newsletter 1016 pub - u3asites · 2 we have been asked by trinity to plead with members to use the...

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NewsletterTynedale October 2016

Learn, laugh and live. Meet people, learn new skills and have fun.

http://u3asites.org.uk/tynedale

The next monthly meeting is on Tuesday 4 October. The talk is given by Dr Robert McManners and is entitled “Shafts of Light”. Dr McManners will explore the phenomenon of mining art based on the Great Northern Coalfield and puts

the art into historical, sociological and industrial context.Dr McManners is a returning speaker. On his last visit he introduced

the Zurburàn paintings of the twelve Apostles which are housed at Auckland Castle.

Breaking new groundOur monthly meeting in December will be breaking new ground.

Firstly, we will be meeting in a new venue, the Great Hall of Hexham Abbey. Many of you will know that the Great Hall was recently refurbished as part of the development of the new Visitors Centre & Exhibition at the Abbey. It is a lovely space and if we like it, we may use it again for future monthly meetings.

Secondly, we are delighted that local explorer and adventurer, Conrad Dickinson, has agreed to be our speaker. The title of his talk is ‘To the South Pole with Prince Harry and the Walking Wounded’. In 2013, Conrad was the guide to a British team of injured service men and women, who together with Prince Harry, raced to the South Pole. The expedition was organised by the charity, Walking with the Wounded.

Conrad Dickinson is well known nationally and internationally for his exploits in extreme conditions. He lives in Hexham and is Patron of the Northumberland Wildlife Trust. He has waived both his fee and expenses in agreeing to be our speaker, but would welcome contributions to the Wildlife Trust.

Finally, with this being our last monthly meeting before Christmas, we will be rounding off the afternoon with tea/coffee and cake (made possible from the sale of our assets from Trinity) and, of course, a chance to chat with friends, old and new!

We do hope that many members will join us for what promises to be an excellent afternoon. The date is Tuesday, December 6th. The meeting starts at 2 o’clock and will conclude at 3.45. The speaker originally planned for December, Anthea Lang, will now be the speaker at our May meeting next year.

Mike Worthington, Chair


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We have been asked by Trinity to plead with members to use the doorstops properly. They have again had to replace the rubber ferrule which they say is dragged across the carpet when the doorstop is not released. This is dangerous practice and must not be done. The doorstops should be applied by pressing down with the foot and released with the foot with a gentle kick or push upwards. If any person has a problem with the doorstop please contact Bill Walton on 672025.


From your new Regional TrusteeElizabeth Porter, the current Secretary of Tynedale U3A, was elected as Regional Trustee at a recent regional meeting. Here she explains what the job involves.

It is a pleasure to have the opportunity of representing the Region on the National Executive Committee of the Third Age Trust for the next 3 years. I hope to be in touch with as many U3As as I can visit and you can also contact me by email ([email protected]) if you have an opinion or concern that you wish me to raise at the meetings in London which I will attend every 8 weeks.

The Third Age Trust is considering whether the structure of the organisation is fit for purpose to serve the interests of 1000 U3As across the country and the debate continues in our magazine Third Age Matters. The benefits of being affiliated to the Trust are well established and are illustrated in the diagram above. I hope to keep you regularly informed.

Elizabeth Porter


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Hook &


Did anyone have a successful view of September's penumbral lunar eclipse? The Moon at this stage would be the nearest full moon to the autumn equinox and so qualify for the title of Harvest Moon. The October full moon is the Hunter's Moon, no doubt favoured by those in

the old days wishing to stock up their larders.By 9 p.m. in early October the sky should be getting sufficiently dark to allow us to venture

outdoors and do a bit of sky-sweeping. Over in the SE at around 50° altitude is the large square of Pegasus while in the SW, at an even greater height, we find the almost vertical cross-shape of Cygnus with Deneb at its top. With bright Vega (in Lyra) to the right we have the two "base" stars of the summer triangle. Search much lower down to locate the third (Altair in Aquila, the Eagle). Almost due W, at about 40° elevation, is the "keystone" of Hercules, with the "coronet" of Corona Borealis below and the almost vertical "kite" of Bootes to the right with its lowest bright star (Arcturus) grazing the skyline.

Low in the N is the nearly horizontal "bowl" of the "big dipper" -alias Ursa Major. -with its smaller relative Ursa Minor hanging well above it. Seek out the tilted "W" of Cassiopeia high in the ENE, with the stars of Perseus trailing down below it towards the skyline. Even lower is Auriga (the Charioteer) containing twinkling Capella.

Close to the horizon, in the E, is the rising "V"-shape of the Hyades cluster (containing the giant red star Aldebaran) with the more compact, hazy group of the Pleiades hovering above. The latter makes a good target for binoculars, covering an area of sky equivalent to about three moon-widths. Its brightest star is Alcyone (Eta Tauri) a white-hot giant. The cluster members number about 100 and are relatively new stars, formed only 80 million years ago. They are over 400 light years away from us

Mercury, after a good apparition, is now getting lower and fainter in the E dawn sky and will become an evening object after it overtakes the Sun on the 27th (Superior conjunction). Look for it in late November and December. Venus is an evening star, but is presently rather close to the Sun. Mars is (at magnitude 0.1) quite faint but possibly findable low in the SSW after sunset, early in the month.

Jupiter may be visible in the dawn sky, rising shortly before the Sun. It should be better positioned later in the month. Saturn is not well placed in the evening sky, being rather too close to the Sun.

Uranus is a possible target for enthusiasts. It is faint (mag.=5.7) - near the limit of naked-eye visibility even on a good clear and dark night. Although classed as a giant gaseous planet its distant location in our solar system reduces its apparent size to a few arc seconds. In a moderate sized telescope it appears as a faint greenish disc. Give it a try - if you scan the diagonal of the square of Pegasus from top right to lower left and continue on for a similar distance you should arrive near its present location. Binoculars could be a help.

The Orionid Meteors are due from the 16th to the 27th. They peak on the 22nd when you might spot one every few minutes. Fast moving, they could leave faint trails. A few early Taurids might be detected at the end of the month.

New Moon on the 1st, full Moon on the 16th. Happy sky-gazing! Malcolm Rowe.

Holiday Fellowship

Our U3A has shares in the Holiday Fellowship Organisation and many members have enjoyed Group holidays with them in the past especially walking. Do look at the 2016/7 brochure online and get in touch with Sue if your group fancies booking a holiday.

October skies


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Keeping up with the digital age

A corner of the Garden Café, Hexham, was the venue for a free session on Smart Phones and Ipads led by Gordon, a volunteer with the Northumberland Community Development Network (NCDN). After an intense hour we had all learnt much more about settings, internet security, ‘hotspots’, Apps, and Bluetooth for starters.

Now comes the experimenting at home so we can surprise everyone with our up to date knowledge-definitely Intermediate Level Users. A further session is being planned for later in the year.

The NCDN is looking for volunteers to help with supporting people of any age in their own locality make the most of the internet and digital technology. Training and support is given. Phone 01668 219879, email [email protected] or visit www.ncdn.org

Many thanks to the Garden Café and Gordon. The ‘Getting Started on the Internet’ session in October is fully subscribed. Phone Sue 604787 if you’d like to join a future session of either Intermediates or Beginners.PHOTOGRAPHYA small number of members are showing interest in setting up a Photography Group. Phone Sue if this appeals to you.TEN PIN BOWLINGWould anyone be interested in a one –off session down at the Wentworth with perhaps a view to starting a group? Cost is probably about £3-£6 depending on the time of day and whether you have an ACTIVE card. Good exercise whatever your physical ability and fun too. Phone Sue 604787.T W E N T Y Y E A R S SERVICETwenty years ago, Ray Tully started the Bookstall to raise funds for Tynedale U3A and provide a social corner of the Monthly Meeting where members would chat whilst browsing. He did not anticipate it would last so long and be appreciated by so many. Over the years he has been supported by fellow members and in recent times by Gordon Grubb. Storage problems at TMC have forced the Bookstall to close very sadly.

A huge thank you for all those years of loyalty, hard work and total reliability…….an extraordinary example to us all.

We extend a warm welcome to our new members, Anne Bayly, Bill Cairns, Margaret Earl, Lorna Scholes, Sue Wardle,Miles Middleton, John Laughlin and Sylvie Field. Tynedale U3A has something for everyone and we hope they all enjoy their group activities.

Ray and Gordon supervising the last Bookstall.


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We have been asked by Trinity to plead with members to use the doorstops properly. They have again had to replace the rubber ferrule which they say is dragged across the carpet when the doorstop is not released. This is dangerous practice and must not be done. The doorstops should be applied by pressing down with the foot and released with the foot with a gentle kick or push upwards. If any person has a problem with the doorstop please contact Bill Walton on 672025.

The Future of U3AAs Wearside U3A is the home of both the oldest and the latest ex Regional Trustee to represent us on the National Executive, we thought it was incumbent upon us to host a serious discussion on the future of U3A.

With the appointment of a new CEO and the 1,000th U3A, there are changes afoot. The views of Northumbria Region’s members should be considered when decisions are made.Please come along and let us know:

Do you feel part of a national organisation?Is there any point to the Third Age Trust?Do you know what the national committees do? Do you care?Do you value facilities offered by national office, eg insurance, advice, publicity materials, training etc?Should we employ Second Agers to do all the work for us?What is the value of the Region?

A meeting will be held on WEDNESDAY 19th OCTOBER at 2pm in The Bangladesh International Centre, Tatham Street, Sunderland SR1 2OD. We look forward to hearing your views. Can we tempt you with COFFEE and CAKE?

The Abbey Gardens, photo by Gerry Stephens, used with his permission.


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The Plight of the BumblebeeMonday November 28th at 7.30pm in Slaley Commemoration Hall (village hall) – a talk by

Shaun Hackett, Northumberland National Park ranger. This is a joint venture by Ladycross Nature Reserve with The Slaley, Healey

and Ministeracres Local History Club. Tickets are £2, and there will be a sales table and a raffle. This is to raise funds for the Activity Room at LXNR. Everyone is welcome.


Please send your contributions to the N o v e m b e r N e w s l e t t e r , t o [email protected] by Friday, 21 October.

NEXT GENERAL MEETING On Tuesday 4 October our talk is given by Dr Robert McManners and is entitled “Shafts of Light”. Dr McManners will explore the phenomenon of mining art based on the Great Northern Coalfield and puts the art into historical, sociological and industrial context.

Programme 2016 – 20172016Oct. 4th Shafts of Light Dr. Robert MannersNov. 1st The Big Lottery Fund Paul JonesDec. 6th To the South Pole with Prince Harry and the Walking Wounded Conrad Dickinson This meeting will be held in the Great Hall of Hexham Abbey.2017Jan. 3rd “a neighbour, she’s very kind to me but she’s 80. …...I think she’s 87”Janet Grime, member, RITAFeb. 7th ‘The worlds shortest stories’David Williams, authorMar 7th AGMAll at Trinity at 2.00pm except December 6th.

Please don’t forget that the popular holiday company, Riviera Travel, offers a bonus to your local U3A when you book one of its accompanied tours.

Your committeeHon. President:Pat Moore : [email protected]

Chairman:Mike Worthington : [email protected]

Secretary:Elizabeth Porter : [email protected]

Treasurer:Alistair Sinclair : [email protected]

Membership Secretary:Barbara Herring : [email protected]

Minutes Secretary:Wendy Dale : [email protected]

Group Liaison Secretary:Sue Loader : [email protected]

Newsletter Editor:Kevin Stephens : 01661 [email protected]

Events Secretary:Post currently vacant

Committee Member:Shirley Guppy : 634801


mailto:[email protected]








newsletter 1016 pub - u3asites · 2 we have been asked by trinity to plead with members to use the...

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