U3A BULLETIN No 6 – JANUARY 2017
Dear U3A Member
FEBRUARY GENERAL MEETING
We look forward to seeing you at the meeting on Wednesday 8th February (10.30 a.m. in the Malthouse Suite in the Conservative Club, as usual) when we look forward to Peter Tyldesley’s presentation enticingly titled “Colourful Characters of Bradgate Park”.
LIONS GRANT AWARD
We are delighted to be able to confirm that SADU3A has been awarded a grant of £606 from the Rothley & Soar Valley Lions to help meet the costs of some of the remaining items on our equipment “shopping list”, after we had used up the £1000 grant from East Midlands Airport Communities Fund, reported in November.
Our warmest thanks and appreciation go the Rothley & Soar Valley Lions Club for their generous support. (In making the award, the Lions paid tribute to the significant contribution that SADU3A is already making to enrich the lives of the local community.)
The Club, part of the Lions Clubs international organisation, is looking for new members to help them continue their programme of fundraising for local good causes. They meet twice a month, with a business meeting held in the Rothley Court Hotel on the second Monday and a social gathering on the fourth. Three major events form the central core of their activities – the Annual Lions 10K Road Race around Rothley, the Lions Annual Golf Competition held on the Beedles Lakes course and a Christmas food collection from which up to 200 “hampers” are made up for distribution to those in the area who are in need of some Christmas cheer.
If any Member of the U3A would like more details, with a view to joining this excellent local charitable cservice Club, please contact Club President Steve Hickling Tel: 01509 733 670 email:
MEMBERSHIP SATISFACTION SURVEY
The Executive Committee are putting the final touches to a short Membership Satisfaction Survey which, it is planned, will be sent out to all Members later in the month with a request that the completed returns should be submitted by no later than Friday 10th March – two days after the monthly General Meeting.
The views of as many Members as possible would be greatly appreciated and will be used to guide our development through the coming year. Please co-operate.
LOST – CAN YOU HELP?
At the November Open Day, a cream-coloured “heavy duty” office Sellotape dispenser was left behind but has not been handed in to the Office at the Community Centre. If any Member has taken it in for safekeeping, pending identification of the owner, I would very much appreciate being re-united with it! (Colin Grimes)
MUSIC APPRECIATION GROUP
We had the first Musical Appreciation Group meeting at the Hub Café ( upstairs ) on Monday, 16th January. There were only 5 of us but it was a most enjoyable session. I know more will be coming to the next meeting on 20th February but there is plenty of space for anyone who wishes to join us for an hour of beautiful music and interesting talk. And, of course, a good cup of tea or coffee afterwards ! You don't need to bring anything except, perhaps, a small notebook and a pencil . Ros Marriott email:
CROCHET GROUP
After being on display at the U3A Anniversary Exhibition, the blanket and cushion covers made by the Crochet Group were donated to LOROS in time for Christmas.
In the letter thanking the group for their support, LOROS gave some interesting information about their charity.
“Over 2,500 individuals receive patient care from LOROS every year. The hospice costs £870 every hour to run and they need to raise two-thirds of this amount, a total of £5 million each year. To achieve this, they are entirely dependent on the dedication, commitment and generosity of supporters, volunteers and staff. Clare Harwood LOROS Fundraising Co-ordinator
SUPPER GROUP
The Supper group continues to attract new members so we must be doing something right although every venue varies. We have planned a variety of places to dine but, as none of them wanted us to book before the new year, they have to be confirmed.
It is important that our members remember that we dine on the 4th Wednesday monthly, usually meeting at 7pm. In 2017, some of the tried and tested eateries will be re-visited with new ones added.
The Supper Group evening for Februaryis Wednesday 22nd, at the Harrow Inn, Melton Road, Thurmaston. The time is booked for 6.45pm for anyone who wants to order from the specialearly menu of two meals for £10 booked before 7pm. We are in the Garden room as on our previous visit. Please advise Val D'Arcy email: or Pam Green email: if you will be coming in case we need to alter the number of people we have booked for.
PARCHMENT GROUP
The Parchment Craft Group were pleased to welcome new members, resulting from the Open Day in November, at their January meeting.
Starting from a blank piece of parchment, they traced and embossed a design and each took away a completed card.
If anyone else would like to join us from 2-4 pm on the third Wednesday of the month at St Hilda's Church Hall, East Goscote we do have plenty of room.
Over the next few sessions we will be making small boxes, money envelopes and cards for different occasions.
For further information please contact Lyn Palmer Tel: 0116 2606889
email: .
GARDENING GROUP
The Gardening Group got the year off to a flying start with 38 members attending the January meeting, including five who signed up at the Open Day.
First of all, we enjoyed some wonderful videos that Gardening Group members, Cynthia and John Baker had produced. These included some short films of gardens that they had visited. But the real highlight for us was a video that they had made of our garden visits throughout last year. There were some shots of the lovely gardens that we had been to - how interesting to see Easton Walled Garden in the winter with the snowdrops, followed by images of our return visit later in the year to see the sweet peas. And we really enjoyed the clips of group members, wandering around, smelling the flowers, commenting on what they were seeing and tucking into tea and cake. Cynthia had filmed the tour guide at the Botanic Gardens, who used a specially designed paving pattern to demonstrate how the mathematical Fibonacci Sequence works. At last, I understood and could see how this pattern is replicated in the natural world.
During the tea break, members organised themselves into small groups for a gardening quiz that was to follow. On arrival, everyone had drawn a ticket with a flower name to correspond to one of the groups. So the tea break was punctuated with comments such as : "I'm a tulip - where are the rest of the tulips!" The quiz, which had been prepared by two of the group members, Kate Hill and Susan Gamble, was, I think members would agree, quite a challenge. But there was a lively buzz of discussion and a lot of laughter. The "Scillas" were the winners and were all awarded with little pots of crocuses as their prize.
We are all now looking forward to our snowdrop visit to Launde Abbey on 16th February (deadline for final numbers 8th February) and another successful year of garden visits and activities. Sue Blaxland
ORNITHOLOGY GROUP
These “tweetings” conclude our first year as SAD Birders, and I would like to thank everyone involved in the Group for making our outings so pleasurable and informative, especially Robin for suggesting the venues and leading the trips, everybody who has kindly offered lifts in their cars, and Kerry, who has let us all off the hook by inputting all of our sightings onto a very impressive database.
December was a very busy month for the group, with four outings,including one change of venue due to a freezing morning coupled with thick fog and frost. In the early part of the month we went to Eldernell RSPB reserve near Peterborough, where we were lucky enough to see about 7 Cranes and a Peregrine falcon which landed in the field in front of us. From there we continued on to Deeping Lakes to have another look for the elusive Long Eared Owls. Once again we were lucky because they were there, hiding amongst the ivy, but only really visible through a telescope.
The next venue, before Christmas, to Swithland Reservoir, saw yet another cold, grey damp day, but nevertheless we saw lots of Goldeneye and Tufted Ducks, and a very handsome Buzzard posing majestically for us. We retreated, frozen, to the Mountsorrel Heritage Centre for refreshments, and a very rewarding walk round their nature trail, seeing Goldcrests, Coal and Marsh Tits and Tree Creepers.
After Christmas, the chosen venue was Eyebrook Reservoir, but this was switched to Cossington Meadows due to the weather. Amongst the Mute Swans were two Whooper Swans, easily identified by their bright yellow bills.
The Eyebrook Reservoir trip followed a few days later, where the highlight was a clear view of the elusive Little Owl, which was in hiding on a previous visit, when it poured with rain and we had to dry out over lunch in a nice pub!
Footnote from Kerry-Anne Bark:
The totals of wildlife species for 2016 as follows:
Birds 112 species + 1 hybrid greylag/farmyard goose
Butterflies: 6 (that will change in 2017!)
Dragon/damselflies: 5
Mammals: 5 (strangely the hare we saw at Eyebrook wasn't logged).
2017's list should increase as I hope to add such as Wood Warbler, Redstart, Pied Flycatcher, Woodlark, Hawfinch, Siskins, S.E.O and quite a few more butterflies.
If anyone wants to take on the responsibility for logging all wild flowers from snowdrops right through to October, please do so, as these are important too.
CREATIVE WRITING GROUP STARTS A NEW CHAPTER
For the first year Pat Wherton took the Group through a program covering writing styles and techniques. She has now moved on to a different project and I have been persuaded to take over from her.
Let me introduce myself. I am Julie Johnson and I joined the U3A in the Summer of 2016, having retired in the Spring. I am returning to creative writing after a long break when work, and life in general, led to it taking a back seat. The Group has helped me recapture my desire to write and to get my creative juices flowing again. Robin Perry has kindly offered to help out, an offer I have gladly accepted. His past membership of other writing groups, will be valuable. Thanks Robin!
I regard my role as very much that of a facilitator for the group. Like Robin, I have been involved with other writing groups in the past, where members have shared their workwith a view to receiving constructive feedback. I would like to see the Group go down this route. However, I am aware that some of the new members, who came forward at the Open Day, may want to look at techniques. In addition they may also be seeking triggers to get them writing e.g. a topic to go away and write about. I feel it should be possible to accommodate all of these elements. All that said, I am quite happy to try and facilitate whatever group members would like to do (within reason!). I would stress that the aim is to create a friendly environment where people will encourage each other, whether they are beginners or experienced writers, and whether they are writing for purely personal reasons, or looking to share their work more widely.
The Group will continue to meet on the 4th Thursday of the month, as it has been doing, but with a later start time of 2.00 pm. We will be meeting at the Methodist Hub on the High Street, rather than the Community Centre
As the group is taking a new path, there may be other U3A members who are interested in joining us, but were not able to come to the Open Day. Please feel free to contact me through the website link for more information. Email:
AMBLING GROUP
The Ambling group meets at the war memorial in Syston at 2.00 pm on Wednesday 8th February to walk approximately 3 miles locally. So if you feel like getting fit for the new year or just want to chat with friendly like-minded people and ramble along, please feel free to join us. New members are always very welcome. Phyl Wilson email:
THEATRE/DAYS OF INTEREST GROUP
a) “TOP HAT” at Kilworth – A provisional booking has been made for a matinee performance of “Top Hat” on Wednesday 23rd August starting at 2.30 p.m.
Cost: £45 including ticket and coach transport.
It is planned to arrive at Kilworth at 12 noon in order for you to enjoy a picnic in the beautiful grounds.
Please confirm if you would like to join the party. Payment will be required before the end of February. Contact: Janet Downes:
b) “THE RED SHOES”: Curve Theatre , May 18th This trip is now full . Please ensure payment by March 8th
c) “BLOOD BROTHERS” - Elaine Yarwood has made a provisional booking for at The Curve on Wednesday October 18th. This is an evening performance. The cost is £34.50 but there could be a 10%discount if over 10 seats are booked. If you are interested please let Elaine know at We are very grateful to Elaine for making this booking and it would be great if we could have an officialTheatre Group. Perhaps someonewho is also interested in theatre visits would like to share this role.