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Northumbria Messenger

Vol 3 No 6 October 2015

Contents The Chairman Speaks 2

Events Sub- Committee report 3

Book Worm 15

Trustee’s Report 17

Reader’s Letters Page 22

Killer Sudoku 22

Committee 23

Newbiggin by the sea by the Sea—Graham Thorne

Northumbria Messenger Vol 3 No 6 October 2015

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The Regional Chairman writes ….

Chairman, U3A Northumbria Region

It is amazing how time flies. I am coming to the end of my time as Chairman of the Region and we will need a replacement at the Regional AGM in April. Gwen Dawe also finishes her term as Regional Trustee on the National Executive Committee in August next year so we will need to elect a replacement for her before then. Please give this some thought at your U3A meetings over the next few months. If anyone is interested in either of these two positions we would be delighted to talk to you about them.

There are several events in the pipeline for the Region. This week we held a Research Day and were treated to talks by Mike Fraser of Berwick U3A and from two ladies from Thrive Teeside who gave insight into their particular research projects and their was much discussion around these as well as Research in general.

If you need help or want to know more about using the Trust’s system for setting up a web site there is to be a workshop on Wednesday November 25th

There is also to be a workshop to introduce the new Membership Systems which the Trust is promoting. This will be on Tuesday November 10th

An intergenerational Christmas Lecture is being held on December 9th in the Curtis Auditorium at Newcastle University entitled “Survival of the fittest” given by Professor Sir John Burn between 1pm and 4pm. This event is by invitation only and information has been sent out as to how to register for your invitation. Should you have difficulty with this you may telephone 0191 208 1288.

There is a possibility we may arrange some Gallery Tours at the Laing with Dr Barbara Morden in conjunction with the Arts and Crafts Exhibition being held there. Details hopefully will be announced shortly.

Workshops are being planned for early next year for the roles of Committee’s. The first is at Stannington on March 17th and the second at Darlington on April 5th.

Details of these will be found elsewhere in this issue


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We are currently investigating the possibility of Dr Barbara Morden conducting some Gallery Tours at the Laing Art Gallery in conjunction with the exhibition about the Arts and Crafts movement starting on October 10th and running until January 31st. We had anticipated these would be held towards the end of October but to date we have not been able to fix the dates with the Laing.

The tours will last about an hour and there will be a very nominal charge to cover expenses and you will have to pay for admission to the exhibition which will be £5.40 for Senior Citizens.

We will notify further information about this through the usual channels

Christmas lecture

This is an intergenerational event between U3A and selected schools in the Newcas-tle Area. Information has already been sent out about this event which is to be held at the Curtis Auditorium at Newcastle University on December 9th between 1pm and 4pm and the programme is below.

Festive Lecture 2015

An invited audience of local school children and older learners!

Wednesday 9th December

Herschel Building, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne

1.00-1.30 arrival and street scientists doing some hands-on experiments

1.30-3.00 festive lecture delivered by Professor Sir John Burn, world-leading geneticist

3.00-4.00 mince pies and mulled wine (only for the older learners!)

It is limited to the first 100 members of U3A to apply. I am aware that some people have had some difficulty opening the link to the event so if you do have a problem with it you may telephone 0191 208 1288.

The address below is a link to a map of Newcastle University Campus and the Herschel Building is No.17 on the map

http://www.ncl.ac.uk/about/visit/printablemaps/map-campus.htm

Events sub committee report



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How lucky were we! It was a glorious warm day when two coaches set off for Scarborough Open Air Theatre to see "Last Night of the Proms" starring Alfie Boe. I had found out previously that the town was also celebrating "Armed Forces Day" and consequently the town was buzzing with thousands of people coming to see the fun.

As the coach drew up at the South Bay, we were lucky enough to see a Vulcan bomber making its flight and, during the day, we also saw a Spitfire, Air to Sea Rescue, amazing Wing Walkers, a girl singing 1940 songs and a marching band of Scots Pipers, not to mention vintage stalls. Loads to see.

We enjoyed a meal at a seafront Italian restaurant before strolling along the prom to reach the Open Air Theatre. Unfortunately we had to queue for nearly an hour to get in, but we had good seats and waited

eagerly for the show.

First we listened to the Military Wives Choir from York before Alfie Boe, the star of the show, finally appeared to loud applause. I hadn't realised what a showman he was. He certainly got the crowd of 5500 eating out of his hand. The Orchestra first played a selection from the well-loved musical "Les Miserable’s" and Alfie sang one or two numbers from that show for which he is well known. He also sang a selection of his Italian songs, one or two, such as Volare, he got the audience to join in.

There was also a beautiful soprano called Angel Blue (must be a stage name) who had a fantastic voice and did some lovely classical numbers, including Carmen, one of my favourites.

During the second half Alfie did a couple of numbers from The Who's Quadrophenia which apparently he is performing at the Royal Albert Hall. Towards the end of the second half, the Orchestra launched into the usual Last Night of the Proms favourites, such as Jerusalem and we finished with a wonderful firework display.

The downside of a big event such as this is the inevitable queuing for toilets and drinks, but it was a lovely warm night and everyone was good natured and happy, so it didn't matter too much. All of us lugged round bags filled with warm clothes or rugs to put on when it got cold, but it didn't so we just took them all home again.

Getting out of the Open Air Theatre was a bit tricky but we all managed without any mishaps. Mind you, we did have to go searching for half a dozen or so people who had gone the wrong way and couldn't find the coaches.

At last we managed to round everyone up and got on our way, arriving home at about 12.30 am, tired but feeling the day had been well worth the effort.

"Last night of the Proms"- Scarborough


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The Committee of Bede of Jarrow recently organised a

charity celebration afternoon for members. Almost sixty

members participated. The party consisted of an afternoon

tea accompanied by 40s music

which was appreciated by all. A

stall made by Dave McLeod the

Membership Secretary was very

popular with an array of old

fashioned sweets including

Sarsaparilla tablets, pear drops,

black bullets, bon-bons, cough

candy and coconut mushrooms

to name but a few. Alan Brown

hosted a 1940s quiz which was

very interesting and enjoyable.

Many of the members wore

1940s costumes . We had land –ladies, uniformed

gents, some glamourous stars and quite a few gents

and spivs. Others brought along gas masks and

memorabilia. These all

brought back many

memories to the

members who found the

afternoon very nostalgic.

Other stalls and a raffle

were supported by the

party-goers and at the

end of the day generous

donations amounting to

£298 were collected for

this year’s Charity the

local St.Clare’s Hospice.

Perhaps it won’t be long until we follow up with a

1950s afternoon!

Try out your knowledge with some of our 1940’s

Quiz questions

VE Day is May 5th, but when is the official UK VJ Day?

After WW2 when did BBC TV restart

What were the first three items to be rationed? Butter, Bacon and Sugar

For how many years did rationing continue?

Had the 1944 summer Olympics been held, where were they scheduled to

be?

1 15th August 2 1946 3 Butter

bacon and sugar 4 14 years 1940 –

1954 5 London

A Double Celebration at Bede of

Jarrow U3A

1940s Tea at Three Party

Answers


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Mavis Hudson of Bede of Jarrow U3A is listed on the U3A Roll of Honour

Bede of Jarrow Committee and Members are delighted that their former Chair and

member, Mavis Hudson has been accepted onto the U3A Roll of Honour list.

In 2007, Mavis wanted to join South Tyneside U3A but there was a 3 year waiting

list. At that time she was recovering from a heart bypass which she had had in the

August. She went to a U3A start –up meeting at Jarrow Community Centre. Mavis

stepped forward with other attendees to form a steering committee.

Bede of Jarrow U3A started in October 2007 at Primrose Community Centre with

Mavis as vice-chair. Mavis worked very hard also taking on the role of secretary.

Bede U3A blossomed. Mavis took over the role of chair which she held for more than

3 years .

The waiting list for Bede of

Jarrow U3A was soon too long so

Mavis, as Chair, decided to hold

a meeting and posted signs

around the town to let the public

know we wanted to start a new

U3A...... The response was

amazing. There were enough

names on the list to start up 2

new

U3A's.... Hard work but worthwhile Mavis was delighted.

Caer Urfa and Boldon and District U3As were born. The

committees were formed and Mavis helped them on their

way with the ground rules and any information they

needed. She also attended network meetings sharing good practices and ideas with

the Regional U3As and their representatives. Mavis

has also manned tables at local events to publicise

the U3A. These include the Older People's Festival,

South Shields Town Hall and at the Regional event

at Walbottle and Bede’s World , to name but a few.

Due to health issues Mavis had to stand down from

the Committee last year but is still a stalwart

member. She successfully runs two art groups,

which hold regular exhibitions around the town. Last

Bede of Jarrow U3A

Mavis Hudson to the right of Fay Cunningham the

Mayor of South Tyneside with Bede of Jarrow U3A artists


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Every Christmas Prudhoe & District U3A Photography Group has a competition for the silliest picture of the year. We are never short of entries.

We have instituted a prestigious trophy, awarded to the winner on condition that it is photographed in as many locations as possible during the year.

Last December, we had two joint winners. John (left in the photo) was custodian for the first six months and managed to delay the hand-over to Steve until our big monthly meeting.

John spoke at (considerable... ) length about the awesome responsibility involved. Steve tearfully thanked John, his wife, his friends, his parents...

Our guest speaker for the month, a senior NHS consultant, was due to address the meeting on emergency care restructuring in the region. Initially John, who was working the projector, had some difficulty in opening his presentation on the laptop. The first slide appeared, only to be followed by the duck. 'There's a duck', the speaker said. 'Why is there a duck?'

'Don't worry,' said John, 'that's the next item on the agenda.'

Well, life cannot be serious all the time.

PRUDHOE & DISTRICT U3A

year she and some of her group were involved in working with a professional artist

to create a new series of art works for permanent display as part of the platform at

Bede Metro Station which is greatly admired by the public .

Mavis also runs a very successful indoor green bowling section always and has

been involved in setting up scrabble, singing for pleasure and many other groups.

Mavis is very modest having no idea of how helpful and enlightening she is to others.

She is well loved and respected by all members and U3As in the area.

We at Bede of Jarrow are proud of her and feel that her position on the U3A Roll of

Honour list is a fit way to thank her for all her endeavours. We are pleased that

Gwen Dawe a Regional Representative for the North East will present Mavis with her

Certificate at the next Bede of Jarrow U3A meeting in August.


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The Sedgefield Photography group is developing well under the leadership of

Malcolm Tooley.

We had an enjoyable outing to Hardwick Park last

week. The autumnal colours were just beginning to

show in the

landscape and gave

us the opportunity

to take some lovely

photographs in the

grounds.

Gradually as

Malcolm

demystifies the

various buttons

and settings on

our cameras, members are being encouraged to

leave behind the ‘Auto’ setting on their cameras

and delve into the complexities of Aperture and

Shutter priorities.

For those of us who grew up with nothing more

complex than a Brownie this is proving a daunting

but still inspiring task.

So much so, we are aiming to have a selection of

photographs ready to make our very own calendar

for 2016!

Sedgefield Photography Group.

History will be kind to me for

I intend to write it.

The best measure of a man's honesty isn't his income tax return. It's the zero adjust on his bathroom scale.

Arthur C. Clarke

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/w/winston_churchill.html

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/a/arthur_c_clarke.html


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On Wednesday, 9th September, we held an Inter U3A quiz, at Hurworth Grange, Darlington. This was an idea suggested at a committee meeting many months previously, as a way of meeting with other local U3As and, hopefully, developing relationships for other joint events. South Durham U3A is quite small when compared with many others, approximately 170 members, and this sometimes can compromise the type and scope of

events organised for members. So, the thought was, that we should meet other local U3As, on a light-hearted basis, and hopefully educational, and establish contacts for future outings, events and of course, quizzes. Via the Northumbria Regional Committee email distribution system, we contacted, and received, positive replies from 6 U3As, with 2 or 3 more in the wings, and so set about organising the basic parameters for such an event. It should be reasonably distant to give the opportunity for others to

organise themselves, timed to avoid evening travel, a question-master to be approached, the venue to be selected, and agreement required on refreshments and, not least, the cost. We settled on early September, an afternoon event, a certificate for the winning team, a local independent question-master, a venue which we all knew from other community activities, homemade tea and cakes and a minimal cost to cover the venue, question-master and refreshments. Hurworth Grange, just outside Darlington, was able to offer us a large room, and ironically, because of the huge response, and were even able, at late notice, to change to a much larger room, the dance / reception hall. Volunteers from South Durham U3A came forward to prepare, and serve, food and drinks and we set about final notifications.

The large hall was required and we had 80 contestants in 15 teams representing

Darlington, Stockton, Middlesbrough, Wear Tees, Teesdale, Northallerton and ourselves, South Durham. It was a hugely successful event and enjoyed by everyone. The questions were well positioned for the age group and afternoon tea was served at our tables half way through, with individual plates of a scone, fruit loaf and millionaire’s shortbread, tea and coffee.

It was a very good afternoon and we thank all those that took part and helped to make it

so successful. And, finally, I suppose I should mention a winner -

Stockton. Very well done.

Inter U3A quiz


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U3A WESSINGTON

Some of us from our Art Appreciation group were privileged to be invited to Ray Lonsdale's workshop in South Hetton. He is the sculptor of the now famous 'Tommy WW1 hero statue' in Seaham!

It was good getting to know this lovely modest man and how and why he does the sculptures he does! His father had taught him how to weld when he was a child, but little did they know then what beautiful works of art he would create in the future!

The photos show his latest

sculptures. We were fascinat-ed at how he managed to do such intricate work in met-al; just look at the detail of the sweet and the old lady's hands!

We are glad that most of his work is bought and put on public display so

that everyone can admire his sculp-tures as much as we do.


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Our first full meeting as a newly established U3A took place on the 24th June

2015. We are pleased to report that even though this is a new chapter of the U3A,

things are going very well.

The first month's guest speakers were

Sunderland Magistrates in the Community,

giving an interesting talk on the role of mag-

istrates. After the talk ended, there were

lots of questions from our members which

were all willingly answered. In fact the mag-

istrates enjoyed our company so much that

an offer was made for members to visit Sun-

derland Magistrates court. This was fol-

lowed up by a group of members who

attended the court on 12th August and had an extremely interesting morning observing the live court

proceedings. Also, one of the magistrates giving the talk was so impressed by the friendliness of our

members that she even asked if she could join Seaham and District U3A!

Our next two meetings were equally well attended with very interesting guest speakers and lots of peo-

ple joining as new members. On the 13th August 2015 Gwen from the regional ccommittee attended

our steering group meeting and declared the group a fully fledged member of the U3A organisation. It

was a wonderful moment – all of the hard work carried out be the steering committee being recog-

nised and rewarded. Our group now has 83 members and is growing all the time. A great success.

We have also established 13 interest groups which are very well attended and are hoping to launch

more very soon. With a complete program of speakers arranged for the next year things are really

busy.

Dust if you must but wouldn’t it be better to paint a picture or write a letter,

Bake a cake or plant a seed, ponder the difference between want and need.

Dust if you must but there’s not much time, with rivers to swim and mountains to climb.

Music to hear and books to read, friends to cherish and a life to lead.

Dust if you must but the worlds out there, with the sun in your eyes and the wind in your hair

A flutter of snow, a shower of rain, this day will not come around again.

Dust if you must but bear in mind old age will come and it won’t be kind,

And when you go as go you must, you, yourself will make more dust.

Seaham and District U3A


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When I heard that Brian Bennett was to be our speaker for our U3A's September meeting I was

sceptical as to what I was in for.

I have been married to the same man for fifty-two years and even he has failed to stir my interest in all

things sporty. I even went around Ashington in 1966 campaigning against the closure of its remaining

cinemas, rather than sit in front of a football dominated television screen. I was greeted on the whole with

apathy by people who told me "No thanks, I've got a video". Witness the fact that now in 2015 all of the

five cinemas Ashington used to have are no more.

However, I digress. The name Brian Bennett to me meant one of Cliff Richards' Shadows of the fifties/

sixties era. I was sure it would not be he, unless he had another string to his bow. So as minutes

secretary of our branch I attended the meeting, sure I was in for a dull time of it listening to lists of

fixtures, games, and full-time scores.

Not so, from the kick-off Brian a cheery fellow Ashingtonian told us of his love of football at an early

age. His dad even did his paper round for him on a Saturday so he could go to Portland Park and

support the local team. Edna Cockburn of Humber Terrace Post Office was a very understanding

employer where Ashington football was concerned.

Through his sister Sandras' friendship with Hazel Gledhill he met her brother Vince a reporter for the

'Sunday Sun' and through him he was lucky enough to sit with him in the press box while he reported on

a match. Vince was quick to spot the fact that the fifteen year old Brian had a talent for reporting the

Beautiful Game. That he could play and understand it too was in his favour. Although he was on the

receiving end when a report he wrote saying that the goal scorers at that game were wrongly reported as

the numbers did not correspond. Sadly his report was not printed.

He wrote for the Pink and the Sunday Sun newspapers and adopted the name of SCOOP.

Brian was a ordinary working man and his day job was at Welchs' sweet factory. There was no

concession to him for time-off when he decided to attend night school to get the necessary A levels he

needed to to become a reporter, or when there were games both home and away to report on. "Bosses,

he observed," had to love the game", for that kind of concession. He was encouraged by Tom Sheils

who worked for the 'Ashington Post' to get Brian onto its staff.

In 1980 The Colliers enjoyed a very successful season, and when they switched on the floodlights for

the first time at Portland Park, they won against Sunderland.

Brian was gob-smacked to see he had been given a by-line for his report in the 'Sunday Sun, but was

also annoyed that he had been given the nom-de-plume of Paul Chester, as his name was not well

enough known to the public. Fame was to come later when the late Charlie Mills, included his name in a

play he'd written for the Ashington Festival.

Cricket was another love of Brians' and he told us a few amusing anecdotes about his once using the

word exhuberant in his report about a players enthusiasm and being told "full of beans" would have been

suffice Said players mother observed he did not display the same exhuberance when asked to tidy his

bedroom. Also of his friendship with cricketer Steve Harmison whom he'd known all his life.

Apart from not agreeing with mid-week matches, Brian obviously loves his job, and everyone is

surprised to learn he does not get paid for his reports. He has no regrets, and warned us never trust

India as, "They never give reports."

So I sat and scribbled away at my report, and do you know I thoroughly enjoyed listening to his story

For the Love of Sport

Ashington U3A

Norma Talbert,

Ashington U3As' SCOOP!


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Sunderland Airshow

Anxious glances flickered around U3A members and gasps of astonishment as

shiny metal passed within a few feet of shiny metal at ridiculous speed …. and

that was just on the A19 getting there!

Actually, we all got there relaxed, well in time to walk in the sun from the harbour

down to the centre of the

display area – many

members carrying chairs,

lunch bags, rucksacks with

wet weather gear and

some with camera bags

weighing as much as a set

of golf clubs!

There was a bit of poodling

about as the forecast was

for rain and there was

some shuffling of the

programme, but at last the

first 'planes came on the

scene heralding four hours

of amazing acrobatics, precision flying, historic aircraft and guys jumping out of

aircraft.

Special mention must be made

of Gerald Cooper, European

aerobatics champion, who did

the seeming impossible and

made his ‘plane fly sideways

like a crab before shooting

skyward and faking an engine

failure with lots of smoke.

Stunning.

A DFDS ferry parked itself in

the bay …. it would have made

a brilliant vantage point except

it left before the Red Arrows!

This legendary team hit new

highs with their routines which

really cannot be described (but

we have the pictures!). Seeing two aircraft corkscrewing around three more while

pouring red, white and blue smoke at 400mph left you dazed.

The airshow is a great family event and there were so many folk sat on the grass,

apparently quite unaffected by the displays. We saw one family party singing

‘Happy Birthday’ while the Red Arrows were overhead – not an upward glance!!


14

Book Worm

By a slip of timing the Tornado fighter came on

about 5 minutes before the coach was supposed to

leave. What a dilemma! Do you want to watch

£15m of taxpayers money flying at 600mph

making enough noise to curdle milk, or get on the

coach? Tricky!

Anyway, back we went – thankful to be out of the

increasing chill and pleased the coach stayed

below Mach 1. Many thanks to Maureen

Stainthorpe-Smith and Pip Chinn for

organising everything so well.

If you are reading this you must be interested in the Northumbria

Region of U3A. With your interest comes a responsibility, you should now start

thinking (with others) who would be willing and able to replace our current Regional

Trustee on the National body, Gwen Dawe ,who will complete her three year term in

August 2016. Seems to be plenty of time, too soon to plan for another August, BUT the

thoughts and action take time, start now so we can finish in time.

Just a plea from that Old Codger who has seen it all before over more than 20 years!!

Set in the 1800, The marriage of

Opposites is the love story of Rachel, the

mother of Camille Pissarro who scandalises the community

with a passionate love affair with Frederick, the nephew of

her late husband.


15

NORTHUMBRIA REGION U3A

AT GLENDALE SHOW, WOOLER 31ST AUGUST 2015

The brainchild of Bryan Stewart from Wooler U3A, Northumbria Region

took a stand at Glendale Show, Wooler to help raise awareness of the

U3A in the Northumbria Region. Bryan was joined by Hilary Stewart of

Berwick U3A in organising the stand. Our region stretches from Ber-

wick upon Tweed on the east coast just two miles from the Scottish bor-

der, to Rothbury in the west, Saltburn on the east coast and south to Be-

dale in Yorkshire. We were joined at the show by our regional chairman,

John Leiper who lives just over the

border and our regional trustee Gwen

Dawe who had travelled from Sunder-

land. We also had representatives

from Wooler, Berwick, Alnwick, Ashing-

ton, Mid-Northumberland, Chester-le-

Street (Cestria) and Hartlepool U3As

talking to the many members of the

public who stopped at our stand

throughout the day. A number of

U3As who did not take part on the day sent photos and information to

be included in the display. It was therefore a truly regional event. Alt-

hough held in the north of the region, Glendale Show is a huge event at-

tracting up to 15,000 visitors every year who travel to the show from all

over Northumberland and the adja-

cent counties on both sides of the bor-

der.

Gwen said 'It was a pleasure to be

there. We hear so often about the

apathy of members of U3A, it was

wonderful to see the dedication and

enthusiasm demonstrated at the

show'.

This was a perfect venue for publicis-

ing the U3A. The day was a great suc-

cess for the region and should result in a number of new members for

various U3As, but most importantly, we reached many people who had

not heard of the U3A. Thanks to all who contributed.

Hilary Stewart

Berwick U3A


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As trustee for Northumbria, August was a very busy but enjoyable month.

It began with an invitation to Bede of Jarrow U3A to present Mavis Hudson with a

certificate, a record of her entry onto the National Roll of Honour, as a tribute to the

outstanding service she has given to U3A. This is in recognition of the energy and

many hours Mavis has given to ensure the expansion and the success of U3A in

South Tyneside. Congratulations to Mavis.

While steering Houghton le Spring U3A, our newest start-up, towards Third Age

Trust membership, I had the great pleasure of confirming Seaham and District U3A

ready for full membership. Joan Harper and her committee have worked very hard

and achieved such a lot in the short time they have been running. Congratulations

to them all.

August also brought the National Conference and AGM. As Chairman of the Na-

tional Research Committee I was asked to run a workshop on Research. Delegate

numbers made it necessary to repeat the workshop to enable all those interested to

participate. There was also a session “Meet your Trustee”, when all the delegates

from Northumbria Region met together to discuss local matters. It also offered the

opportunity for some valuable networking.

The AGM was exciting this year as the current chairman, Barbara Lewis, was re-

tiring and there were three candidates competing for the role, including our own

John Leiper. Fortunately for us John was not elected. The chair went to Pam Jones,

a current vice-chairman, which means we still have John’s full commitment to ensure

Northumbria Region continues to grow and flourish. Congratulations to all those at-

tending the conference. They will tell you what a rewarding experience it was.

The month finished with the Glendale Show. Berwick U3A, helped by others in

the north of the region, decided to have a stand at the show, advertising and raising

awareness of U3A and the benefits it brings to those reaching retirement. With the

help of a grant from The Third Age Trust and from the Region, the stand was striking

in its display and attracted a lot of attention from prospective members. Congratula-

tions to Hilary Stewart and her team for their tremendous effort.

These are just a few of the highlights representing the ongoing activity at region-

al level. I hope many more of you will come along to our regional meetings, held

four times a year, to share your good practice and learn from others of ways of ben-

efitting your U3A.

If you find this article interesting and would like to be more involved in both re-

gional and national activities, you may like to consider becoming our next Regional

Trustee. My three year term of office will be completed in August 2016 and I would

love to spend some time with my successor, to prepare them for the challenges and

opportunities ahead.

If you would like further information or just a chat, please

get in touch at

[email protected]

TRUSTEE’S REPORT

mailto:[email protected]


17

Festive Lecture 2015

An invited audience of local school children and older learners!

Wednesday 9th December

Herschel Building, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne

1.00-1.30 arrival and street scientists doing some hands-on experiments

1.30-3.00 festive lecture delivered by Professor Sir John Burn, world-leading geneticist

3.00-4.00 mince pies and mulled wine (only for the older learners!)

The address below is a link to a map of Newcastle University Campus and the Her-schel Building is No.17 on the map


And to register www.tinyurl/FestiveLecture2015


18

ARE YOU FEELING STRESSED?

It is assumed that once you retire you have nothing to worry about. Finished work,

family left home and life ahead is all pleasure. For many of us this is not the case.

A relatively new way of dealing with stress is MINDFULNESS. It is being recom-

mended by GPs and groups are sprouting up all over the country, as people realise

its benefits.

It is easy to learn and, unlike lots of other ‘therapies’, it can be done at any time,

anywhere, and only need take a few minutes.

This month sees the start of a new MOOC “Mindfulness for Wellbeing and Peak Per-

formance”, which gives information about the background to and the practice of

MINDFULNESS. This enables you to remove unproductive thoughts and behaviours

and engage more fully with what is really important to you. Mindfulness has been

found to improve attention and concentration, memory, learning and performance,

mental and physical health.

Why not Google ‘futurelearn.com’ and see all the courses, including this one, on of-

fer.

Next year the Regional Committee are planning to hold a one day seminar on MIND-

FULNESS so it will be very useful to have some previous knowledge and practice be-

fore this event.

Regional Trustee

Proposed Geography Quiz Competition

I was the founder of Berwick-upon-Tweed U3A in 2003 and, as a

current member, I propose to organise and run a Geography Quiz

Competition for U3As in the Northumbria Region, starting in January,

2016.

I was a professional geographer and piloted a similar competition for

U3As in Scotland, as the then Vice-Chairman, when Fife U3A, the

winners, spent a free, all inclusive week near Paris.

The competition will involve a team of 4 from each individual U3A

entered. The composition of a team is flexible as accommodation is

adaptable.

The questions will include geographical General Knowledge, artifacts,

photographs, slides, videos, music and other “geographical” items to


19

make it a fun occasion. In the event that your team wins and you have

used one or two reserves then the final team of 4 that will receive the

prize will be a decision YOUR U3A will have to make.

The first rounds will be held on a Tuesday or Wednesday but if your

U3A meets on another day then an alternative day may be arranged to

suit.

To enter, each team will be asked to contribute £10.00 towards the

acquirement of materials and the expenses of the “question team”.

Preliminary entries (or intention to enter) indicated by the 31st

October, 2015. An Entry form w ill be posted to the relevant

person with responsibility for the team.

Confirmed entries must be completed by the 30th November, 2015.

The first rounds will begin on Tuesday, 19th January, 2016 and

Wednesday, 20th January. Every effort w ill be made to “pair off”

adjacent U3As during these rounds.

The Rules and Format will be forwarded, with the Entry Form, early in

November.

The competition is a light-hearted and fun way with Geography!, so

please stress this aspect to your members.

Depending on the number of entries, Quarter Finals will be held with

one in the northern half, one in the southern half and two in the centre

of the region.

Semi Finals will take place at two other different venues from the

Quarter Finals.

The Final w ill be held in Berw ick on a Saturday or Sunday.

The winning team will receive their Trophy on the day and their prize

at a suitable date for them in 2017.

Letters of Intention should be forwarded to Jeff Armstrong at:-

“Herringfield”; 15B, Lamberton; Berwickshire; TD15 1XB.

Members from the History and Oral History groups of the U3A based in the Georgian

town of Richmond, North Yorkshire, were recently involved in an exciting volunteer project to

research and develop an exhibition for the town’s regimental museum, the Green Howards

Museum. The exhibition called ‘Changing Places: One Building, 1000 Years’ charts the story of

the museum building, the Grade II listed Trinity Church, and its many different uses over the

last millennium.

Trinity Church is situated in the centre of Richmond’s large market place. There has

been a church on the site since the late eleventh century and church courts were also held here

for more than 700 years. Trinity Church Square has, for generations, also been home to a

variety of commercial traders and their families. The volunteers helped to identify former

CHANGING PLACES: ONE BUILDING, 1000 YEARS


20

residents and what role they, and the site itself, played in the life of the town.

The U3A volunteer team were able to use numerous skills, whether in researching court

and town government records at County Record Offices, trawling through online census records,

or networking and developing new friendships when following through family histories. In

addition, searches were made for suitable material and objects to be displayed in the exhibition.

These ranged from copies of early seventeenth century Act Books, Court papers and Indenture

leases, through to family photographs, the former Grammar

School uniform of red & black striped blazer and cap, and

musical scores written by Henry Blow. Henry was bandmaster

of the Richmond Town Band at the beginning of the 20th

century, and also owned a bazaar in one of the three shops in

the north aisle of the church from around 1910.

Recorded oral histories undertaken by the U3A group

included three

Richmond

residents, none

younger than

90 but all with

excellent

memories. They

shared with us

interesting

family photographs and documents relating to their ancestors who had traded in the church

itself and around Trinity Church Square.

Trinity Chapel was built as a garrison chapel in about 1071, around the same time as

Richmond Castle was begun by Alan Rufus, first Earl of the Honour of Richmond. When

researching the site, it was interesting to discover the subsequent uses of the Church. Over the

centuries it has served not only as a place of worship, but also as a court, a gaol, a refuge for

the town’s inhabitants during the plague, a market, and a cafe.

Virginia Arrowsmith, the museum’s Community Liaison Officer explains:

“Whilst the history of the building is relatively well-documented, the six month long

project also saw us researching the lives of the people connected to it, including a

butcher, a saddler, a bellman and the town crier. For me, this was one of the most

fascinating aspects of the project”

“The volunteers delved into the story using sources such as census information, historic

maps and photographs, as well oral accounts from older members of the community with

memories of the area around the market place dating back to the late 1920’s.”

“As word spread in the town about the research that was being carried out, local people

popped into the museum with photographs and information, and shared their memories

with us.”

The Changing Places exhibition opened to the public in May and ran through to August.

It is now on loan to the County Record Office in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, where it will


21

To get the grey cells working!

Bacon

Bansky

Barye

Blake

Bosch

Boyd

Braque

Brown

Bruyn

Chardin

Cole

Dali

Degas

Dufy

Durer

Ernst

Etty

Goya

Gris

Hep-

worth

Heyden

Kitaj

Klee

Lowry

Manzu

Monet

Moore

Morse

Nash

Nolde

Pas-

more

Pencz

Renoir

Rodin

Rubens

Sisley

Steen

Sully

Trimbull

Van-

dyke

Warhol

West

Yves

Klein

It has been suggested that

we have a ‘Reader’s Letter’s’ page as a way to open up

communication and share ideas between

groups.

Send them in, even if it’s just to let the editor

know what you like or don’t like!

Please send them to the Editor, might be an

idea to keep them to about 150

words.

remain on display until the end of the year. There are further plans to take the exhibition out

into local community venues during 2016 in order to engage a wider audience with this

remarkable story.

Richmond U3A members involved in the project were:

Iris Bound, Ruth Brown, Jenny Cathcart, Pat Croft, Anthea Dunne, Eleanor Fairbrother,

Olive Harrison, Mavis Hodgson, Marcia Howard, Maureen Hunt, Lorna Kitchin,

Gill Manning, Dorothy Pearce, Audrey Place, Inge Robson, Rita Rodber,

Shirley Thubron, and Audrey Yeardley.


22

Committee - Elected at 2015– 2016 Elected at AGM

Please send copy for the January edition to [email protected]

by 20th December 2015

All articles preferably in Word/RTF and images in jpeg format.

Snail mail: 9 Burn Valley Gardens, Station Town, Durham, TS285EU

Tel: 01429 599672

Our cover photo is by GORDON THORNE Ashington U3A

(As with all photographs printed in Messenger copyright remains with

photographer)

For copies of this publication, photographs of some events and other regional

information visit the

Northumbria Region website:

www.u3asites.org.uk/northumbria

U3A Northumbria Region is a registered charity - Reg Charity No. 1116695

Position Person Elected Email Address

Chairman John Leiper [email protected]

Vice Chair - temporary Bill Brookes [email protected]

Secretary Alexa Rainsford [email protected]

Treasurer Robert Berry [email protected]

Ex Officio

Regional Trustee Gwen Dawe [email protected]

Reg Development Contact Bill Brookes as for Vice Chair

Contact List & IT Phil Thompson [email protected]

Newsletter Editor Jan Jenner [email protected]

Members without Portfolio

Jim Edwardson [email protected]

Judy Smith [email protected]

Christine Walker [email protected]

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