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Committee Letter from
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Interest
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New Groups At the “garden party”, the following
suggestions were received: German – improvers/conversation Flower Arranging Computing for Beginners (for which one
of our members is willing to act as tutor). I shall, at the September plenary
meetings, display all the suggestions for members to “sign up” if interested.
Anyone with a further suggestion please contact me. Alternatively, (and this especially
for the 60% who rarely attend Thursday meetings) you can phone me to express
an interest – phone number from Alan Boden. John
Barrett Ambling On two occasions in the last nine
months we have had to adapt our walks to cope with snow and heat! Yes, the
temperature reached 26 degrees one Tuesday in June, when we sought the shade of
woodland footpaths, and in the winter we rambled nearer home to avoid
treacherous road conditions, rather than give up our walk. We are a small but enthusiastic group
who enjoy the fresh air, exercise, and countryside, as well as the
camaraderie of our fellow walkers – and it’s good for our health too! Pauline
Dennison Choir Next season the choir has been invited
to sing for two charities. Because of the shortage of rehearsal time, both
programmes will be somewhat similar to that of the Swanland Festival Concert
on Friday 18th July. Profits from that event will help to buy more music,
which costs something like £1 for a second for a choir of our size. On Friday, 24th October, the choir
will be at the Guild Hall in On Friday, 14th November, the choir
will be in Driffield to raise money for the Driffield Marie Curie Cancer Care Group, which has been
active for 60 years. Peter Bingham Classical Films 30 Sept High Noon (Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly c1952) 28 Oct High
Sierra (Humphrey Bogart, Ida Lupino, c1941) (not a
Western!) 25 Nov Riddle
of the Sands (Michael York, Jenny Agutter, c 1979 (from the Erskine
Childers novel) 30 Dec Christmas
Carol (Alistair Sim, c
1951) 27 Jan Went
the Day Well (Leslie Banks, Elizabeth Allan, c
1942) (WW2 propaganda film written by Graham Green, re Nazi invasion) Bill
Swain Family History Following individual research, several
members have given fascinating and illuminating talks on their ancestors,
sometimes producing letters, articles, books, artefacts, and in one case music. Although some members have a local
connection, others have to search much further afield,
including At each meeting one member reviews the
Family Tree magazine and there is usually time for discussion on people’s
problems/successes, plus advice from our more experienced members. Our normal meeting goes from 10am to
12 noon, but December’s will begin at 9.30 am and January’s will be on the
second Friday (9th). The group has decided to charge an annual fee of £10 to
cover room hire, rather than £1 monthly. Guests pay £1 and after two visits
make a decision on membership. Shirley Scotney French Conversation 2 Fearsome French Fun! - Our group turned Thespian at one of its
meetings and acted “Le Petit Chaperon Rouge” (Little Red Riding Hood). A
majestic maman, a demure damsel, a gutsy
grandmother, a wicked wolf and a heroic hunter performed their parts,
interspersed with the ringing rhetoric of four narrators. We gave ourselves
such a resounding encore that, after rôle-swapping,
we repeated the play! Our resident French literary critic, Monsieur Jean
Crawley, said it was “un tragi-comédie très Corneille”! Gill Dalby French 3 Now that we are all getting to know
each other, everyone is feeling more relaxed and less inhibited about trying
out their, sometimes, rusty French. We usually start with our week’s news
and then go on to a point of grammar or vocabulary, followed by some reading,
listening, a role play or a game. We concentrate on vocabulary and
situations we are likely to meet in Italian – self help During the past year we have continued
to follow (slowly) a course book and have practised the usual activities of
reading, speaking and listening, plus a little grammar, but have also done
crosswords and a short detective story. The emphasis is definitely on
enjoyment. Another trip to Jazz & Swing 9 Sept The
Fine Art of Mainstream Richard 14 Oct Beyond
the Swing Era Geoff 11 Nov Swing
’35 to ’44 Cyril 9 Dec Bring
a couple of your favourites All 13 Jan Fats
Waller & his Rhythm Bill Bill Swain Latin The Latin Group under the tutorship of
Keith Bruckshaw, who comes from This year was have
tackled passages from Plautus, in fact an early
play, Catullus, Cicero and others. One interesting exercise has been
trying old O level papers kept by members of the group and comparing them
with specimen GCSE exercises. The difference in standard is amazing. It is
also amazing that we were able to pass them at the time! Latin may be a “dead” language but our
meetings are very lively and full of fun. Pam Portal Literature Having drawn up our reading list for
2008-9, we realise that there is a definite trend in the settings for current
novels, and last year’s books were set in countries ranging from We have been learning much of the
cultures and mores of these countries, and have had to try to adapt our
thinking to the ethos and attitudes of the different races portrayed in our
reading. Pauline Dennison Local History 10 Sept Healthcare in (Liz & Jean) 15 Oct “Voices
from the Past”- the 100th Anniversary of Beverley Girls HS this year. (All the Old Girls) 12 Nov A
look at the establishment of 16 County Secondary Schools including 10 Dec Superstitions
and Customs (All) 14 Jan A
History of Our visit to Beverley Treasure House
was of great interest and enjoyed by all. We learnt a lot. Bill Swain Play Reading 3 NEW With support from members of groups 1
and 2, our group has been launched, and meets on the second Tuesday afternoon
of the month. Anyone interested in joining an informal friendly group would
be very welcome. Barbara King Read it Aloud We would like to start a second group
to accommodate the people on the waiting list, but need another three or four
members to join in to make it viable. If you enjoy reading books, magazines,
poetry or papers, you would enjoy the informal and relaxed atmosphere of our
meetings. If you would be interested in joining us, please give myself or Joy
Bragg a ring – telephone numbers from Alan Boden
(631651). Jennie Thomas Recorders Since we started in September 2004 we
have increased our membership from three to eight. We have entertained at several places during
the past year. There was our U3A concert before Christmas and shortly after
we performed at Willersley House for the elderly in
Willerby. Our next event was at Sewerby
Hall in the Orangery, where we had a receptive
audience and sent £20 in donations to the Leukaemia Research Fund. Brantingham Hall was the next venue at
the All Saints Church, Brantingham, garden party.
Unfortunately a very strong wind meant we could not keep the music on the
stands, so it had to be abandoned. We played at the U3A (so called) garden
party in July, driven indoors by the weather, and we look forward to future
events. We play music from Elizabethan times
up to modern day folk music, and we now have the full consort of descant,
treble, tenor and bass. The group was dismayed at the loss of
Marjorie Percival, who died recently. She was a committed member, and gave a
great deal of her expertise to the group. She will be sadly missed. We look forward to the next year, and
new members would be most welcome. Molly Gerrard Short Walking The walks are 3 to 4 miles long and
are on the Wednesday before the Thursday meetings – ie
alternating with the Wednesday Walking group (6 miles plus). Currently we
have about 18 members and typically 10 turn up. Slips with details of the
walks are available from me at the start of each walk and are on the notice
board at the Thursday meetings. Any queries, ring me
or Jim Wilson (numbers from Alan Boden 631651).
John Marshall Spanish Improvers The group began as a beginners group,
and has met regularly on a Monday afternoon, and is now fully subscribed. From the many queries I receive, it
would appear that there is enough interest to form a new Beginners Group. Is
there anyone amongst our members who would be interested in leading such a
group? Last month we were pleased to welcome
two authentic Spanish speakers, in the shape of two granddaughters who were
on holiday from their home in the south of To our delight we were treated to an
unaccompanied rendition of the Spanish entry to the 2008 Eurovision Song
Contest, coincidentally the text of which we had studied the previous week.
We were thus able to understand the words and enjoy the live performance,
prettily sung thanks to our two young Spanish visitors. Hazel Ward Spanish Intermediate We meet on the 2nd and 4th Thursday to
practise conversational skills at our own level. Currently there is limited
availability for new members, who would be warmly welcomed. We use spoken recorded material for
listening comprehension practice; most recently we had an interview from a
Spanish radio station in which differences of life styles between northern
and southern Authentic Spanish texts on a topical
or amusing subject taken from newspapers or magazines give opportunities not
only for comprehension, but also for development of vocabulary and
grammatical points, which are practised and revised as they occur. Our latest
topic El Ciclismo arose out of the personal
interest of the group and was based on a report describing a cycling trip, in
which the aim was to foster the use of cycles in the Our aim is to keep up the Spanish
already acquired in an informal and lively way, with the emphasis on
enjoyment. Hazel Ward Theatregoers The Theatregoers group currently has
40 members. Numbers attending events range from four to 40. The group is open
to all members of the U3A and we warmly welcome new members at any time. If
you have any queries regarding any of the events or would like to join the
group (£1.50 per household per annum to cover
printing, postage, telephone etc) please ring me for further details The programme for the coming season
includes 6 September “A Tale of Two Cities”, Leeds; 20 September “Absurd
Person Singular”, Sheffield; 18 October “The Merchant of Venice”, The group has been operating for
approximately four years, and we have found the easiest and most efficient
way to travel is by train, using Brough Station for
Leeds and Sheffield, and Cottingham Station for Scarborough. A Senior
Railcard, available from the local Council Customer Services centres costs
£14 per annum and gives one-third off the cost of any journey. We pick up by
car and park at the station. Socially the group has been a
resounding success, encouraging interaction between the members. Generally,
on a theatre day, most of the group attending an event tend to gather for
lunch at an agreed venue and small groups and pairs have attended other
events or met up to partake in a variety of activities. Jean Quantrill Theatregoers info Wednesday Walking We walk between 5½ and 7 miles across
varying terrain, with group members taking a turn to check out and lead a
walk once they become familiar and comfortable with this concept. We have
capacity within the group for additional members from Swanland U3A to join
the walks and details are regularly updated on the notice board at the
Thursday lectures, with other information being available from the conveners. Earlier this year we were invited to
join a walking day organised by Harrogate U3A at |
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