G gu ildf GG

Registered Charity

No 296975

GUILDFORD AREA Spring 2020Issue No 72 Editor: Margaret Morgan

email editor@guildfordu3a.org.uk

SPRING NEWSLETTER

Dear GU3A members,

This is the first opportunity I have had to talk tothe whole membership about our financialproblems. You will probably have heard thatmany of our venues put up their hire fees duringthe past year, one by as much as 60%. Inaddition, the Third Age Trust has doubledBeacon charges and increased the magazinesubscription. Obviously, our money only comesin once a year when everyone joins or renewstheir membership, so that left us in somedifficulty.

The membership voted to increase the annualsubscription by £5 to £30 at the AGM;unfortunately a motion to increase it to £35 wasvoted down. It will definitely have to go up atthe next AGM in November to cover our costs.This would be with effect from September 2021.There are two ways out of this situation: toreduce our outgoings and to increase ourrevenue. Some groups have been asked tochange venue. Some have been asked to reducethe number of their meetings. All groups whichmeet in venues paid for by GU3A will have tofinish their meetings by 31st May 2021. We havecancelled the Group Leaders’ lunch this year.Our Secretary, Sonia, has been busy applying forgrants and sponsorship from various bodies. Ifyou know of anyone who might be willing tosponsor us could you please let Sonia know. OurTreasurer, Mike, has devised a 3-year recoveryplan, details of which can be found elsewhere inthis issue.

COVID-19KEEP YOURSELF SAFE

KEEP FELLOW MEMBERS SAFE

Will all members please keep themselves up to date withcurrent government and Public Health England’s adviceabout coronavirus. These two websites will give you reliable information:www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-informationor BBC News.

The committee and I understand that this has been as difficult for you as it has been for us. Alot of our members depend on us for their socialcontacts and getting out and aboutI do hopethat we will be back to our normal schedules assoon as possible.

We have been impressed and touched by thenumber of people who have asked if they maymake voluntary donations to help out. This isindeed possible and there will be a box on themembership renewal form this year which youwill be able to tick and make any extracontribution you would like. We would like tostress however that we are not asking for anysupplementary donations; it is entirely at yourdiscretion.

People have also asked if they may makecontributions towards the cost of the hire ofvenues. The collection and recording of manyrelatively small sums of money would be anunreasonably tedious and time consuming taskfor Group Leaders and for the Treasurer; I amafraid we cannot do that. It is an essential partof U3A ethos that we treat everybody equally.These are not the best circumstances underwhich to take over as Chairman of GU3A.Caroline would be a hard act to follow at thebest of times. .

With best wishes,Julie BeattieChairman GU3A

U3A NEWS AND NOTICES

EMERGENCY ALERTSSome GU3A members have asked not toreceive alerts or emails from thecommittee.In view of the seriousness of the currentsituation we have decided to override yourpreference in order to keep you up to dateabout GU3A’s response to the changingCovid-19 situation. We will respect your wishes in regard toother communications.

From the TreasurerAs many of you will already know, the financesof Guildford Area U3A have recently beenadversely affected by a number of factors,including an unexpectedly steep and widespreadincrease in the cost of many of the venues weuse for our activities. While our budget allowedfor some of this increase, the scale and extentwere greater than we had foreseen. In addition,the charge made to our U3A by the Third AgeTrust for the use of the Beacon membershipadministration system doubled from 50p permember to £1 per member with little notice andno consultation.Consequently, we experienced a deficit of nearly£6,000 in the year to August 2019 and it wasclear that, unless we took some action, thisdeficit would at least double in the current year.The Executive Committee, therefore,commissioned a three-year Recovery Plan whichis intended to minimise the deficit this year, tobreak even next year and to return the U3A to amodest surplus thereafter.In the short term, we have little ability toincrease our income and, therefore, for thecurrent year our emphasis has been on costreduction. This is being achieved by a number ofvenue changes, where alternative venuesprovide adequate accommodation at lower cost,by modifying certain of the programmes ofactivities and through other cost-savingmeasures.

For next year, it is planned that break even willbe achieved both by increasing income and byfurther cost management. The AGM agreed toan increase in the membership subscription for2020-2021 from £25 to £30. In addition, we willbe offering members the opportunity to make aone-off donation along with their 2020-2021subscription. Costs will be controlled byrequiring that all groups that operate in GU3Apaid-for venues complete their programmes ofactivities by 31 May 2021.

For the third year of this plan, the Committeehas already decided to recommend a furtherincrease in the membership subscription, whichwill allow the organisation to return generating amodest surplus.

The Committee has received a number ofsuggestions for increasing income among thesebeing a proposal that certain groups should beallowed to collect “hall money” to offset part ofthe cost of their venues. It has been decided notto proceed with this idea, partly because it is notwidely popular with Group Leaders who wouldhave to collect and account for this money,partly because of the additional administrativeand accounting burden that this would imposeand partly because this would undermine thecurrent ethos that GU3A’s offer is predominantlyfree at the point of use.

The Committee has, however, taken note of thesuggestion that grant financing should be soughtwhere appropriate and the first of these, adonation of £350 from the Shell Employee(which includes pensioners) Action GrantScheme, has already been received.I will continue to report to the membershipthrough the medium of these newsletters on theprogress of this plan. In the meantime, I wouldlike to thank all of those whose efforts havealready contributed to stabilising our financesand to urge you to all to support yourcommittee and all our other volunteers in thisendeavour.

Mike BrooksHon Treasurer

U3A Day, Old People’s Day, 1 October

This year marks our 35th anniversary. We weregoing to celebrate it as part of U3A week from31 May to 6 June calling it 35 years of Guildford U3A in our community.However, because of the coronavirus, this isobviously not going to happen. We hadplanned, among other things, musical, sportingand scientific events as well as litter collection, astall at the farmers’ market, a coffee morningand an open day. TAT has moved U3A Day from3 June to 1 October which is Old People’s Day;we will try to recreate our week of celebrationsthen. Sandi Layton, Publicity Officer

Earn funds for your U3A Did you know that as a member of GuildfordU3A you can earn 10% commission every timeyou book with Riviera Travel. Whether youchoose to travel as a group, a family or just onyour own, and to opt for a short EuropeanBreak, a Worldwide tour or River Cruise, everyholiday can earn funds for our club. To startplanning either use theirwebsite: www.utariviera.co.uk or call 01283523470 and don’t forget to mention GuildfordU3A’s name to earn the 10% commission, at thetime of booking. The commission will be paid tothis club the month after travel.’

Summer SchoolsThe National Events programme is suspended atthis time in accordance with the currentgovernment and NHS advice on coronavirus tocease non-essential contact with others andadopt social distancing. Look out for details onthe Third Age Trust website, u3a.org.uk.

SHARP – Surrey Healthy Ageing ResearchPartnershipMany of you attended the first presentationsevaral years ago but sadly, interest has waned. Apart from the presentations, and perhaps farmore interesting and productive are the

invitations to participate in various Universityprojects. Some have an upper age limit of 75 forwhich there must be some clinical reason. I havemy own views on that and I know there are asignificant number of members over 75 withsufficient good health and marbles to be able toparticipate!I have still been able to recently take part inthree studies. In one, I gave a blood sample tobe used in research regarding the changes to theimmune system with ageing.I then carried out at home an exercise set by atrainee Clinical Psychologist which stated thatsocial engagement is key for well-being for olderadults (could go for any age). I had to sort 74cards into prescribed sections. I did find thisquite difficult since I could not identify withsome of the situations. Also, the ‘cards’ flutteredaway when I breathed too closely and causedme much frustration. Still, all in a good cause. Idid register my ‘complaint’.The most interesting to me, being a pretty vocalperson was the opportunity to make asubmission to the House of Lords SelectCommittee of Science and Technology It was alengthy process with 13 questions and space forpersonal input. This is looking ahead to the‘elderly’ of 2030 and I stressed that preventionshould be the key word. eg, breast cancerscreening should be available for all. It isavailable for the over 70s but only on request.However,the Jarvis is taking part in an extensionscheme for 71 to 73 year olds but remember, itis still your right whatever your increasing age.At the other end it is 47-49 year olds, soencourage your daughters please. I learnt thatmy submission has been accepted but I am notsure what that means. So remember that we are an enormousresource. Inquiries are forever saying that they‘learn by mistakes’ Hopefully, informative pre-planning will help. As yet, there is no regularForum planned but I have been aadvised thatJune or July are a likely choice.Sheila Darzi

Digital IsolationI was recently asked ‘can we hold our U3A grouponline?’ and this set me thinking about howmuch of life would have to change, should Ineed to self-isolate. What would I be able todo and what could I not do? How would I fillmy time and does isolation mean loneliness?GU3A is for many an opportunity for socialinteraction as much as developing an interestand we shall miss these regular get-togethers.Perhaps more importantly for some of us, howdo we cope if things are not going well,especially if we live on our own? BBC News thismorning reports that ‘Over-70s will be told theymust remain at home without visitors, withgroceries and vital medication dropped off forthem on their doorsteps’ and that ‘it will last "avery long time" ‘. If so, alternative contact withthe outside world will be important.When I transformed the Computer and Internetgroup into Digital Living I expressly said that Iwanted to encompass all aspects of internet andWi-Fi activity for the senior age groups as I felt ithad much to offer us and we should not beluddite in our approach to it. Perhaps now isthe time when we should take real advantage ofwhat the digital age has to offer.Maybe the idea of running groups over theinternet is a step too far. It is possible,technologically, but in general we lack much ofthe more sophisticated equipment and thetechniques to create content, added to whichmany of the platforms charge in one way oranother for use. Perhaps as ever the mostuseful source is Google, where a combination ofGoogle Groups, Google Classroom and otherGoogle apps could provide a free solution.It is, of course, possible to set up social mediagroups where several/many people cancontribute to a discussion. For U3A groups thatdo not rely on visual content (presentations,whiteboards or flip charts etc.) these may be ameans of interacting and exchanging ideas bymeans largely of text input. Facebook andWhatsApp both allow for groups of users thatcan be organised by a group leader. Skype andFacetime both allow for text, voice and videocalls which can handle small groups (althoughsometimes a little tricky to set up). Facetime,however, can only be used by Apple (iPad,

iPhone) users. Other platforms are available.Some groups already use websites and internetfor purposes that might be expanded. In myown activities, Photography has a monthlygallery of members’ photos and separately agallery in which members may make commentson various images. Digital Living has a little-used wiki site where members can review pastpresentations and exchange comments or seekhelp. Genealogy sets ‘homework’ each monthwhich could be shared for reading on GoogleDrive or similar. Memoir writing could similarlyplace monthly contributions and perhaps find achat room for exchanging comments. Theseare hardly sociable ways of maintaining groupactivity but may nonetheless have the benefit ofkeeping groups active and giving memberssomething to work on. Other groups may seealternative ways of continuing their activities,albeit on a reduced scale or with differentobjectives.Perhaps our view, however, ought to be widerthan just group replacements. Could we set upa site or group for all members to provide ameeting place for generalconversation/assistance while the virus problemlasts? Should we be encouraging members toset up their own groups amongst U3A friendsand others to provide companionship if isolationis required? How do we overcome members’concerns about their personal information onsome of the apps which offer this? WhatsApp,for instance is very secure and encrypted butinvolves the use/exposure of mobile phonenumbers. Indeed many of these social mediaapps assume a willingness to share contactinformation which is beyond what GU3Aconsiders acceptable under GDPR. This may beseen akin to using cc rather than bcc for emaildistributions, which is strongly discouragedunder GDPR for organisations althoughpermissible at a personal level. Nonetheless,millions of people use these facilities withoutproblem and perhaps, with reasonable care,they would provide a useful service in thissituation.There is much we can do online now that inprevious times would have required a walkdown the high street or other one-to-onecontact. Banking, food shopping and generalshopping are three obvious areas that can be

managed digitally (assuming delivery servicesremain in place) but, as I know even from DigitalLiving, not everyone has accepted them. I have a video doorbell which means I cananswer the door without opening it and speakto anyone who calls with a delivery or for otherreasons. I can also tell Alexa (or Google) toshow me who is there without leaving my chair.I shall doubtless be using these latter two foradditional purposes over the coming weeks and,to me at least, it quite pleasant to hear ‘I have areminder for David’ when something needsdoing rather than an alarm bell or a textmessage/pop up that I can easily miss.

I have heard the current situation in the ‘waragainst the virus’ described as rather like theblitz spirit. True or not, there is one majordifference; in the war people were workingtogether in community groups and sharing theexperience at a personal level. This time welook like having to do so on our own. Myphilosophy since being on my own is alwayshaving something to do and having activitieswhere I can say at regular intervals that I haveachieved something, however menial, and allowmyself a treat.

The next few months will be no different. I amfortunate in having a number of activities that Ican undertake alone, many of which benefitfrom a digital device and an internet connection.Converting old videos to digital, cataloguingseveral thousand photographs, writing myhistory of Turkey, researching further into myfamily tree, improving my Spanish (and perhapstrying to learn Turkish) are just a few of these.As a break from screen time I also have a list ofjobs to do around the house that has beengathering cobwebs in recent times. This seemsto be the moment to dust it off.

In summary, although the prospect of isolationis not enticing, there are things we can do toalleviate the loneliness and boredom and now isthe time to be thinking about this. Probablythere are those in GU3A with more practicalknowledge and experience in some of theseareas and it would be good to hear from them.David Pearce

STUDY DAYSUnfortunately the study Days in April, May andJune have been cancelled and will probably bere-scheduled or postponed until next year

HISTORY OF GUILDFORD AREA U3A

As part of our 35th Anniversary celebrations thisyear I am intending to produce a History ofGuildford U3A, from when it started in the mid1980s right up to the present day. So far I havebeen lent a number of archive documents,including many, but not all, old newsletters. Inorder to make the history come alive, I wouldlike to include memories and stories frompeople who have been part of our organisationover the last 35 years.

I’m sure that there are many funny stories outthere and I would love to hear them. They couldbe from the early days or more recent years –I’m looking for the whole story from 1983 to2020. We were one of the early U3As to be setup in the UK and we’re now one of the largest.On the grounds that pictures speak a thousandwords, perhaps there are photos of people andevents, showing examples of the U3A in actionthat I could borrow? I hope that there will bemembers who are willing to share memories/stories with me, lend me documents and/orphotos (I promise to return anything promptly!),or help me in some way. I know that there aresome members who were involved in the firstfew years and I would love to talk to you.Perhaps you went on one of the group holidaytrips and have photos of them?

If you are happy to chat about your memories,or to lend me something, then please contactme by phone (01483 452376), or mobile (07963756543), leaving a message if I’m not there, oremail (moira.macquaide@gmail.com). Mytimetable is aiming to gather information overMarch/April, so please get in touch soon. Theintention is to have this printed and available forsale to members later on this year, so I hopethat lots of you will find it very interesting.

Moira MacQuaide, Director of Studies

NEWS FROM THE GROUPSAstronomy & Space Science GroupThe Astronomy & Space Science Groupprogramme is designed to give members a goodinsight to the Solar System and wider Universe. Each month we explore a specialist topic as wellas have a ‘run down’ on what can be observedin the night sky and an insight to current spacedevelopments.

We maintain contacts with other U3AAstronomy Groups and promote opportunitiesto further explore cosmology and space sciencein general. We are grateful for support from theSurrey University outreach programme whohave kindly contributed to our meetings.Our most recently programmes have included,an exploration of the Gas & Ice Giants (thoughwe didn’t actually go there!), a talk onspacecraft propulsion, feedback on researchfrom a Surrey University Phd student oninteractions in the Andromeda Galaxy and apresentation on The Sun.

We are a smallgroup of enthusiasts that meet in the afternoonon the first Wednesday of each month at theEmmanuel Church in Stoughton. New membersare always welcome and we will be delighted tohear from anybody with an interest or level ofexpertise in the topic who may be willing tocome and talk to us.Contact –Jonathan_Long@btinternet.com

Cardmaking & Papercraft Groups

Our two Cardmaking & Papercraft groupscontinue to be creative in making cards,decorations and generally playing with all sortsof cardmaking techniques. We have used a widevariety of materials, including cardboard innertubes from toilet rolls and Chinese takeaway foiltrays! Group members can try out newtechniques, play with pens, inks, paints and clay,or do their own thing using supplies that theyhave brought. Each month I provide a range ofpaper and card, bring different types ofequipment, and a choice of bits and pieces thatcan be used to make creative and unique cards.In December we made Christmas decorationsand in January we played with inks to marblepaper and card. It’s great fun and there’s a lot ofchat and laughter.

Moira MacQuaide – Group Leader

Chi Gung Class

Shirley Alexander attends Jane and Wendy'sexcellent Chi Gung classes and wrote this poemjust before Christmas. She would like to share it

with you:

“Down at St. Catherine’s it’s Friday for sure,Fifty eager oldies are flocking through the door.Jane and Wendy greet us as we stash our bags

and coatsAnd take up our positions, and Jane sets out her

notesFor an hour of rapt attention as Jane kindly

guides us on -All our cares and worries quite suddenly are

gone!We swing our arms in unison, good movement

to enhanceAnd we concentrate on ‘life-force’ in a silent

kind of stance.We ‘stir the sticky rice’ to oil our creaky bones

And perform a ‘penguin clock-face’ keeping justwithin our zones.

We let the archers’ arrows fly while exhaling alltogether,

And soon it’s time for ‘slap down’ and back outto face the weather.

Jane reads a little homily to set us on our way -An attitude of gratitude for another happy day!”

Learn to Draw and Paint

This was a new, two year course for beginners,started in September 2019. We have beenmeeting twice a month at Shalford Village Hall,from 1.30 – 4.00pm.There are 19 members in the group and I amdelighted to say that they are all still with me aswe move towards the Summer of 2020. I haven’t assumed any knowledge of drawing orpainting techniques and started at the beginningwith ‘how to draw spheres, cylinders, cones andboxes’. You will be amazed how many everydayobjects are basically those four shapes! Anapple, an orange, a football and a human head.A bottle of wine, a tin of beans, a tree trunk anda neck. An ice cream cone, a vase, a lampshadeand a torso (upper body). A house, a table, a boxof tissues and an abdomen (lower body). Ofcourse there are many more ‘tricks of the trade’such as perspective, the blending of tones andthe mixing of shades and tints of colour. Theenthusiastic members have also enjoyed usingpencils, charcoal, soft pastels, oil pastels,

watercolour paints and even mixing differentmedia together, which is fun and very effective.More techniques will come next year. Here are comments from two members of thegroup this year: A message to Jane: “I would like to say howmuch I have enjoyed our lessons. I feel that youhave inspired me to ‘think out of my narrowbox’. We have explored a range of media andour lessons have been stimulating and friendly.You have encouraged each and every one of us,and backed up techniques with demonstrations,which have been so useful. I wish we could meetweekly!” A.H“Dipping a brush into paint and applying it mightseem easy, until you end up with a ‘muddymuddle’. Jane has given us an insight into theskills and techniques involved in drawing andpainting in several mediums and using ourpowers of observation with light and shadow. Ihave created pieces of work, especially inwatercolour, of which I am proud.” S.WA message to Jane “The course is extremelyenjoyable, thought provoking and inspirational.You are a very encouraging, knowledgeable andpatient tutor.” G.FJane allows us to work at our own pace and isalways very encouraging of our efforts,regardless of ability. The course is a greatopportunity to learn the basic principles ofdrawing and to experiment with differentmedia." P.R Jane Wharton – Group Leader

Line Dancing

I have been teaching this lively and energeticgroup of 50 ladies and a token 6 gentlemensince 2011. We meet every Tuesday at St John’sChurch Hall in Merrow for a two hour sessionwith a short tea-break, enjoying about 25dances each week.Line dancing is a really beneficial social activityfor exercise and co-ordination. We have arepertoire of around 65 dances and I aim toteach a new dance on alternate weeks.Line dancing is performed to many genres ofmusic including country, rock and roll, popularand Irish music. Many well known steps areincorporated in the routines, including rumba

and cha cha, but I have recently introducedmore complicated steps such as ‘Vaudeville’ and‘kay’ which everyone has managed amazinglywell. New dances learnt recently include‘Sweet, Sweet Smile’, ‘Rock Around the Clock’,‘Sweet Caroline’ and ‘There’s a Kind of Hush’.The group enjoys a fun-filled Christmas partyevery year and we also won the U3A photographcompetition in 2019. The £50 prize wenttowards Christmas shoe boxes for children inRomania, including one box for each gender andage group.Comments from participants in the groupinclude ‘A good workout for the body and brainand if you go wrong it just adds to the fun!’;‘the most fun you can have with your clotheson!’ and ‘above all we enjoy ourselves!’. It is areal pleasure to teach this brilliant group ofpeople to dance.Andrea Hill – Group Leader

Painting 1We enjoy meeting up on a Monday morning and weuse a variety of media – watercolour, oils, acrylicsand charcoal. We take it in turns to provide objectsfor still life studies and recent items have included agolf bag with clubs, a vintage train set and a bonsaitree – which have all provided their differentchallenges!Recently we celebrated the 80th birthday of AnnBoxell, who has been a member of the group forover 14 years and whose talents are muchappreciated, both for her artistic skill and herdedication to organising our tea, coffee and biscuits!Val Cane – Group Leader

Photography Group

The Photographic Group meet in the afternoonof the 2nd Wednesday each month at JefferiesHall in Merrow.Recent programmes have included a talk andpractical session on Portraits, a display of workby Group members on their best pictures, anindoor still life practical session as well as shortpresentations on various technical aspects ofphotography and also on researchingphotographs for a book on Stirling Moss.Our quarterly assignments topics, the last onesbeing ‘colours’ and ‘landscapes’ give members

an opportunity to work to a theme and presenttheir pictures.Each month members have an opportunity tojoin in with a monthly photoshoot, this supportsthe development of photographic skills withsupport from our more experienced groupmembers. Recent outings have included, a verycold morning at the Churt Sculpture Park andvisits to Petworth and Bushy Parks where thereis a wealth of photo opportunities.We cater for all skill levels with an aim to helpour members take better photographs anybodyinterested in joining in the group should contactJonathan – Jonathan_Long@btinternet.com

The U3A Ensemble

Despite all the slings and arrows thatoutrageous fortune is hurling about at themoment The Ensemble continues to defy the lotin its usual robust manner: currently itcomprises 18 instrumentalists who betweenthem cover a range of at least ten instruments.These are strings: viola, violin, cello, banjo,ukulele; woodwind: flute, clarinet; brass:saxophone and trumpet; percussion( drums,cymbals, etc.) . The list is probably longer but Ihave good reason to believe that somemembers are unduly modest, e.g. the self

concealing pianists ( or even jew’s harpists).

Like all the Guildford U3A we have had torespond to budget cuts which, in our case meantchanging venue. Formerly, we met at St PiusChurch Hall in Merrow and now we meet at theOld Church adjoining the current church ofEmmanuel near Stoughton. We are nowcomfortably settled there and find theaccoustics and other provision excellent. Wemeet on the same weekday and times (Fridayp.m.) as we did in our previous venue. Parking isalso good. We continue to play an eclectic range of musicand are most fortunate to have a conductor inSheila Kuban who is not afraid to expand ourmusical education or to perceive and developour hidden talents. We were shortly due toparticipate again in the annual Godalming MusicFestival but because of the current winddirection (C word) we considered it wiser towithdraw our entry. We warmly welcome anyone who wishes tocontinue their experience of playing in a smallorchestra or begin such an experience. We are acheerful, pragmatic group and we find thateveryone has something to contribute whilesimultaneously developing his/her (etc.) ownskills.The Ensemble made its usual contribution to theCarol Concert at Saint Nicolas and our newtrumpeter, Clive , added glitter and glamour tothe occasion which certainly reached the top ofthe Christmas tree Michael Tanner (member of the group)

RECENT MEETINGS, TRIPS & EVENTS

Guildford U3A 2019 Christmas Concert – AReview11th December 2019In the beautiful Victorian setting of St Nicolas’church, the combined choirs of Guildford U3A,under the direction of John Varney, gave us avaried, and in some places surprising, selectionof Christmas music. Most of the pieces wereaccompanied by the organ played by RobertMansell, with trumpet highlights performed byClive Greenwood adding to the celebratory feel

of the occasion. The musical offerings includedperformances by the Instrumental Ensemblegroup conducted by Sheila Kuban, and theBelleplates group under Shirley Aston, making afestive afternoon for the large audience.The music was interspersed with readings fromappropriate biblical texts while the addition ofpoems by Longfellow and Betjeman wereobviously enjoyed by the audience. U3Amembers Carolynn Stephens and PaulGillingham were the narrators.The Christmas music from Handel’s Messiah wasa welcome section of the programme andincluded the instrumental Pastoral Symphony.Mary Childs and Kay Richardson carriedthe story forward in their solos while the choirgave a good account of the choruses, finishingwith the magnificent “Glory To God”.Audience participation is always a feature of thisannual celebration, and joining with theenthusiastic singing was enjoyable and broughtto mind many Christmases past. This year, thelate afternoon light shining through thecoloured glass brought to life some words wewere to hear in the readings.“And is it true? This most tremendous tale of all,Seen in a stained-glass windows hue, A baby inan ox’s stall.” From The Bells of Waiting Advent Ring by JohnBetjemanSimon Mold’s very delicate “Candlelight Carol”with solo by Kay Richardson was accompaniedby Matthew Smith on the piano. It formed abeautiful contrast to some of the more robustcarols.

Throughout history, music for Christmas hasbeen written and performed and we weregiven a rich selection of this heritage. From InDulce Jubilo, set to a 14th century tune to

the premiere of a brand new piece especiallywritten for the Guildford U3A choirs.We heard a selection of words and music, on thetheme of bells including the haunting, “All Bellsin Paradise” by John Rutter and a piece from theBelleplates, “Shepherds Came Their PraisesBringing”.The mood changed with a fun version of “TheHolly and the Ivy”, we were sent on our waywith “Joy to the World” and a new carol by localcomposer Dorothy Kirkman, “Wake Up, WakeUp”. The cock crow before the singers begancertainly woke us up and I enjoyed the firstperformance of this lively bell-like song.Oakleaf, a Guildford based mental health charity,was the recipient of a retiring collectionwhile the Ensemble played us out, humming ourfavourite pieces as we headed homewards.Thank you to all who took part.Margaret Jackson

Report on Trips Organised by Ann Elms and Jackie Ring

‘A week is a long time in politics’ and how truethat has proved to be as we’ve seen so manychanges over the last few weeks while we’vebeen taking our tours of the Houses ofParliament. These were initially discussedfollowing a visit by Guildford’s then MP, AnneMilton, to our U3A last summer, when shesuggested that her office could arrange‘democratic access tours’ for our members.These are an opportunity for UK Citizens to findout more about the workings of the UKParliament, its history and its relevance today,plus the chance to view the two Chambers, theHouse of Commons and the House of Lords, andCentral Lobby that we’ve seen so much ofrecently as a backdrop on the news broadcasts.Instead of the usual tours which the public cango on during weekends or in the summer recess,these were the chance to see the building ‘atwork’. As about 170 members applied to go onthese trips, we arranged six to cope with thisnumber. Then, after just one trip in November,the General Election was called and three ofthese trips were postponed. And a brand newMP, Angela Richardson, was elected. We’ve

seen different things on different days –including speeches given by the candidates upfor the role of new Speaker, debates on a varietyof topics such as the State of the High Street, theeffect of Brexit on the European Arrest Warrant,questions on Fishing, the situation with theCoronavirus, etc – some members met BettyBoothroyd who chatted to them in CentralLobby, and others saw when Corbyn and Govehad a ‘set-to’ (‘Where IS Boris?’). It was alsointeresting to see the New Dawn, the windowcreated by a local Surrey artist, where the lightschange in an intriguing way. This new artworkcommemorates not only women’s suffrage, butstands for all men and women who struggle toget a vote. All of the guides were excellent,telling different stories which brought the placealive - such as how the Queen bumped into acleaner on her way to the State Opening ofParliament when she was sent to the wrongfloor in the lift – and how she never forgot toask after her on every visit. And how the term‘three line whip’ came about. And the Housesof Parliament symbol of the portcullis. I havelearnt a lot during these visits. Having done fourof these tours so far, with one more planned(and fingers crossed) I’m ready for a specialistround on Mastermind!

Group with local MP Angela Richardson

On two bitterly cold days in November, wevisited Waddesdon Manor for their Christmasevent.

This magnificent house was built by BaronRothschild specifically to house his collection ofarts and treasures. The rooms in the house werebeautifully set out with trees and decorations onthe theme of Christmas Carols – WhileShepherds Watched, and We Three Kingsfollowing a star, and some of these displays werequite quirky. Many of their special treasurershad been brought out and put on show (just likewe all do at Christmas!) such as the extremelyfine porcelain Sèvres pot-pourri vases shapedlike ships, and incorporated into a table settingfor an interpretation of We Saw Three Ships –these vases are very rare with only nine left inthe world, Waddesdon owns three of them,Buckingham Palace has only one. TheChristmas Market gave us the opportunity totaste all sorts of treats and do some shopping.They also had imaginative light displays in theoutbuildings and amongst the tress and aroundthe grounds, which were especially at their bestas dusk fell, and coloured lights and patterns onthe façade of the house changed accompaniedby music.

In complete contrast, we had brilliant sunshineand lots of rain on our trip to the Mill Theatre atSonning. A gloriously sunny morning was spentin the pleasant town of Henley-on-Thames tovisit the cafes, shops and riverside, before wewent to the theatre for the performance ofSingin’ in the Rain – with real rain! This smalltheatre, set in an old riverside mill, presented anexcellent production by a first-rate cast, makingthis a very enjoyable trip – with the tunes still inpeople’s heads on the way home.

On our visit to Westminster Abbey we covered1000 years of history in a day. Whew! Westarted with a guided tour of Central HallWestminster, built as a meeting place for thepublic and the Methodist Church. On ourguided tour we learnt that this building is onlyjust over 100 years old (nothing compared tothe Abbey), on the site where there was once anaquarium which contained no fish, and that the£1 million needed for the building was raised by‘crowd funding’ with people being asked to pay£1 share each, a lot of money in those days. Wewere shown their ledger with the pages givinghandwritten entries from the people ofGuildford – many people were living in ArtilleryRoad and North Street area I noticed. As part ofthe tour we stepped out onto the balcony wherenews reporters position themselves when thereare special events such as a Royal Weddingtaking place, and this gave us a superb view ofthe whole of Westminster Square. The BBC paya retainer for sole use of a balcony for theseoccasions. We also shown the room where theWorld Cup was stolen from in 1966 – it seems bysome opportunists who found it unattendedwhile the guards had gone for a cup of tea, andthen didn’t know quite what to do with it. Afterour lunch in the café, some of the group thenwent into the new Queen’s Diamond JubileeGalleries, housed high above the nave in the13th century triforium. Here are displayed awide variety of objects connected in differentways with the Abbey – artwork and manuscripts,

memorials and royal effigies, how worship hasbeen carried out during the centuries,embroidered costumes, and an amazing view.Two very knowledgeable and interesting guidesthen took us around the Abbey itself, explainingsome of the highlights - the Tomb of theUnknown Warrior, a few of the many Royaltombs, the processional banners, theCoronation Chair (with the gap underneathwhere the Stone of Scone used to be), DavidHockney’s new window (there was a mixedreaction to that), and memorials in Poets’Corner and the Scientists including the mostrecent one, Stephen Hawking. (Homework laterrevealed the meaning of the calculationengraved on his plaque – proof that black holesdo indeed exist.) Probably the highlight of theday was attending Sung Evensong, with theChoir of Westminster Abbey accompanied bythe organ, with some people able to sit in theQuire itself. For such a large and imposingbuilding, this felt like a very personal andintimate space.

Westminster Abbey

Visit to BAPS Shri Swaminarayan MandirHindu Temple

The visit to BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir wasan awe-inspiring, educational and enrichingexperience. Popularly known as the 'NeasdenTemple’, the Mandir is a traditional place ofHindu worship designed and constructedentirely according to ancient Vedic architecturaltexts – using no structural steel whatsoever. It

was built by volunteers in an amazingly shortperiod and is beautiful inside and outside withits white marble and stone. Feedback fromthose who went was that they had found it amoving and spiritual experience and we werelucky enough to see the Arti Ceremony. It is anancient Hindu offering made by waving lightedwicks before the sacred images to theaccompaniment of a musical prayer. We also hadtime to visit an educational exhibition onHinduism which was fascinating andinformative. The morning was followed by adelicious Indian buffet lunch and we headedhome loaded with Indian delicacies from theshop on the site.

Sheila Darzi – Social Anthropology Group Leader

Annual Inter-U3A Quiz Challenge

GU3A fielded a team for the 4th year at theAnnual Inter-U3A Quiz Challenge held by FleetU3A at Hartley Wintney and achieved their bestresult yet; second by only one point to MilfordU3A (to whom we had lent our best player). Many thanks and congratulations to Roger Philo(captain), Julie Beattie, Maria Bonnici, PaulKassel, Penny Kelly and Moira MacQuaide Wemight win one year......!!! Julie Beattie

MONTHLY MEETINGS

Due to the current circumstances the monthlymeetings for March and April have beencancelled.Jennifer Margrave

REMINDERCHANGE TO MAY BANK HOLIDAY 2020

The early May bank holiday in 2020 will movefrom Monday 4 May to Friday 8 Mayto mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day.

TRIPS AND OUTINGSorganised by Ann Elms and Jackie Ring Adjacent are the trips we had planned for the summer, but have now postponed due to the Coronavirus situation. When we are able to run these, or any alternative, an email alert will be sent out. Information and application forms will be on the website when we are able to go aheadwith trips.

THE DEADLINE for the SUMMER 2020newsletter is 28 JUNE please send yourcontributions to the editor at any timebefore then. However, anything sent afterthe deadline will be held over until thenext newsletter – if it is still relevant then.

Preferably please submit your contributionby email as a Word.doc or compatible inCalibri font, single spacing. Photos asindividual jpg files please.

Wednesday 20 May 2020VISIT TO BLETCHLEY PARKPrice £32 per person (includes coach and entry to the park)The four-five hour visit will enable you to see thecode breaking machine, the Bombe, the huts andblocks where codebreaking work took place, seenumerous exhibitions showing the historicalimportance of the work carried out there duringWW2. It produced secret intelligence which had aprofound influence on the outcome of the conflict.Thursday 4 June 2020RNLI TRAINING CENTRE AND CRUISE OF POOLEHARBOURPrice £40 per person (includes coach, tour andharbour cruise)A guided tour of the RNLI College where theirvolunteer crews and lifeguards are trained, followedby an afternoon cruise around Poole Harbour.Places may also be available on a ‘coach only’ or‘coach and harbour cruise’ basis. Monday 6 July 2020VISIT TO ELTHAM PALACEPrice £27 per person (includes coach and entry) or£14 per person if you are an English Heritagemember (for coach only)This medieval palace and Tudor royal residence wastransformed into an ultra-modern Art Deco mansionby eccentric millionaires, the Courtaulds, and on ourvisit we’ll see how they incorporated state-of-the-arttechnology and lavish features. The house issurrounded by award-winning gardens.Wednesday 5th August 2020MATINEE PERFORMANCE OF SOUTH PACIFIC AT CHICHESTER THEATRE Price £55 or £49 per person (includes coach and a price band A or price band B ticket). This much-loved Rogers and Hammerstein musical is set in the South Pacific in 1943 and follows the lives and loves of the locals and the Americans who find themselves posted there. Plus an optional ‘Theatre Day’ visit with the creative and technical teams for an additional £5. Contact Jackie Ring 01483-824450 to check availability.