October Newsletter
Dart Valley U3A
Registered Charity No. 115520
A VIEW FROM THE CHAIR - Gail Richmond
Hello! Have you read the latest copy of "Third Age Matters"? There are so many good articles to read and inwardly digest, including two from my favourite contributer, Eric Midwinter, one of the original founding members of U3A in this country. In writing about "The Right Approach to Older Age", he talks about a neat suburban house which was called "Avago". It was the home of Wilfrid Pickles and his wife ----- a take-off of his radio programme "Have a Go" in the fifties and sixties. Eric is reviewing a book entitled "Old Fogies, Unite! A Quirky Look at Old Times and Old Timers" by Sam Almond." Sam Almond is in his nineties, exuding optimism and positive thoughts. His book is a testament to that rightful approach to older age." Eric says "be like Sam Almond. Have a go"!!
SECRETARY’S REMINDERS - Peter Avis
Our next meeting on October 12th has a talk by Paul Rendell on West Country Buildings. We will hear about the special buildings of Devon and Cornwall - from Bronze Age round houses to Dartmoor longhouses, manor houses, farmhouses as well as ash houses and tinners’ buildings. Paul was a Dartmoor National Park Guide for over 21 years and is now a member of the Moorland Guides.
MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY – Suzie Dodsworth
Hopefully all paid up members are now enjoying the MonthlyMeeting, the talks and
activities. Any new members taking part in the group activities will I am sure find
them very enjoyable. New members always welcome.
GROUP CO-ORDINATOR - Wendy Cullen
I hope you have all enjoyed the fantastic warm weather recently. I have heard that the regatta was a great success partly due to the sunshine not to mention all the hard work of the organisers. The river looks so beautiful and the weather has lifted everyone's spirits. I am writing this again from the Algarve which I believe has been less hot at times than the UK! Now that September is upon us and a new term begins (you can't take the 'teacher' out of us!), why not think of joining something new that your U3A has to offer. I am looking forward to starting Latin in October. It will be interesting to see if I can remember any of my Latin O level course from decades ago. I really would take heed of Gail's request to step forward as a member of the committee. We only meet once a month and the meetings are very sociable. You could always just sit in on a meeting to see if it was for you. Just speak to any member if you are interested in joining us.
I am looking forward to the September meeting on 14th where we shall be given a talk by the Devon Air Ambulance men which should make fascinating listening. Put the date in your diaries now.
ARCHERY Colin Payne 07919 933891
Tuesday 10.00 a.m. Stoke Fleming Cricket Ground, Venn Lane
We have had favourable weather for archery during August which we hope will extend into September. Attendance has remained good despite some folk taking holidays. On August Bank Holiday Monday the U3A Archery Group staged an archery demonstration including a ‘have-a- go’ opportunity at the Stoke Fleming Show, which was quite a popular attraction.
BOOK GROUP Gail Richmond 01803 839269
3rd Monday afternoon 2:30-4:30 Townstal Pathfields
We shall be discussing "The Paying Guests" by Sarah Waters on Monday, September 18th at 2.30pm. This is set in 1922 and is a love story and a crime story - plenty to chew over!.
BRIDGE Judi Cotes 01803 834802
Tuesday 10 a.m.–12.00 p.m. Flavel Studio
£2 to include coffee and biscuits. Please arrive for a prompt 10am start. New members always welcome. No partner needed as we can always pair you up with another player and we are able to offer help with play if you are a bit rusty. On a sad note we heard of the death of Daphne Scorer. She will be greatly missed and the club sends our love to Derek.
CLASSICS Steve Williams 01803 833017
Classics is back. First and third Thursdays at10.15amin The Flavel Main Hall.
Thursday 19thOctober:Andrew Worley, Classics Department of Exeter University.Popular Roman Speech – (Slang in Latin - explained in Anglo-Saxon).
Thursday 2ndNovember:David Gent – one of our group members.Catullus – The shocking poet of Rome.
Everyone welcome – we only do it for fun.
CRYPTIC CROSSWORDSSally Walley 07831733383
Third Tuesday in month @10.30am.
The cryptic crossword group has taken a break for the summer and will reconvene at 10:30 a.m. on September 19th at Brown's Hotel.
DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY Alan Machin 01803 833849
Irregular Mondays 2-4pm. Stoke Fleming Village Hall
The next session is scheduled for Monday 16th October at 2 pm in the Stoke Fleming Village Hall. This will be confirmed to existing members. Any prospective new members should contact the Tutor/Convener Alan Machin by e-mail at .
FRENCH CONVERSATION Eileen Croft 01803 834663
2nd & 4th Wednesday 2.30 – 4.00 p.m. @ Flavel Green Room
The French group starts again in September: the two dates for that month are Wednesdays 13th. and 27th. Time and place as usual – Flavel Green Room 2.30 – 4.00pm. A bientot.
GARDEN GROUP Jeanie McNulty 01803 835313
Meetings take place on the third Tuesday in the month starting at 2pm, in members’ gardens; address of venues decided and notified in advance.
This group is intended to be an informal collective of gardeners who meet monthly in each others’ gardens or homes, to share ideas, skills and knowledge as well as swapping unwanted plants and seeds. Any level of ability is welcome, with any size garden, ranging from a window box or balcony to several acres! We may also wish to look at inspirational garden design and visit public gardens.
GEOLOGY John Alker 01803 833270
2nd Wednesdays 2.15 p.m. Flavel Studio - Geology
The first meeting after the summer break will be on Wednesday 13th September. In the Flavel at 2.30. Please note the new time . The topic for the meeting will be
Geological aspects of Energy.
GERMAN CONVERSATION Ingrid Sidell 01803 770870
Usually Monthly on Thursday 10.00 a.m.
Next meeting provisionally scheduled for 21st September at 2pm (may be changed). For further information contact Ingrid.
HISTORY OF ART Julie Hadley 01548 531240
We will be meeting on Friday 15th September at 2pm in the Studio at the Flavel. I will be introducing the theme for this term, which is Dutch 17th century painting, by looking at Frans Hals. If you have any favourites by Hals you are very welcome to talk about them too, just e-mail me your choices so that I can include them in the presentation if I haven't already got them. New members always welcome.
iPad for BEGINNERS Suzie Dodsworth 01803 770134
Wednesday 10-12am in Flavel Studio – dates vary
Having a break for the summer the new course starts in October. The class is full with a waiting list. However I can always add you to the list as who knows what might happen between now and the autumn.
ITALIAN Norman Cork 01803 834095
Weekly Thursday 2.30-4.00 p.m. Flavel Studio
We begin the Autumn term on September 28th and continue every Thursday at 2.30 p.m. in the Flavel Studio until November 30th. (No meeting on October 26th - Half-term week). Beginners welcome - cost is £20 for the term (payable on the first lesson) which includes all materials and tea and biscuits each week. Looking forward to seeing old friends and some new faces.
ITALIAN CONVERSATION Tasha James 0795 750 9351
Meets every Wednesday evening in the Green Room in the Flavel at 6.30 till 8 p.m. from August 6th until October 10th.
KNITTING Liz Moore 01803 833125
Meet on Mondays ring for information. Contact Liz direct.
LATIN Sallie Cooper 01803 752666
Thursdays at12:15 -1:15pm(after Classics) in the Green Room at The Flavel startingOctober 5th, 2017.
LET’S PLAY CARDS Jack Richmond 01803 839269
2nd Monday 10.00 – 12 noon - Flavel Studio
New members are always welcome and instruction gladly given. The Let’s Play Cards! group continues to enjoy playing Solo Whist at the Flavel once a month. The Let's Play Cards! group kept its hand in by having a meeting in August but now is looking forward to an Autumn of enjoyable card games. We play Solo ( which is a variant of Whist) and meet at the Flavel at 10am on the 2nd Monday of the month, namely September 11, October 9, November 13 & December 11.
MAHJONG Elizabeth Jennings 01548 580826
1st & 3rd Friday 10.00 a.m. Stoke Fleming Village Hall
Welcome back to the new season of Mah Jong sessions. As usual we will meet at the Stoke Fleming Village Hall on the 1st and 3rd Fridays in the month starting at10am. This month we have an extra session, dates areSept 1st, 15th and 29th. I am looking forward to seeing all our existing players, I have quite missed our games. New players are always welcome, why not give it a go? Get in touch by phone or email.
MEDAU Yvonne Cottam 01803 835251
Wednesday 12.30 – 1.30 p.m. St. Clement’s Church Hall, Dartmouth
A couple of new members this term. Dates to half term are 27 September,4-18th Octoberinclusive. Next half term:1st November to 13th December(7 weeks)
MUSIC Lindsay Charlesworth 01803 834592
1st & 3rd Wednesday 3.00 p.m. St. Clement’s Church, Dartmouth
Our new term got off to a fine start with Paul McClure presenting his illustrated talk on the German conductor Otto Klemperer. Once again, we came away saying this was Paul’s ‘best ever’! Apart from some fine recordings, Paul had dug out fascinating video clips of Klemperer conducting various orchestras, plus a rather strange TV interview with John Freeman. Our meeting, on 4thOctober, will have been Desert Island Discs with Christopher Helyer as our castaway. On 18thOctober we will welcome U3A member Mike Dodsworth and his lecture/recitalUnderstanding the Classical Organ. Another U3A member, Bill Hawthorne, features on 1stNovember withIrish Folk Songs. Visitors always welcome – ring Lindsay if any queries.
PATCHWORK QUILTING Joan Buscombe 01803 832662
Tuesday a.m. Ring Joan for details
PLAY READING Gail Richmond 01803 839269
2nd Friday afternoons at Jack and Gail’s house @ 2.00 pm
Having "waded" our way through lesbian sex and murder in "The Paying Guests" by Sarah Waters, we shall be reviewing a completely different sort of novel in October. The book is "Wonder" by Emma Donoghue, who famously wrote "Room". According to the "blurb", it "asks what lengths we would go to for the love of a child". The meeting will be onMonday, October 16th at 2.30pm.
PUB LUNCHES GROUP A Alan Cole 01803 752902
4th Wednesday of the month
The group last met in June and have since left the local pubs' to the holidaymakers for August. Next lunch on Wednesday 27th September - venue to be confirmed..
PUB LUNCHES GROUP B Alan Drew 01803 833219
4th Thursday of the month
The group have taken a break during August & September but hope to get together for lunch in October. The date for the meeting will be Thursday 26th, the venue is to be decided.
SCRABBLE Glenda Stephenson 01803 832693
Meet at Glenda’s home, ring for details.
SINGING FOR PLEASURE Sue McKenzie 01548 580878
Meeting at Stoke Fleming village Hall Tuesday 2pm
Anyone who wishes to come and try the group is more than welcome. Christopher Helyer leads us musically and John Keys is our accompanist. During October/ November Christopher is away for a few weeks, Peter Bolt from Kingsbridge U3A will kindly lead us in Christopher's absence. New members are very welcome. You don’t have to read music and there is no audition, feel free to come and join us in simply having fun.
SPANISH CONVERSATION Steve Smith 01803 771123
Monday 11.00 a.m.–12.30 p.m.
We meet most weeks to speak Spanish. Sometimes we have a theme, but more commonly we just chat, as best we can, following the natural flow of conversation. We are much assisted by one of our members being fluent in the language. It is not a Spanish course, although we do try to improve our skills where we can.
SPORTS MORNING Yvonne Cottam 01803 835251
Weekly Wednesday 10.00 – 11.00 a.m. Dartmouth Leisure Centre
Really good attendance currently - so some goodcompetition. Standard definitely improving.
SUNDAY LUNCH Anne Taylor 01803 363257
2nd Sunday of the month.
The group met at Radius 7 and had a very enjoyable meal. Next lunch,Sunday, 10th Sept, 12.30pmat the Green Dragon, Stoke Fleming. New members very welcome. Please contact Anne on the above details.
THEATRE VISITS Rosemary Minshall 01803 770300
Roughly monthly trips to local theatres. Contact Rosemary for details.
Since our last report we have been to a few shows, mostly at the Theatre Royal.
In early July a few of us gathered together to see Sister Act again. We had enjoyed it so much previously that we went again and were not disappointed. A standing ovation at the end and thoroughly enjoyed. Then again in July we went to see Gilbert and Sullivan’s ‘Patience’ at the Little Theatre, great fun and enjoyed by one and all, it is a very small stage but amazing how well they manage to produce shows and for an amateur production I don’t think I have ever heard the need for a prompt. A week later we decided to try Gansta Granny at the Theatre Royal. The theatre was full of enthusiastic school children but in no way did that detract from our enjoyment. It is of course one of David Walliam’s books, I had seen the video before but being put on stage was not a disappointment and there is talk of one of his other books ‘Awful Aunty’ coming to the stage later in the year. Once again in early August the Theatre Royal saw us down for the matinee of Funny Girl. I didn’t enjoy this one so much but was definitely out voted by almost everyone else. We had two new members that day and they were very enthusiastic, particularly as one of them had met the original Funny Girl many years ago when living in America.
Later on in September we will be seeing ‘Beautiful’, another musical, which is based on the story of Carol King and in October we will be seeing the Royal Birmingham Ballad’s production of ‘Aladdin’. The ballets they put on are usually wonderful productions, beautiful dancing and spectacular scenery and costumes.
TRAINS, BOATS & BUSES Jack Richmond 01803 839269
Quarterly outings by public transport.
The next visit of the Trains, Boats and Buses Group will be to the Exeter Islamic Centreon Wednesday, November, 29. There will be a guided tour of the Mosque and also some free time in Exeter for lunch and shopping. We will be catching the X 64 bus in Dartmouth at 9.25 and should be back by6pm. Further details in the November newsletter.
WALKING Linda Barker 01803 269549
Monday 9.30 a.m. @ Community Centre, Ivatt Rd, Townstal
New members are always welcome. Destinations are decided on the day dependent on weather/transport. Usually 3-6 miles with a shorter, flatter walk on the last Monday of the month. A packed lunch + drink recommended.
WINE GROUP - NOBLE ROTTERS Anne Taylor 01803 363257
Wine tasting group “Noble Rotter’s” meets 4th Thursday of the month 7.00pm at homes. Gardens or the Royal Castle Hotel in the Library Room
We were joined by three new members for our September meeting which focussed on Spanish wines. The wines chosen were from the £5 - £7.50 price range and most of us agreed the stand out wine was Batturrica Gran Reserva from Lidl priced at £4.99! In fact two other wines from Lidl, a white and a rose were also a hit with the group proving that Spanish wine can offer great taste at a very competitive price. We also took the time to look ahead and plan some upcoming meetings which will include tasting a selection of Aldi wines (these consistently top many taste tests), a roundup of sparkling wines and a Christmas lunch.
WINE TASTING Peter Blundred 01803 834065
Monthly Monday evening 7.00 pm (see below for dates)
At our August wine tasting we were transported to Portugal once more to explore wines from the Setubal and Lisboa regions close to Lisbon. Cocktails made with white or pink port warmed us up and helped us forget the rain outside. All the wines were very drinkable and reasonably priced, the only drawback being we have to travel to Portugal to buy them (all the more reason for going!). Hopefully we are now back on track after cancelling our tastings in June and July as so many of us were away. Our next wine tasting is in Stoke Fleming on 4 September, and the one following will be in Kingswear on 2 October.
WRITERS Lindsay Ellwood 01803 832134
Third Monday each month 10.00 – 11.30 a.m. Dartmouth
Website showing examples of members' writing: contact Lindsay for details.
OPEN TO ALL AT THE FLAVEL
YOGA Amanda Dyer 07851 033762
Thursday 9.30 a.m. Flavel Studio
ZUMBA Leanne Smith
Monday 10.30 a.m. Main Hall Flavel
Several U3A members attend a Zumba class in The Flavel – every Monday morning at 10.30 – and the professional leader chooses tracks suitable for age of the knees of the group! New girls give it a try all the time, so feel welcome to come and see what that Latino music on a Monday is all about. Zumba will run in August but not on the Bank Holiday.
Timetable Summary
Day / Morning / Afternoon / EveningMon / Easy walking,
Knitting
Let’s Play Cards
Spanish Conversation
Writers
Zumba / Book Group
Digital Photography
Scrabble / Wine Tasting,
Tues / Archery
Bridge,
CrossWords,
Patchwork Quilting / Singing for Pleasure
Garden Group
Weds / Pub Lunch A
iPad for Beginners
Sports Morning / French Conversation Medau
Music
Geology
Thurs / Monthly Main Meeting (£2)
Archery (if postponed)
Classical History Studies
German Conversation
Pub Lunch B
Yoga / Italian
Latin / Noble Rotters wine group
Fri / MahJong / History of Art
Play Reading / Drawing Landscape and Townscape
Sun / Sunday Lunch
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