Mansfield U3A Newsletter: August 2014

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Mansfield and District U3A Newsletter Caravans and Motorhomes in France: Page 3 _____________________________ Established 1999 HMRC Charity Registration No.: XT30525 August 2014 Website: www.mansfield-u3a.org.uk Noticeboard: http://mansfieldu3a.blogspot.com Page 1 of 13

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Mansfield and District U3A's monthly newsletter shows what members have been doing recently and what's planned. This edition includes reports on a caravan and motorhome holiday in France and visits to Easton Walled Garden and to see The Taming of the Shrew.

Transcript of Mansfield U3A Newsletter: August 2014

Mansfield and District U3ANewsletter

Caravans and Motorhomes in France: Page 3_____________________________

Established 1999HMRC Charity Registration No.: XT30525

August 2014Website: www.mansfield-u3a.org.uk

Noticeboard: http://mansfieldu3a.blogspot.com

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WelcomeHELLO EVERYBODY.

As most of you know, apart from a very new members, there is no paper newsletter in August dueto the picnic, which is on Tuesday, 19 August, commencing at 12 noon until around 3.00pm. Alwaysa very enjoyable afternoon, especially if the sun is shining!

Haven’t we had super weather in the last weeks too! It is lovely to sit on the patio in the balmy even-ings watching the sun sink slowly in the west. Having said that, can any of you remember when youhad time to do nothing?

We know the year is cracking on when the BBC Proms begin, which they have of course. Therehave also been successes in the Commonwealth Games and not forgetting Prince George’s 1stbirthday – 3 lovely, natural photographs with the butterflies! I was very surprised, however, to seeChristmas cards in the shops already!

Many of us will have had at least one summer holiday, hopefully with more to come. If in England,we have to prepare for any type of weather and ensure jumpers and raincoats are somewhere inthe packing!

What a glut of lovely summer fruits this year – health giving and beneficial. But I was reading aboutthe cherry. Apparently it is uncertain when the cultivated cherry arrived in England. It is thought theRomans introduced it in around 46 AD and planted it near their settlements. The term 'Cherry Ripe'was first used in a poem by Robert Herrick in the 17th Century – “Cherry ripe, ripe, ripe, I cry. Fulland fair ones. Come and Buy”.

The popular cherry has featured for picture postcards, part of a design on plates, dishes and inbaskets. I read that two postcards had a light-hearted theme with cherries in the border.

“If your face wants to Smile, LET IT!If it doesn’t, MAKE IT!”

“If a body write a body, Getting no reply,May a body ask a body, Who the *, What the *, Why?

Anyway, I think that is enough about Cherries!

My last meeting as Chairman on Tuesday, 16th September, is the AGM. In addition this yearchanges to our constitution will be considered and members’ agreement to those changes will besought.

Have a fabulous picnic everyone and enjoy the rest of the Summer.Glenis Carr______________________________________________________________________________In this issue

Page 2 Welcome.Page 3 Annual Subscriptions. Holiday Updates. Recent Events. (Caravans and

Motorhomes in France, start.)Page 4 Recent Events Cont. (Caravans and Motorhomes in France, end; Art Appreciation

and Sci-Tech visit to Cambridge.)Pages 5 - 8 Interest Groups meetings diary. Page 9 Recent Events Cont. (Theatre Visit to Taming of the Shrew.)Page 10 Recent Events Cont. (Gardening at Easton Walled Garden. Groups News. (Art Apprecia-

tion; start.)Page 11 Groups News. (Art Appreciation, end; Lunch Club, Afternoon Teas & Wine Group 3, start.)Page 12 Groups News. (Wine Group 3, end.) Member's Contribution. (Futurelearn & Openlearn.)Page 13 Dates for your diary and Notices.

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Annual Subscriptions 2014/2015: ReminderOUR financial year ended on 31st July and annual subscriptions are due at the September AGM.

Due to the generosity of our members in supporting our social events and the tax we havereclaimed via the Gift Aid Scheme, we are yet again delighted to offer our members a refund of £2on this year’s subscriptions.

Existing members will therefore only pay £15 for this year. (Associate members £11.50). Subscrip-tions to Mansfield U3A remain at £17 for the forthcoming year for new members.

Payment can be made any time between now and the September meeting so please let me haveyour cheque when convenient, payable to Mansfield U3A. (Post-date to September if you wish.)

Please remind any friends who wish to renew their membership but are unable to attend themonthly meetings to contact the treasurer or any committee member.

Online BankingFor those members who use internet banking, why not pay your subscriptions ONLINE this year?Full details available from the treasurer. Thanks.Pauline Boucher (Treasurer)______________________________________________________________________________

Holiday UpdatesTHE ALGARVE, PORTUGAL (18th - 25th Sept.)Please remember the pre-holiday meeting at the Junction (Cardinal) in Sutton in Ashfield at 11am.on Saturday 30th August. You will have the chance to ask any questions that may arise afterreading the information in your packs so please collect them today. I also need to divide you intogroups for the airport. It may be an idea to buy your Euros now as they are at a good rate at thetime of my writing this contribution.

THURSFORD (3rd - 5th Dec.)Since cheques will not be cashed until the end of September deadline, you may like to pay the £160balance before then, especially if you know you will be away for either the August or Septembermeeting. Cheques to be made out to Mansfield & District U3A.

Again if you are interested, please add your name to my holiday waiting lists in case of a cancella-tion. (There were unfortunately two cancellations at the last minute for Hayling Island due to illnessso three off the waiting list were able to fill the places so nobody lost any money.)Margaret Burlinson – 01623 632538, [email protected]

THORESBY (Mon. 2nd Feb. to Fri. 6th, 2015.)This holiday is now fully-booked with a waiting list so please contact me ASAP if you want to come.Terry Whitehead – 01623 626991, [email protected] Updates about all holidays are here________________________________________________________________________________________

Recent Events

Caravans and Motorhomes in FranceIT OCCURRED to me that whilst away for the month the group of us have touched many aspectsrelating to groups already existing in Mansfield U3A.

As you would imagine we walked, hiked, strolled and shuffled along many glorious beaches, oldfortifications and market squares; on our visits to the Loire Valley we covered Antiques and Collect-

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ables, Art and Art Appreciation; just to see the Tapestry of the Apocalypse in Angers Château thatcovers all of those.

There were many other instances, the paintings of Leonardo da Vinci in Amboise displayed on voileand hung in the trees to catch thesunlight, was yet another.

Science and Technology would havebeen proud of us we played with andclimbed on the working recreationsof da Vinci’s inventions in the ClosD’Luce. Garden visits and gardeningmerged on many occasions.

Luncheon club would be astonishedby the number of times we ate 'fruitde mer.' Pudding club could havegathered recipes from our restaurantmenus and the many patisseries wesampled.

Wine Appreciation got a great deal ofattention from our enthusiastic ifundiscerning palates.

The most significant event broughtFamily History, History and CurrentAffairs together on the same daywhen we were at the 70thAnniversary of the D-Day Landingsin Normandy .

We saw all nationalities celebrating together, old veterans proudly wearing medals, pipe bands, andbrass bands. The RAF memorial flight overhead, paratroopers landing just yards away. Floral trib-utes and fireworks side by side.

Needless to say we will be going again in 2015.Linda Leivers More photos here

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Art Appreciation and Sci-Tech Groups visit to Cambridge BRILLIANT summer sunshine greeted our explorers of Cambridge on 1st August and stayed withus throughout the day – up to the moment we disembarked from the coach on our return to Mans-field, when the heavens opened.

The arty types were in heaven as the Fitzwilliam Art Gallery has a world-class collection; the teccieshad a guided tour of the intimate Whipple Museum of the History of Science, where manymemories were rekindled by displays of slide rules and 'early' calculators that many rememberedfrom their school days; others explored this beautiful city on foot or or a sightseeing bus.

Ian and Pauline Boucher had arranged another 'Grand Day Out' and fully deserved the warmapplause of their grateful charges.David Ling Photo here

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Key to Meetings details:THIS TABLE SHOWS THE DAY of the month, time and frequency using the first two letters of theday, followed by numbers 1 - 5 to represent the week number. The final letter M (or F, W or V) indic-ates that the group meets monthly, fortnightly, weekly or at variable intervals.

So 'Tu2, 2.30 - V M' would mean a group meeting on the 2nd Tuesday at 2.30pm Monthly but withVariable finish times.

The main Mansfield and District U3A meetings are on the 3rd Tuesday of each month (except Augustand December) at the Oakham Suite, 155 Nottingham Road, Mansfield from 10 am - 12.30 pm.

All members are invited to contact the relevant Group Leader if they would like to participate in anyinterest group or attend an event. NB: * indicates a waiting list.

Interest Group Meetings Meeting Places Leader/Contact

Afternoon Teas V, 3.00 - V Various Sheila Whalley 01623 453908

Next Meetings: Wed. 4th Sept. – Saville Restaurant (Rufford Park) - £15 for 2. Must book at table

Antiques andCollectables *

Tu 2, 10.00 – 12.00 M Stanhope Centre, Bridge Street,Mansfield

Pat Blackwell01623 481745

Next Meetings: Sept 9th - Bowls – any type or material

Art We3, 10.00 – 12.00 M Big Barn Lane Methodist Church, Mansfield

Linda Spray 01623 795176

Next Meetings: August 20th; September 17th; October 15th

Art Appreciation Mo1, 2.00 - 4.00 M Stanhope Centre, Bridge Street,Mansfield

Pauline Boucher01623 644798

Next meetings: September 1st – British Artists (cont.) on DVD

Beginners' Bridge(With Ashfield U3A)

Mo, Various 6.30 - 9.00

Enviro Centre, Derby Rd College,Mansfield

Maxine Rose/GlenisCarr 01623 459081/627735

Next Meetings: TBA (Also Acol sessions at the Mechanics Institute – Thurs 10 - 12.30 W)

Bowls Th, 1.30 – 3.30 W Mansfield Bowls Club: QE Academy

Don Wright01623 628946

Next Meetings: Outdoors season continues every week.All welcome, including beginners, but flat / bowls shoes must be worn.

Caravan & M'home Rally

Various Various Terry Lammas01623 471963

Next Meetings: TBA

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Interest Group Meetings Meeting Place Leader/Contact

Chat and Stitch Mo3, 2.00 - 4.00 M St John's Centre, Mansfield

Doreen Storer01623 407731

Next Meetings: September 16th; October 21st; November 18th

Current Affairs Tu2, 2.00 - 4.00 M St John's Centre, Mansfield

Norma Shillinglaw01623 466934

Next Meetings: September 9th; October 14th; November 11th

Digital World Fri 2 & 4, 2.00 - 4.00 2/M

Stanton Hill Baptist Church, Albert St. Skegby

David Ling01623 822994

Next Meetings: September 12th – Review of 'Holidays'

Family History Tu4, 10.00 - 12.00 M St John's Centre, Mansfield

Max Clarke01623 621744

Next Meetings: September 23rd

Film Studies * We1, 1.30 - V M Joy's home Joy Crowe01623 645400

Next Meetings: September 3rd

Garden Visits During the Summer Various Janet Whitlam01623 635607

Next Visit: TBA

Gardening Tu1, 10.00 - 12.00 M St Peter's Centre, Mansfield

Avril McGee01623 452688

Next Meetings: Sept. 2nd – Harvest-time & Quiz; Oct. 7th – Gail & John Summerfield

Heartstart Various William Kaye Hall, Ladybrook Lane

Linda Leivers 01623 471963

Next Meetings: TBA

History Th 2, 2.00 – 4.00 William Kaye Hall, Ladybrook Lane

Linda Spray 01623 795176

Next Meetings: September 11th

Holidays (Home & Abroad)

Various TBA Margaret Burlinson01623 632538

Next holidays: Sept. 18th - 25th – Portugal (Meet Sat 3oth Aug at The Junction 11-12 am; Tues. Dec. 3rd - Thurs. 5th – Thursford Xmas Spect.; 2015: Mon. Feb. 2nd - Fri. 6th – Thoresby

Local History Fri1, 10.00 - 12.00 M Bridge Street Methodist Church

Bob & Sue Longden01623 486903

Next Meetings: Sept 5th: Famous Local People (Members' Choice)

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Interest Group Meetings Meeting Place Leader/Contact

Luncheon Club Th after 3rd Tu, 12.00 - 2.00 M

Various David Ling01623 822994

Next Meetings: Sept. 18th – Cockcliffe Hotel; Oct. 23rd – Denby Lodge, Denby Village

Movement to Music W 10.30 - 11.30 W St John's Church Hall

Linda Leivers 01623 471963

Next Meetings: Weekly on Wednesdays. Cost £4.00 per session

Music Groups

Classical Music 2 Mo4, 2.00 - 4.00 M Members' homes Peter Hart01623 620940

Next Meetings: Sept. 22nd – Preludes and Introductions with Marie; Oct. 27th – Brahms & Liszt with Sheila

Music 2 * Mo4, 2.00 - 4.30 M Members' homes Eric Prescott 01623 631160

Next Meeting: Sept 22nd – TBA

Popular Music Appreciation *

Tu4, 2.00 - 4.00 M St John's School, Mansfield

Peter Haynes 01623 610886

Next Meetings: Sept 23rd – TBA

Pudding Club * Tu1, 4.00 - 6.00 M Members' homes Sylvia Slack 01623 633981

Next Meetings: September – No Meeting; Oct 7th – Sylvia's; Nov 4th - Janet's

Reading 1 Th3, 2.00 - 4.00 M Peter Dawson's home

Peter Dawson 01623 882191

Next Meetings: Sept 18th

Reading 2 Tu3, 2.00 - 4.00 M Ravenshead Library Joan Hufton01623 557488

Next Meetings: Sept 16th

Science & Technical Tu1, 2.00 - 4.00 M Stanton Hill Baptist Church, Skegby

Ian Boucher01623 644798

Next Meetings: Sept 2nd – How Satellites rule the World with Ian Boucher

Scrabble * Mo2, 2.00 - 4 .00 M Brenda Thurkettle'shome

Brenda Thurkettle01623 628136

Next Meetings: Sept 8th; Oct 13th

Singing for Fun TuV, 5.45 - 7.15 St Alban's Church, Forest Town

June Fell 01623 623547

Next Meetings: Aug. 19th; Sept 2nd, 16th & 28th – Concert at St Alban's (pm)

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Interest Group Meetings Meeting Place Leader/Contact

Tai Chi Mo, 9.30 - 10.30 W St John's Centre,Mansfield

Cliff Laycock01623 481985

Next Meetings: Weekly on Mondays

Theatre Visits Various Various Sheila Whalley 01623 453908

Next Shows: Sat. 27th Sept. – Shrek; Thurs. 2nd & Sat. 4th Oct. – The Great Gatsby Ballet; Wed. 8th Oct. – Calamity Jane; Sun. 25th Oct. – Festival of Remembrance

Walking Groups

Hikers (all-day, 6 - 8 miles)

Th1 & Mo3, 9.30 - V 2/M

Tesco car park, off Oak Tree Lane

Peter Thurkettle 01623 628136

Next Meetings: Mon. 18th Aug. – Tissington Parish Round; Thurs. 4th Sept. – Shilito Woods; Mon. 15th Sept. – Longshaw

Shufflers(short & gentle)

V Lunchtimes Various Sylvia Slack 01623 633981

Next Meetings: TBA

Strollers(a leisurely 2 miles)

We2, 10.30 - V M Various Barbara Massey / Marion Thornton 01623 628357 / 01623 651528

Next Meetings: Sept. 10th – Hardwick (Inn Overflow Car Park); Oct 8th – Thoresby Park

Walkers(an easy 4 - 5 miles)

We4, 10.30 – V M Various Joy & Nick Crowe01623 645400

Next Meetings: Aug 27th – Vicar Water (car park); Sept 24th – The Carrs

Wine Appreciation 2 * We3, 7.30 - V M Members' homes Mike Allen01623 653345

Next Meetings: Aug 20th – Chianti at John & Margaret's; Sept 10th – French Red (Mike's)

Wine Appreciation 3 * Tu4, 7.30 - V M Members' homes Graham Allin01623 473662

Next Meetings: Aug. 26th – Médoc at Barry & Lynne's; Sept 24th - Chardonnay

Writing for Pleasure * Mo2, 2.00 - 4.00 M Stanhope Centre, Bridge Street,Mansfield

Sue Ford / Hilary Miller 01623 844286 / 620067

Next Meetings: August 11th – Letter to the Unknown Soldier; Sept 8th; Oct. 13th

Three seniors are out for a stroll. One of them remarks, “It’s windy.”

Another replies, “No way. It’s Thursday.”The last one says, “Me too. Let’s have a cup of tea.”

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Theatre Visit to see Taming of the Shrew at Tolethorpe ONCE again, the sun shone on the righteous U3A members on their visit to the annual StamfordShakespeare Company production (this year 'The Taming of the Shrew').

After eating their meals on the lawn in the warm sunshine, the audience was transported to 1950sItaly, to the town square in Padua. The updating by director Ken Walsh worked superbly and wewatched with fascination as the young characters drove in and out on Vespas and motor bikes,dressed in the latest 1950s fashions, while the old men looked like Mafia Godfathers. A live bandplayed 'Italian' pop songs of the period as characters moved round the square, and in and out of thecafé.

The play is more misogynistic than I recollected and the taming of lively, waspish Kate, well acted byNatasha Andrew, into an obedient wife offends us now, but was part of life in Elizabethan Englandand 1950s Italy.

James Rushton, as Petruchio, not only acted convincingly, but mastered Shakespeare’s languageas so few do nowadays. Though one or two of the minor characters were rather stolid, the mainones acted well and the liveliness and humour of the play did come across to a responsive audi-ence which joined in with the songs.

It was a good production, successful in its setting and acting; even the cutting of Shakespeare'sintroduction in exchange for the gender violence of a Punch and Judy show worked.

Add in the beautiful weather and our evening was a success.Mike Allen More photos here

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Gardening group at Easton Walled Garden EASTON Walled Garden, a sleeping beauty caught for decades of misfortune and wars, in the gripof brambles, self-sown weed trees and fallen masonry, demolition and decay, has been redis-covered and revived by the current members of the Cholmeley family whose ancestors have ownedthis estate for over 400 years.

After 12 years' of hard endeavour thatrevealed the 'bones' the structure – old stonewalls, bridges and flights of stairs – we seethe garden as it is today.

Along with the debris, also gone are theformal plantings, neat rigid borders andcontainment of times past. In place, a newmodern style has been introduced with ever-popular wild flower meadows and woodlandwalks.

The river Witham water garden is givenstructure by the use of fenced banks thatprevent erosion while allowing the water toflow freely; also simple planting of ReedMace and Meadowsweet help to keep thebanks secure.

A contrast is the more formal 80-metre longborder; the simplicity of the colour-schemewith yellow, white and blue and the choice of just a few plants repeated often is a softer touch thanmany grand borders and I cannot finish without mentioning the charming Sweetpea garden, which isa delight in every respect. This whole garden is work in progress; I look forward to the next 12 years.

Thanks from all the Gardening Group members who were able to join this inspired visit go to KarenTroop and Janet WhitlamJackie Ling More photos here______________________________________________________________________________

Groups NewsArt AppreciationTHE ART APPRECIATION Group enjoyed a very lively session in July during which membersdiscussed female artists – very often forgotten when discussing Art.

Women were frequently either discouraged or ignored in the artistic world of the High Renaissanceand Baroque periods but persistence pays and gradually women began to make their mark. Todayfemale artists are both popular and prolific.

Members brought along their own contributions and subjects differed widely and included thefemale Impressionists Mary Cassatt and Berthe Morisot, artist/gardener Gertrude Jekyll andpopular Beryl Cooke.

Also discussed were Nottinghamshire-born artists Dame Laura Knight and Anna Mary Howitt.

Two lesser-known artists, Lucy Madox Brown and Isabel Bishop provided more unusual pictures fordiscussion and perusal. An item on Mexican artist Frida Kahlo completed a very lively and inform-ative session.Pauline Boucher

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Luncheon ClubOUR JULY lunch at The Crown, Rolleston, showed us all just why it's a favourite of Karen andJohn Troop's who were thanked warmly for arranging an attractive menu, as were the kitchen andfront-of-house teams for very prompt service of excellent 'pub grub'.

We don't lunch in August but Pauline and Ian Boucher will be the hosts at Cockcliffe Hall Hotel inBurntstump Country Park on 18th September where their selected fine-dining menu will cost £12.95for 2 courses or £16.95 for 3.

Then we'll be able to do some pre-Christmas shopping in October as Gordon and Sue Howletthave arranged a very economically-priced menu at the recently-refurbished Denby Lodge atRipley, which is very handy for Christmas shopping at the Denby Pottery factory outlet. Twocourses from £7.50 and three from £9.50.

Please pre-book for either or both at the Lunch Club table or by email to [email protected].

Regrettably, following a couple of no-shows, all lunchers will now be held responsible for the cost ofthe meals booked on their behalf unless cancelled 24 hours beforehand.David Ling Photos here

Afternoon TeasSATURDAY 5 July was the second meeting of the Afternoon Tea group. Sadly Sylvia and ColinSlack were unable to be with us as Sylvia was under the weather and Pauline Boucher was onholiday.

We all met at Sheila's house on Berry HillLane and made our way by various routes tothe Old School Tea Rooms at Carburton.

All the drivers had their own route to followbut thankfully all arrived safely and on time.We were greeted by the staff who made usvery welcome and our tables were allprepared and waiting.

The food was excellent with various sand-wiches, an assortment of cakes and creamscones, all home-made and very delicious. lnfact some of the left over cakes found their way back to members homes, with the approval of thestaff. A very pleasant time was enjoyed by all present and all too quickly it was time to make ourvarious ways back home.

Thank you Sheila for all you effort. It was much appreciated by all present.Brian Gaunt Photos here

Wine Group 2 THE GROUP and guests decamped from their usual territory to the new Majestic Wine Warehousein Arnold for a two-hour lesson in wine tasting run by young and enthusiastic staff.

Round a circular table, 11 of us perched dangerously on high bar stools with 6 part-filled glasses infront of us, 3 of white wine, 3 of red. Clarity, colour, nose and taste were all covered, as we do in ourown sessions, but the surprise came with the nose and the taste of the wines.

One white lacked 'steel', another had the nose of decaying vegetables, while the third was accept-able to most of us. The first red surprised some – an American Pinot Noir that even the mostdoubtful enjoyed, while the third red was the pick of the six (Aussie Shiraz, but not 'gung-ho').

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Then came the second surprise – the addition of food to the tasting. We eat after we have judgedthe wines, but now we were asked to eat cheese, tomatoes, paté, chocolate brownies and saltytortillas and try the respective wine to taste the changes that the snack made.

The time and wine flowed on and the noise grew as we discussed and argued the merits of thewines. I seemed to be surrounded by glasses at the end – and had some difficulty getting downsafely from the stool. Then came the final action – buying wine for ourselves and we did this withgreat abandon.

The evening ended with a meal at 'The Old Spot' pub next door and everyone agreed it had been asuccessful and enjoyable addition to our programme.Mike Allen

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Futurelearn, Openlearn and MOOCs!BARBARA LEWIS, the National Chairman was right to enthuse about the endless possibilities ofthe internet in learning at the May meeting. In fact, the possibilities are too endless – it’s like enteringa supermarket covering square miles and filled with a never-ending variety of information, misin-formation, courses and discourses.

Most of us have looked up items in Wikipedia or other online encyclopaedias, but what if we wantfurther depth – the depth that only a course could give?

Try Futurelearn – a set of FREE online courses run by a number of British Universities.

I have. I took one on King Richard lll – a moderately detailed course giving the historical backgroundhis reign and to his discovery in the Leicester car park – even including the food as well as thebattles! Finishing that, I progressed to Climate Change.

I found this course complex – not having a background in the sciences, I got rather lost in thephysics and my learning slowed to a crawl. Yet I did gain from the course.

So how do you study? The material comes up weekly, you read, and hopefully absorb it in the timeallocated (say 3 hours a week). You read other students’ comments, mostly inconsequential, but afew add links or footnotes that are fascinating, adding a lot more time to the work as you travel thebyways of knowledge.

Was it worth it? Emphatically Yes! Books are fine, but videos, pictures, lecturers live, music all addto the learning experience. I am enthusiastic enough to have begun a new course in June – ‘Liter-ature of the English Country House’ – linking literature with the great houses of Yorkshire andDerbyshire.

Is anyone else interested? Google Futurelearn and join the course (you can do so even if it hasstarted) – it’s as simple as that. And then perhaps we can form an Interest Group for the 8 weeks ofthe course and visit Bolsover, Haddon Hall, etc. to bring the course to life!

If not that course, then try one on Oceanography or Ecosystems or Business or Medicine.

Or google Openlearn, the OU’s set of free courses – including Latin and other languages. Butbeware of googling MOOCs. That way lies the madness of overstocked supermarket shelves ofknowledge as every free course round the world is listed! Mike Allen

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_________________________________________________________________________Margaret Davis. It is with deep regret that we have learned that Margaret passed away on 7thAugust. Her funeral will be at Mansfield Crematorium on Thursday 21st August, 1.15pm. Ourthoughts are with Geoff at this sad time. ______________________________________________________________________________Dates for your diary (Check the website for more information and updates.)Tues.19th Aug: ANNUAL PICNIC at Queen Elizabeth's Academy 12.00 – 3.00. Free. But bringsome eats to share, your own drinks and glasses, and any garden games we could play. Detailsfrom Karen Troop (633404)Tues. 16th Sept: AGM at Oakham Suite, 155 Nottingham Road. 11.00_____________________________________________________________________________Event and Visit PaymentsMEMBERS are reminded that deposits and payments for events and visits organised by MansfieldU3A and its interest groups are non-refundable, but places so reserved may be offered to others.______________________________________________________________________________Changes of address, etc.PLEASE contact the membership secretary, Avril McGee (01623 452688), if you've changed youraddress, phone number or email since joining Mansfield U3A so that she can update our records.______________________________________________________________________________DisclaimerTHE VIEWS expressed here are those of the contributors, only, and do not necessarily reflect thoseof the editor, the committee of Mansfield U3A or the Third Age Trust. Nor can any responsibility beaccepted for members' announcements or any errors that may occur.______________________________________________________________________________Next IssuePLEASE SEND contributions for the September issue to [email protected], or in typescript,to the editor as soon as you can and by 1st September at the latest. Thanks!______________________________________________________________________________

Editor: David Ling (01623 822994)

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