an IT specialist to review the system. (After interviews with three companies Siftware was chosen to undertake the system review.)

2) that a charge should be made for the use of Beacon to pay for outside IT resources should they be needed. It was felt that these potential costs should not come out of general funds because it would be unfair to U3As not using the system.

3) that every effort would be made to involve more U3A members who have the necessary skills to provide greater resilience to the project.

4) that a Beacon Support System be setup, based on the twelve ‘U3A Regions’.

Siftware recommended a project to change Beacon’s hosting platform and to bring the php libraries up to date. This re-configuration would also make it easier for volunteers to work on the system and to control different versions of the software. Siftware are now working on this project. Live users should not notice any difference other than a possible short break in service during changeover which is expected in early April 2017. Siftware have also been asked to write a migration module to make it easier to upload data to Beacon.

Page 5: The Messenger Northumbria U3A Regional Quarterly ... · PDF fileNorthumbria U3A Regional Quarterly Newsletter April 2017 ... Hip, hip, hip hooray, ... The Messenger April 2017 6 HIP,

The Messenger April 2017 5

The charge will be 50p per member per year starting on 1st April 2017. The Third Age Trust will facilitate the invoicing of the charge and collect the payments from U3As. This fund will be ring fenced for use only by the Beacon project.

As the project has grown in numbers and scope the Team has expanded to include more helpers. In addition to the Regional Support Teams (RSTs) there are also volunteers working in groups of 3 or 4 in various areas. These include Change Management, Migration, Documentation & Training and PHP Development. We are introducing more formality in some areas particularly Change Management where work requests to Siftware and acceptance of changes to the code need to be signed off by other members of the team.

A Support System has been set up and there is now a coordinator and support team in all U3A regions. These volunteers are available to help and advise U3As during their move to Beacon. All Beacon U3As can communicate with fellow U3As in their region using online groups.

Currently there are almost 100 U3As using the system with a further 30-40 U3As applying to use the system. A 100 U3As will represent a total of over 50,000 members. In January 2017, we sent more than 100,000 emails for the first time.

We are holding our first Beacon conference in Birmingham on April 20th, 2017. A major aim of this meeting is to set up a User Group through which users can influence the future direction of Beacon including the priority for adding new features. This will, of course, include assessing the enhancements that have already been requested on the User Forum.

The User Forum and Demo System will continue although the ‘refreshment’ of the Demo System data may be delayed.

The Team’s ability to communicate with user U3As and others has been very limited. We only have one email address per U3A. To communicate with chairs and secretaries we have had to ask the National Office to send out emails. To address this important issue, we are planning a Beacon website which will be a Beacon ‘one-stop-shop’. Users will have access to information, documentation, FAQs, etc. and a chance to sign up to receive the Beacon newsletters.

Page 6: The Messenger Northumbria U3A Regional Quarterly ... · PDF fileNorthumbria U3A Regional Quarterly Newsletter April 2017 ... Hip, hip, hip hooray, ... The Messenger April 2017 6 HIP,

The Messenger April 2017 6

HIP, HIP, HIP HOORAY, BY KEN BLADEN, SALTBURN DISTRICT U3A

As part of the Tees Valley Wildlife Trust’s “Where the Wild Things Were”, some of our wild things decided to relive their misspent youth and go Rose Hip Picking. Off they went to Easington Churchyard with bucket, walking stick and a box of plasters to wrest the pesky little blighters from amidst their thorny protection. Wounded, but triumphant, they returned from their mission only to discover that they were about 50 years too late to hand them in and claim 3d for every pound collected.

Undaunted they discovered the recipe issued by the Ministry of Food during the war and set about making their own “Delarosa”. They did find it quite difficult to “mince their hips” but they soon came to the boil and then were allowed to rest for 15 minutes. The strain was beginning to tell by now as they had to separate out the liquid by pouring the mixture through linen. More boiling, standing and straining followed. At this point the ladies realised that they should have worn hair nets as the instructions read “make sure all the sharp hairs are removed”. More boiling and standing and then the ladies finally bottled it.

Led by Judith Brun, assisted by chief stirrer Pat Morris and photographed by Peter Brun, a new cottage industry was born. If you are given a bottle remember to store it in a dark place and shout Hip, Hip, Hip, Hooray for the “wild things”.

ART APPRECIATION GROUP, BY ANNABEL ANDREWS, PONTELAND U3A

We have now been going for four years and have an enthusiastic group of eleven members who are always ready to offer suggestions for our meetings. This generally means putting together a Power Point Presentation by those who have access to the internet. The members who do not have this facility will do research and bring a written presentation with illustrations which is followed by a lively discussion. When we started, I took British Art in the twentieth century as a subject for our programme and we have looked at various painters and movements up to the present day as well as fashion, architecture and design. We have visited the Laing, University and Hatton Galleries in Newcastle and the Shipley in Gateshead. We saw the Grayson Perry tapestries in Sunderland as well as walking the Sculpture Trail along the Wear and looking at stained glass in Durham Cathedral and St. Bartholomew’s Church in Benton.

Page 7: The Messenger Northumbria U3A Regional Quarterly ... · PDF fileNorthumbria U3A Regional Quarterly Newsletter April 2017 ... Hip, hip, hip hooray, ... The Messenger April 2017 6 HIP,

The Messenger April 2017 7

A TRIP TO THE ANTARCTIC, BY KELVIN RUSHWORTH, WOOLER U3A

On a relatively warm and sunny Spring day in the Cheviot Centre in Wooler, Gill Lindsay relived her trip to Antarctica at a bi-monthly General Meeting of Wooler U3A members.

Antarctica is nearly twice the size of Australia and is the coldest, driest and windiest continent with 98% of the land covered in ice.

Gill travelled to the Antarctic Peninsula via Buenos Aires in Argentina, Tierra del Fuego and the Falkland Islands and showed wonderful photos of penguins, icebergs, many different birds and her expedition colleagues.

Antarctica is noted as the last region on Earth in recorded history to be discovered and colonised by humans, being first sighted in 1820 by a Russian expedition. However, the continent remained largely neglected until 1895 when the first confirmed landing was conducted by a team of Norwegians.

‘AGE’ RELATED PROBLEMS, BY GWEN TUCK, PRUDHOE AND DISTRICT

U3A

Hobby groups are increasing in popularity and there is a trend for U3A groups to

include the word ‘age’ in their title, such as the new craft group ‘Collage’. Their

members forage and scrummage for scraps such as ribbons, feathers, or plumage,

and leaves, or foliage, to create pictures.

While we do not expect any misunderstandings for the ‘Collage’ group, this accent on

‘age’ could lead to confusion and other groups do need to think carefully when

choosing their name.

• A group formed to study films and other media named themselves ‘Montage’ but lost potential members who assumed this would involve scaling mountain peaks and feared their rheumatism would inhibit their activities.

• The instrumental group ‘Bandage’ reports potential members turning up expecting a first aid course.

• The investment group ‘Bondage’ felt it necessary to clarify that it only offers discussions on financial planning.

• Meanwhile members of the cookery group ‘Cleavage’ have no plans to change their name as they feel this adequately expresses their food-preparation ‘cutting and chopping activities’.

• Only the needlework group ‘Sewage’ is urgently considering a new title.

Page 8: The Messenger Northumbria U3A Regional Quarterly ... · PDF fileNorthumbria U3A Regional Quarterly Newsletter April 2017 ... Hip, hip, hip hooray, ... The Messenger April 2017 6 HIP,

The Messenger April 2017 8

TRIP TO SCA PRUDHOE, BY STEVE WARNER, PRUDHOE AND DISTRICT

This was a very popular trip and was fully subscribed within seconds of the idea being mooted by Val Howarth.

We all met at the main gate of the factory at 6:15 pm and were signed in and taken into the training room to have our health and safety induction.

We were split into two groups of 12 each, so it was quite a turnout. One group started the tour at the packaging plant end and the other group at the paper mill end.

The process is easy to describe:

• Cut down trees, convert to wood pulp, dry it out in big thick sheets and transport to The Mill.

• Put water into a very big tank, add wood pulp, recycled paper, stir and heat and make a thin porridge.

• Pump this to a vast "machine the size of a small village" and spray it onto 5-metre-wide drums 2 metres or more in diameter that have heat and air going through them. Progressively the pulp is aerated and dried into a thin single ply tissue and wound onto a large roll the size of a truck.

• This machine can be “tuned” to make different qualities of tissue for the different brands produced in Prudhoe.

• This vast roll is divided into two parts the size of family saloons at the end of the tissue production cycle.

• These rolls are taken by forklift into the manufacturing side and put on "machines the size of a street of semi-detached houses”.

• These vast rolls run through this machine at some speed and the separate plies are glued together and embossed with the brand logo.

• While this is happening, a separate machine takes an almost endless thin strip of brown paper and twists and turns and glues it into the brown tube in the middle of the toilet roll.

• This tube forms the centre of a 5-metre-long toilet roll, which is then cut with very fast, very sharp saws into what we would recognise as loo rolls.

• These loo rolls are transported via conveyors to accumulator tables and grouped into pack sizes of 4 or 8 and a branded plastic wrapper added.

Page 9: The Messenger Northumbria U3A Regional Quarterly ... · PDF fileNorthumbria U3A Regional Quarterly Newsletter April 2017 ... Hip, hip, hip hooray, ... The Messenger April 2017 6 HIP,

The Messenger April 2017 9

• The wrapped loo rolls are themselves then transported to a robotic stacking machine that stacks these a couple of metres high.

• These stacks are then moved on another conveyor to a wrapping machine that should be on Doctor Who and once this is done they are finished and taken to the warehouse referred to as “The Big Green Box”.

• Add a bit vehicular distribution to supermarkets and eventually somebody stacks the individual packages of loo rolls onto the shelves

• We the struggle to work out which are best value because they all have different thicknesses and number of sheets per roll and then we get a headache and the panic takes us home to the toilet to use them to do what they were designed for.

So, there you have it!

How on earth anybody designs something like this is almost beyond me but they do and it is wonderful to see and hear it.

We all thoroughly enjoyed this trip and will be talking about it for some time to come.

Many thanks to Val Howarth and her son Jonathan, who works at SCA and guided us on the tour with lots of helpers who gave of their time and knowledge. Brilliant!

Does anybody have friends or relatives working in any other industries that we could make a visit out of? Diamond mines, gold mines, cake factory, tea plantation, Rolls Royce factory, Bombardier, NASA???

THE BIRTH, GROWTH AND SPREAD OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, BY

PAMELA READ, MORPETH U3A

l wondered whether anyone else would be as excited as I was after reading ‘The Adventure of English’ by Melvin Bragg in our non-fiction group. I've just compiled a summary to entice readers to savour it.

The language that became English arrived in the Fifth Century, with the invasion of Germanic tribes into England as the Roman Empire was collapsing and they were leaving. The Anglo-Saxon language with its roots from the Frisian and Sansrit became Old English. The original Celtic language still survives in parts of Britain.

St Aiden arrived from Rome bringing with him the Latin alphabet which fed the growing monasteries with Church Latin. Bede wrote ‘The History of the English-Speaking People’ and Beowolf wrote the first great poem in English in the Tenth Century.

The ‘Lindisfarne Gospels’ were the first great English works; hand written by the monks, each page was decorated with wonderful artistry and precious jewels which were later ripped off by the invaders. The country was raided by the Vikings for three centuries and Bede’s library was destroyed by the Danes who also pillaged.

However, English survived mainly because of Alfred. He used it to unite the country and make them proud of it and helped them develop a spirit of resistance and

Page 10: The Messenger Northumbria U3A Regional Quarterly ... · PDF fileNorthumbria U3A Regional Quarterly Newsletter April 2017 ... Hip, hip, hip hooray, ... The Messenger April 2017 6 HIP,

The Messenger April 2017 10

character. He sponsored a programme of translation of Latin works into English and helped spread the word of God to many.

He leamed Latin and translated five books of religious instruction, philosophy and history into English. ln 1387 he replaced Latin with English in the schools and books began to be written. Stories, poetry and literature blossomed. Chaucer was the founding genius, with his Canterbury Tales. His variety of language as well as his characters and stories are remarkable. He has never been out of print.

Education and literacy spread rapidly. Alfred built a navy and books were sent around the world in his ships. However, all this was not to last.

More invaders came yet again and ravished the land. King Harold was defeated and William of Normandy conquered England in 1066 and eighty five percent of English was lost and replaced by French. This was used in state affairs and by the aristocracy. English, however, remained in use in the lower peasant classes and continued its amazing growth and its ability to absorb thousands of words from other languages. It had become a ruthless survivor.

The black death of 1348 killed a third of the population. Many Latin-speaking clergy died and weakened the hold of Latin amongst the educated clergy. Lay preachers who spoke the English tongue began preaching and in the mid 14th Century, Wycliffe translated the Bible from Latin into Old English. It was considered heretical and seditious and many were destroyed, but some survived.

During these times possession of an English Bible was illegal and William Tyndale left the country to write his wonderful translation of the Bible from the original Greek and Hebrew into English.

Many were smuggled back to England but again many were destroyed and Tyndale cruelly tortured and killed. Later English bibles were accepted and in 1611 James I ordered the King James translation, which we still use today and which has much of Tyndale’s original phrases and poetry in it. Caxton‘s printing press ensured that many copies were obtainable and spread abroad, often by missionaries.

Trade with overseas counties added many new vocabularies to the language. as did the Renaissance. Philip Sydney, a courtier poet, had a large impact as did Robert Cawdrey who in 1604 compiled the first English Dictionary.

Shakespeare added over 2.000 new words. Samuel Johnston wrote his famous Dictionary, which took seven years. It contained 43,999 words and definitions and was published in 1755.

Sheridan wrote 'British Education’. a book on correct pronunciation. Charles Dickens’ genius was to use speech as a sign of class. Cockney slang emerged.

Page 11: The Messenger Northumbria U3A Regional Quarterly ... · PDF fileNorthumbria U3A Regional Quarterly Newsletter April 2017 ... Hip, hip, hip hooray, ... The Messenger April 2017 6 HIP,

The Messenger April 2017 11

Colonialism had also begun. The Pilgrim Fathers had taken the English Bible and their language to America. They landed in extremely wintery, inclement weather, without tools, equipment or skills and would have perished but for Squanto, a native lndian, who had been captured and brought to England to learn English and become a guide. After escaping he had returned to his tribe, which just happened to be where the English were trying to form a village on this barren East coast.

And so, English came to America. Noah Webster wrote the American Spelling Book or The Blue Backed Speller, which was hugely influential in spreading the language and making it simpler. Spelling Bees flourished. 2,000 new words were created in Journals of the Lewis and Clark expedition travelling to the West.

Irish settlers brought new words as did the slaves. They brought the Gullah language, a mixture full of stripped down grammar and added their vocabulary to English. Words from India, Australia, Jamaica, Spain and many other countries were also absorbed.

Novels were thought to be frivolous until Jane Austen wrote in her 'highly proper style’. They, and poetry, flourished; Wordsworth, Burns, Milton, Keats, George Bernard Shaw and others helped push it forward and circulate it.

The Industrial Revolution brought education to the masses and new words. The Great Exhibition brought world-wide acclaim and English gained acceptance.

It spawned technical and mechanical words. Robinson Crusoe; Uncle Tom's Cabin; Huckleberry Finn with Black English: Brer Rabbit and its dialect went world-wide. The world wars took the language via our troops fighting abroad.

The ‘Talkies’ spread English all over the globe and there appears to be no slowing down of English with its voracious appetite for new words. There are Dictionaries for everything now and ‘Text English’. Words are conjured up, inspected and selected. From tiny, modest beginnings, it has become a world-wide language; multicultural and cosmopolitan.

It has helped spread the gospel to the ends of the earth. Surely it has been protected, used and cherished by the Lord for this exact purpose; fed by messages and words of Christianity for hundreds of years. A godly language.

Page 12: The Messenger Northumbria U3A Regional Quarterly ... · PDF fileNorthumbria U3A Regional Quarterly Newsletter April 2017 ... Hip, hip, hip hooray, ... The Messenger April 2017 6 HIP,

The Messenger April 2017 12

WOMEN AT THE LAING, BY CATHERINE STEVENSON, NEWCASTLE U3A

It’s been over thirty years since I started a friendship with Isabella of Isabella and the Pot of Basil (1848) by William Holman Hunt, in D Gallery and, recently, I have introduced her to many U3A members! This friendship guided me to being enthralled by other paintings depicting women in various environments and times in history.

I’ve been studying Isabella, though not continuously, over the decades and can still discover new aspects and perspectives in the painting as it encapsulates a myriad of social, political and religious issues of the day.

She introduced me to the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood when I gazed on the brilliant colours of the tapestry and water pot, the symbolism, echoes of the medieval and the adaptation of literature. The latter, in turn, prompted my reading of the poem by Keats which inspired Hunt to paint this masterpiece.

Decoding the symbolism unlocks some of the hidden messages she proffers since the painting is not just about a woman grieving for her murdered lover whose head happens to be in the pot of basil.

This was the image of a real woman Pre-Raphaelite painters wanted to portray. However, she had to be more acceptable to society so religious symbols were used such as the prie-dieu and candle in the candelabra.

Edward Armitage’s Souvenir of Scutari (1957) was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1857 and was painted from a sketch he made while observing the Crimean War to which he was sent to draw battle scenes. However, his work shows that peace had arrived and it was being enjoyed by a group of veiled Turkish women at leisure in public gardens on the Asian side of the Bosphorus, where they continued with every day, daily activities after the trauma of war. The colours are bright and bring an atmosphere of cheerfulness to the scene. The women, who take a central role the composition, form a in a triangular composition which is repeated by the tall, strong, upward pointing trees in the background. Like the triangle these women are strong and are supportive of each other while in isolation from the rest of the setting as they are Muslim women possibly belonging to a harem. The black, female servant on the right protecting the young girl from prying eyes while some of the other women wear veils to cover their faces. However, they express joy and hope for a better, peaceable future. Reinforcing this message are two images near the women. They symbolise renewal. Can you spot them?

In Northern Spirit, The Women (1904) by John Charlton brings us nearer to home, to Cullercoats and this is another favourite with U3A members. I have admired Charlton’s composition highlighting the women who helped to pull the Cullercoats’ lifeboat to Whitley Bay to launch it in a bid to rescue the crew of the Lovely Nelly which was sinking just off the coast in 1861. Charlton did not aim to depict accurately the historical event but wanted to emphasise the braveness, determination, equality and high moral values of these fisherwomen who acted as part of a community team in such situations. I viewed them as an example to society in the past, the present and the future.

Page 13: The Messenger Northumbria U3A Regional Quarterly ... · PDF fileNorthumbria U3A Regional Quarterly Newsletter April 2017 ... Hip, hip, hip hooray, ... The Messenger April 2017 6 HIP,

The Messenger April 2017 13

These are only three of the many exemplary works of art at the Laing emphasising women’s strength, hope and looking to the future for renewal. I hope they remain at the Laing for a long time to come and that they will give viewers and many U3A members as much to contemplate and enjoy as I have done since meeting Isabella.

HADRIAN’S CAVALRY, BY JOHN SANDIFORD,

TYNEDALE U3A

Hadrian’s Wall World Heritage Site will host a major new exhibition in 2017 celebrating the cavalry regiments that once guarded this famous North West frontier of the mighty Roman Empire, funded by the Arts Council.

Taking place from Saturday 8 April to Sunday 10 September 2017, Hadrian’s Cavalry explores the role and daily life of the Roman army’s cavalry forces in a unique wall-wide exhibition that stretches the full 150 miles of the Hadrian’s Wall World Heritage Site area – from Maryport in the west to South Shields in the east.

The six-month exhibition is a once in a lifetime opportunity for visitors to explore the role and daily life of the cavalry forces of the Roman army. The exhibition features a range of remarkable and finely decorated Roman cavalry objects - including cavalry helmets and ornate armour - as well as a series of re-enactment events at attractions across the 150-mile-long World Heritage Site - from Maryport in the west to South Shields in the east. There will also be a specially commissioned piece of contemporary art celebrating the cavalry site at Chesters Roman Fort and Museum.

On 1 & 2 July, the largest Roman cavalry re-enactments ever seen in the UK will take place throughout the day at Bitts Park in Carlisle as part of Hadrian’s Cavalry. A troop (turma) of 30 Roman cavalrymen will come together to perform training exercises described by Hadrian himself 2,000 years ago. A specially commissioned piece of contemporary art celebrating the cavalry site at Chesters Roman Fort and Museum will be revealed in the grounds of the Roman site in July 2017. Visitors will be able to enjoy this spectacle until the close of the exhibition in September 2017.

Tynedale U3A Hadrian’s Wall Group will be visiting most of exhibitions and the display

at Bitts Park in Carlisle. All are welcome to join us. Just send an Email:

[email protected]

Page 14: The Messenger Northumbria U3A Regional Quarterly ... · PDF fileNorthumbria U3A Regional Quarterly Newsletter April 2017 ... Hip, hip, hip hooray, ... The Messenger April 2017 6 HIP,

The Messenger April 2017 14

GERMAN INTERMEDIATE GROUP, BY MARIANNE WELLS, PONTELAND

U3A

The Group, which has been running in its present format since way before the year 2000, still has 10/11 members, at least 6 of whom are part of the original group. What might be of interest however is that we are now pretending to live in a small German Village. We have ditched the text books and make up conversations and incidents between neighbours. Thereby, hopefully learning new vocabulary and grammar and gaining the confidence to speak.

BERWICK CREATIVE WRITERS, BY MAUREEN RAPER, BERWICK U3A

The Berwick upon Tweed U3A Creative Writing Group has grown in popularity over

the last 12 months. Members are keen to create interesting stories and enjoy writing

and reading out their work in class. They have produced some excellent work and

enjoy meeting people with like minds and making new friends.

Two members have had their books published and others have been lucky enough to

have the opportunity of broadcasting their stories on radio. They were quite

apprehensive on the first trip to the radio station, but after broadcasting their first

stories they received excellent feedback.

It all went down so well they each wrote a Christmas story for the radio and with more

confidence they can now listen to their stories which can be heard both locally and all

over the world.

The group have also visited the local archives where they have researched local

history which they plan to write a group anthology.

SINGING FOR PLEASURE, BY MARGARET THOMPSON AND PAT

FLEMING, SALTBURN DISTRICT U3A

Many U3A have a singing group and

this is a unique offering from

Saltburn District U3A.

It was penned by one of the

members, Margaret and arranged by

our choirmaster Pat, and was

performed as part of the Christmas

concert to all members at the

December monthly meeting

It could easily be adapted to fit your

U3A. The words in italics were sung

by the whole choir and the rest was

Page 15: The Messenger Northumbria U3A Regional Quarterly ... · PDF fileNorthumbria U3A Regional Quarterly Newsletter April 2017 ... Hip, hip, hip hooray, ... The Messenger April 2017 6 HIP,

The Messenger April 2017 15

Spoken by individuals to make it more effective. Margaret has agreed it can be shared

for others to use and enjoy.

Singing for Pleasure (with apologies to Molly Malone)

Words - Margaret Thompson Arrangement - Pat Fleming

There are those who play Scrabble, whilst others just dabble

In painting or writing or surfing the net

Some members go walking, or dancing or talking

They all have one purpose, to prove to the rest - we’re -

Alive alive o! Alive alive o

Though we’re over the hill, we’re Alive alive o!!

Now we enjoy singing, our voices heard ringing, All

Through the Echo Centre and into the air

Some is down to Patricia, our Lady choir teacher

Whose patience and humour both keep us aware - we’re –

Alive alive o! Alive alive o!

Whilst in U3A, you’re Alive alive o!

Now if you wish to join us, 1.30 each Monday,

That’s the day after Sunday in case you forget, Join

“Recycled Teenagers” let out of their cages

And help us to prove we’re Alive alive o!!

Alive alive o! Alive alive o!

We’re in this together!! Alive alive o!!

Under Tricia’s direction (she hopes for perfection)

We’ve all sung with gusto to give Christmas cheer

So, with your participation, on this special occasion,

We hope we’ve entertained you once we’d got you here

Alive alive o! Alive alive o!

We want you to be like us - Alive alive o!!

Page 16: The Messenger Northumbria U3A Regional Quarterly ... · PDF fileNorthumbria U3A Regional Quarterly Newsletter April 2017 ... Hip, hip, hip hooray, ... The Messenger April 2017 6 HIP,

The Messenger April 2017 16

UPDATE FROM THE REGIONAL RESEARCH SUPPORT GROUP

The Regional Research Support Group are planning a workshop, provisionally on Tuesday September 12th at a venue to be confirmed.

It will be an introduction to the basics of how a U3A might carry out research into a topic of interest to a member, a group or an entire U3A.

If you have ever thought “I wish I knew more about that but I don’t know how to go about it” then this is a chance to understand how to do it in a structured and logical way.

More information will be available at the Regional Meeting.

GEOGRAPHY COMPETITION 2017 AND 2018, BY JEFF ARMSTRONG,

BERWICK U3A

The 2017 Geography competition has reached its final stage.

After several, closely fought matches, the finalists will be RYTON and the winners of the semi-final match between BEDALE and TEESDALE. This match will have taken place before you read this.

The Final is provisionally scheduled to take place on Tuesday, 16th May, 2017, at The Angel Inn, Gateshead, starting at 2.00 pm. but this could change to a venue nearer to Durham City to be fair to both Finalists. It would be appreciated by the teams if any U3A member, who is free on that afternoon and interested enough, could come along and support them.

An update on the venue can be found by contacting me on 018907 81400.

Last year’s winners, Wessington, have held the Geography Cup throughout the year and will hand it over to this year’s winners at the Final, along with Certificates of Achievement. All teams entered for the 2017 competition should have received their Certificates (to the level they reached) and, if not, please contact me on the number above.

If any U3A would like to take part in 2018 just form a team of four, (with two reserves) and complete an Entry Form. The Format, Entry Form and other information will be available from the 1st June 2017, from me at [email protected] or by post.

If you have any queries please call me on the telephone number above.

Would all U3A secretaries please inform their members about the Geography Competition so that the information can reach ‘everyone’. Last year the

Page 17: The Messenger Northumbria U3A Regional Quarterly ... · PDF fileNorthumbria U3A Regional Quarterly Newsletter April 2017 ... Hip, hip, hip hooray, ... The Messenger April 2017 6 HIP,

The Messenger April 2017 17

communication ‘chain’ was poor and several U3As missed the Entry Deadline, (hence the earlier notification to all so that no-one has a reason to say they never received it). This year the deadline is the 30th November 2017. U3As can enter a team any time after the 1st June.

Last year’s winners, Wessington (pictured), spent a week in Malta, (which had problems with accommodation on the first day but all worked out well for the remainder of the week).

This year the destination will be revealed after the Final and will be a different destination from 2016.

UPDATE ON TRUST CONSULTATION, BY JOHN LLOYD, WEARSIDE U3A,

AND JOHN LEIPER, ALNWICK U3A

On March 8th, we attended a meeting in London the purpose of which was to feed back the Findings of the Consultation Process Working Party which had been set up by The National Executive Committee following an article in Third Age Matters last year by three past National Chairman. Our report on this meeting follows:

We have now completed our involvement in the consultation process at a final meeting in London on 08/03/17. Since the National AGM in August 2017, 672 individual members representing 370 U3As have expressed their views and had them recorded. The on-line questionnaire sent to all U3As had 469 responses, all of which have been summarised and submitted and approved at an NEC meeting. The sub-committee of three have worked hard and have tried to précis fairly many diverse views from thousands of words. We think there were only two generally accepted themes:

1. That the work load on the existing Trustees was excessive and

2. The recognition that "networks" were a major factor in how U3As worked together had to be acknowledged within our governance.

There was some stress placed upon the need for Trustees to be selected with specialist knowledge be it leadership, educational or financial and if a smaller NEC could deal only with major management allowing detail day to day to be delegated. We doubt if all this will produce any major immediate changes. We understand that the June edition of Third Age Matters will include a full summation.

Page 18: The Messenger Northumbria U3A Regional Quarterly ... · PDF fileNorthumbria U3A Regional Quarterly Newsletter April 2017 ... Hip, hip, hip hooray, ... The Messenger April 2017 6 HIP,

The Messenger April 2017 18

AN OPEN AFTERNOON, BY BILL WOOLDRIDGE, PRUDHOE AND

DISTRICT U3A

Once a year Prudhoe & District U3A's monthly Tuesday coffee morning is set aside in favour of our Open Afternoon. We take over the first-floor conference rooms of the Spetchells Centre, Prudhoe's civic amenity building, for our Groups to put on displays of their activities in whatever form they choose. This year's event took place on March 14th and was visited by so many present members and potential members-to-be that from time to time queues developed of visitors simply waiting to get into the display areas.

Book clubs provided selections of reading matter, the Scrabble Group invited new members to join in a game or two, Naturewatch and Walking combined to take over one entire corner of the largest room available, the Lunch Club displayed a place setting complete with wine, while Digital Photography managed a table display with a notice-board and two slide-shows of the Group's work from the past year, concentrating on their 2016 Christmas competition for members' silliest photographs – the prize, a yellow plastic duck, was doing duty elsewhere. All Modern Language groups were represented (memo to self: we really need another Spanish Group now...)

All areas were embellished with delightful floral displays provided by the Flower Arranging group, while the Calligraphy Group supplied jaunty titles for table displays and other printed matter. Especially praiseworthy was the display of books and other materials by the very active Local History Group: Prudhoe has a lot of local history! Singing for Pleasure had to be satisfied with a static display on this occasion, since the Library is on the floor below and the Council office and C.A.B on the floor above!

Photographers and History 2 (there is no History 1!) occupied the same room as the serve-yourself refreshments table. By the time the event was an hour old another queue had formed – of committee members transporting stacks of clean mugs and giant Thermos flasks of boiling water from the staff kitchen to meet the demand for refills. While waiting for refreshments members were entertained by a big-screen slide show of the past year's U3A activities: we are keen

Page 19: The Messenger Northumbria U3A Regional Quarterly ... · PDF fileNorthumbria U3A Regional Quarterly Newsletter April 2017 ... Hip, hip, hip hooray, ... The Messenger April 2017 6 HIP,

The Messenger April 2017 19

to record the daily life of our little organisation, in which we take great pride, in this our tenth year.

Special thanks for organising this very successful afternoon are due to our enthusiastic convenors and all the many members who produced displays, organised labour and biscuits, moved tables and chairs and helped return the rooms to original condition afterwards, and to the staff of the Spetchells Centre for their patience and tolerance.

SAILING ADVENTURES, BY KELVIN RUSHWORTH, WOOLER U3A

Wooler U3A members Alison and Tony Davies enjoyed a relaxing bike ride to Kielder Water and, after coffee in the Yacht Club, surprised themselves by buying their first yacht, 22 foot Corylus!

As budding sailors, they had to learn everything from scratch. After sailing on the reservoir, they purchased a bigger yacht, 29-foot Penny, and explored the Clyde. An even larger yacht, 32-foot Reveller, meant that they could venture from the Tyne out to sea.

Alison and Tony enthralled Wooler U3A members at a bi-monthly General Meeting describing their most ambitious adventure, sailing from the Tyne to Guernsey, Brittany, Northern Spain, Portugal (Porto and the Algarve) and, eventually, to the Greek Islands ... which took them over four years.

LATEST REGIONAL EVENTS

May 4th – “Who wears the Trousers” at the Laing Art Gallery is fully booked

IT / Social Media – Workshops are being planned to cover topics such as Terms, Social Media, Phishing, Changing Passwords and shopping on line. Dates to be confirmed.

Literary Lunch – Tynedale is planning a literary Lunch to be held on Thursday October 5th. More details shortly.

Centre for Life – The annual event is being planned for October. The date and topic to be confirmed.

Energy Day – We are in the very early stages of planning an Energy Day which is likely to be either just before Christmas this year or at Easter in 2018. Again, details will follow.

Great Exhibition of the North 2018 – This was mentioned in the last report in January. The Government has donated at least £5m to this project. It has been extremely difficult to find any information about what the process was to be and then

Page 20: The Messenger Northumbria U3A Regional Quarterly ... · PDF fileNorthumbria U3A Regional Quarterly Newsletter April 2017 ... Hip, hip, hip hooray, ... The Messenger April 2017 6 HIP,

The Messenger April 2017 20

suddenly on March 20th they announced that bids were now needed from interested parties to be able to take part. They also announced that the closing dates for bids was May 22nd so this leaves very little time. We have set up a sub group to work on this to make a bid on behalf of the Northumbria Regional U3A and they are already hard at work. We wish them luck!

More information will hopefully be available at the Regional Meeting.

PAINTING ON WOOD GROUP, BY MARION POPE, PONTELAND U3A

This group started last year on my return to the UK from living in France for 9 years. Whilst there I joined a painting on wood group in Angouleme, all French

speaking, so I had to join in and improve my French, which was most enjoyable.

The group meets every Tuesday afternoon here at our house, everyone a beginner and I think all would agree in the beginning they said they could not draw or paint. We trace our picture, be it flowers, animals etc. and paint them with acrylic paint.

We have various boxes to choose from, a lot available online - tissue, trinket, tea, jewellery

and can give as gifts. Everyone finds it very relaxing and productive including making new friends.

OUR AGM, BY MARJORIE DE’ATH, NEWCASTLE U3A

This took place as usual on the second Wednesday in February at our normal General Meeting venue Brunswick Methodist Hall and was well attended. Most of the committee was still eligible to continue so there were few changes, and these involved three people perhaps familiar to those interested in Regional matters. Mo Brown who has been Office Manager for many years and Chairman for two stepped down and was replaced by Catherine Stevenson, and Sheila Howes, editor of ‘The Messenger’ joined the committee.

AGMS are not the most interesting occasions so this year members were entertained (hopefully so!) by presentations from three Group Leaders.

Sandi Rickerby talked and showed photos of recent Travel Group adventures. The group visited Gran Canaria and, as Sandi showed, it is possible to find more to do there than lie on a beach. A longer and more ‘worldwide’ trip was a cruise which included Jamaica, Cuba, Honduras and Mexico. No shortage there of wonderful things to do and see.

Marjorie De’Ath talked about the Creative Writing Group and read Elspeth Jones’ amusing poem about the difficulties of appreciating photos of friend’s babies. Two other members read from their collection of stories. A group in which active participation is a Given!

Page 21: The Messenger Northumbria U3A Regional Quarterly ... · PDF fileNorthumbria U3A Regional Quarterly Newsletter April 2017 ... Hip, hip, hip hooray, ... The Messenger April 2017 6 HIP,

The Messenger April 2017 21

Catherine Stevenson, of General History and Talking about Art, gave a visual preview and talk about a U3A Northumbria Region event she is delivering at the Laing Art Gallery called, ‘Who wears the trousers?’ concerning the roles of men and women throughout history.

KEEPING BUSY! BY PETER WELSH, WESSINGTON U3A

Recent months have been busy for Wessington U3A War Memorials group with eight showings of The Wear at War, our current film. It was funded by HLF, made by Lonely Tower Film and Media and based on the research of local historians. Lanchester Brass Band supplied part of the soundtrack and Tanfield Railway and Beamish Museum were used as sites for re-enactments. The film tells, in its eighty-five minutes, a variety of stories of men and women from the valley - from Rookhope to Roker. About 350 people attended the showings and we have sold almost all of the 500 DVDs we had made. The film was also shown at Witton Park for their commemoration of the Bradford brothers (two of whom won the VC).

‘Cake of the month award’ goes to Victoria Graham for a sponge, scoffed in very short order, at the North Biddick Club showing of The Wear at War.

A showing of Washington Men at The Somme at the Black Bush (10th November) raised £102 for Help for Heroes.

On November 11th seven of the group read out, at Harraton Memorial, the names of the 37 Harraton men killed in 1916 and we had Ken Moore to play The Last Post. On November 13th over 400 people turned up at Harraton Memorial for the Remembrance service. Stuart Major played The Last Post.

The group held a three-day exhibition (November 11th-13th) at Beamish Museum. As ever, we met people with stories to tell from all over the country and the world. Another exhibition, over 9 days was held in February 2017 to coincide with the re-enactment of the Usworth Children’s Strike.

Wessington U3A’s annual talk on Remembrance was delivered by 11 members of the group – our topic was ‘Washington in 1916.

Talks have been given to various local groups – including Cestria U3A – and more are in the diary. All fees and money from the sale of DVDs has been donated to Durham Branch SSAFA (£400 so far this year).

Page 22: The Messenger Northumbria U3A Regional Quarterly ... · PDF fileNorthumbria U3A Regional Quarterly Newsletter April 2017 ... Hip, hip, hip hooray, ... The Messenger April 2017 6 HIP,

The Messenger April 2017 22

The HLF informed us that we had been chosen as one of ‘six great projects’ to feature in a short film encouraging others to bid for HLF grants re WW1. The finished film can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B80HDbY4du4

You may care to watch:

Wad thou gan? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFviyhRI_Hg

From Washington to Wipers and Warlencourt https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8opE4znQzWA

Washington Men at The Somme https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFyTc8KKF_s

The Wear at War https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-geXMhrVJE

HARD BREXIT, BY KEN CREEN, WHITLEY BAY U3A

Note: The black syllables are stresses for my guidance when performing

When Hard Brexit comes, now make no mistake,

To speak English will be de rigeur

This fait accompli like some grand coup d’etat,

Will leave room for not one crie-de-coeur.

We’ll have to give up joie de vivre,

And abandon our esprit de corps,

Abolish, we shall the Entente Cordiale,

And with reluctance relinquish rapport.

We’ll need to accept that our carte isn’t blanche,

Our garni will have no bouquet,

Forgo a penchant for sugar that’s burnt,

Now that there’s no more Crème Brulee.

To be a viveur one cannot be bon,

And our garde it just can’t be avante

We’ll look somewhere else for mon oncle’s crayon

Rather than the bureau de ma tante

We’ll just have to eat what we’re given,

A la Carte won’t be on the menu;

Page 23: The Messenger Northumbria U3A Regional Quarterly ... · PDF fileNorthumbria U3A Regional Quarterly Newsletter April 2017 ... Hip, hip, hip hooray, ... The Messenger April 2017 6 HIP,

The Messenger April 2017 23

It won’t just be croupiers who tell us

“Mesdames, Messieurs rien ne va plus.”

There’ll be other things missing but je ne sais quoi.

We won’t know till the details are sorted,

But if you’ve been expecting a ménage a trois,

All your hopes, I’m afraid will be thwarted.

In spite of the years we’ve enjoyed laissez-faire,

Not to mention Cordon Bleu cuisine,

There’ll be no point in searching for ripe Camembert,

That and Brie’ll be nowhere to be seen.

Objets d’Art, papier-mache and aides de memoire

Will seem things from some distant decade.

We’ll so soon forget how to faire the savoire,

Our bêtes-noir will line-up on parade.

No longer we’ll hide behind our noms de plumes,

We’ll just use the names we were given.

Nouveau riches won’t have time to mange-tous les legumes

Their Limousines will not be chauffeur-driven.

If some of you had wanted to keep all these things,

Then I’ll have to include one addendum;

You should all have gone out and voted for, “Stay”

On the day of the last Referendum!

Page 24: The Messenger Northumbria U3A Regional Quarterly ... · PDF fileNorthumbria U3A Regional Quarterly Newsletter April 2017 ... Hip, hip, hip hooray, ... The Messenger April 2017 6 HIP,

The Messenger April 2017 24

COMMITTEE AND CONTACTS

Chair Barbara Herring

Acting Vice-Chair Bill Brookes

Regional Trustee Elizabeth Porter

Treasurer Robert Berry

Business Secretary Judy Smith

Minutes Secretary Maggie Grocott

Bookings Secretary Anne Bothwell

IT/Regional Education Mike Martin

Newsletter Editor Sheila Howes

Committee Member Frank Forster

Committee Member Derek Grocott

Please send articles for the next edition to: [email protected] by Monday 3rd

July 2017. All articles preferably in Word and images in jpeg format.

Snail mail: 29 St Keverne Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE5 3YF

(With all photographs printed in Messenger , copyright remains with the

photographer)

For copies of this publication, photographs of some events and other regional

information visit the Northumbria Region website:

www.u3asites.org.uk/northumbria

To request a copy of Messenger by email contact: [email protected]