0611 Newsletter

WOKINGHAM U3A NEWSLETTER SEP - OCT 2006

Tuesday 21st November

St Paul's Parish Rooms 2.00 pm

Monthly Meeting

The History of Posts - English Letters

1459 to 1661

Malcolm Ray-Smith

Would you like to discover what was contained in POW, active service and official correspondence during the English Civil War and to learn about the history of the posts run by merchants, common carriers and civil foot posts in earlier times? Then come along to a power point display and talk to be given by Malcolm Ray-Smith, a long time resident of Wokingham, which will tell you about these, with illustrative examples, and also continue the story of the posts up to the first British handstruck postmark in 1661

Wokingham U3A

Chairman: Colin Mitchell, 0118 978 2824, e-mail colinfmitchell@hotmail.com

Secretary: Muriel Froom

Membership Secretary: Mrs Carole Beswetherick, 31 Hatch Ride, Crowthorne, RG45 6LF, 01344 771303

Editor: Paul King

Registered Charity No: 1049995

WEBSITE www.wokinghamu3a.org.uk

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

A View From The Chair

'Many hands make light work' seems to be a growing practice in some groups. In these a small team shares the conventional convenor or group leader role and my view is that this should be welcomed. In many ways it is a natural progression from the practice in some groups of members committing themselves to, say, keeping the attendance list, preparing refreshments or collecting money and paying rent.

Groups which are operated by teams rather than an individual have many advantages; not the least being that they are in keeping with a self-help learning organisation. I hope that this trend to team leadership continues. One plea though - will group teams please make sure that the Groups' Co-ordinator, Phyll. Smith, knows who to contact within the group.

I frequently get second or third hand reports that members don't come to monthly meetings "Because there is never any room" or "Because it's impossible to park a car". Are these real problems or just a myth? If there are really members who want to come to monthly meetings (or meetings of groups) then please tell me and I'll see what can be done about it.

There is a growing feeling that it is time to run a series of workshops similar to the 'Preparing for Later Years' series of a few years ago. These workshops offered a forum for members to come together and start preparing for some of the difficulties of age, for example managing without a car or coping with bereave ment. Interested? If so contact me with suggestions for subjects to be examined and, of course, your offers to help.

This Newsletter carries the initial notice for our Annual General Meeting (AGM) in March 2007. The AGM is one vehicle for you to influence the way that our U3A operates. The first step on this is to get an appropriate item added to the agenda; to do so contact the U3A's Secretary, Muriel Froom.

Colin Mitchell, Chairman

AGM & Conference of the Third Age Trust, 4th to 6th September 2006.

About 500 U3A members from across Britain attended the AGM and Conference at the University of Chester. Janice and Colin Mitchell represented Wokingham U3A and carried the U3A's three votes between them.

AGM. The main business of the AGM was to receive the Annual Report; this was approved and copies are held by Wokingham's Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer if you wish to see one. This was the third and last AGM chaired by Keith Richards and the meeting elected Jean Goodeve as the new Chairman of the National Executive Committee (NEC).

The Treasurer reported a satisfactory financial position with no need to increase the present capitation of £2.50 per member. However, he put the AGM 'on notice' that there may be a need to increase it next year. In response to questions the Chairman and Treasurer spoke on insurance issues. In particular:

CONFERENCE.
Most of the Conference took place with delegates working in groups of twenty or so to discuss and offer recommendations for on three issues:

Meeting Increased Membership
The demand for membership of U3A varies across the country. Many U3As have as many enquiries as they can comfortably handle and this may be the majority. Other U3As have too many enquiries while some are suffering from falling memberships. The response to demand varies; some U3As, like Wokingham, are happy to grow and find that the newer members help to keep the U3A alive. Other U3As close their doors and help those people on the waiting list to form a new U3A; some U3As unfortunately just close their doors. There were indications that some U3As who close their doors come to regret it because people on the waiting list form another U3A or find another interest - the original U3A can then find itself dying. Considerable emphasis was put on the fact that U3A has neither a minimum nor a maximum age limit. The sole criterion is that members shall not be in full-time, gainful employment.

The Provision for Continued Learning
Government funding for Continuing Learning is being withdrawn from non-vocational subjects and many U3As are finding that new members join in order to continue what they did previously in local colleges. Some U3As are proactive in developing appropriate U3A classes and even recruiting local education lecturers as group leaders/lecturers. Most U3As simply formed new groups to meet fresh requirements but noted that it was difficult to recruit group leaders. Some members felt that some continuing learning money should be diverted to U3A. However, the majority felt that Government money would have too many strings attached to it and should not be accepted without very careful consideration of the possible drawbacks.

The Future Structure of the Third Age Trust
The NEC saw this as the most important discussion point and asked working groups to spend at least half of their time on it. This did not always happen, mainly because the groups found the other two topics more interesting. Facilitators emphasised that the proposals published in U3A News and sent separately to U3As were proposals and not plans; this was repeated later by the Chairman. It was also emphasised that the principal aim of the proposals was to provide a structure that would help U3A members to feel closer to and more involved with the Third Age Trust, NEC and National Office.

The main outcomes from the discussions seemed to be: " Little appreciation of why a change was seen to be necessary.

If you know of any member who is ill please inform Janice Mitchell on 0118 978 2824 so that she can contact them. Janice has taken over this valuable role from Marion Povall. Our thanks go to Marion for her contribution over several years. Ed

2007 is the 25th anniversary of U3A in Britain and one part of the nation-wide celebrations will be an anniversary cruise that embraces the National Conference. This will be open to all U3A members and their friends.

15th September. The Portugese-registered MV Athena sails from Falmouth at 4.00 pm (embark 12.30).

17th September. Scilly Isles - optional excursions to Tresco and the Abbey Gardens.

The voyage includes a number of U3A Conference sessions as well as the usual cruise receptions and meals.

The cruise completes ashore in Falmouth with the AGM which can also be attended by any U3A member.

Cost per person ranges from £129.00 (economy) to £899.00 (owners suite) plus travel to and from Falmouth. Deposits range from £50.00 to £180.00

Bookings may be made through the operators, Travelscope, on 0870 0625014 quoting U3A SAGA. See also www.travelscope.co.uk/u3a Travelscope is offering coach services between Falmouth and many British locations. They will also provide free parking at Falmouth if it is booked with them in advance. Wokingham U3A will not be providing a booking service for the cruise; neither will it be able to answer queries.

Joyce and I are retiring from the job of organising the distribution of the Newsletters and monthly Diaries and our last distribution will be in December 2006.

Please note that all expenses such as purchase of stamps and envelopes are recoverable from the Treasurer and an advance of expenses would be made if necessary.

The "stuffing" meetings are convivial occasions where much advice is offered to those in charge of the world as to how they should conduct their affairs.

Would those interested please contact the Chairman, Colin Mitchell (0118)9782824.

Preliminary notice of the Annual General Meeting to be held on Tuesday 20th March 2007 at St. Paul's Parish Rooms, Reading Road, Wokingham, at 2.00p.m.

To include any items for the agenda or Motions to be put to the membership at the AGM please notify the Secretary. Muriel Froom, 1 Merton-ford, Page's Croft, Wokingham. RG40 2HQ.

After five years I shall be giving up as convenor of the above group at the end of this year. Fortunately, Jean Pettit (0118 978 3324) who has been a member of the group since its inception, has agreed to take over from me with effect from January 2007, so I'm happy to leave it in her capable hands.

The group is flourishing with 16 members and room for more. We have changed venue from Argyll House to the Jolly Farmer, on the road from Winnersh to Hurst, where we have been made very welcome. Playing as we do on the first and third Mondays of the month at 10.30am, not a period of peak demand, we play at no charge, with just the tacit assumption that at noon we will buy ourselves a drink or two.

We played a slightly disorganised but very enjoyable home match against Swindon U3A (they had eleven players, we regrettably, only 9, so they lent us one) which resulted in a draw, as far as could be ascertained by a discussion over lunch.

The game is quite easy, chance playing as important a role as skill, and we would welcome any members who would like to come along. We have a quantity of U3A boules so you don't need to have your own (though most of us do).

After leading this group for three years I have given up the leadership role. Kim Madden and Margaret William have taken over from me as group contacts.

Do you enjoy studying old maps or documents? A small group of U3A members decided in July 2006 to form a Local History Group. After discussion it was agreed that it would be a research group looking initially at some of the history of Wokingham Town.

Having read the booklet "An Account of Early Victorian Wokingham " they found it an interesting introduction to the Wokingham of 1851 and decided that a comparison with the information in the 1901 Census could suggest a view of the development of Wokingham in the second half of the nineteenth century. This activity has just begun.

The process of correlating the 1901 Census returns involves the study of documents and old maps enlivening the cold facts. Sometimes one comes across interesting side trails and new members would be welcome to take part in the main study or other aspects of the history of Wokingham in that period. Computer skills are not essential but an interest in studying documents would be required.

For more information please contact Christine Holland, Paul King or Colin Mitchell.

The Tai Chi group would welcome new (and lapsed) members. Tai Chi is an exercise for improving the health of mind and body. It is based on an ancient Chinese martial art, but we practice it in a gentle (soft) way.

We are learning the 24 movements of the short form of Tai Chi, a series of movements performed in a slow, relaxed and harmonised way. We revise the form most weeks so it's easy for beginners to join in.

We meet each Friday in the upper room at Woosehill Community Centre from 3:00 to 4:00.

Have you ever thought of recording your Life Story (Memoirs) Stories and events that make up the social history of our time.

Do you have stories about your life and earlier generations that may interest your children or grandchildren? How about those family stories that have been handed down through the generations? Perhaps there is a box of family photographs that really does need to be sorted out and labelled - and their story told. Or maybe, having already started on your family history, you would like to record the stories that have come to light about your ancestors.

Whether you consider recording any of these in a written, spoken or pictorial format - this may be the time for you to get started!

I am proposing to start a "LIFE STORY" group - to take place on the second Thursday morning each month, from November 2006 - July 2007. Essentially the group will run to an organised program and members of the group will be encouraged to actively participate at each meeting. If you would like to know more about this group - please come to the inaugural meeting - to be held on Thursday 9th November 2006 at 10.00 - 12.00 in the upstairs room of the Woosehill Community Centre (near Morrisons' supermarket)

It would be appreciated, if you intend to come to this meeting, that you contact: Brenda Freeman 0118 978 4768

A new beginners group on tracing family history will start in the New Year. This will be run by Tony Weston and aims to help anyone who wants to start tracing their family history but hasn't a clue where or how to start. It assumes no previous knowledge or experience and doesn't require your to own or use a computer.

The intention is to provide practical hands on assistance and to guide people through each step of the process of tracing their ancestry.

This new group aims to help those with no, or very little computer experience, to use the Internet to assist their family history research. If you are attending Tony Weston's 'Starting Family History' or have undertaken family history research before the Internet Era then this group may be for you.

We hope to run this group at Emmbrook School where there is a collection of modern personal computers available to us.

The Genealogy group met at the Emmbrook School in October. We had the use of a very pleasant room and were able to use their computer facilities to access the Internet. It was certainly very different to the classrooms of our childhood. We have decided to meet there during 2007 so that as well as having talks on various topics we can also utilise the Internet whenever we want.

When you receive this newsletter the Open House will have been and gone. I would like to thank the Sub Committee who did so much work to support the project ie Kay MacDonald, Martha Mason, Peter North, Stuart Slocombe and Patsy Thornton. What a team! Their help was invaluable. I would also like to thank all convenors and group leaders who agreed to come and contribute as well as Muriel Froom and Rosemary Jenkins who organised all the smart new name badges - then of course the MOTO group volunteers who helped Kay MacDonald organiser of the refreshments. Last but not least all the members who came or brought a friend or neighbour.

Now to other Group News. I told you last month that Colin Mitchell would lead a Digital Photography Group. However it now will be Philip Lewis. Colin meanwhile has got a Local History Group going until such time as a leader presents.

Jean Steptoe is giving up Music and Movement after 3 years - a generous contribution to U3A. Margaret Williams and Kim Madden will take over. Our warm thanks to Jean and to the Duo replacing her.

Rosemary Goldschmied is giving up Poetry and Creative Writing. Thank you so much Rosemary for all you have done for the group. Happily Jean Pettitt is to take over. Our thanks to Jean.

Mohinder Mann has kindly offered to restart Comparative Religion in the New Year. You may remember this was previously run by Ronnie Beecham who is sadly missed and who contributed so much to U3A.

A recent MOTO III short break in Lille was very successful. We travelled by Eurostar and stayed in a very central hotel. The city has beautiful buildings and plenty of things to do and see. The people were hospitable and friendly and we enjoyed excellent food and wine. Some French friends of mine came by train from Dunkerque to see me and took me to an exclusive pastry and chocolate shop that their family had owned for 100 years. The shop, called Meert, was founded in 1761 and the old style and elegance retained. If ever you are in Lille don't miss this treat.

Lastly it was very heartening on Sept 10th at a Memorial Service for the War Dead, held in front of a massive impressive War memorial, that the first music played was our National Anthem followed by the Marseillaise, We were much touched.

In June we went on a Holiday to Italy as seen advertised in U3A News - Hidden Cities of Tuscany and Umbria (6 days) organised by Tailored Travel. There were 32 in our party all from different branches of U3A all over the country. We stayed in a spa town - Chianciano Terme and excursions each day all inclusive. Our tour manager Ludovico (Ludo) was very knowledgeable on the history of each place we visited.

Our coach driver Artur was excellent and very considerate. We visited Pienza - location of some scenes from the "English Patient", Abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore, Arezzo - a walled hillside medieval town, Cortona - an ancient city, Torgiano for wine tasting and tour, Orvieto an Etruscan town with a stunning cathedral, Montefalco and Todi. Our last day was an optional whistle-stop walking tour of Rome! with Ludo, (our luggage was left on the coach in the safe keeping of Artur) before returning to the airport for our early evening flight home.

Many people have enjoyed the diary extracts of Rosemary Goldschmied's Aunt. A suggestion has been made that other U3A members might be willing to share some of their memories of times past. Please think whether you have experiences which may be of interest to our readers.

Did you enjoy October's monthly meeting when Professor Glenn Gibson of Reading University spoke to us. If so, you might be interested in the 2006-2007 series of public lectures arranged by the university. All of the University Public Lectures start at 8pm and are held in the Palmer Building on the University's Whiteknights campus. Lectures are free to attend and no ticket is required.

Details of the lectures may be found on their website or by phoning the University's Communications Office on 0118 378 7110.

I read your View from the Chair in the September/October newsletter and my first reaction was - I don't believe it! How can some of our members be so ignorant of what is going on when we have an excellent bimonthly newsletter, plus two free publications on the national level -U3A News and Sources.

On further thought however, I can believe it, there is a percentage of our members who, when I have mentioned something in the newsletter, say 'Oh. I don't bother to read that!

As for the Diary included in the newsletter this is also not consulted by some. Convenors I am sure will have had experience of members who:- a) turn up on the wrong day b) come at the wrong time or c) forget to come at all!

This is a lamentable situation when one considers all the hard work that goes into the compilation of the newsletter, plus the free time given by those members who volunteer to stuff the envelopes; no mean task with 700 members or more. Sad to think that after delivery a proportion of these will lie around unread.

You have pointed out that grievances can be aired in the newsletter, and the editor said some time ago that he would welcome letters. I am copying this letter to Paul King, and if you agree, he has permission to print it, it might lead to a lively debate on a letters page.

Anyway, perhaps you and I are wasting our time going into print on this matter because the people it concerns will not be reading the newsletter!

November 20th. Am trying hard to get everything really cleared up and tidy by Christmas. If everything is really tidy it's not so hard to keep it so. Am also going to knit up all the wool I have before getting any more. High time I took myself in hand and really got down to clearing out the rubbish.

November 29th. Went to the river with Jim this afternoon. The river was in full flood, and the man ferried us over in the small boat: the first time I've ever been in it, he rowed us down to the island then up to the ferry steps on the other side. We thoroughly enjoyed our walk and went a little further than usual, under the bridge then up Water Lane. The things in the shops are really an appalling price, over £6 for a lamp shade.

December 8th. This evening at 10.10 PM the postman brought two telegrams, one for us and one for Dad, from the nursing home in Honiton saying 'William Reynolds has had a stroke: advise visiting". What sorrow we felt yet had to think quickly the best thing to do to help Uncle Bill if possible and not to worry Dad.

December 9th. In the morning Jim took Dad's telegram to him and decided to go to see Uncle Bill tomorrow. Rang Fred (her sister Frederica. R.) and told her about Uncle Bill. We are so very, very sorry, but looking at it sanely Uncle Bill did what he wanted to do, and enjoyed eight years of country living, and at the end he was not friendless.

December 10th. Lovely morning, though cold. Jim started off in time to catch the 9am train to Honiton. He arrived home at 11.30pm. Uncle Bill was unconscious and only roused for a moment and didn't know him. Monday December 16th. Telephoned Honiton. The Sister said Uncle passed away at 9.50pm last- night without regaining consciousness. God rest his soul. Jim has arranged for the funeral to be on Friday at 2pm. Bert (her brother-in-law. R.)will take the service.

Friday December 20th. Bitterly cold and slippery, really dangerous. Jim, Bert, and George (my father. R.) to Honiton for Uncle Bill's funeral.

December 25th. Had a lovely day at Ronnie's(Jim's nephew) Billy and Olweri were there with their two children. Ronnie brought us home in the car.

December 26th. Mr. and Mrs. Sevier and their French-Canadian friend Lottie, Mr. and Mrs. Gowlett, Mr. and Mrs. Klopke, and all of us, together with Ted a friend of David's, made a lovely party at Dad's.

December 31st. The bells are ringing. Big Ben strikes 12. Goodbye 1946. Hail 1947.