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July 2021
ASHBOURNE & DISTRICT U3A
Registered charity no. 119048
It may become necessary to update some of the information that follows.
Please check the Ashbourne & District section of the u3asites.org.uk website to check whether
changes have been made to dates, times and meeting places.
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Monthly Meetings
Details of how to join Zoom events will be sent out, by our secretary, to those who
have registered an interest, a few days before they are due to take place.
FRIDAY JULY 2 ND: PHILIP CAINE AUTHOR AND GUEST SPEAKER
via Zoom: Barrow to Bagdad and Back Again
From Preston & District u3a: ‘… on the face of it, it looks as though it is going to be the ‘usual’
travelogue giving an insight into the exotic journey undertaken.
What we got was an entertaining description of a life lived through various ‘career moves’ made
across a range of countries not on everyone’s list of work places. It is scattered with a number of
very colourful characters who influenced Philip’s actions and moves.
A very entertaining talk and delivered in an ‘easy-going’ manner which belied the amount of
content and breadth of coverage. At the end you felt that somehow you had been over-fed and
yet wanted more…..’
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 3RD: STEVE COOK FROM EGGHEADS
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Message from our Chairman
NATIONAL U3A DAY
Due to restrictions we were unable to fully celebrate the national u3a Day 2nd June 2021. The
Ashbourne News Telegraph published a limited article for us but we hope next year we can
showcase some of our groups and their activities in order to encourage more members to join our
organisation.
We need to spread the word that retiring or working part time can be the start of a new beginning,
making new friends and learning new skills. Could I ask group leaders to take lots of photographs
particularly action pictures or closeups of work being completed so that we can put together an
informative display in 2022.
WELCOME BACK PARTY 4TH AUGUST 2021
Thank you to members who have entered the ballot. We will be in touch after the 25th June to let
you know the outcome of the ballot. Afternoon tea, a professional musician and a garden
treasure hunt will make the afternoon a pleasurable experience. My thanks goes to the committee
for their support in planning this event. Your hard work is very much appreciated.
Sheila Allen
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Last Month’s Meeting
Around 25 members of Ashbourne u3a participated in a Zoom presentation by well-known local
photographer, Nick Lockett. This concerned Australia and was entitled Beaming the Dream-time.
The audience was very impressed by Mr. Lockett's beautiful photographs of Australia's
landscape, coastline, mountains, deserts, rivers and wild-life. Nick reminded us that Australia is
30 times larger than the U.K. but has a population less than half as large.
The photographs featured, amongst other things, the so-called 12 Apostles rock-formation, visible
on the very scenic drive from Sydney to Melbourne, the Simpson desert, the Great Barrier Reef,
the Outback, areas of Rainforest and an impressive range of dangerous and sometimes lethal
native wild-life, snakes, spiders, crocodiles and jelly-fish.
The second part of his presentation concerned Nick's experiences while living for 6 months with a
group of aboriginal people in central Australia, where he tried to connect with their life-style and
way of thinking and also helped them to establish a local television service, which came to be
known as Beaming the Dreamtime.
Nick's deep interest in and liking for Australia was very apparent throughout.
Philip Aitchison
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Group meetings
ART APPRECIATION
The meeting planned for June was cancelled owing to the decision to delay the lifting of Covid
restrictions. Unless the lifting of restrictions is postponed yet again, the re-union of the group will
now take place at 2.30pm on Wednesday the 28th July at the Waterside Centre. Programme
details will be posted on the Group page on the u3a website, but it is hoped to begin a series of
meetings on the theme of British artists.
John Barnett: j.r.barnett@reading.ac.uk Tel. 07503 152610
BRIDGE
10 members have emailed Peter Worboys to express interest in re-establishing the Bridge group
as soon as Covid regulations facilitate meeting together again following Forbes Barbour’s
retirement as leader. Peter is aware that there are other members currently playing informally
amongst themselves who have not notified him of any interest or expressed a view about the best
way forward. Would they please do so in the hope that the group can be re-established in some
form or other by the Autumn?
CANASTA
After the government announcement of the extension of the social distancing rules we will be
unable to go ahead with our meetings as planned on 30th June..
Canasta will resume on Wednesday 8th September and fortnightly thereafter.
Looking forward to seeing all existing members and perhaps some new players too. No
experience necessary as we are happy to teach others this fun and interesting game.
Sue Carpenter3 of 8 CHOIR. The choir sing a wide variety of music including songs from the shows, traditional and folk songs and popular classics. The atmosphere is nice and relaxed with a break for tea, biscuits and a natter and is quite a social occasion. We have a mix of singers from beginners to the experienced, but the most important thing is that everyone feels they can contribute and everyone feels comfortable and enjoys themselves. As members have often said, they leave with a buzz! It is unlikely full indoor rehearsals will begin just yet, but it is intended to meet in a member’s garden on Thursday 24th June to see each other, renew friendships and maybe sing a little to expel the frogs in throats. (A hedgehog pulled backwards down the throat is reportedly very effective) When Covid rules allow, we intend to resume every other Thursday at Mayfield Church Rooms, Church Lane, Church Mayfield DE6 2JR at 2.30pm. Contact Martin Winfield 01335 346278 CRAFT GROUP For what will hopefully be our last Zoom meeting on Friday 15th July from 2 - 4pm please have your own project to work on and have your Zoom portrait to show us. We need to see how many portraits we have so we can decide how to arrange them for display. Please remember either to drop off your items for the Yarn Bombing to Jill at 1, Poplar Crescent or to the Cornerstone Cafe at the end of June ( I think the cafe is to open Thursdays and Fridays). Jill Smith CREATIVE WRITING GROUP This group offers writers of all kinds the opportunity to practise their skill in whatever way they choose. Life experiences, short stories, articles, essays and poems have all featured in members’ contributions. To give you a flavour of our work, you are welcome to read some of our efforts on the latest theme - A Newspaper Article. These are available on the Ashbourne u3a website - go to the Creative Writing Group page and click on ‘Members’ Work’. At the moment our system is that I email out a theme with a deadline, the group members email me their writing, I collate all the contributions and send them out to all members. If they wish, members email me their thoughts on the writings. The current theme is A Hobby, Craft or Project You Enjoy. If you would like to give us a try, just email me via the blue envelope on the Creative Writing Group page of the Ashbourne u3a website. Gina Harris Tel. 01335 300041 CURRENT AFFAIRS On10th June Peter Alcock made his debut in a professional presentation on a clearly very thoroughly researched subject of concern to us all: the possibility of the United Kingdom breaking up. It would be illogical and would benefit no-one but it is a very real danger. Peter reminded us that Scotland and England have shared a monarch since 1603 and the two countries became the United Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707: might that union be dissolved in 2022? Most of the people of Scotland voted against Brexit and their anger that their wishes have been ignored helps the drive for independence. The situation in Northern Ireland is even more fraught: the present “sausage war” is exacerbating the historic tension and the threat of a return to violence on the streets is never far away. Eighteen of us listened, interrupted, argued and pulled each others’ legs. It was a great meeting. On Thursday 8th July Kayte Alcock will tackle the subject of violence - men to women and women to men - and how much further we have to go before genuine equality between the sexes is achieved. David Holt
4 of 8 CYCLING Two of us had a Wonderful ride to Brailsford where we had an excellent lunch before returning. The weather was ideal and I had a good workout keeping up with an electric bike. The next ride is on 15th July on the Manifold Trail. See Cycling page of the web site for details. Doug Billings FAMILY HISTORY Sheila Crawley very kindly ran the June meeting in my absence. Our next meeting will be on Thursday 8th July on Zoom. Anyone wishing to join us should contact me via the blue envelope on the website or by email to tiano121@btinternet.com or a voice message on 079 9981 7759. Vivien Tiano FRENCH We are planning on meeting on Zoom until the end of July, with the improvers on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of the month and the advanced group on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of the month at 2.30pm. There is room in both groups for new members. Anyone wishing to join us should contact me via the blue envelope on the website or by email to tiano121@btinternet.com or a voice message on 079 9981 7759. Vivien Tiano GARDEN GROUP Restrictions on gatherings are slowly easing and we are hoping to resume some garden visits later this year once the u3a confirms insurance is enabled for member coach visits. The Highgrove visit will be on Friday 10th September, leaving Waterside at 08.30 – meet outside Majestic Wines. This trip is currently fully booked but I am keeping a list of reserves in case anyone needs to drop out. Please do contact me if you would like to be put onto this list. We are also hoping to arrange a visit to Wentworth Woodhouse, they are letting me know when visits may resume, date not yet confirmed. Anne McSkimming is kindly opening her garden for groups of six or less for the National Garden Scheme. She has kindly agreed to give us some dates – possibly in June - for visits by u3a members. If you might be interested, please let me know and I will co-ordinate the visits when we have the actual dates. Entry £4. Our flower bed in Ashbourne Memorial Park is now bursting into bloom, and our volunteers are now tending the bed on a regular basis. Thank you, to those of you who donated bulbs and your plants at such short notice last year. Do go and have a look there are some stunning tulips. 7720 812278 sidewaysw@aol.com and Sue Dandy 01335 345157.
5 of 8 GERMAN The amalgamated German group continues to meet fortnightly on Tuesday mornings from 10.30 until 12 noon on Zoom. We are working our way through Willkommen 2 and are about to start Des Spielers Tod which is the next book in our detective series. We're planning a social get- together whenever it is allowed and are looking forward to being able to meet face-to-face as soon as possible. New members are always very welcome and more information is available from Rhona Hunt by clicking on the blue envelope on the web page. Rhona Hunt HIKERS On Tuesday 13th July we will be leaving from Stanton, to include the Weaver Hills. This is a new area to us and I am very grateful to Brian Stockwell for preparing the route. Judy Harrison LANDSCAPE AND HERITAGE At our June meeting, hopefully the final one on Zoom, we had a fascinating talk on the development of Calke Abbey from a medieval priory to a Tudor home and what remains of this Tudor house today. We now start a summer programme of visits. The first is on July 16th when Cathryn Walton of Leek Historical Society will lead a guided walking tour of central Leek. We meet at the Market Cross at the bottom of Leek Market Place at 10.30 am. Places are limited and you must let me know if you intend to come. Pamela Boura pamela@boura.org 01335 418149 LINE DANCING It’s been really good to be back at Yeldersley Hall for the last four weeks, checking on the progress of those who’ve been dancing on Zoom now we can actually see them, catching up with people who had taken a break during lockdown restrictions and welcoming some new members. If anyone would like to join us then please contact me. Sue Edmonds, sue@axgb.com NATURAL HISTORY Although it is early days, the Natural History Group is thriving. WhatsApp is facilitating an exchange of information on local sightings. To date these have included a roe deer stag and a cockchafer flying beetle and a delightful collection of wild flowers. Thanks are due to members who have contributed so far. Given the high level of expertise within the group, it is very challenging to provide talks and other activities of the requisite standard. Our last Zoom meeting did, in my view, provide a presentation of the highest calibre. Dr Jim Riding spoke to us on the geology of the Peak District. Jim is a very distinguished geologist at the British Geological Survey. He covered his subject in some depth, and illustrated his presentation with highly informative slides. Many of us were introduced to the discipline of palynology, a special interest of our speaker. This speciality is the study of pollen grains and spores found in geological deposits. Jim is also a stratigrapher of repute. Such skills are in demand by companies involved in the extraction industries. Sincere thanks are due to Jim for the generous gift of his time and expertise. We continue to appreciate the nature diaries, kindly provided by Tim Williams, even though he does set us “homework “. I submitted the answers I received to Tim, on examples of phototaxis and phototropism. Thanks to those who responded, I think we were marked generously by Tim, B+ is my mark. Obviously, there is still a great deal of uncertainty about the future and form of our meetings. So far the costs involved in putting on our programme have been minimal. However, it may be that we shall face significant costs going forward. Once the situation becomes clearer, we will need to
6 of 8 examine the options in detail. Needless to say, the wishes of group members will be paramount in planning the way ahead. Once the situation become less opaque it will be important to examine a range of options. In the meantime I would very much welcome thoughts and suggestions on such matters as finance, form of meetings and links with other groups who care for our natural environment. Arthur Williams PETANQUE We're currently playing every week on both Tuesdays and Wednesdays, starting at 11am at the Red Lion, Hognaston. They have a good-sized outdoor tent where we slake our thirst and eat lunch afterwards. The weather has been glorious, the play has been good and the fun level is (as ever) high. Such a pleasure to be with our Petanque friends once more. We have some new members, and look forward to welcoming back previous members who have not yet resumed playing when the time is right. Sheila Crawley tel.07968 310255 PHOTOGRAPHY GROUP June's meeting was again held on Zoom and even though we are not meeting face to face we still manage to have a lot of fun. The theme was Steel but that quickly changed to Metal as some of the members decided that some photographs being shown were not steel!! A photograph from each member can now be seen on the website. Next month's meeting will again be held via Zoom on Thursday 1st July 2021 at 10.00 when the theme will be Isolation. John and I look forward to seeing you all next month. Helen Bluff SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING GROUP At the moment we are restricted to Zoom meetings. We are hoping to start face to face meetings in September with a presentation by Robert Allen. You will all remember the tree problem in Sheffield, Robert was at the sharp end. At our meeting in June, James Jones CEO of MasterMover, an engineering Company here in Ashbourne, gave us an insight into the products they manufacture. These movers managed to move substantial loads by using a proportion of the load weight to aid traction. This Company has just been awarded a Queen’s Award for Export. The programme set up for the coming months is: - Thursday 24th June Tony Walker CBE will give a presentation: Vehicle Electrification Thursday 29th July Matt Butler associate at ARUP will give a presentation: The Science and Engineering of improved Energy Efficiency for Technology-Complex Buildings Thursday 27th August: No Meeting Thursday 30th September Robert Allen will give a presentation: Sheffield Streets Ahead All u3a members are welcome to join us, for more information please contact me via the blue envelope on our page in the Ashbourne & District u3a website. Tony Walden
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STROLLERS
Members of the group are delighted to be
meeting up again and have enjoyed our walks
local to Ashbourne. We are going to venture a
little further afield and our July walks will take
us to Ilam and Mayfield. The Derby Connect
bus is available for our walk at Ilam on
Monday July 12th – please reserve your place
on the bus. Strollers can use the Swift bus for
Mayfield on Monday July 26th.
Here are the walks for July:
Monday July 12th Ilam circular walk. Meet at
the National Trust Car Park at Ilam to set off on
the walk at 1.30p.m. prompt.
Circular walk out of the park along a quiet lane with fabulous views. Returning along the river
bank to Ilam. Refreshments at The Manifold Tea Rooms. Covid restrictions mean car sharing is
not recommended. The Derby Connect Bus is booked to leave at 1.00p.m. from outside Halfords
at Waterside for those requiring transport. Bus passes can be used for the return journey. Bus
returns at 4.00p.m.
Please contact Karen to reserve a seat on the bus. It is helpful if you let Karen know if you are
going to join the walk.
Contact details: Karen Tallant Tel: 01335 345122 Mobile: 07411 430 763
Monday July 26th. Mayfield Walk from Brambles 9 The
Park, Mayfield DE6 2HT
Circular walk leaving Brambles at 1.30p.m. prompt to
Hanging Bridge along the river then up a flight of steps.
Through the churchyard and along Slack Lane towards
Upper Mayfield. Returning to Brambles for tea. Any
Strollers not able to join the walk are most welcome to join
us for tea around 3.30p.m. If we still can't car share
people can catch the 1.00p.m. bus to Mayfield and make
their way to Brambles or if they prefer wait for the group to
join them half way up the hill at Hanging Bridge.
Please let Karen know if you would like to join the walk or
if you can join us for tea to help with numbers for catering!
Contact details: Tel: 01335 345122 Mobile: 07411 430763
Karen Tallant
TABLE TENNIS
Thanks to the new lockdown rules in May there has been a whole month of playing table tennis
which is well supported, although limited to 15 by the Leisure Centre's rules. We will continue,
hopefully, despite the lockdown measures.
After almost 5 years as Group Leader I have handed over the responsibility to Helen Bluff and
Elaine Beard, who have kindly volunteered to share the role.
Wendy Goddard, 01335342532, wendygoddard@fastmail.fm.8 of 8
UKULELE GROUP
So far, 3 members have expressed an interest in joining Sue Cawthra, the lady who has just
moved to the area & joined Ashbourne u3a, in setting up a group to play &/or learn to play the
ukulele as soon as Covid regulations facilitate meeting together. Would any more like minded
members who are interested please email Peter Worboys at p.worboys@outlook.com
Peter Worboys
WALKING GROUP.
23 June 9.50am: 5 mile walk led by Peter Worboys from The Bluebell Inn, Farnah Green.
7 July (morning): Subject to Covid regulations permitting car sharing, a walk of approximately
4.75 miles from Eyam will be led by Peter Worboys to commemorate the villagers’ emergence
from the 1665 plague. If such walk is not feasible, Peter will organise an alternative walk nearer
Ashbourne. Details will be announced on the website nearer the day.
21 July (morning): 4.6 mile walk led by Alan & Olive Keizer from Okeover Arms, Mappleton.
4 August (morning): Doug Billings will lead a slightly shorter walk from Osmaston to finish in
sufficient time for those attending The Welcome Back Garden Party to do so.
As always, full details of all walks are described on the Ashbourne U3A website.
Peter Worboys
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Please send contributions for the August Newsletter to Mavis Lund by July 18thYou can also read
