24

Dorset

History

Group in

their new

venue

Spanish Group 2

A new group

but enjoying the

challenge

Rummikub Group

Space for a

few more!

Spanish Group 1

Discovering the

world of Antoni

Gaudi

Blandford & District

NEWSLETTER – WINTER 2019

www.blandfordu3a.co.uk

BIGNOR ROMAN VILLA

Historic Group members exploring Goodwood House and Bignor Roman Villa

2

Blandford & District U3A is contemplating a half-day course on Medieval Music

and would be pleased to know whether you would support this.

The person who would be teaching us is Jonathan Weeks who both makes and performs on replica instruments. We anticipate this will take place in one of the local village halls during an afternoon in the

spring. The charge would be moderate; in addition to Jonathan’s fee, we would all have to share an equal amount for the hire of the hall.

Please contact Bridget Spiers DIRECT Tel.:01258 455081

Comment: We get the feeling that there are members out there who

would love to see their name in print — or even just an item they’ve

produced. This is the place — Go for it!

John/Lois

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Blandford & District U3A

NEXT MEETING

FRIDAY 29th November 2019 2.00-4.00pm

DURWESTON VILLAGE HALL

Speaker:- Jonathan Jones

A Christmas Cracker A miscellany of festive prose and poetry

Timetable:

2.00-2.15pm Greeting and seating 2.30pm Speaker 3.15pm Tea, Cake and Chat!

REFRESHMENTS: £1.00 for Tea & Cake

Book Exchange: bring your old paperbacks and

choose a new one!!!

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Spanish Group 2

We began life in July, which, with hindsight, was rather hopeful with every-one’s holiday looming. Now we are in November there is a small window to get together before the Christmas and New Year season is upon us. We are, by good fortune, hosted by group member Wilma who bakes! Such an as-set! We are attempting to get to grips with the basics— successfully re-membering more than a few words and making sentences. And enjoying it. Who could ask for more? Lois Fletcher-Jones

HISTORIC VISITS 2020

16 January British Museum. ‘Troy: myth and reality (from £20) and ‘Inspired by the East: how the Islamic world influenced western art’ (£14)

19 March Came House. A rare chance to visit a house not open to the public. The masterpiece of Francis Cartwright of the Blandford School of Architects, the visit is limited to 12 people.

21 May Portland House AND Lighthouse and (POSSIBLY) Portland Castle.

18 June Buckfast Abbey / South Devon Railway.

16 July One of four public schools: Sherborne Boys’ School, Bryanston, OR Milton Abbey or Canford. (we hope to include a visit to Merley House on 20 Aug the day we visit Canford)

17 Sept Bradford-on-Avon. To see the Tithe Barn and the Saxon church / Nunnery Castle.

15 Oct Longford Castle.

Travel is by coach, minibus or private car. Our usual travel practices apply when car sharing. Please note that this list is PROVISIONAL and dates and destinations are sub-ject to change if we cannot be accommodated as per this list.

Bridget Spiers Bill Titley

Tel: 01258 455081 Tel: 01258 456884

3

Notes from the Chair

Now that the English winter is upon us I am looking

forward to hearing the cries of delight as you all real-

ise that there is nothing nicer at this time of year than

going to all the U3A Groups that you enjoy, and catch-

ing up with the summers' gossip. One of the things

that I have always appreciated from a personal point

of view is that we are not too formal and that the social side of any

Group is as important as the Group subject matter. Long may it last!

On a slightly more formal note don't forget the next Open Meeting on

31st January 2020 (Next year already? - I haven't got to grips with this

one yet!) when we will be hearing how “It shouldn’t happen to a

vet” {the adventures of a veterinary surgeon in Dorset} from Martin

Fielding.

As always our wonderful catering team will be providing tea, coffee

and cakes during the interval for the very reasonable price of £1.00

per head, and don't forget the Book Exchange tables, so excellently

managed by Thelma.

Please note that we now have a vacancy on the Committee for some-

one to interface with the catering team, but it’s not as terrible as it

may sound. They all know what they are doing, we just need someone

to be in a position to liaise between the Committee and the Team for

Open Meetings and when we have social events.

May I wish you all a very Happy Christmas with family and friends,

and success in the New Year with all your ventures.

John Rees (Acting Chairman)

4

Dorset History Group

We are now well settled in our new venue at Durweston Village Hall and enjoying the opportunity to spread our books and papers (see photo on back page). We are continuing our studies of the Anglo Saxon period focus-sing wherever possible on local evidence. We are a diverse group with vary-ing interests and members pursue aspects which interest them most to share with the group. Recent topics covered have included food and drink, place names, crime and punishment, ecclesiastical sites, the role of women and high status burials. We are a friendly, easy going group who would warmly welcome new members. Jan Sale

GROUP LIAISON NOTES

We have just had a very successful Group Liaison meeting. It is good to meet as many leaders as possible and hear how their groups are getting on. It also helps to sort out any problems that may have arisen. We have also had another very enjoyable "You the Jury" day and I will be arranging another one for next October.

I have been asked to let you know that the Music Appreciation group is able to take more people and to say that it is not all classical music - they listen to a very broad range so why not go along and try it.

I am in the throes of setting up groups for Photography and Gardening so I hope to have them up and running early next year.

Whilst waiting for transport from Malaga Airport recently I picked up an English language newspaper and in it was an article about Fuengirola U3A.They have about 450 members with more than 40 groups. Making Lampshades was one group that didn't last very long! A popular group is British Sign Language and another one is Jigsaw Swapping - could be one for our U3A? Needless to say, being in Spain they have many social activities sometimes with some culture thrown in!

I can be contacted on pamnotjohn@yahoo.co.uk or 01258 451673.

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Slovenia’s pretty shoreline, lapped by the Adriatic Sea, is lined

with colourful fishing villages & silvery olive groves. From our

base here, we can enjoy our other destinations: to the south,

the Croatian peninsula of Istria slices into the same sparkling

blue waters. Characterised by miles of coastline, this region has

its own unique identity evident in its Roman ruins, Venetian

faҫades and elegant resorts. To the north, the Italian port of

Trieste is a fascinating place to visit, thanks to its unique mé-

lange of cultures and delightful range of sights, museums and

neo-classical architecture.

Our hotel is the 4-star Remisens Premium Casa Rosa located

close to the beach and a short walk from the centre of Portorož.

Surrounded by greenery, the hotel benefits from wonderful

views. It shares the facilities of next door Remisens Premium

Hotel Metropol, including the restaurants, lounge, bar, terraces

and indoor and outdoor pool – both free of charge to hotel

guests. All comfortable, stylish en-suite rooms have a private

balcony, air-conditioning, WiFi, television, safe and hairdryer.

https://u3asites.org.uk/sgu3a/page/83283

SLOVENIA, ISTRIA & TRIESTE: A TRIO OF JEWELS

12th - 19th SEPTEMBER 2020

Price for 8 days, 7 nights: £ 965.00—£1,045.00

depending on numbers .

Full information on SGU3A website

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INVITATION TO JOIN SGU3A ON A HOLIDAY NEXT YEAR

Hullo to you all,

To introduce myself, I have been a member of Shaftesbury & Gillingham U3A since July 2000 and have thoroughly enjoyed the past 19 years, mak-ing lots of new friends and serving on our Committee.

After setting up and running a Theatre Group for a couple of years, a fellow member took this over when I moved to introduce monthly trips.

By 2006 I began to organise holidays in the UK and Europe for those mem-bers who wanted to join me. This proved very popular because by July 2016 I had already taken members on 24 holidays before deciding to take a breather for a couple of years! I started again in June this year when I also decided to invite members from other U3As in Dorset to join us and, as that holiday proved very successful, I have decided to run another one next year, which could well be my last.

So, if I haven’t bored you stiff, my purpose in writing to you is to invite members of Blandford U3A to think about coming with me and a group of members to enjoy an 8 day holiday in mid-September 2020. (See page 21)

Mary F Muir (Miss) SGU3A Group Leader (Holidays) e-mail: marymuir@uwclub.net Tel. 01747 858815

5

French Group

There was a time when French children did not return to school until October because many of them had to help to get the harvest in. For different reasons we mirrored that practice and did not resume our sessions until October. We have not changed our ways in the interim. We start with some language practice and end each meeting with some French cinema. We have started to watch François Truffaut's much acclaimed film "Le dernier métro". Richard Pearson

Discussion group 2

The topic for our October meeting was the future of the United Kingdom. We had a lively and interesting discussion. In the present circumstances perhaps we can be forgiven for striking a rather sombre tone. We seemed to agree there was one way the situation could be improved but I understand there's a U3A convention that political bias should be kept quiet, so mum's the word. In November we will be addressing the questions "Has society become more liberal than it was in the 1950s? If so, is that a good thing?" I wonder what you were up to in the permissive sixties. We would be pleased to welcome any new members who like to chat. We're a broad church and although we sometimes differ radically in our views we never fight. Richard Pearson

Spanish Group 1

Our Spanish group is enjoying our get togethers and as well as doing the hard stuff (grammar) ,we are still working through our set book "Gaudi Inac-abado". This is a modern day mystery story set in Barcelona about an archi-tectural student working on his thesis about Gaudi. We are finding it a chal-lenge because the book is working on different levels within the context of Gaudi's work, including the real world, an imaginery world, and including aspects of a Greek legend (Theseus and Ariadne) and the suggestion of al-chemy. In reality, Gaudi led a simple life, which was cut short when he was struck down by a tram. He was taken to a paupers hospital because the people who ran to help him thought he was a beggar. He lay in the hospital for several days, unknown, until he died. A sad ending for a great man. Lin Bett

6

Table Tennis Group

When youngsters, my brother and I would spend many an hour in local parks playing football and cricket. If it was wet and cold outside we would often look to the indoor activity of table tennis to provide an energy outlet and competition. We would head upstairs to the spare bedroom where there was a old dining table which we normally used for homework, but which would now be used for our game. One great property of this table was the loose leaves at either end which could be pulled out to make it a reasonable length. Indeed nearly too long as the extended table now left little room at either end. At one stage I am sure we had a net but its ab-sence or damage was not a major problem as we simply found enough books to place spine-up, making an inverted ‘V’ shape across the table. Luckily we didn’t need too many as the table may have been reasonably long but it was certainly not wide. The top of this line of books was pretty irregular, like teeth before modern dentistry and more barrier than net. Sometimes, nudging the table could cause the ‘net’ to collapse. Play would have to stop to allow repairs; a pity blue tack was not around then as it would have been useful to secure the books, but probably detrimental to the table surface. The bats gradually lost their rubber surface and although the ‘ping pong’ balls could not have been very expensive we always seemed to be playing with a ball that was damaged in some way; bits of a white sticky tape were attached to splits and not all dents could be massaged out to give a true spherical shape.

Over the years I’ve only very occasionally played the game again; once on board a ship gently rolling in the Atlantic and sometimes on outside tables in seaside towns with windy weather playing a major part in the result. As one gets older the more energetic sports of one’s youth get increasingly more difficult to continue and so it has been very satisfying to reconnect with table tennis in a more regular fashion again. So now, on a Tuesday afternoon, it is a pleasure to go, along with a dozen or so other U3A mem-bers, to the large village hall at Stourpaine. Here we are provided with two excellent full sized tables complete with nets, bats and balls (no dents or bits of tape).

We would welcome new members, experienced, beginners and those per-haps just a little rusty. You could enjoy these excellent facilities and take part in a fun afternoon with lots of exercise. There is also the mental chal-

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Genealogy Group

This is still meeting monthly 10 times a year (no August or December) at my

house with a core membership of three doing long-term research. There is

room for one or two new members, who would be very welcome. We also

are able to advise and assist on almost any subject related to the history of

any person - not just family - so if you want to research the background of

someone mentioned on a memorial, or a blue plaque, etc. providing this is

a fairly straight-forward activity it should be possible to accomplish most

investigations in a single two hour session. The only requirement for any

research with us is to bring a lap-top with you. Tea, coffee and biscuits are

provided within the usual U3A donation of 50p.

John Rees

Looking Forward – Speakers for Open Meetings in 2020

31 January 2020 Martin Fielding - “It shouldn’t happen to a vet” [the adventures of a

Veterinary surgeon in Dorset.]

27 March 2020 David N. Smith - “Kingston Lacy: if only time could tell” [this is a fol-

low-up to the talk D.N.S. delivered to us on 25 January 2019: “Kingston Lacy: an undiscovered history”. D.N.S. has been researching

the history of the ESTATE for years, and published the result of his research, “Kingston Lacy: an undiscovered history”, in 1995. He is

hoping to publish a new edition, to incorporate his new discoveries] 2

6 June 2020 Francis Burroughs - “The history of glass”

25 September 2020

Emily Utgren - “Lost features of Stourhead” [the gardens in the 18th century. E.G. spoke to us on 28 September 2018 on “Remarkable

trees of Stourhead”]

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Rummikub Group

For those who don’t know what Rummikub is, it is a tile-based game for 2-4 players, based on the card game gin rummy, with elements of mah-jong. We meet on the third Tuesday of the month at 2.30 p.m. in the dining room of Whitecliffe House Care Home. We are made very welcome there (tea/coffee and biscuits are provided) and the events coordinator usually pops in to see how we are getting on. We haven’t persuaded her to join us yet! We have lost three members recently as they have moved away so we have space to take new people. We all really enjoy our afternoon together and the time rushes by. I think we have sorted out the rules now! Lynne Rogers

Scrabble Group 2

We are a very happy and sociable scrabble group, who enjoy playing once a month. We have recently made four changes...

1. We will meet once a month on the 4th Monday, still starting at 2pm and finishing at 4 pm.

2. Our new venue will be at Pat Ashworth's home at Endellion, St Leonards Avenue, where there is ample (free) parking and the X8 stops more or less outside.

3. There will be no charge per session.

4. There will be a token payment of 50p. per session, for refreshments.

Dates at Endellion now are ( (All - 4th Monday 2 to 4 pm):

October 28th 2019, November 25th 2019, none in December (possibility, if members wish, to arrange a Christmas lunch locally).

2020:

27th January, 24th February, 23rd March, 27th April, None on 25th May (Bank Holiday), 22nd June, 27 July, none in August (school hols.), 28th Sep-tember, 26th October, 23rd November, none in December

For more details or to book your place, please ring

Ann Edwards on 01258 452246

7

lenge of keeping the score which sounds easy but it’s a fast game and a big test for the old noggin. Now I don’t stop to rebuild the ‘net’, but to reach a consensus on the score or to clarify who was serving and to whom.

Whilst the group continues to play casual games during the session our Chief Coach Bob (well the only one in fact), in consultation with the group, has also organized a doubles competition which is being played over a number of weeks. So far this has produced some spectacular rallies, with everyone upping their game, and has proved very popular. This has been almost as popular as the tea break where we all put the world to rights and enjoy convivial company. Oh, and trips down memory lane!

Jim Worsnop Group Member

Lighthouse Theatre Group

We have 2 concerts booked: Brahms, Beethoven and Liszt and a Lunchtime Recital with mezzo-soprano with piano accompaniment. In January, we shall enjoy the Saint Petersburg Classic Ballet production of Sleeping Beauty and also The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie . All are welcome to join us. Debbie Fuller

Bird Watching Group

The Bird watching group continues with a select number of keen bird watchers. but we would like a few more members! Our September meeting was at Upton Park. We enjoyed the walk through the trees to the waterside where the tide was going down, exposing the mud flats where plenty of birds were feeding or resting. We always enjoy seeing and hearing the curlews.

In October we had a long drive through torrential rain to get to Ham Wall, an RSPB reserve on the Somerset Levels. Thankfully the sun made an appearance just as we arrived. We had an informative RSPB guide and we were keen to see bearded tits. Unfortunately the wind blew too hard for them to fly above the reed beds – but we did hear them! There were plenty of other birds to see. Lorna Clark

8

U3A OPEN MEETING 27th SEPTEMBER 2019

The speaker at this Open Meeting was Martin Stewart, Managing Director of Stewarts Nurseries.

Martin explained how written records have been kept for generations by the Stewart family. Now housed in purpose-built facilities at Dorset Ar-chives in Dorchester, they show that as far back as 1742 Stewarts were growing forestry trees in Scotland.

Martin's great, great, great grandfather, Charles, was a respected plantsman in the era of the great Scottish nurseries. His eldest son, John, continued to expand the family's business from premises in Dundee. The archives give details of their vast range of stock, including thousands of millions of forest trees, and record how he opened the beautiful grounds to the public.

In 1859 John's son, David, came to Dorset to take advantage of the milder climate to grow less hardy stock. With constant advice from his older broth-er, William, in Scotland, the business thrived. Successfully lobbying for a railway station at West Moors, the brothers traded throughout Britain, the continent and the USA.

Martin's grandfather diversified the business into landscaping, including golf courses at Bournemouth, and then tennis courts. Stewarts trees were used as camouflage during the second world war.

In 1955 Stewarts opened the UK's first garden centre in Ferndown. Martin's father was in the RAF (all his records are in Dorchester too), and when he delivered a 'plane to America, he brought back the latest innovations in the plant nursery business, which he pioneered in the UK. Growing plants in containers was a great boost to the company, although at the time the con-tainers were previously used catering tins! Huge crowds turned up to see Percy Thrower open the first out of town garden centre (or "out of town anything" in the UK) in 1961.

Martin said the Stewart archive was a fascinating resource to the company, as well as to Ferndown's local history. But it did not mean the company was guaranteed to succeed in the future. Stewarts is now using state of the art technology, together with environmental awareness, to grow plants.

Pauline Adams

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Crossword Group

The Crossword Group meets at the Hall & Woodhouse Brewery Visitor Cen-tre in Bournemouth Road, Blandford St. Mary, still on every Monday morn-ing at 10.30 (excepting Bank holidays, August and Christmas), but within a much larger environment. As a result we are able to offer two levels of ex-pertise: Improvers and Experts, and have offered a home to the Beginners Group (when it re-forms). The Experts and Improvers do the Telegraph Cryptic, Guardian Cryptic, The Times and the Times Quick Cryptic, with the Improvers receiving advice and guidance where necessary. All three Groups are recruiting so if you fancy having a go, or want to improve your existing crossword skills, you would be very welcome to join us. (Assistance is availa-ble for complete beginners.) Tea and coffee are served at the table (and paid for individually) as part of the excellent service provided by the Centre Staff. John Rees (johnnotpam@gmail.com)

Book Group

After a short summer break we gathered again in September. We meet on the fourth Thursday of the month to discuss the chosen book followed by tea and usually cake.

Since the summer we have read ‘Never Far from Nowhere’ by Andrea Levy, an Orange Fiction prize-winner and a book that most of us enjoyed and also ‘The Universe Versus Alex Wood’ by Gavin Extence. The latter, is a fasci-nating and remarkable Coming-of-Age story which I would recommend as a good read! I look forward to discovering the views of my fellow group mem-bers at our next meeting. Adrienne Shaw

and we will be enjoying an end of season coffee morning in early Novem-ber. Please don’t worry if you would like to join us but feel that you don’t know anyone - you will be made to feel very welcome.If anyone, not al-ready a member of the group, would like to join us, do please contact me Lynn Hawkey

16

Cycling Group

We have gained another lady rider – welcome to Sìne! Ladies and gentle-men, please follow her example. As can be seen below, we try to accommo-date all.

When possible, our rides are now split, so that we can fit in varied distances. For instance, on 21 August, from Stoborough, 2 of us took a loop round Hartland Moor, riding 19 miles, while the other 5 rode 13 miles direct to and from Wool, where we all met up again. On this same occasion, we made the welcome discovery that cyclists receive free coffee in the Black Bear at Wool!

As is becoming a tradition, 2 of our septuagenarian members took part in the Rotary Dorset Bike Ride in September, completing 35 miles and 60 miles.

Weather permitting, we plan to venture a little further before Christmas for a ‘whole-dayer’, stopping in Pamphill for coffee and Stocks Inn for lunch, returning via Witchampton.

Since my last report, we have ventured out on 5 occasions, having lost one to rain, completing a further 96 miles, so that our accumulated distance is now 1594 miles after 83 rides. Peter Aldous

Garden Visits Group

The Garden Visits Group is now taking a rest through the winter but has visited many interesting gardens during the year, including the delightful gardens at the Old Vicarage at East Orchard in the early Spring and Minterne Gardens at Minterne Magna in May. June saw us travel by coach to Hestercombe Gardens near Taunton, probably one of the most popular gardens that we have visited this year. A small town garden in Dorchester followed and then East Lambrook Manor of Margery Fish fame in Au-gust. Our final visit of the season was by coach to Castle Drogo on the edge of Dartmoor in September.

We are currently working on our programme of garden visits for 2020 which we hope to have available early in the New Year. We again hope to include 2 coach trips, one to West Sussex and the other to Devon. We are a very friendly and supportive group enjoying good turn-outs for our visits

9

Art History Group

We have been watching the BBC’s Private Life of a Masterpiece programmes followed by a discussion of that artwork.

The group will be continuing...

in November with Rembrandt’s The Nightwatch,

in December with Vermeer’s The Art of Painting, and,

in January with Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People.

The number of members in the group has declined recently and so we have room for a few more members to come and join us. We meet on the sec-ond Friday of each month at 2 pm in the Blandford Parish rooms (opposite the Post Office). If you are interested in joining us, please contact

Neil Houghton

Meditation Group

We have recently attracted new members and they are most welcome. However at a recent meeting there were only three of us, and we were all seasoned members. This gave us an opportunity to discuss what we en-joyed, and what we might like to add. There will be discussion with other members; what we came up with was introducing variety in our pro-gramme, including doing more energy work on a regular basis in order to improve latent skills and to have fun. It is easy to forget that what is normal to some people is a very new experience for others so this will definitely be implemented.

We meet first and third Wednesdays of the month at 2pm at the Communi-ty Centre in Heddington Drive, Blandford. A first attendance is without obli-gation and thereafter we give a contribution towards the rental. Easy on-road parking available.

It has been said: why come along to a specific place at a specific time to do something - sitting in silence for a length of time - when you can do it at home? Current members say that they feel calm and refreshed after a ses-sion because there is no temptation to do anything else as they are not at home! QED.

Catherine Miller

10

Five of us made the trip to Dorchester for a morning visit to the Court-

house Museum followed by Kingston Maurward gardens in the afternoon.

The Courthouse visit started by each of us being equipped with an audio

system programmed to follow the history of a particular court case

which took place around 200 years ago. There is a choice of four different

trials available. You are then invited to proceed down through the old

prison cell area and up into the courtroom, all the while listening to the

story of the case selected. This ends with the verdict which usually in-

volved a very harsh penalty by the standards of today. Some of our group

intend to use the entry ticket validity of one year to return and listen to a

different trial.

Following this, we travelled down the road to Kingston Maurward for

snacks in their students café before wandering around the various gar-

dens and animal enclosures.

William Titley

Historic Visits Group

A small group of us took a comfortable mini bus journey to visit a Roman villa amidst the rolling hills in Sussex. Bignor is quite small with lovely views and when the farmer discovered the remains of the villa he was wise enough to organise a substantial roof over the mosaics so they have been well protected. There is an unusual well in the middle of the living room, (see photo on front page) several mosaics in other rooms all with much de-tail and a very long corridor mosaic, almost undamaged. The bath house is set lower down the lawned area surrounded by paving; a little suntrap. Life here seems to have been peaceful and comfortable.

Eventually we made our way to a very pleasant pub - The Cricketers- to a pre-ordered lunch which hopefully all enjoyed; the service was excellent too.

Thence to Goodwood House (see photos on front page) via the front door and a most pleasant and helpful guide once we had dodged another group being shown around. A lot to see — the most attractive curtains and carpets and many important paintings, several by Stubbs and Canaletto.

It really is a lovely family home with family portraits and photos, lots of gold and bright colours, important collections of china and the furniture looking extremely comfortable. Our guide was so interesting and well informed but eventually it was time to leave, across the Park and down into Chichester. Jocelyn Jenkins

15

The Russian Group

This group of five have been studying the Russian language on a once-a-fortnight basis but most recently with holidays and illnesses the routine has been rather disrupted. Meetings do involve much chat, putting the world to rights and excellent refreshments. Our language skills are far stronger in the translation of Russian texts than in oral skills or translating into Russian but both of the latter are edging along slowly. Chris Poole

Poetry Group

The poetry group continues to meet on the 2nd Wednesday of the month from 2 p.m to 4 p.m at one another’s homes. We share the work of both classical and modern writers, choosing a topic and a specific poet. Recently we dipped into the work of the new Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage and enjoyed his subject matter and humour. The overriding aim of the group is enjoying poetry. We don’t analyse the poems just read them out to the group and share our thoughts. This month the topic was birds/bees and the chosen poet was Felix Denis. A humorous offering from this session was: The Vulture by Hilaire Belloc

The vulture eats between his meals And that’s the reason why He very, very rarely feels As well as you and I.

His eye is dull, his head is bald, His neck is growing thinner. Oh what a lesson for us all To only eat at dinner! We will miss the contributions of Marion Robson, who sadly passed away recently and will always remember her rendition of the poem Chocolate Cake by Michael Rosen. Do come and join us for a trial session to see if this is something you would enjoy. Sue Murty

14

Blandford & District U3A – Groups and Contacts

SUBJECT CONTACT TEL 01258

1 Art History Neil Houghton 857260

2 Bird-watching Lorna Clark 722056

3 Book Group (see also Reading for Pleasure) Adrienne Shaw 450789

4 Bridge Jean Palmer 450544

5 Celtic World, The Auguste Shepherd 860905

6 Craft (knitting, crochet, embroidery, tapestry etc) Marie Harris 453424

7 Cryptic Crosswords John Rees 451673

8 Cycling Peter Aldous 458510

9 Discussion 1 Bernadette Morley-Smith 453341

10 Discussion 2 Richard Pearson 488762

11 Dorset History Jan Sale 01202 515502

12 French Richard Pearson 488762

13 Garden Visits (April to September) Lynn Hawkey 455678

14 Genealogy (aka Family History) John Rees 451673

15 Geology Alison A’Court 453249

16 Historic Visits Bridget Spiers 455081

17 Italian Angela Warsany 861149

18 Latin 1 Gill Jackson 453376

19 Latin 2 Claire Smith 454182

20 Lunch Club 1 John Draper 455356

21 Lunch Club 2 Philip Brown 489326

22 Mah Jong Lynn Hawkey 455678

23 Meditation Catherine Miller 01929 289477

24 Music Appreciation Jacquie Dakin 861533

25 Painting Alan Dennis 454372

26 Poetry: Reading & Listening Sue Murty 01747 811679

27 Reading for Pleasure (see also Book Group) Barbara Curtis 456367

28 Recorder Ensemble Auguste Shepherd 860905

29 Rummikub Lynne Rogers 456202

30 Russian Chris Poole 454364

31 Scrabble 1 Shirley Lister 454748

32 Scrabble 2 Ann Edwards 452246

33 Singing for Fun Rachel Cook 452641

34 Spanish 1 Lin Bett 455569

35 Spanish 2 Lois Fletcher-Jones 07442 848284

36 Strollers John Draper 455356

37 Table Tennis Sheila Worsnop 480860

38 Theatre Goers (Poole Lighthouse)** Debbie Fuller 721306

39 Virtual Computer Group** David Shepherd 860905

40 Walking Group Phil Allen 453009

41 Welsh Margaret Flood 880334

42 Writing for Pleasure Thelma Wood 860191

** These groups do not meet on set days and therefore have not been included on the Timetable. Ring contact number for date of next meeting and/or more information.

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COMMITTEE

Officers

Chairman Vacant

Vice-Chairman John Rees 01258 451673

Hon. Secretary Richard Pearson 01258 488762

Hon. Treasurer Jack Shonfield 01258 863542

Membership Secretary June Lane 01258 458116

Members

Lynn Hawkey 01258 455678

Mark Morley-Smith 01258 453341

Pam Rees Group Liaison 01258 451673

Lynne Rogers 01258 456202

Bridget Spiers Speaker Co-ordinator 01258 455081

WEBSITE

Web Managers: Ron & Koli Pluck

NEWSLETTER

Editor: Lois Fletcher-Jones

loisfletcherjones@hotmail.com

07442 848284

12

First Monday

10:30 Cryptic Crosswords

11:00 Singing for Fun ***

14:30 Reading for Pleasure

14:30 Spanish 2

First Tuesday

09:30 Spanish

10:00 Committee Meeting

14:00 Table Tennis

First Wednesday

09:30 Cycling

14:00 Meditation

Second Monday

10:30 Cryptic Crosswords

12:30 Lunch Club 2

14:00 The Celtic World

Second Tuesday

11:00 Coffee Morning at Hall &

Woodhouse Brewery

12:30 Lunch Club 1

14:00 Craft

14:00 Table Tennis

Second Wednesday

10:00 Walking

10:00 Bird-watching

14:00 Poetry: Reading/Listening

Third Monday

10:30 Cryptic Crosswords

14:30 Spanish 2

Third Tuesday

09:30 Spanish

14:00 Table Tennis

14:30 Rummikub

Third Wednesday

09:30 Cycling

14:00 Meditation

14:00 Genealogy

14:30 Discussion 1

Fourth Monday

10:30 Cryptic Crosswords

14:00 Geology

14:00 Scrabble 2

Fourth Tuesday

14:00 Craft

14:00 Table Tennis

Fourth Wednesday

10:00 Walking

GROUPS TIMETABLE

13

First Thursday

11:00 Recorder Ensemble

14:00 Mah Jong

14:15 Latin 2

14:30 Welsh

First Friday

09:30 French 1

10:00 Writing for Pleasure

10:00 Music Appreciation

11:30 French 2

14:00 Bridge

Second Thursday

09:30 Italian

10:30 Garden Visits #

10:30 Russian

14:00 Scrabble 1

14:00 Latin 1

Second Friday

10:00 Discussion 2

14:00 Art History

Third Thursday

Historic Visits **

11:00 Recorder Ensemble

14:00 Mah Jong

14:15 Latin 2

14:30 Welsh

Third Friday

09:30 French 1

10:00 Writing for Pleasure

11:30 French 2

14:00 Bridge

Fourth Thursday

09:30 Italian

10:30 Russian

14:00 Book Group

14:00 Dorset History

14:00 Latin 1

14:00 Painting

14:00 Scrabble 1

1

Fourth Friday

10:00 Strollers

GROUPS TIMETABLE

** Time of Visits to be advised

*** Every two weeks, check with

Group Leader for dates

# April to September