1TheNewsletter Pagehttp://u3asites.org.uk/carlton-gedling/home

Newsletter

Issue No. 94 March 2020

An opportunity for new members, and anyone wishing to find outmore about the U3A, to meet and have a chat to some committee

members and group conveners in a smaller less formal setting thanthe monthly meeting. Tea or Coffee is for sale and the meeting will

take place at the Willowbrook Pub at 10:45 - 11:45 amThursday 26th March

Susan Morley 07960 461942

Nick Clark

At the February general meeting ourentertainment was supplied by Steve Allen,

who summoned up his alter ego Eli, born 1837 in the Black Country, tolead us through his personal view of the changes in Britain during theIndustrial Revolution of the 19th Century. These were illustrated withpictures and songs, some of which the audience were invited to join in. Along the way we heard about the introduction of the factory systemat water powered cotton mills in Derbyshire and how the invention of therotative steam engine led to the industrialisation of the Midlands (cue“Dirty Old Town”). The poor living conditions and the use of child labourin the new industrial towns was touched on although this helped Britain

gain 50%of the world textile trade.World trade was a reason for theimportance of merchant shippingand the need for fast clippers likethe Cutty Sark to quickly transporthigh value goods (cue “DrunkenSailor).

Transport was revolutionised, firstly by the construction of thecanal system and latterly by the coming of the railways, both achievedwith the hard work of the hard-drinking Navvies. Eli’s discursive talkalso mentioned the end of the Napoleonic wars (cue “Over the Hills”)and the Crimean war, especially the revolutionary work of FlorenceNightingale (cue “Auntie Maggies Remedy”)

Eli kept us all entertained with his tales and songs until we sang alast song together (“So long It’s been good to know you”) after whichhe handed back to Steve with enthusiastic applause from theaudience..

Guest Speaker

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General MeetingsThursday 19th March 10:30 - Paul Stafford -

“Visit to North Korea”Of all the countries Paul has visited, North Korea was the most unusual, bizarre andastonishing. He shares what he learnt from the visit with stories, experiences and

humour.

Thursday 16th April 10:30 - John Smith -“Decoding Human Behaviour”

A guide to people watching. Discover how people unconsciously signal their truefeelings through their body language.

Actually, it is not that scary, nobody has requested a softwaredevelopment interest group for our U3A…yet! However therehave been requests for a BASIC COMPUTER SKILLS GROUP.Would you be willing to run such a group?

Another request is for a SPANISH CONVERSATION group. Weneed someone to convene thisgroup, but despite my name, mySpanish is limited to ‘paella’. So, weneed a Spanish speaker or someone

to organise learning together.My role is to support anyone who would like to establish a

group, so if you are interested please get in touch.Thank you

Maggie Martinez maggie.martinez@hotmail.co.uk

New Groups?

There is a lot of information being produced about coronavirus, so pleasefollow the government guidelines, and ring 111 if you have any problems.

What I would like to say though from our U3A point of view is that if you haverecently returned from an area that has been identified as having the virus,then please DO NOT attend a meeting of a group or a general meeting untilyou have been away from that area for the prescribed isolation period.

Should things escalate and we need to cancel the general meeting alongwith emailing you all there will be a notice on the website. Should group meetings be cancelledthen you will be contacted by the group convenor. Richard

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Anyone for PICKLEBALL? It’s the USA’sfastest growing sport and is particularly popularwith seniors as it is played on a small court withpaddles (similar to large table tennis bats) andplastic balls. Pickle ball is much easier to play thantennis.

Rachel, a tennis coach, will teach participantsfor an hour with a charge of £5 each. The U3APickleball session will be held outdoors atMapperley Park Tennis Club, 7 Mapperley HallDrive NG3 5EP, time and dateTBA

If you’d like to come along and try Pickleballplease contact Maggie Martinez0755 451 8444 ormaggie.martinez@hotmail.co.uk

Photo OpportunityHaving your photograph on your membership card is agreat way for your Committee and Group Convenors toput a name to a face. At the March General meeting youcan have your photo taken by a member of thePhotography group to be put onto your 2020/21membership card. If you already have your photo onyour current card there is no need to have another onetaken, unless you would like to change it. Alternatively, ifyou would prefer us to use a photo of your own you can email it us atcarlton.u3a@outlook.com

MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL – from AprilIt’s approaching that time again! Following another fantastic year of Carlton &

Gedling U3A activities, we would like to give you advance notice that your annualmembership expires on 31st May. To reduce excessive queuing, we start the renewalprocess at the General Meeting on Thursday April 16th, followed by sessions in Mayand June. Happily, we have yet another great reduction in the subscription at £10 for

Full Membership and £6.50 for Associate Members.

The membership team will look forward to seeing you in the small meeting room on the rightof the main corridor (just before the Main Hall) from 10 to 10.30am and in the Coffee Break.As previously, a pre-printed form will be waiting for you; Please check all your informationis up-to-date (altering as appropriate) before adding your signature. We do accept cash but

it does help us to process renewals more efficiently if you can pay by cheque. Your newmembership card will be handed to you on the day.

Online renewals are available via the website from 6th April – please see the Membershippage for instructions. In this case, membership cards can be collected at a following General

Meeting. Please note that, if you live at the same address as another member, you cansubscribe together – unless you both claim Gift Aid in which case renewal should be

completed separately.

Sue Morley

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Theatre visits

Enemy of the People

Continued over …

New this month is Identical, the world stagemusical premiere of the classic study of twingirls, separated at birth, reunited by chanceat a summer camp 10 years later. In an

attempt to get to know their parents and reconcile the two halves of their family,they decide to swap and lead each other’s lives. This twin-sational new musicalis based on the novel The Parent Trap by Erich Kastner.

It’s the Classic Thriller season2020 at the Theatre Royal.How else can you get to seefour entertaining thrillers in the best stalls seats for just£66? Second thriller in the season is A Sting in the Tail.Successful playwrights, Max and Nigel, are struggling forinspiration, and their financial resources are rapidlydwindling. Desperately searching for a new idea for theirnext play they decide to imagine a victim first and then fitthe mystery plot around the dead body. “We need avictim the audience would cheerfully hate,” says

Nigel…….as his wife Ann, walks into the playwrights’ studio. Once Ann is selected as the fictional murdervictim, the two writers draw on all their experience to construct a real life murder.  Other productions in theseason are A Murder has been arranged, Kiss of Death and The Final Twist. Classic Thrillers areplaying on 4 consecutive Wednesday matinees from July 15th.

Nottingham Operatic Society present their firstever production of Frank Loesser’s joyous 1950musical comedy, Guys and Dolls.  Set in 1940sNew York, this is one of the funniest, most joyousmusicals in Broadway’s history, and has beenseen many times in the West End. This newproduction is full of New York gangsters,Broadway showgirls, high-rollin’ gamblers and aholy-rollin’ Salvation Army band.  With a sequenceof sure-fire musical hits, this promises to be a night of musical theatre to remember.We still have a couple of tickets for Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda. This is drama, focused on the political andpersonal rivalry between two queens. Three hours long, this is a delicious period production with frocksgalore.

The National Theatre broadcast of The Welkin is about one woman’s life in the hands of 12 other womenin Puritan England. A young woman is sentenced to hang for a heinous murder. When she claims to bepregnant, a jury of 12 matrons are taken from their housework to decide whether she’s telling the truth, orsimply trying to escape the noose. With a mob baying for blood outside, the matrons wrestle with their newauthority, and the devil in their midst.

We have managed to obtain a few more tickets for Handbagged which is based on the imaginedmeetings between the Queen and Margaret Thatcher. Moira Buffini’s sparkling and insightful piece cleverlyexplores the nature of history – and what might have gone on behind closed doors at the weekly meetingsbetween the Queen and Mrs Thatcher.

So bring your cheque books and diaries and let’s go to the theatre. Paul Martinez

Collect Tickets: Mama Mia! Thursday 2nd April, at 2.00pm: As You Like It, 2.30pm Saturday, 28thMarch; Oliver Twist Thursday 23rd April,1.30pm

Theatre Trips on offer:Opera, Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda, New York Met Live Broadcast, 12 noon, Sunday 10th May, BroadwayCinema, (£15), Organiser Paul Martinez. Sign up and pay for tickets.

Broadcast Drama, The Welkin, 7.00pm Thursday 21st May, Broadway Cinema, Organiser Coleen Bee,Last chance to snap up tickets

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Theatre Visits cont..

Theatre reviews

Drama Piaf, Saturday 23rd May 2.30pm, Nottingham Playhouse,(£7.50) Organiser Basia Arch Sold out.

Drama Handbagged 2.30pm Saturday 20th June at the Lace Market Theatre (£11). Organiser JanetWhitchurch. Last chance to snap up tickets

Four Classic Thrillers, A Murder has been Arranged (Wednesday 15th July); A Sting in the Tail(22nd July); Kiss of Death (29th July); The Final Twist (5th August), all at 2pm, Theatre Royal,Organiser Linda Spencer. Sign up and pay for tickets.

New Musical Identical 2.30pm Saturday 15th August, Nottingham Playhouse (£7.50). Organiser BasiaArch. Sign up and pay for tickets

Musical Guys and Dolls, 2.30pm Wednesday 28th October, Theatre Royal, (£tbc). Organiser LindaSpencer, Sign up and pay for tickets

Servant of two masters” by Carlo Goldoni. Lace Market TheatreDid I enjoy this play? I can tell you that I sat through the whole thing with a grin on my face! Yes, I lovedit. And I thought it was so well done! The programme notes tell me that the style of this play, written in1745, was “Commedia dell’arte”, which, of course, I had to Google when I got home! By the eighteenthcentury, Commedia dell’arte was a highly developed comedy art form for touring troupes of players,involving improvisation, slapstick, audience participation, minimalist staging, dance, witty dialogue, musicalnumbers - a bit of pantomime really. So, well done Lace Market Theatre, a tick in every box!

Carolyn Broadhurst

Moonlight and Magnolias The Playhouse struck gold with this production. It was vibrant, innovative andcurrent. The four protagonists brought to life a play of two halves. Part 1 was an hilarious script, riddled withaction, one-liners and pithy comments on the society of the time. I haven’t been to a stage play so full ofbelly laughs in a long time – a very sophisticated slapstick, performed with exquisite characterisation andimmaculate timing. The audience laughed aloud throughout the first half.

This does not, however, downplay the very serious messages of racial inequality prevalent in the southernstates of America, paralleled by the very obvious second-class status held by the influential and affluentJewish entrepreneurs of Hollywood’s movie-making community. Whilst the humour spilled over into thesecond part these very serious views were faced into boldly as they argued and debated the sense oftrying to turn this book into a block-buster film: “You’ll never get a movie out of it!”

Who would have thought that so much could be packed into a story line that had three men locked in aroom for five days intent on writing a script for Gone With the Wind .. and the scriptwriter had never readthe book!

The remarkable and versatile performance of Joe Alessi as the producer kept the audience on the edge oftheir seats. The script writer and producer (Dan Fredenburgh and Oscar Pearce) were a perfect foil,grudgingly sucked into his vision to create one good film. But the gradual decline of the efficient secretary,Hayley Doherty, was a sterling performance – her few short entrances as she became more frazzled anddisheveled brought substance of time and the reality of life beyond the locked door.

Well, they did get a movie out of it and they most certainly got a spectacular play out of the mammoth taskit became. The silver screen was described in a giveaway line as the only time machine ever built. Takeme back in that time machine now and I would happily watch the performance again.

Colleen Bee

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Trips and Visits MELTON MOWBRAY CHEESE FESTIVAL

May 2nd

Members who signed up for this event will be emailed shortly with further details. If for any reasonyou are now unable to go please let me know, preferably by email’ as I am in the process of sortingout tickets which need to be purchase in advance for this event.

Tickets will only be on sale at the March General meeting,

Lesley Mosley

Buxton has been attracting visitors since the 14th century, initially for its world famouswaters. The attractions today include the architecture,especially the magnificent Georgian crescent built by theDuke of Devonshire. There are the stunning paviliongardens which hopefully will be at their best in early June.Also "Buxton has a wealth of independent and high streetshopping opportunities" according to the tourist website.Around lunch time we will head to Bakewell, the AncientCapital of the Peak, The traffic free labyrinth of streets andalleys in the centre

houses a host of shops and cafes. The All Saints Churchdates from the 12th century but includes some Saxonremains as well as many tombs of the great and good oftimes gone by. Just behind the church is the Old HouseMuseum with artefacts from local life including a Tudor toilet!

COST £11Leave Richard Herrod at 8.15 for Buxton, Return from Bakewell at 4 pm.

TICKETS ON SALE AT MARCH MEETINGSue and Noel Lake

On Friday 21st Februarywe set off for the ancient

town of Wakefield.Set on the north bank of the River Calder andfamous in medieval times for it's clothfinishing, handloom weaving, also as a rawwool merchants centre and for it's coalworkings, Wakefield is well situated, beingnine miles from Leeds.

It has a beautiful Mediaeval Cathedralwith a stunning altar and blue ceiling. It alsohas a museum telling the story of it's industrial past. Wakefield is famed for itsRhubarb for which they have a Festival each year. This was the main attraction of

Trips and Visits review

Continued over

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the day and you could purchase some the sort of thingsyou might expect it to be made out of, such as biscuits,muffins, cake and pies to purees, jam, fudge and boiledsweets (who of us doesn't remember rhubarb andcustard?) To the unexpected - cheese, chocolate, sausagerolls and gin. Plus of course the real thing; which at thistime of year is the lovely pink 'forced' variety grown in thedark. I noticed quite a bit of this poking out of shoppingbags on the coach home.The main exhibition in the covered market placedemonstrated how you can actually hear rhubarb growing(No, I haven't been on the Rhubarb gin, honestly,) a softcrackling noise.There is a surprising variety of shops and cafe's and thewooden cabins set around the town centre promoting the local fayre and crafts were excellent.The weather, although blustery, stayed pretty dry and there was even a glimpse of sun. Organised byLesley Mosley and with helper Anne Richards (many thanks Ladies) this was another excellent day out.

Sally Bailey

Interest Groups

Opera from the New York MetAgrippina By Georg Frederick Handel

To give an outline of the complex plot of this opera, let alonea flavour of the music and acting in the allocated 300 words wouldbe nigh on impossible. Suffice to say, even the most scepticalmember of the audience could not fail to be won over by thecombination of beautiful singing, dramatic acting and a blackcomedy plot which is as relevant today as it was when written in1709 or in Imperial Rome.

The opera satirizes ambitious politicians with EmperorClaudius the great buffoon, sung by bass Matthew Rose bearinga striking resemblance to a number of modern heads of state. Acomedy of hypocrisy, greed and sexual manipulation sums up thisopera,

The empress Agrippina, brilliantly sung and acted by theMezzo soprano Joyce di Donato plots to install her son Nero on the throne in place of her husband Claudius.

Nero provides the first shock for anyone new to the world of Baroque opera; he is sung by the mezzosoprano Kate Lindsay. Originally the part would have been sung by a castrato!.

Agrippina’s plot is thrown into disarray when she learns that Claudius intends to name his armycommander Ottone, sung by counter tenor Iestyn Davies, as his successor.

To counter this, Agrippina exploits a love triangle involving Poppea, beautifully sung and acted bysoprano Brenda Rae, Ottone and Claudius. The Director David McVicar turns this into an hilarious soft pornromp.

For the historical record, Agrippina poisons Claudius to get Nero on the throne but the ungrateful sonthen murders his mother.

Opera Study Group

David Dobbs

Joyce di Donato

Trips and Visits continued

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V E Day Anniversary – May 2020Monday 4th May 2020 The History Study Group are celebrating VE Day with

A Living History EventIf you, or one of your relatives has memories of V E Day then

We Need You !Please would you join us for the afternoon to share those memoriesYou would only need to talk to a few people at a timesitting at tables (no big presentations or speeches) – wejust want to hear, first-hand, how you and your familycelebrated.If you are willing, please make arrangements with LynneJaremczenko, Noel and Sue Lake or Coleen Bee.Also, if any U3A members or their relatives have photosor any WWII memorabilia that they could lend to us forthe occasion please let me know – we would be verygrateful.In particular if anyone has an original Ration Bookthat we could borrow for the occasion, please let meknowLynne Jaremczenko07771 801 957

(photo courtesy of the Imperial War Museum)

In Februarywe watched anepisode aboutcottage gardens

from the BBC production called the ‘The GeoffHamilton Collection’.

As Spring is on the horizon, we had a rafflewhere four members won a small pot of miniaturedaffodils. Members were challenged to name the10 most popular spring bulbs according to theprogramme ‘Love your Garden’? (Ans: alium,bluebell, crocus, daffodil, hyacinth, iris, lily-of-the-valley, snowdrop, tulip, winter aconite)

For our March meeting, John from John CullenGardens gave a very interesting talk about how hegot into gardening and now runs a nursery inLincolnshire specialising in plants to encouragepollinators. These are the bees, butterflies, mothsand more. Different bees are attracted to flowersaccording to their size and length of their tongue toreach inside the flower. The spots on the inside offlowers such as foxgloves are there to guide thebee to the nectar deep inside. Bees can become

dehydrated, so by puttingshallow containers withpebbles and water aroundthe garden, bees will havesomewhere to land whilethey drink.

Greenfly andblackfly on yourvegetables andflowers can becontrolled by sprayingwith a garlic wash. Thiswill also work to keep slugs offhostas. Boil two crushed cloves of garlic in 2 pintsof water for 4 minutes then leave to cool. Whenready to spray, mix one teaspoon of the garlicmixture in 5 litres of water – about one watering can- and spray onto plants in the evening to makethem unappealing to pests. There was also a salestable with a range of plants from the nursery.

Thank to Barbara Birch for finding this superspeaker.

Greenfingers

Nicola Dandie

The Newsletter is published by The Carlton, Gedling & District U3A.(Reg. Charity No. 1157211)

Views expressed are not necessarily those of the U3A or Editor

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So far the group has met twice this year, onboth occasions in parallel with members ofthe newly formed group from Arnold U3A.In January We attended the Winter SteamGala at the Great Central Loughborough.traveling by train and vintage bus. Therewere ten engines in steam to greet us,sufficient to keep up a good display of

passenger and freight trains up and down the line during the day. We all agreed itit was a day well spent.

This month we have had an indoor meeting where after watching some railway DVDs we had a fruitfuldiscussion about future outings and meetings. This year we plan to include trips to the Nene Valley Railway,and Barrow Hill Roundhouse. We also all hope to see the exhibition which celebrate the 50th anniversary ofthe closure of Colwick Yard and Loco Sheds at the Crossing Social Club on the 11th April.

Railway Appreciation Group

Lots of things to raise the hackles this month, someold, some new. We’re keeping a watchful eye onthe smart motorway story and this month we hearthat some lorry rescue services will not deal with abreakdown until the access has been made safe bypolice. Also it seems that the automatic systemmeant to detect a stopped vehicle is only 90%effective, and so far only installed on a smallsection of the national smart motorways. Wewonder how the review is progressing

Meanwhile, electric scooters are becoming popular and seem to be used on either the roads orpavements by choice. Some of these can do 30mph, definitely not for pavement use and illegal to use onthe highway. The Department of Transport has belatedly woken up to the situation and is consideringtreating them like electric bicycles - limiting speeds to 16mph, banning them from pavements and allowingthem on the roads if fitted with lights and reflectors. Watch this space. We read that to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 we need to replace all gas home heatingsystems with heat pumps, and put 10,000,000 electric cars on the roads. We can’t quite work out where allthe carbon-free energy to drive these pumps and recharge these cars is going to come from. It’s not likely tobe nuclear. A couple of possible denials of justice were discussed, A police driving instructor drove at up to 122mphthrough red lights on a private visit to his son’s college. He was cleared of 16 motoring offenceswhen he claimed that he was “carrying out a self assessment of his driving skills” which exempted him fromtraffic rules. Taking the PC surely?

Also a disgraced surgeon has gone to jail for carrying out unnecessary surgery, and has to pay back hislegal aid. Hooray!But, the boss of the NHS trust that tried to cover up this scandal was able to quit with a £2.7m pension potand within two years is working for the NHS again. Boooh!

That’s enough for this month, so we leave you with this thought, courtesy of our Illustrious convenor..

If at first you don’t succeed - then skydiving’s not for you.

Grumpy Old MenNick Clark

Tarra 2

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What do juggling balls, a yoyo and a slinky spring have incommon with wellbeing. Well, we found out at our last meeting.For our March wellbeing group (17th) we will be doing a mixture

(time permitting) of meditation, mindfulness, Susies gentle zumba, movement to music (cha cha based)a bit of gentle stretching and some fun co-ordination stuff again. Oh, and a brief introduction to a verygifted exponent of living in the present - Eckhaart Tolle.IMPORTANT - Please remember that Mark and Susie have various commitments over the coming fewmonths and can’t be sure of “free” days. So there will be no Wellbeing classes for April and May. After thatplease refer back to the newsletters to see when we are able to start up again.

Wellbeing Group

Mark and Susie

Almost anyone who has even a noddingacquaintance with classical music will know of themusical partnership between Sir Arthur Sullivanand W.S. Gilbert which resulted in the SavoyOperas but asked to name compositions by SirArthur Sullivan as the sole author frequently resultsin blank looks. Now, thanks to Paul Cox, we knowthat in addition to the 14 Savoy operas written tolibrettos by W. S. Gilbert, Sullivan also wrote afurther 10 operas, 11 major orchestral works, 10large scale choral works, incidental music toseveral plays and numerous songs and hymns.

Like so many composers of merit, youngSullivan came from a musical family, his father aclarinettist was bandmaster at the Royal MilitaryAcademy Sandhurst and by the age of 13 he wasproficient in playing the full range of windinstruments.

In 1856,at the age of 14, the Royal Academy ofMusic awarded Sullivan the first Mendelssohnscholarship which allowed him to study for twoyears at the academy. This scholarship wasextended for a further year which allowed him tostudy in Germany at the Leipzig conservatoire.

Paul’s presentation opened with Sullivan’sgraduation piece from the Leipzig conservatoirein1862, the incidental music for Shakespeare’s TheTempest. This performance at the Crystal palacebrought him overnight fame in the world of Victorianmusic.

Paul then presented us with a range ofsymphonic and instrumental music, secular andreligious cantatas, oratorios and marches.

Sullivan’s last complete work and the finale ofPaul’s presentation was the Te Deum written as athanksgiving for the end of the Boer war in 1902

and performed some 20 months after his death in1900. The Te Deum ended with, what is now, thewell known hymn “Onward Christian Soldiers” .Theshadow cast over the celebration was lost on theVictorians, there being no mention of the 28,000white and 20,000 black civilians who died between1901 and 1902 in concentration camps establishedby the British army as part of Earl Kitchener’sscorched earth policy.

Classical Music Appreciation The Music of Sir Arthur Sullivanpresented by Paul Cox.

David Dobbs

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Visit to St. Paul’s Church, Daybrook.Sixteen members of our group visited St. Paul’sChurch, where we were given a warm welcome byReverend Sally Baylis, vicar, who was on-hand to

answer any questions.Before the church was built, June 1896 – 1898, services were held in aMission Church built in 1880, being dedicated in January 1890, a daughterchurch to St. Mary’s Church. It later became the Church Hall.

John Robinson, founder of the Home Brewery donated the land on whichthe “big” church was to be built. Colonel Seely provided the finance, to startbuilding work in June 1893. The Total cost of building the church was£26,000. The church was dedicated in February 1896, and the towercompleted in 1898. The tower contains eight bells, casted by Mears &Stainbeck. The clock on the west side of the tower is by Gillet & Johnson(c1900).The Pulpit and Font are of white Mansfield stone with marble shafts. The

pulpit has three panels containing carved groups. At theangles are carved canopied figures variously depictingthe Saints Paul, Peter and John. The font, a heptagonalbasin has carved canopied figures at the anglesrepresenting Truth, Faith, Hope, Charity, Courage,Industry and Purity.

Behind the font is the First World War Memorial unveiled in 1923, and designedby Ninian Cooper. At the top is a crucifixion with two mourners “Remember the menof Daybrook who gave their lives in the Great War 1914-1919”.

The Organ was built in 1896 by Augustus Gern, foreman to Cavaille-Coll, a greatEuropean organ builder. It was original water powered, with a hand-blowing deviceas a back-up. Restoration was carried out in 1924 by John Compton of London, andin 1950 and 1967, when it was virtually rebuilt by Roger Yates, who provided all-

electric action and complete tonal revision. MikeJohnson

Religious Architecture

Our February meeting focused on British Streetsknown for their Historical significance. I wasexpecting The Fosse Way, The Royal Crescent,Fleet Street or even Carnaby Street but, asalways, our members surprised me with theeclectic and unusual choice of subjects to talkabout.

The Pantiles in Tunbridge Wells – David spokefrom personal experience of this beautiful street inthe spa town.

Brian introduced us to the beginnings of theA5. In 1801 when Ireland and England united, theroute from London to Dublin was precarious.Thomas Telford was commissioned to survey theroute (from horseback). As a result the road fromLondon to Shropshire (the old Roman WatlingStreet) was improved, the tracks through Walesstraightened and the Menai Bridge built.

Pat told us about “The Avenue” a 3 km trackleading from the River Avon to Stonehenge in theNeolithic – this can still be seen and is classed asa scheduled monument.

John gave us Oriental Road – his curiosity hadbeen raised when he worked on this road inWoking. The only clue to the name of the street isthe Mosque, built in 1889. It was the first, andsadly last, building intended to be an institute oflearning incorporating the Mosque, a Synagogue,a Church and a Temple The visionary to plan thiswas a British-Hungarian Jew, Gottlieb Leitner whohad spent most of his life in India and had foundedthe University of Punjab.

History Study Group

Continued over

Woking Mosque

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Pearl told usabout her hometown of Ludlow

and painted a picture of a walk round the towncentre incorporating all the historic andpicturesque street names – Temeside (RiverTeme), Friar’s Walk, Tower Street, Narrow Street,Buttercross, Market Street, Castle Square,Broad Street, Silkmill Lane …….

My own contribution was “The Old Way”, apilgrimage route from Southampton to Canterbury

and shown on the oldest road map of Britain, theGough Map dated 1360.

Finally Coleen used St Peter’s Street/Squarein Manchester to recount the 1819 event “thePeterloo massacre” that took place on St Peter’sField where the square now stands.Next Meeting March 2nd – Historic foods andthe occasions they were used for.

History Study cont..

Lynne Jaremczenko

Icy weather and colds meant only sixteenGrouchy Girls at The Willowbrook for February’smeeting. We had a change of format i.e. a fun

sesson in February instead of at Christmas. So, coffee and chat followed by 9 of usstaying on for lunch. I hope everyone enjoyed themselves as much as I did!

We’ll be back on Tuesday 10th March at 10.30 for some more grouching,so come and join us to discuss celebrity status, holidays in the U.K. andways to stay positive, despite the news bulletins.

Grouchy Girls

Maggie Martinez

Photography The February meeting was dedicated to Portraiture. Theseexamples are by David Colyer

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Nineteen walkers including three new members set up fromthe 508 Cafe by the children’s playground near to theentrance to Wollaton Park (the cafe is sited in the park’s lastremaining Second World War hut and is named after the508th Parachute Infantry Regiment who camped inWollaton Park in 1944).

We passed by the main stable block and museum andwalked around the lake to Derby Road before enteringNottingham University grounds. From here we walkedaround the Highfields boating lake to the lakeside cafe area

beforeclimbing up tothe northentrance ofthe university. We then returned to Wollaton Park via LimeTree Avenue with a quick look at the gardens and springflowers near to the Camelia House. Eleven of us stayedfor refreshments in the 508 Cafe.

We were lucky with the weather and ground conditionsand had the added bonus of spring blossom, crocuses andearly daffodils.

Next walk. Tuesday 24th March 2020Colwick Park. To be confirmed after an inspection of theground conditions as a result of the recent weather.

Five Miles and a Cup of Tea

Terry Bartram

FebruaryThe recent rains having made footpath walkingpositively dangerous the Striders group took to thetracks round Newstead Abbey Grounds.The weather had ignored the dire forecast andprovided us with sunshine rather than showers.

We were given lots of opportunities to engagewith local history such as the dissolution of themonasteries (the Abbey ruins), the development ofparks and gardens (the abbey grounds), thedecline of the mining industry (the old rail beds andspoil heaps) and the early industrial revolution (theLeen valley and Papplewick mills).

MarchThis month’s walk is a 7 mile walk involving 2 steady climbs in the area around Eyam. Some of the walkis on roads but there may be one muddy stretch. Meet at Ranmoor Road car park at 9.00am onThursday 26th March and bring a packed lunch .

Striders Walks

Brian Shield

Keith Sherratt

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Our first meeting as the renamed Textiles group to Knit and Stitch went well.This group aims to be a bit of a craft circle for all matters relating to knitting, crochet, cross stitch,

embroidery, quilting etc.,. In amongst the chattering and clacking of needles the members share their skillswith each other - so if you need some help with a pattern or a technique or if you would like to learn thebasics of the above, then please come and join us. Everyone welcome.

This month we discussed making knitted and crocheted incubator hats for the QMC and City Hospitalsneo-natal units, and it was decided that we could do this as an on-going project.

If any members would like to help our group’s project please contact Jackie or Jeanette for patterns.

Jackie 079719731120Jeanette 07758285352

Gedling – A Sporting Village

Our February meeting was another talk, this timegiven by our own Neil Kendrick on the sportinghistory of Gedling, based on the research he carriedout for his two recent books on the subject.

Neil commenced with a brief life history of himself,recalling how a 6 page pamphlet celebrating 100years of school cricket turned into a 5 chapter book,and this led to a regular column in the parishmagazine and subsequently the publication ofseveral books about Gedling, including two about itssporting history.

The first tale concernedGedling Colliery FC (nowGedling Miners’ Welfare)and their exploits in the FAAmateur Cup of 1953-4against then-holdersPegasus, one of the mostfamous names in amateurfootball at the time. Ahome crowd estimated tohave been about 7500,saw the Miners put up abrave fight, but succumb toa 2-6 defeat. Two years

later Bishop Auckland won 4-1 at Plains Road, anda member of our audience told us later that he hadplayed in that match!

Next, we heard about Alfred Shaw, who was born inBurton Joyce and bowled the first ever ball in a Testmatch (he was also the first bowler to take 5 wicketsin a Test innings. Shaw also organised the firstBritish Isles rugby tour of Australia. He was certainly

one of the bestcricketers of hisgeneration andwas hailed assuch by W. G.Grace. He lies inAll Hallows’graveyard roughlya cricket pitchlength from ArthurShrewsbury, aworld classbatsman. Hetragically took hisown life, wronglythinking that hehad an incurabledisease.

Neil then went on to talk about some local venues,such as the Phoenix Boxing Club, now located onBurton Road, which produced Carl Froch mostfamously. Neil mourned the loss of many grounds,such as Blackhill Drive cricket ground, He alsomentioned that Carlton Le Willows school hostedcounty representative games of cricket andtestimonials for Derek Randall & Tim Robinson. Welearnt of the Cooper Cup – a knock-out charitycricket competition started in the 1930s, whichcontinued into the 1970s, with a brief revival in1988. Sadly, the cup itself has not been seen since.

I don’t have enough space to cover everything thatNeil spoke about – but it can all be found in his twobooks! Our thanks go to Neil for a fascinatingpresentation.

This month we visit St Mary’s church for a guidedtour – contact us if you’d like to add your name tothe waiting list for this, as it is now fully booked.

Local History

Graham Palmer

Knit and Stitch (formerly Textiles Group)

Jackie Burton

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ATTENBOROUGH NATURE RESERVE

On a sunny and cold Friday morning, sandwiched between storms Ciaraand Dennis, we were fortunate to have an excellent visit to our wonderfulNottingham nature reserve, where we saw a good variety of water birdsfrom the comfort of one hide.

There were clear sightings of a group of shovellers and wigeons, apair of goosander and the very striking goldeneye, as well as gadwells,great crested grebe and grey lag geese. On the way to the hide, wecame across the distinctive Egyptian goose and enjoyed watching thelong-tailed tits feeding andseveral reed bunting perchedobligingly in the same tree.

The sights and sounds of lapwings flying and settling in thescrapes provided entertainment for all. We retired to the café,defeated by the cold wind which started in the early afternoon,but rallied after a warm drink, to finish the day by a sighting ofthe Slavonian Grebe, a rare visitor to these shores. He doesn’tlook as spectacular in his winter plumage as he does in thesummer, but it was nevertheless a satisfying way to finish ourvisit, and a first to tick off in our bird books!

Birdwatching

Nuala Leyden

Goldeneye

Slavonian Grebe

A challenging month. Havingread other novels by Conrad ourhigh expectations were dashed.

“Chance” sent several of usinto the unfamiliar media of e-books. Facing into thetechnology was hard enough,but squelching through theverbose, psychologicalramblings of the mainprotagonist set some of us intoapoplexy.

Whilst most of us enjoyedthe language used by Conrad,writing in his second language,most of us found the layering oftwo distinct narrators difficult tonavigate. It appeared that themain character, Marlow, wasexpressing the traditionally heldviews of the character and role

of women of the time, whilst hiscompanion quietly challengedthese premises: an early nod towomen’s rights. However, theviews were delivered at apedestrian pace, andencumbered by long descriptivenarrative of his movementsaround the room. This causedmany of us to either skim overlarge sections or fail to finish thebook altogether.

Whilst some were relievedby the happy ending, others feltthis contradicted the point of hisphilosophy. Marlow’s expositionof the events of Flora’s life weredescribed by one member asthose of a pompous voyeur,written in the style of a muddledmelodrama. The soap-operastylisation can be explained,however, by the fact that it waswritten as a serial at a time

when Conrad was short ofmoney.

Did we enjoy the book? No.Did we enjoy discussing it?Quite definitely! It was aprovocative and lively discoursearound a book that, although itdidn’t deliver the impact of someof his other novels, such asHeart of Darkness, or Lord Jim,it did inspire and motivate thegroup into a meaningfuldiscussion that left us allinvigorated.

This month we are eachchoosing a novel that has beenmade into a film. If you havealso seen the film it would beinteresting to know how well youthought it transcribed into filmand what was gained, or lost, onthe screen. We meet again onTuesday 7th April.

Book Club

Coleen Bee

March 23rdWe are not able to use the rooms at Carlton Fire Station for our March meeting due toa prior booking.

So, we have decided to do something completely different. We will have a group visit to East BridgfordGarden Centre. Arrangements to follow by email to group members.

Pam Bartram

Sewing

16TheNewsletter Page

GroovyWith a theme of “FIRE” for thepieces of music to be brought into the February meeting, wemanaged to leave some of thebleedin' obvious ones til verylate in our two hours (The CrazyWorld of Arthur Brown “Fire” andThe Doors “Light My Fire”}.However we did go back toclassic groovy 60s with “WheelsOn Fire” by Julie Driscoll, RollingStones “Play With Fire” and TheMove's “Fire Brigade”

American rocker Bob Seegergot two plays with “Fire DownBelow” and “Fire Lake”. Billy

Joel, James Taylor, Stevie Nicks, and of course Elvis “Burnin' Love”. Wehad Ella Fitzgerald and Joseph Locke. I even slipped in Scotland'sRunrig “Greatest Flame”.

Rock n Roll was not forgotten with Johnny Cash “Ring of Fire”“Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” by The Platters, and an alternative version of“Great Balls of Fire” by Chis Isaak. And we had ten other pieces.

The next theme is another element - “AIR” on Tuesday 24th March2.00 in Richard Herrod Centre. I expect we'll get our usual wide range oftracks – and nobody knows what that will include. That's the secretingredient.

Music Appreciation Group

Eric Rennie

On Friday 14thFebruary we had anenjoyable sessionmaking variousjewellery. Many thanksto Pat Downing whomade charmingintricate bracelets,while I concentratedon pretty necklaces,these were verypractical as they weremade with a minimumof beads for maximumeffect by leaving gapsin the wire. (See photo).For those who made or decorated boxes last month they would have usefulstorage for the above, plus there were free drawstring pouches available onthe day.

Craft Group

Sally Bailey

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Time Group Meet at Details Contact13 Fri 09:00 Bird Watching Richard Herrod Minibus trip to Potteric Carr Nuala 0743 718 774813 Fri 10:00 Singing for Pleas. St Georges Centre Allan 0773 329 739313 Fri 11:30 Grumpy Old Men The Willowbrook Ian 0115 911468113 Fri 13:30 Crafts Carlton Fire Station Gift card teapot with Sally Sally 0778 754 114513 Fri 16:00 Ale, Cider and lager tastingMapperley Top Mapperley Pubs and Micros Richard 0751 421 213413 Fri 16:00 Table Tennis C-le-W Academy Andrea 0752 709 032414 Sat 09:30 Cycling For Fun Meet at 50 Willow Road, Carlton Tom 0780 094 939615 Sun 12:00 Theatre Broadway Cinema Wagner's The Flying Dutchman Colin on 07881 28929816 Mon 10:30 Family History Richard Herrod Brenda 0774 201 748216 Mon 14:00 Tea Dancing Richard Herrod Pat 0779 028 033816 Mon 16:15 Drama Carlton Fire Station Readings & planning Pat 0791 866 532216 Mon 18:30 Wine Lovers 3 Age Concern Rioja Steve 0784 111 143517 Tue 10:00 Wellbeing Richard Herrod Mark 0750 517 678017 Tue 13:30 Local History St Marys Church Guided tour (early start) Graham 0787 652 728518 Wed 10:00 Bonsai A member's house Shaping/wiring/repotting part 2 Paul 07305 07120618 Wed 10:00 Singing for Pleas. Netherfield Baptist Allan 0773 329 739318 Wed 14:00 Bridge and Whist The Willowbrook Ken 0798 224 850418 Wed 14:00 Scrabble The Willowbrook Lynne 0777 180 195719 Thu 10:30 General Meeting Richard Herrod Paul Stafford: Visit to North Korea19 Thu 19:00 Internat. Dining Chai Yo Thai Pat 0791 866 532220 Fri 10:00 Science Richard Herrod Steve 0784 111 143520 Fri 14:00 Creative Writing Richard Herrod Theme - The Secret Ian 0753 596 765520 Fri 16:00 Table Tennis C-le-W Academy Andrea 0752 709 032421 Sat 09:30 Cycling For Fun Meet at 50 Willow Road, Carlton Tom 0780 094 939623 Mon 10:00 French Conv. Mapperley Golf Club Brian 0115 926 505323 Mon 10:00 Sewing Carlton Fire Station Visit to E Bridgford Garden Cen. Pam 0779 290 545423 Mon 10:15 Discussion A member's house Genetically modified children Lynne 0777 180 195723 Mon 14:00 Committee Meeting Richard Herrod24 Tue 09:30 5 Miles + tea Ranmoor Road Colwick Park and Woods Terry 0797 084 273624 Tue 14:00 Music Apprec. Richard Herrod Theme of "Air" Eric 0781 476 967025 Wed 08:30 Trips and Visits Richard Herrod Stratford Upon Avon Lesley 0775 1354 65425 Wed 10:00 Music for Fun Netherfield Baptist Charles 0750 593 023425 Wed 14:00 Bridge and Whist The Willowbrook Ken 0798 224 850425 Wed 14:00 Scrabble The Willowbrook Lynne 0777 180 195726 Thu 09:00 Striders Walking Ranmoor Road Eyam walk Brian 0781 462 819026 Thu 10:45 New Members The Willowbrook Sue 0796 046 194226 Thu 11:00 Coffee Morning Top Spot Club Maggie 0755 451 844427 Fri 10:00 Singing for Pleas. St Georges Centre Allan 0773 329 739327 Fri 14:00 Canasta Richard Herrod Lynne 0777 180 195727 Fri 16:00 Table Tennis C-le-W Academy Andrea 0752 709 032428 Sat 09:30 Cycling For Fun Meet at 50 Willow Road, Carlton Tom 0780 094 939628 Sat 14:30 Theatre Lace Market Theatre Shakespeare's As You Like It Linda on 0115 958 356730 Mon 14:00 Tea Dancing Richard Herrod Pat 0779 028 0338

1 Wed 10:00 Singing for Pleas. Netherfield Baptist Allan 0773 329 73931 Wed 14:00 Bridge and Whist The Willowbrook Ken 0798 224 85041 Wed 14:00 Scrabble The Willowbrook Lynne 0777 180 19572 Thu 10:00 Tai Chi Richard Herrod Sally 0778 754 11452 Thu 14:00 Theatre Royal Concert Hall Mamma Mia! Anne 0115 952 66483 Fri 10:00 Knit & Stitch Carlton Fire Station Jeanette 0775 828 53523 Fri 14:00 Canasta Richard Herrod Lynne 0777 180 19574 Sat 09:30 Cycling For Fun Meet at 50 Willow Road, Carlton Tom 0780 094 93965 Sun 16:00 Deadline for April newsletter submissions Nick 0790 991 71276 Mon 10:00 Classical Music St. A member's house David 0777 261 26056 Mon 10:00 French Conv. Mapperley Golf Club Brian 0115 926 5053

Carlton & Gedling U3A Diary: MARCH 2020Date

Carlton & Gedling U3A Diary: APRIL 2020

18TheNewsletter Page

Date Time Group Meet at Details Contact6 Mon 10:30 Greenfingers Gedling Road Meth. Nicola on 0115 940 15076 Mon 14:00 History Study Richard Herrod Hazardous industries Lynne 0777 180 19576 Mon 16:15 Drama Carlton Fire Station Readings & planning Pat 0791 866 53227 Tue 10:00 Railway Enth. Richard Herrod Railway Films Nick 0790 991 71277 Tue 14:00 Book Club Carlton Fire Station Genre or chosen author Maggie 0795 129 91137 Tue 16:30 Indoor Bowls Richard Herrod Mick 0115 987 42398 Wed 10:00 Music for Fun Netherfield Baptist Charles 0750 593 02348 Wed 14:00 Bridge and Whist The Willowbrook Ken 0798 224 85048 Wed 14:00 Scrabble The Willowbrook Lynne 0777 180 19579 Thu 09:30 Cycling For Fun Meet at 50 Willow Road, Carlton Tom 0780 094 93969 Thu 11:00 Coffee Morning Top Spot Club Maggie 0755 451 84449 Thu 11:00 Ten Pin Bowling MFA Bowl Brenda 0115 962 57579 Thu 13:30 Art Gedling Road Meth. Christine 0787 523 4264

10 Fri 09:30 Bird Watching Richard Herrod Car share to Whisby NR Nuala 0743 718 774810 Fri 11:30 Grumpy Old Men The Willowbrook Ian 0115 911468111 Sat 09:30 Cycling For Fun Meet at 50 Willow Road, Carlton Tom 0780 094 939614 Tue 10:00 Photography Ranmoor Road Colwick Park - Water reflections Frank 0771 198 523114 Tue 10:30 Grouchy Girls The Willowbrook Maggie 0755 451 844414 Tue 14:00 Canasta The Willowbrook Lynne 0777 180 195714 Tue 14:30 Poetry Apprec. A member's house Rene 0758 266 590815 Wed 10:00 Bonsai A member's house Shaping/wiring/repotting part 3 Paul 07305 07120615 Wed 10:00 Singing for Pleas. Netherfield Baptist Allan 0773 329 739315 Wed 14:00 Bridge and Whist The Willowbrook Ken 0798 224 850415 Wed 14:00 Scrabble The Willowbrook Lynne 0777 180 195716 Thu 10:00 Internat. Dining Collect money for next meal TBA Pat 0791 866 532216 Thu 10:30 General Meeting Richard Herrod John Smith: De-coding human behaviour17 Fri 10:00 Science Richard Herrod Steve 0784 111 143517 Fri 13:30 Crafts Carlton Fire Station Beanbag chicken ready for Easter Sally 0778 754 114517 Fri 14:00 Creative Writing Richard Herrod Beer Ian 0753 596 765518 Sat 09:30 Cycling For Fun Meet at 50 Willow Road, Carlton Tom 0780 094 939620 Mon 10:00 French Conv. Mapperley Golf Club Brian 0115 926 505320 Mon 10:30 Family History Richard Herrod Brenda 0774 201 748220 Mon 14:00 Committee Meeting Richard Herrod20 Mon 14:00 Tea Dancing Richard Herrod Pat 0779 028 033820 Mon 16:15 Drama Carlton Fire Station Readings & planning Pat 0791 866 532220 Mon 18:30 Wine Lovers 2 Burton Road C.C. Blind Tasting (date change) Paul 0750 376 107520 Mon 18:30 Wine Lovers 3 Age Concern Riesling and Cabernet Sauvignion Steve 0784 111 143521 Tue 09:30 5 Miles + tea Ranmoor Road East Stoke Terry 0797 084 273621 Tue 14:00 Local History The Bell Inn Guided our of historic pubs Graham 0787 652 728522 Wed 10:00 Music for Fun Netherfield Baptist Charles 0750 593 023422 Wed 14:00 Bridge and Whist The Willowbrook Ken 0798 224 850422 Wed 14:00 Scrabble The Willowbrook Lynne 0777 180 195723 Thu 09:30 Cycling For Fun Meet at 50 Willow Road, Carlton Tom 0780 094 939623 Thu 10:45 New Members The Willowbrook Sue 0796 046 194223 Thu 11:00 Coffee Morning Top Spot Club Maggie 0755 451 844423 Thu 13:30 Theatre Nottm Playhouse Oliver Twist Coleen 07450 93877724 Fri 10:00 Singing for Pleas. St Georges Centre Allan 0773 329 739324 Fri 14:00 Canasta Richard Herrod Lynne 0777 180 195725 Sat 09:30 Cycling For Fun Meet at 50 Willow Road, Carlton Tom 0780 094 939627 Mon 10:00 Sewing Carlton Fire Station Pam 0779 290 545427 Mon 10:15 Discussion A member's house Is the death penalty acceptable? Lynne 0777 180 195728 Tue 14:00 Music Apprec. Richard Herrod Theme of "Earth" Eric 0781 476 967029 Wed 14:00 Bridge and Whist The Willowbrook Ken 0798 224 850429 Wed 14:00 Scrabble The Willowbrook Lynne 0777 180 195730 Thu 14:00 Opera Study A member's house Introduction to Maria Stuarda Paul 07305 071206

Carlton & Gedling U3A Diary: APRIL 2020