WOKINGHAM

NEWSLETTER July - August. 2005

The Summer Garden Party

at

Whiteknights, Finchampstead Ridges

Courtesy of Heather Bradly we are able to enjoy her beautiful gardens. Tennis court and swimming pool will be available and we shall be playing croquet and petanque/boules

Tuesday 19th July 2005, 12.00 - 4.30pm

Wokingham U3A

Chairman: Len Smith 01344 775517

Secretary: Muriel Froom

Membership Secretary: Gordon Wall, 55 Priest Avenue, Wokingham, RG40 2LT 0118 978 6021

Editor: Paul King

Registered Charity No: 1049995

WEBSITE www.wokinghamu3a.org.uk

E-group sign-up: wokinghamu3a-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Chairman's Notes By the time you read this we shall be preparing to attend the summer garden party, I do hope we shall see many of you there.

Our winter series of Monthly Meetings has now concluded and we shall meet again in September. Some of you may have been disappointed that we didn't have the talk on whales and dolphins in the Azores in May but I am sure you enjoyed Colin Mitchell's talk on English Windmills, which he presented with only about forty five minutes notice. It certainly made me look at windmills with a different view.

We are planning another "Freshers' Fair" to coincide with the September Monthly Meeting and it will be interesting to see what new activities you might like to see established. In the nature of things some groups run their course and need to be replaced or alterna-tively to be run anew, perhaps by a different group leader.

There is notification about the National AGM and conference elsewhere in this issue, and I hope some of you might consider at-tending. At least Colin and I will be there.

May I wish you all a very enjoyable summer with perhaps photographs that you feel could be entered into our photographic competition.

Len Smith

If you know of any member who is ill please inform Marion Povall so that she can contact them.

Regional Conference, A Day Well Spent

Wokingham's five representatives to the 2005 Thames Valley U3A Regional Conference found it an enjoyable and worthwhile day.

The highlight for me was the keynote speech by Rosemary McCullough, a U3A member who is still active on the professional speaker-training circuit. Rosemary not only convinced us of just how much pleasure there can be in being a group leader or committee member but warned us not to be selfish and hold on to 'office' for too long - other U3A members deserve a share of the fun.

Again speaking personally there was a great deal to be gained from a workshop on communications. Those of us serving on committees are fond of complaining that "the ordinary members just aren't interested" and it came as a shock to find that it is the 'management' at fault when this occurs. Hopefully I can put the lessons from that workshop to good use.

I also enjoyed a workshop on public speaking - more lessons to be learned.

There were other workshops attended by my colleagues and a plenary session where Lin Jonas from the National Office discussed some of the challenges facing other U3As and the Third Age Trust. However, as with any conference, the real benefit was meeting other members. All U3As are different from one another but they also have experiences and challenges in common; it was good to learn from one another.

I am sure that my colleagues, Muriel Froom, Rosemary Goldschmied, Ronnie Beecham and Len Smith, found the day as rewarding as I did. What a pity that there were three further vacancies that nobody wanted to take up. C

Colin Mitchell

Annual Garden Party

We are holding our annual Garden Party on Tuesday 19th July from 12.30pm to 4.00pm at Whiteknights on the Ridges. In case you haven't been before Whiteknights has a lovely garden which you can enjoy.

The open-air swimming pool will be open so please bring your swim-wear. There will also be tennis, petanque and croquet

Everyone is asked to bring a plate of finger food which will be shared to provide a varied selection.

Please also bring your own plate for eating off and chairs or rug for sitting on. There will be a bar with drinks at very moderate prices.

Entry will be £1.00 per person and the proceeds will go to Heather Bradley's children's charity. There will also be a charge of £1 per person using the swimming pool or tennis court.

Group News

PLEASE REMEMBER when you book holidays or suddenly decide to go out for the day that there may be a host(ess) setting out fifteen chairs, cup and saucers and a pile of biscuits. If only three people turn up and no one bothers to give notice that they will be away it can be a bit demotivating to say the least - especially if someone has gone to the trouble of preparing a paper or borrowing a video! Just a phone call is all it needs - a bit of prewarning would help too. Study groups ought not to be treated as casual entertainment. In these days when there are waiting lists for some groups the Group Leader would also be glad to know if you are opting out of the group altogether.

School's Out - Days Out

(With/without the Grandchildren) This is an A5 booklet created by a group of our Wokingham U3A members from recommendations from members and including a selection of the material available at the Wokingham Information Bureau. It is a very useful little reference aid that is helpful when you have visitors of any age. The initial print run has been snapped up. Congratulations to the team. Copies are available at £1 each plus an A5 stamped and addressed envelope sent to Pauline Riocreux at 38 Nash Grove Lane, Wokingham RG40 4HD. A limited number of copies will be available at the Garden Party.

Freshers' Fair

Once again we are intending to hold this great 'signing up' session to enable members to sign up for new and old subjects for the year from September 2005. The Fair will be run before the start of the September Monthly Meeting (3rd Tuesday of September) and will commence at midday and run up to the time of the start of the normal meeting. Bring your lunch boxes and we will have cold drinks available. This is also a good time to introduce new members so bring your friends along too. A list of suggested new groups will be publicised in the next Newsletter for the benefit of those who may be on holiday in September.

Group Leaders

A questionnaire addressed to Group Leaders and Contacts is enclosed with this Newsletter asking for information about prospects for the group in the coming year. It is important that this information is available as soon as possible so that the plans for next year can be established. Suggestions for new groups will be very welcome. Help at the Freshers' Fair would be very much appreciated from New and Mature groups to help newish members understand the nature of U3A self-help study groups. and get some idea of the subjects being studied at present

Group Financial Return

Group leaders are being asked to make a half-yearly statement to the Treasurer of money handled on behalf of group activities (a form is included with this newsletter for each Group Leader). This is not intended to include the petty cash of tea/coffee money, where a 'nil' return is sufficient. Some groups especially those that book halls on a regular basis have to keep a float to balance their outgoings and it is this sort of cash that has to be monitored by the Trustees. Also to be included would be any money collected and held for organised outings or holidays.

Copy date for the next issue is Friday 5th August

Playreading

This almost new group has got off to a good start but urgently needs at least two more readers as members are having to double up on parts at present.

Singing For Fun

Tenors are especially in demand for this group. No experience needed.

Petanque

A challenge has been accepted for a match with another U3A who have a quite large team. Now the weather is a little more clement why not contact Kenneth Ridgeay and join in the fun. There will be demonstrations and oppor-tunity to try your hand at the Garden Party.

Bells

The Hand Bell ringers are getting short of pairs of hands that are attached to people with heads that can nod in time with eyes that can see red and green circles on the music. We are a friendly group only too ready to help beginners. You don't need to be able to read the music. There are bells lying around unused and music we cannot play properly for the want of a few new members. We are aiming to take our music to Kennet Court to play to the residents there. We could do more such friendly demonstrations if we had more members. We play a wide variety of styles - excerpts from classics and Gilbert and Sullivan popular tunes, carols and songs from the shows. (We find Jazz a little too difficult). Players on Monday mornings say it sets them up for the week!

Contact Beryl Page

Croquet And Tennis

These activities take place at Whiteknights - on the Ridges - when the weather is suitable. Contact Heather Bradly.

Waiting Lists

If there are sufficient members on a group's waiting list a new group can be created but someone must act as a contact and there has to be a willingness in the group to find a way of studying or practising. Some subjects can be worked through books, audio tapes, videos and notes from the Resource Centre or the Local Library. Open University course books are available on loan. The BBC Web-site is a fund of information. Late night language programmes can be taped. Museums, and collections in Stately Homes, can provide material also. Other U3A's have provided Start-up notes that are sometimes helpful. It is not always necessary to have an experienced leader - in most cases each individual can take turns in providing the material for the meetings. (Qualified teachers come expensive and if that is what you are looking for then Wokingham & Bracknell College usually provide them.)

Response to Pauline Riocreux.

20th Century Composers (a new group)

The development of modern music

There are enormous differences between the music of Edwardian times and that of recent years

The group will listen to and consider music by major composers of the 20th century, tracing some of the changes, with the interplay of innovations and traditions

Some significant trends in music during the century should emerge, but also the many individual approaches to composition

A roughly chronological scheme will be followed, starting with late romantic composers such as Elgar and Richard Strauss, then the beginnings of modernism with Debussy and Satie

Recordings, live performances and files played on a live-like electronic piano will be used

The proposed timing and venue are 7.15 to 9.30pm Second Thursday of each month

Contact Alan Sutcliffe

Travel Group

My thanks to the members whose efforts have ensured the successful continuation of the group since I took over last year. We have enjoyed an interesting and varied series of meetings on a wide range of topics. Starting in September with video presentations and discussion, October was on the subject of travel photography. Since then we have enjoyed sharing in the travel experiences of members to Australia, Brazil, Antarctica, the Caucasus, Central America, France and the Maldives, finally winding up at the English Seaside. Newcomers and visitors are welcome, so look out for our bulletin entries for the first Wednesday afternoon of the month from September to June.

Elizabeth Manley

Starting Family History

The group has now held its first three meetings and we have made significant progress starting people on the voyage of discovery about their families histories. The group continues to be fully subscribed and there is a waiting list of several people but those of you who have rung may rest assured that you have been added to the list, even if I have not individually confirmed this. I anticipate that openings will appear as some of our members are now becoming quite proficient and knowledgeable and mov-ing away from the category of 'beginner'.

Charles Crane

Leave Monthly Meetings Alone

Approximately one member in three responded to the recent survey on monthly meetings and unanimously rejected any idea of scrapping them or having more than one such meeting each month. These members also rejected the use of school halls and showed little interest in using a larger hall outside the Town. There was, however, criticism of inadequate parking and over-crowded meetings at Saint Paul's Parish Rooms although it must be said that a few members commented that they prefer a crowded room to one that is only part full.

More than half of those who responded said that they would be in favour of moving the monthly meetings to Rose Street Methodist Church (where we would meet in the church itself). Most of those who said 'No' to the Methodist Church gave lack of free parking as the reason and many of those who said 'Yes' also expressed worries about parking. Others commented that we might find it impossible to provide refreshments at the Methodist Church or to hold a raffle.

The Committee feels that concerns over parking and refreshments at the Methodist Church and lack of enthusiasm for other alternatives mean that we should continue to hold monthly meetings in Saint Paul's Parish Rooms.

Very many thanks to the 172 members who responded to the survey, particularly those who replied even though they do not attend monthly meetings regularly. A copy of the full analysis of the results is available on request.

Colin Mitchell

Kevin Toal

It was with great sadness and regret to all the members of our German Group when we learnt of the sudden early death of Kevin. Kevin took over as convenor of our group about 18 months ago and injected his great love of language and humour into our sessions. We have all made good progress and even our German grammar has improved. His wife Erica joined us on her retirement and added some German authenticity. It was an ideal combination. We are proceeding on a D.I.Y. basis aber wir franchen einen neuen Fuhrer!

Members of the German Group

Our Third Attempt at the Haiku

The haiku is a tiny poem of Japanese origin, usually only three lines long and a total of 17 syllables. The first line consists of 5 syllables, the second seven, and the third five again.

The Poetry and Creative Writing Group first tackled this form of poetry in November 2000. Our second attempt was in February 2003. Our results were published in the newsletter.

Our third attempt was last May when we took the theme of fire - another one of the five elements in Taoist cosmology. The following are some of our efforts. (Note: there are no titles, punctuation or capital letters in this form of poetry.)

the glowing wood fire
slowly burning in the dark
makes winter nights warm

Norma Gilchrist

red glow in the sky
londons burning the east end
fire men exhausted

Rosemary Goldschmied

flames flicker and dance
enticing welcoming warm
a spark ignites death

Joan Humphries

how i live for you
my life is fire of desire
do you love me too

Mohinder Mann

flames leap hungrily
animals flee in panic
no escape from death

Ann Mayers

she stared at the fire
he promised undying love
his letters burnt well

Jean Pettitt

felt cold lit fire
flames leapt high warm now
house burned reduced to ashes

Cecily Siemssen

chestnuts in the fire
cooked pass the salt eaten
delicious treat

Pat Tucker

Rosemary Goldschmied Poetry and Creative Writing Group

The Big Idea

The Big Idea is Young and Old People Together and is an initiative by Wokingham churches to join together in a concentrated period of community events, social action, and outreach in our local area.

Working with appropriate council officials and other bodies will be key to the success of the initiative. The suggested date for the main week of events is Sunday August 20th to Sunday August 27th 2006. Some events could occur both before and after the main week.

This could be an opportunity for some of our groups to get involved such as: Art Painting, Craft, Singing for Fun, Gardening, Needle-craft etc.

For more information telephone Rose Green at Wokingham District Council (0118 974 6793)

Sixty Years Ago

July 1st Final Rally of the Borough of Heston and Isleworth Civil Defence at the Odeon Cinema. Jim went and said it was a very good show (the programme for this event is enclosed in the diary. The Borough bombing record is shown at the back of the programme and gives the number of bombs dropped as 351, numbers killed 178, and number of buildings destroyed 754. R.) Jimbo is going to Edna's people for a holiday from Monday (tomorrow) to Friday. I hope he'll have a lovely time.

July 2nd Well, Jimbo left just after 7am. The house seems awfully dull and empty without him. I hate it here without Jim.

July 6th Very hot. Had hair done at 10.15 this morning.Thought perhaps Jim would come home earlier. Had a postcard from him this morning, but he hadn't the sense to say what train he was catching. It's now 8.30pm and after waiting all day I'm feeling thoroughly fed up: feel like telling him to stop at Weston-Super-Mare if he's so fond of it. He came in just after 10pm looking very bronzed and well. I felt better at once, but dodged off into the kitchen as I felt cross too. Silly!

July 7th Blazing hot. To Dorothy Martin's wedding to Mr Sparkes at 2.30 at St Stephen's church this afternoon. Choir rambled down to meet the bride, but as they didn't sing one note, it wasn't clear why! I didn't think the service was well taken, but everybody else sighed happily, so I suppose I'm funny. Think people are awfully stiff.

Rosemary Goldschmied

Tootill Teaching Laboratories

Geoff Toothill, one of Wokingham U3A's longest serving members, has recently received recognition for his pioneering work on computers some 50 years ago. Geoff joined the U3A in 1992 and has been a leading light in our Computer group over the years.

The following article, written by Sarah Bishton, is reproduced with the permission of The Wokingham Times.

UNIVERSITY HONOURS COMPUTER PIONEER

A WOKINGHAM grandfather who helped pioneer the world's first programmable computer more than half a century ago has been honoured for his work at a ceremony in Manchester.

Geoff Tootill, 83, of Glebelands Road, was guest of honour at the opening of the Tootill Teaching Laboratories at Manchester University yesterday afternoon (Tuesday) where he invented the 'Baby' back in 1948.

Former colleagues of Mr Tootill, who worked as a research student at the university during the 1940s, attended the official opening ceremony along with current students and staff.

The 'Baby' was the brainchild of Mr Tootill, along with Freddie Williams and Tom Kilburn, professors at the university, who worked together on programmes and trials for almost a year to build the world's first electronic computer.

The invention paved the way for computer programming which has revolutionised the way people use computers today with modifications and improvements still being made to the trio's computer.

Mr Tootill, who moved to Wokingham with his wife Joyce when he retired 22 years ago, said when he found out a new teaching block to be named after him he was "absolutely thrilled".

He said: "It really was a great honour that the university decided to name this teaching block after me.

"Even though we invented the 'Baby' more than 50 years ago I can still remember that it was a magnificent achievement. All three of us worked on it for a year and it was all down to trial and error.

"Before the electronic computer, computing used to be a really slow process with people using plug boards, cables and manual methods.

"The Baby helped make mathematical calculations a lot simpler. If we hadn't have invented it someone else would have.

"We were in a race against time because there was also a rumour American scientists were trying to pip us to the post but we got there first which was a great feeling.

"Computers have been modernised over time but the pattern is still the same - you have a store, programme and control unit."

The research for the revolutionary computer was made possible after the Ministry of Aviation awarded the trio a contract to see if the idea of an electronic computer was possible.

Mr Tootill was working in telecommunications research in Malvern, Worcestershire, at the time and was sent up to Manchester University to work alongside professors Kilburn and Williams by his boss who wanted him to get a research degree.

Once the 'Baby' was born, the Meteorological Office in Bracknell was among the first to take up the new invention which enabled staff to forecast the weather more accurately.

The success of the invention took Mr Tootill onto work as an electronic engineer, a senior lecturer specialising in science at a college in Swindon and eventually teaching military officers at the Royal Aircraft Establishment in Farnborough, Hampshire.

In 1963 Mr Tootill worked at the European Space Research Organisation in Paris where he devised arrangements for ground control stations and then as assistant director of an information network project in Teddington until his retirement.

Information received from the U3A National Office.

Seminar Wednesday 29th June The European Dana Alliance for the Brain invite you to a seminar on Wednesday 29th June 12:00-14:00. Speakers: Maintaining a healthy brain. Prof Carol Brayne, Professor of Public Health Medicine Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge and Sleep. Dr Derk-Jan Dijk, Director, The Surrey Sleep Research Centre School of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, University of Surrey. Moderator: Len Smith(Len Street?) National Executive Committee. At The Dana Centre, 165 Queen's Gate, London SW7 5HE. Tubes: South Kensington, Gloucester Road. Cost: £4.00 per ticket, Payable in advance. Price includes a sandwich lunch at 12.00 Tickets not available at the door. Please apply to The Third Age Trust, 19 East Street, Bromley, BR1 1QH enclosing your cheque and sae. Tickets are limited.

Free Educational Visits Scheme. Visits to about 150 properties must be booked in advance. Free admission is granted to educational groups on condition that planned educational work is undertaken. For detailed information on opening hours, loca-tion, access and facilities please contact the appropriate regional office or visit the web site www.english-heritage.org.uk.

Each property has a web page and a link to streetmap.co.uk giving its location.

The regional office will advise on specific site facilities, such as parking etc. I have copies of the booking form.

Shared Learning at The imperial War Museum. The Imperial War Museum has invited the U3A to work with them on a Shared Learning Project this autumn. Anyone interested in finding out more about the museum and the planned Shared Learning Project is welcome to go to an introductory day on Wednesday 21st September 2005 at 11.00a.m. Those who wish to join the project will meet on succeeding eight Wednesdays until 16th November researching their chosen objects.

For further information please contact the project co-ordinator, Ian Funnell on 01372 374236 or email him directly on ian.funnel@iee.org. I do have copies of the above leaflets if any one is interested. Muriel Froom