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Registered Charity No. 1082254
October 2020 The Emergency Newsletter of U3A Clitheroe during these unprecedented times
of 2020—the year of the Coronavirus
A Few Thoughts on ………well more things!
Here we are again and another month has gone by and soon autumn will be upon us.
Following on from last month’s piece I see that the actor Laurence Fox is starting a new political party
which has been dubbed ‘Ukip for Culture’. We shall see how that goes….I
I am pleased to report that Dame Maureen Lipman’s performance as Rose was superb. I will not give you
the tale of Rose’s life – it would be too depressing and at this time we want to be heading in the opposite
direction.
One thing I am looking forward to is the arrival of a new news channel early next year. It is being
launched by the well known broadcaster Andrew Neil, and he will be heavily involved in the output. As he
says “We’ve seen a huge gap in the market for a new form of television news…GB News is the most
exciting thing to happen in British television news for more than 20 years. We will champion robust,
balanced debate and a range of perspectives on the issues that affect everyone in the UK, not just those
living in the London area”. Quite. His last coverage for the BBC will be the US Presidential Elections.
David Grimes has included an article on progress with Zoom so I will not cover it here, only to remark that
on reading the latest copy of Castle View it seems that every organisation in Clitheroe is now having to
embark on Zoom. We will soon be Zoomed out……
The general public have been advised by the RHS that autumn is the time when we should be putting new
plants in the garden and not wait for the spring, so Let’s Keep Gardening…… My plans last year for a rich
colourful tapestry achieved by random planting of tulips didn’t really work. I have decided to keep matters
simple. The love affair with these bulbs first started when I saw them at Great Dixter in May 2004. I was
bowled over by Orange Emperor which is a Fosteriana tulip. It is a lovely glowing shade of orange. Just
the ticket, and perhaps underplanted with some yellow pansies. They were successful last year. I mustn’t
forget miniature daffodils. So next spring should see a riot of yellow and orange.
Coming up to the end of October and it will be time for baking the Christmas cake. There’s only me to eat
it and why the heck not? I make the same one every year – a 7” square. It contains a goodly amount of
brandy, and then over the weeks before Christmas is ‘attended to’ every now and then using a skewer. By
Christmas it is sitting in its tin in an alcoholic fog – the whiff when one lifts the lid!!
What we will all be doing for Christmas depends on lockdown; it is all very difficult, but we must make the
most of things and U3A is here to help. (Sounds like a Tesco ad!). Included with this edition again is a
section on forthcoming zoom presentations, as well as contributions from our very talented members. The
next main meeting via Zoom on the 13 October at 2.00pm will feature Philip Bradshaw giving a
presentation on The National Trust ( See Page 4).
Finally, the Committee is always looking forwards and we are planning for next year’s AGM in February.
This will be held using zoom. Details about timetable for nominations/voting etc will be appear in future
editions of Newsflash and also on the Website.
With best wishes,
Alison
U3A Officers and Committee 2020
Chairman: Alison Hoyle, Tel: 01200 424622 e-mail: alison57@live.co.uk
Vice-Chair: Marjorie Taylor, Tel: 01254 249897
e-mail@marjorietaylor@hotmail.co.uk
Vice-Chair: Janet Elliott, Tel: 01254 248106 e-mail: jkelliott108@gmail.com
Treasurer: Paul Fisher, Tel: 01254 245910 e-mail: pfisher3@btinternet.com
Secretary: Eileen Narain Tel: 01200 859727 e-mail: eileen.narain@gmail.com
Newsletter Editor: Pauline Hutchinson, Tel: 01282 817544 Mob: 07792719033
e-mail: pauline.m.hutchinson@btinternet.com
Groups Co-ordinator: Philip Bradshaw, Tel: 01254 249764
e-mail: philip@ribbvalley.co.uk
Membership Secretary: David Grimes, Tel: 01254 240707
e-mail: davidgrimes1@mac.com
Webmaster: Frank Taylor, Tel: 01200 443633
e-mail: frankhtaylor@yahoo.co.uk
U3A Clitheroe is Zooming along
When 2019 came to an end we had no idea of what what 2020 would bring. We have seen major damage to the
economy and education. Worship has been disrupted, as have weddings, funerals and many other family events.
Social gatherings have been curtailed, and that of course involves U3A. We enjoy meeting each other and during the
past six months we have seriously missed each other.
Isolation is not good, but we have electronic ways of keeping in touch. We have the telephone to talk to each other.
We have the radio and television to hear and see what is going on in the world, even though this can be depressing.
Email has been an additional communication aid in recent years.
Now there is something new: Zoom, which has enabled a new start of the activities of U3A Clitheroe. We started to
use Zoom for committee meetings, and then we launched it into the groups, Philip Bradshaw being the main driving
force with Frank Taylor lending his expertise.
The groups using Zoom have been Architecture, Science, History, and Art Appreciation, with Geology and Music
Appreciation about to come on-stream. The numbers involved have been about ten, about half the usual attendance.
We have had one Tuesday afternoon U3A Zoom meeting, an illustrated talk on the subject of Picasso, given by Paul
Fisher. This had about 50 members attending and this caused some logistic problems that will be solved at the next
meeting.
.It is looking good and we hope for more involvement. However, we remain concerned about members who do not
have Email access and we do not want them to be excluded. They know who they are and we would encourage
them to find “buddies”, members with Email who might invite them to share Zoom occasions. Using family members
to help out would be an alternative. If any member is not sure of how to find a “buddy’, contacting me might be
helpful.
And don’t forget: protect yourself from the damaging effects of Covid-19, by taking a Vitamin D supplement, about
3,000 units daily. The evidence of benefit is now overwhelming.
David Grimes
2
Training Sessions for would-be Zoom users.
It seems that we will be using this platform for the foreseeable future for both Speaker and Group meetings and we
do not wish people to feel excluded because of unfamiliarity with the software being used.
Following our recent experiences using Zoom, it has been decided to offer additional short training sessions.
Members who are new to this experience may benefit from attending one of these short introductory sessions so that
they will feel more confident when attending meetings. It is our intention to run the sessions as set out below:
Fri 9th October 10am
Thur 22nd October 2pm
Fri 6th Nov 10am
Thur 19th Nov 2pm
Fri 4th Dec 10am
Thur 17th Dec 2pm
Anyone wishing to attend should email me, so that I can send back a link to the session. Please be specific about
which particular session you would like to attend!
Kind regards
Philip Bradshaw
ZOOM MEETINGS COMING UP
Some activity groups are proposing using ZOOM for meetings . If convenors will let me have details of
dates, times and subject etc I can put the information in the Newsflash.
The next main meeting via Zoom on the 13 October at 2.00pm will feature Philip Bradshaw giving a
presentation on The National Trust.
Those members with e-mail will receive a link shortly before the meeting.
Activity Date Tim Group E-mail Subject Meet Remarks
Group e Convenor Frequency
Music 4 Oct 2 pm Margaret Cunjliffe peteracunliffe@gmail.com 1sr Mon
Appreciation
Architecture 7 Oct 2 pm Philip Bradshaw philip@ribbvalley.uk Philip Bradshaw—Development t Wed Zoom link e-mailed to members on the
of Skyscrapers day of meeting
Geology 14 Oct 2 pm Frank Taylor 2nd Wed
Science & 21 Oct 10 am Davaid Grimes davidgrimes1@mac.com Argo Floats, Immunity, Science 3rd Wed
SE Group of the month
Book 22 Oct 2 pm Sue Mayor suemayor@msn.com 4th Thurs Link sent out the week before
Art Appreci- 27 Oct 2 pm Alison Hoyle alison57@live.co.uk Jacquie Melia will give a presen- Zoom link e-mailed to members on the
ation Group tation on Klimt & The Secession- day of meeting
issts
History 28 Oct 2 pm Hazel Best— Maureen Accromgtpm Omdistroa;ost 4th Thurs
armasbest.plus.com pickup@hotmail.co.uk Frederocl Steomer amd family
3
Music Appreciation Group
Our group was one of the earliest, formed shortly after U3A Clitheroe was established more than 21 years ago, by
the late Rev. Eric Chard. We meet on the first Monday of the month from 2.00 to 4.00 pm, normally at West Bradford
Village Hall. At present we have 21 members on our l ist, but only this month we have gained a new member and we
always welcome extra people to j oin our happy and friendly group!
There i s a straightforward format to what we do. The aim, obviously, is to l isten to, and appreciate, a variety of
music and often to hear pieces, which are completely new to us. This i s achieved by a different person, only of those
who wish to, presenting a programme each month. In any group there i s a whole range of i nterests and tastes. The
presenter has a free choice of theme, so this could be based on a particular composer, or period or style. Maybe
there is a concentration on a certain i nstrument, or music from one country, or dance music, or with a common
subject, such as birds, water, orchestral or for the voice, or simply one’s favourite pieces. The possibilities are
endless, as everyone has a different take on things.
For 2020 the first three presentations were ‘My Life in Music’, Scandinavia and its Music’ and ‘ Pierre Boulez’,
respectively, then lockdown came and suddenly everything was sadly curtailed, so we shall have to wait till 2021 for
‘Springtime’ and others.
What do we do now? As Convenor, I emailed all those online each month about the time of our meeting, as a means
of keeping i n touch, and I telephoned the others. Then an email from the Group Convenors’ Coordinator arrived
from Philip Bradshaw, announcing a Zoom meeting, to discuss this mode, i n the hope that some groups could start ‘
meeting’ i n this way. If we were only speaking, this would be considerably simpler, but relaying the music is
somewhat more complicated!
I formed a little sub-committee to consider how we could proceed in this way with our group’s activities and the
decision was made to give Zoom a go! One of our members, Jonathan Pickup, was due to give his programme i n
May or June and he had i t already prepared on Powerpoint, which was perfect for presenting through the computer.
So he set the ball rolling for us i n September and we were delighted to have 13 people, plus one visitor at the
interval, for our inaugural Zoom meeting!
A few other people are able to put together things on memory-sticks, Bluetooth or whatever, but the majority of us
are still using music on CDs, with a player. So, for a number of possible future meetings, we are going to have a
problem, as this method i s not really compatible with the Zoom format. At the moment, we are exploring the
possibility of using Spotify, but it is a steep learning curve for us all and there is a lot of trial and error, though it
certainly is keeping the grey matter working!!!
Isn’t that partly what U3A is about?
Margaret Cunliffe - Music Appreciation Group Convenor
Main Meeting
13 October 2020 at 2 pm
BY ZOOM
Speaker: Philip Bradshaw
the theme of his talk is
The National Trust: A Celebration of its 125th Anniversary
Those members with e-mail will receive a link shortly before the meeting
This will enable those with Zoom to join the meeting at the appropriate time.
4
Locked in a Garden, what a delight!
The recent months have had their share of challenges for all, but
what an opportunity for those of us with some outside space,
some agility and enthusiasm! Blessed with a rare period of warm
weather, and few outings to make, jobs could be tackled without
interruption; the newly housebound and furloughed could
respond to Gardener’s world’s weekly ‘To do’ list without delay!
As an artist, my interest has always been to experiment with
plants that may provide some drawing interest whilst it’s warm
enough to sit out and draw; through the years sketchbook pages
have filled with Cardoon, (presently nurturing one from seed),
succulents, the classic sunflower and its modern variants have Sunflower
been analysed. Poppies,hydrangea, day lilies, peonies,
crocosmia Lucifer, all in succession, giving exciting colour focus . An amazing new Allium Schubertii was the first
spectacle this year, its’ transformations recorded in nearly 100 photographs.
Last year a gherkin plant provided drawable excitement as it shot across the terrace; what better than to combine
edible & decorative qualities; so I started the season early with ‘first attempt’ pumpkin seeds & soon found my way
to courgette seeds , nurtured on with excessive care in my ‘ temporary greenhouse’ window seat /sills.( Yes, I know
my brother’s household is yearly flooded with such produce in Devon, but we are facing a Lancs. challenge!) I have
been rewarded with decorative pumpkin orbs of various colours & sizes tumbling from a terracotta pot, and daily a
mass of golden yellow flowers emerge from amongst the huge leaves, & then a few courgettes too. The camera has
been at my side for daily recording.
As Cook and housekeeper too, and in line with modern thinking, I think the garden must ‘pay its way’,and produce
edible returns’! 36 years ago we inherited bountiful strawberry and gooseberry crops. Blackcurrant soon followed.
After extending & redesigning 20 years ago 2 Victoria plum trees were added, with crops of up 30 lbs yealyr soon
appearing (and this is Lancashire!) .
Again this recent circumstance pointed towards infrequent shopping & any possible self sufficency ; I acquired a
raised trough, by click & collect, to again ‘grow a salad bowl’, soon producing frequent colanders of salad leaves,
spinach & herbs; ( the curly varieties and a dark red leaf are less favoured by pests & wet) & spring onions, mint &
chives. A ‘Katy ’apple tree has sped to produce a mass of red apples leaping up to 50+ sweet red apples in 3-4
years! (thanks to John & Kate & the Holden Clough team for steering me towards this ‘Lancs. suitable’ variety!)
Raspberry & Blackcurrant jam, and cakes have been made too.
And the winter herbs, will be there, when the basil, and indoor herbs die back
“amazing what can be done in a small garden” said a distanced visitor friend as she collected spare pumpkin and
courgette plants!
Joanne Taylor Wilson 27.8.20
...And escaping the garden on ‘ lockdown walks’ -did I mention wild Elderflower with our new gooseberries or wild
garlic-for pesto and butter ?.Lancashire ‘food for free’ is an inspiring article for another time...someone else?
Sunflower
June Allium
Terrace Pumpkin
5
HOBBIES REVIVED or ( WHAT DID YOU DO DURING THE WAR DADDY? )
When lockdown started I’m sure many of us wondered how best to spend our ill gotten spare time - I certainly did !
I decided to try to revive my long time forgotten hobby of making plastic model aircraft, wary of how I might perform
as steady and nimble fingers are required together with sharp eyesight and concentration! And of course the ability
to understand instructions designed for ten year olds !
Well, I managed better than expected but quickly had to learn to be content with sometimes doing very little, slowly!
Our learn and laugh words were a great help!
I first made the two Spitfires and encouraged
with the results took up the challenge of the
Junkers Civil Aircraft, involving 196 pieces and
more than 100 hours to complete - phew !
Model making is a very rewarding activity but
unfortunately not one that is suitable for a U3A
group to pursue.
However, information and videos are readily
available on website - interesting and
entertaining to view.
So for me lockdown provided an unexpected
opportunity to revive and enjoy an old hobby -
clouds and silver linings!!
I am reminded of a saying I heard many years
ago -
“ as we grow older and our pleasures fewer,
we must work hard at those that remain.” Aaaaaah !
Stan Unsworth
Lady Anne Clifford
Lady Anne Clifford was born in the castle of Skipton-in-Craven in January 1590.
Her father was George Clifford, third Earl of Cumberland. Later in
1590 he would be appointed Champion to Queen Elizabeth, having
many jousting successes and an adventurous naval career that in
1690 took him to the Azores to attack Spanish defences.
Two sons had been born to Lady Cumberland during the previous
five years but sadly one died shortly before Anne’s birth and the other
shortly afterwards. No further children were to be born. Lady
Cumberland and Anne spent much time at court, where Anne was
great favourite of Queen Elizabeth. They had a house in Clerkenwell.
In 1605 Lord Clifford died suddenly and unexpectedly in London, at
the age of 47. He had been born at Brougham Castle, in
Westmorland. At court, where he spent most of his time, he had been
described as "the rudest Earl by reason of his northerly bringen up”.
He was embalmed and his daughter Anne erected a tomb for his
internment in Skipton Castle
He had recently made a will. His brother Francis would automatically
inherit the earldom, but he was concerned that his young teenage
daughter Anne would not be suitable to inherit the estates, which he
left almost completely to his brother. This was not legal as the deed
drawn up in the reign of Edward II, three hundred years earlier,
stipulated that the inheritance was to be passed from parent to child
whether boy or girl. Anne received an inheritance of £15,000.
Anne would spend her life attempting to regain the estates that were
her right, and this would be achieved in 1643, when Henry the son of Francis Clifford would die
without a son. She was particularly anxious to have possession of the castles of Skipton, Continued on P7
6
Lady Anne Clifford from Page 6
Appleby, Brougham, Pendragon and Brough. Skipton was
in Yorkshire, but the other castles were in her beloved
Westmorland, and are now in Cumbria.
In 1609 Anne married Richard Sackville, 3rd Earl of Dorset,
They had five children, but the three boys died before
adulthood. Richard died in 1624, and in 1630 Anne married
Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke and 1st Earl of
Montgomery. He died in 1650, at the age of 65.
Anne was a popular patron of the arts, and she undertook a
wide range of building works. She restored Skipton Castle
and the others, and a variety of churches, including that of
Appleby-in-Westmorland.
After ultimately inheriting her father’s estates, Anne became
a wealthy land-owner. After she had left the court and
returned to the north, she rotated between her various
residences, spending several months or perhaps a year in
each. The movement between the castles was a major
undertaking. Up to 300 people were involved in the
journeys, and it was of considerable disturbance to those
who were expected to provide temporary accommodation
for the entourage (including many horses) between the
castles. She would take not only her attendants but also her
bed, bedding, furniture, tapestries and even a window,
glass being in short supply in those days.
The route she took started in Skipton, went into Wharfedale stopping at Barden Tower, which she paid to restore in
1658. The route led via Askrigg, to Pendragon Castle, Brough Castle, Appleby Castle, and finally to Brougham Castle,
close to Penrith, 100 miles north of Skipton. Brougham Castle was her favourite, and it was here that she died in 1676,
at the age of 86. She is interred at St Lawrence’s Church, Appleby-in-Westmorland.
Appleby Appleby
St Lawrence’s Church, Appleby
Effigy of Lady Anne on her tomb
In recent years a memory to Lady Anne Clifford, “a
proud northern lady”, has been established in the
form of a footpath route leading from Skipton Castle
to Penrith. We are following this footpath, which is of
great interest and great beauty. In future editions of
the NewsFlash we will share our experiences of our
long walk.
Jenny & David Grimes
7
Lunacy
The magnificent full moon on September 2nd was adjacent to Jupiter and
Saturn. It was a Corn Moon, the Harvest Moon this year being delayed
until October 1st because this is closer to the autumn equinox. This
means that 29 days later there will be a second full moon in October, and
by definition this will be a Blue Moon.
Looking at the Moon put lunacy into my mind. The effect of the moon on
the mind is what we are accustomed to call lunacy, but it is much more to
lunacy than this.
Oysters open their shells twice a day at high tide. The strange thing
about oysters is that they continue to open their shells at the times of
high tides even when they are moved inland into tanks on which the
Moon does not shine. The puzzle is how they know the times of the high
tides, which are of course controlled by the moon cycle.
It appears that many millions of years ago in the distant past of evolution,
the timing of the lunar cycle (29.5 days) became built into the genes of
animal life. There are many genes that posses a tidal pattern of activity
and it is these that are controlling the actions of the oysters.
Corals in the wild all release their eggs and sperm at the full moon, a mass spawning event that continues in the
laboratory. It is a synchronous event, meaning that the timing within the lunar cycle is the same for all corals. As
reproduction and fertilisation are random, it is necessary for it to be synchronous. But what is the significance of the
moon being full? Perhaps it is the highest tide with all coral being below the surface of the sea.
The experience of the corals made me think about the reproduction of humankind. It is based on the lunar cycle, the
“moonstrual cycle” of the human female, and it is clearly genetically controlled. It is however individual and it is not
synchronous, the days of ovulation in womankind being spread evenly throughout the average 29.3 days of the cycle.
If it were synchronous, all babies would be born on the same day of each month or moon phase. There would be only
13 birthdays each year, and think of what this would mean for a maternity unit. Rather than an average of 5 births per
day, there would be about 150 births on just one day in 29, apart from a few premature births. Perhaps evolution
decided correctly that synchronous births would not be a good thing.
Research has shown that “lunacy” does not in fact influence the violent behaviour of humankind, but there is one sad
phenomenon close to it. Around the full moon there is a slight increase of suicide in young women. The moon or
hormones? No-one can be certain. But longer deeper sleep is more common with the full moon, and this is good for
us.
David Grimes
We welcome the following new members:
Tricia Marshall,l David Dewhurst, Jean Hull, Jim Exton, Rose Lea, Roger Hirst, Martin Smith, Kay
Chippendale, Beverley Hurrell, Raymond Hurrell, Katherine Knowles, Sara Talbot, Chrissie Brookes, Ruth
chapman, Ann Rhodes-Butler
EDITORIAL COMMENT
Have you anything to contribute to this temporary electronic newsletter? We would like to invite you
our members to contribute. It can be on any topic that interests you and does not have to be long.
Text as Word Documents and any illustrations or photos as jpg format
Copy date: November NewsFlash deadline: Friday 30 October 2020.
All copy required by e-mail to the Editor, pauline.m.hutchinson@btinternet.com
Also information for the ZOOM meetings
Pauline Hutchinson, Ediitor
8
WINTER PROJECT
For a number of years, around this time, we have planned a course to focus our
winter reading. We cannot be sure that we shall be able to meet in Spring 2021,
although there is a glimmer of hope, so this year I’m offering different formats which
the group will choose in the light of events. The main difference is that ‘tutor’ input
will be sent in written form - not ideal, but I hope this will appeal to some of you.
Please note that it is possible to join this study group without computer access
(postage will be charged) so please share this with members who have no email.
This course is a version of the residential literature course for NWU3A at Penrith
which was cancelled. Please call me if you would like further details. I hope to hear
from you, Meg.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
NORTH-NORTH-WEST
‘I am but mad north-north-west; when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw’
Hamlet
The north of England has long cast its spell over literature and continues to do so. Influenced by
thinkers such as J S Mill, John Ruskin, and Friedrich Engels, its stories are place specific but the
human content is universal. The group will look at the north as a literary symbol, studying novels
that are set in the area between the Rivers Lune and Mersey, and from the western watershed of
the Pennines to the Irish Sea. We shall also take time to look at how literary fiction changed over
150 yrs. In preparation please read from this list -
Mary Barton Elizabeth Gaskell 1848
Hard Times Charles Dickens 1854
North & South Elizabeth Gaskell 1855
Wuthering Heights Emily Bronte 1855
Fame is the Spur Howard Spring 1940
Mist over Pendle Robert O’Neill 1951
Oranges are not the only fruit Jeanette Winterson 1985
An Awfully Big Adventure Beryl Bainbridge 1989
The Lonely A M Hurley 2014
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Timetable
Introductory material sent (by email or post) on registration from Oct 2020
Plan A if restrictions still in place - Tutor input posted fortnightly from Jan 11 to March 31
or as long as necessary + group discussion on Zoom and an email forum (optional)
Plan B meeting together in early 2021 as and when allowed
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Please register asap –Email: shawmargret@gmail.com tel:01200 426103
Mrs M Shaw 17 Pagefield Cres. Clitheroe BB7 1LH
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