Summer 2014 Magazine - Microsoftbtckstorage.blob.core.windows.net/site500/Magazine/... · able to...

Magazine Deadline Date for Summer 2014 Magazine 30th September 2014 Page No. 1

Heart of England U3AStratford-upon-Avon

Website: www.heartofenglandu3a.btck.co.uk

Summer 2014 MagazineWelcome to the summer 2014 editionof our Magazine. This issue runs from1st July to 30th September 2014.

It includes reports from the follow-ing groups

Ballroom Dancing

Games

Walking - July, August & September

Science and Nature

Dinahs Group

Summer Outing to Powis Castle

Groups Gala and AGM

Discusson Group

Pilates Group (Christmas Lunch)

During this period the major building alter-ations and updating at the MethodistChurch Centre in Old Town, Stratford-up-on-Avon, where we hold most of our meet-ings, were completed. An official openingceremony is scheduled for the autumn. Seethe photograph below.

We would love to have more reports fromgroups not represented here. Please for-ward any text and/or photographs to theeditor.

Editor: Edwin Lilly

Email: [email protected] 4




The walk for July started from the canal sidecar park at Kingswood Junction (where the

Stratford Canal joins the Grand Union Canal).The walk started along the Grand Union Canaland then across the fields towards Packwood

House where a refreshment break was had. Thereturn walk was partly along rood, then along

the Stratford Canal back to the car park. The

weather was fine and sunny as can be seen fromthe photographs. The photograph above wastaken at Packwood House during the refresh-

ment break.The photograph opposite was taken by thegates to Packwood House and the photographbelow was taken by by a lock gate.

Walking Group - 9th July 2014




We met at 2.30pm on Wednesday 23rd July atHoly Trinity Church Hall, Old Town, for thesecond meeting in July. John Barker is ourteacher and leader and Aline helped with theequipment.

There were about 12 members present more orless equally represented by ladies and gentle-men so we were all able to dance. We wereable to practice the waltz, quickstep, tango,cha cha and foxtrot.

Three photographs are included. Dancing is alittle difficult to portray in a still photographas the couples are obviously in a clinch so oneor other is always turned away and obscuringthe other.

Dancing continues into August.

We have plenty of space and would like moremembers. Beginners welcome!!

Look for announcement in the Newsletterabout future meetings as we are in process ofbooking up until Christmas.

Ballroom Dancing Group - Wednesday 23rd July 2014




We have been meeting in our new meetingroom for about 6 weeks. Our new home forthe time being is the Buzz Cafe in HenleyStreet. It is ideally situated, being in town,within easy reach of several car parks andthe buses. The room is spacious withoutbeing too big. There is a bigger room nextto the one we use should our numbers in-crease greatly. There are plenty of chairsand tables and facilities to have tea andbiscuits at half time. Thank you Sue forfinding our new home.

We have several tables with differentgames - dominoes, cards (whist, knock outwhist, and others. - Cribbage is a possibilityfor the future.)

We have between 10 and 20 U3A membersattending - August is a quieter month dueto holidays, grandparenting commitments,etc. and we had 10 members at this meet-ing. Below are two members playing domi-noes - Peter should have been in shot butwas busy making tea.

Above are members playing cards and belowis the Scrabble table. The writer shouldhave been in shot but was taking the photo-graph.

We are open to take more members, noneed to let us know - just turn up on theday.

First and third Mondays of the month,starting at 2,00pm at the Buzz Cafe,Henley Street.

Games Group - Monday 4th August 2014




The Science and Nature Group visited theMAD Museum in Henley Street, Stratford-upon-Avon on Friday 8th August 2014. About16 members assembled, a good number, as itwas very quickly organised by Aline at fairlyshort notice.The museum is a privately run museum andis devoted to all things mechanical (Mechan-ical Art and Design). Showcasing theworld’s finest pieces of Kinetic Art and Au-tomata from pioneering artists all over theworld, the museum is a celebration of move-ment, mechanics, creativity and art. It’swhere science and design join forces. Theoldest item is a ball rolling creation made bya locksmith over 50 years ago, bought fromhis estate when he died and painstakinglyre-assembled from a pile of pieces by the

museum staff. Some pieces celebratemovement; some passage of time; someOur members thoroughly enjoyed them-selves, pushing buttons, analysing what wasgoing on, and identifying the household ob-jects used in construction.

The image above shows 2 pieces illustratinggears and cams to provide movement.

The above image and the one below show a

ball rolling item - golf balls roll down ump-teen chutes, rise vertically in archimedean

screws and do many strange things.

Science & Nature - Visit to the MAD Museum




Science & Nature - Visit to the MAD Museum

There were several time based models, onlyone of which always gave the correct time.The grandfather clock definitely does not,but does do some interesting things on or

about the hour.

The image top right shows members lookingat some sand pictures which can be set tochange the picture by rotating the frame.

The image centre right is a wire framemodel illustrating flying machines of a sort.

The image bottom right seems to have beenbuilt with odds and ends from a plumber’s

workbox.




Dinahs Group - Late report

Report of a meeting in June 2011A photograph has just emerged which was taken at a normal Dinahs meeting in June 2011,before the Magazine began life. Sylvia Crooks found the photograph and determinedwhere and when it was taken.The meeting in June 2011 was at No 9 Church Street where they have an upstairs diningroom, ideal for a discussion group to lunch. The discussions that day, according to thereport in the July Newsletter, related to e coli bacteria, cucumber worries in Spain andGermany, old age, police, drugs, and the Community Services, plus a few dog stories. Mar-garet Barnet, a newcomer to the group, talked about her son and family in the MiddleEast, also the cruise she was going on.

There were mixed feelings about the food. The room was very good, beautifully laid forlunch at a large round table. Two flights of stairs might have coloured some people’sviews. The next meeting in July was to be at Town House, Church Street.

Thank you Sylvia for taking the trouble to bring the photograph and reports to our atten-tion.




Outing to Powis Castle - Tuesday 12th August 2014

A party of some 50-odd U3A members fromHeart of England went to Powis Castle, aNational Trust property near Welshpool,for a summer outing. Coral had organised itwell with pickups in Stratford and Henley.We arrived at Powis a little before 11.00am,just in time for coffee, which most of theparty seemed to partake of, some includingsuch naughties as cake, in the restaurant inthe castle courtyard. There was no organ-ised itinerary, everyone was able to getaround the castle buildings and gardens intheir own time. The writer explored thegardens first as the weather was sunny anddry, a state of affairs that was not likely tolast all day. It did rain a couple of times butwe were fortunate to be inside at the time.The gardens were lovely with plenty offlowers in the borders on the terraces. Thegreat lawn and formal gardens in the valley

were green and verdant. The hedges wereclipped straight and square, almost withinan inch of their lives!




Outing to Powis Castle - Tuesday 12th August 2014There was entertainment - in the orangery onthe lower terrace, a lady (dressed as a man)was singing and performing old time music hallsongs and turns.

One could sit in the orangery and sing alongwith her.Pictured areU3A members in the Orangery singing along.Upper Terrace, formal garden beyondLower Terrace and OrangeryExamples of hedges clipped to exact rectan-glesPeahen and chicks in courtyardU3A members gathering up by the coach priorto departure




Walking Group - Wednesday 13th August 2014

Thirteen members turned up for the walk onWednesday 13th August and there were a fewmutterings along the way about luck and thir-teen. We met in the central car park in South-am from where we started our walk. Aftercrossing the main street in Southam we werevery quickly into countryside on a roughly cir-cular route mostly across fields or throughsmall copses. Very soon we came across a sa-cred well - see the photograph. We stopped inthe middle of a cereal field after harvest for agroup photograph. We stopped in another fieldfor a short refreshment break before headingback to Southam. The walk was different frommany others as we had not walked in theSoutham area before. The weather remaineddry and mostly sunny although there were somenasty looking clouds about. Thanks Val and Fredfor organising the walk.




Group Gala at September Meeting - 4th September 2014

At our meeting on the 4th September wewere first entertained by a “Strictly ComeDancing” DVD played over the the twin TVscreens in the hall whilst we were waitingfor the meeting to start - this was by theBallroom Dancing class. We then startedwith our 13th Annual General Meeting wherewe listened to reports from the Chairman,Geoff Bridgewater, and from our Treasur-er, Sue Tringham. We then voted for Ge-off and Sue to continue as the officers ofthe group and also voted in a new committeeto serve for the next 12 months.

Afterwards there were presentations fromsome of the Interest Groups, includingopening and closing songs from the Choir.The Play Reading Group gave a short per-formance which was very well received.

In the lounge there were some table topdisplays by The Film Group, The All Swing &Jazz Group, the Big Band Music & JazzGroup, The Creative Craft Group; the crea-tive crafts Group display also included theChairman’s Christmas Coat of many coloursappeal - a coat made from knitted squaresand intended to be sponsored to providefunds for The Stroke Association. Therewas a rolling presentation on the TV screenby the Science & Nature Group illustratingsome of their recent activities.

In the entrance area Carolyn was sellinggreetings cards for the Card Making Group.

Above - The Film Group displayBelow - The All Swing & Jazz Group

Above - Creative Crafts




Group Gala at September Meeting - 4th September 2014

Above - further Creative CraftsBelow - the Chairman’s Christmas Coat.

Above - Main Hall during meeting

Chairman, Geoff Bridgewater conductingAGM.

Choir performing a song before the Meeting

Play Reading Group performing.




Walking Group - Wednesday 10th September 2014Malcolm and Elaine led the walk today. Wemet at The George public house in LowerBrailes, a very pretty village on the edge ofthe Cotswolds. The walk took us in a rough-ly circular route around towards Sutton-under=Brailes and back to Lower Brailes.There were some hilly sections with goodviews across the countryside, across a golfcourse and through some woods. Fortunate-ly, the going was quite dry most of the time

and only a few stiles. Thanks to Malcolmand Elaine for a good walk. Walking over pronounced ‘ridge & furrow’features in field early in walk. (Below left)

Group photograph at coffee break - bottomof page.Photograph below shows group negotiating astile on a steep bank.




Walking Group - Wednesday 10th September 2014

Fortunately, all the stiles we met were inreasonable condition.

In Sutton-under-Brailes the church wasopen so we stopped briefly to look around init.

Around the golf course we a couple of tightbridges and tunnels through dense hedges.Both took a bit of time to get through.

From one of the hills we traversed therewas quite a nice view of Lower Brailes in thedistance.




Discussion Group - Wednesday 10th September 2014The Discussion Group held their Septembermeeting at the Windmill in Church Street,Stratford-upon-Avon.

Athena asked me to lead the group as sheand Aline were at the National U3A AGM.Athena asked us to help with the choice ofmenus for the U3A New Year lunch fol-lowed by more food discussion on how eat-ing patterns have changed over the years.We quickly decided that our generation hadthe war years with rationing, no sweets,etc. so that the obesity problem of today isa direct consequence of the availability of

junk food and sugar rich drinks among oth-er things. Lack of food education and exer-cise, no cooking skills and convenience foodsare also contributing to the obesity prob-lem. People’s expectations and prioritieshave changed. We discussed ISIS andfelt that the payment of ransoms by somecountries was not helping.

Report by Sue TringhamPhotographs by Norma Hampson.




Monday Pilates Group Christmas Lunch - December 2013

Photographs have just become available to provide a record of the successful and enjoya-ble Christmas Lunch for the Monday Pilates Group, led by Gill Ganner. Members met atGill’s house where she entertained the group.

The photograph below shows members seated at the lunch table.

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