and next month

Our meeting this month …

Wednesday 18th August 2pm, Zoom Cybercrime - Laura Cowie and Grahame Mace

Laura Cowie and Grahame Mace have been working in the cyber and fraud worlds now for a number of years. Working as Cyber Protect Officers they are part of Devon and Cornwall Police’s Cybercrime Unit; their main aim is to prevent people from becoming victims of cybercrime. The talk will explain what exactly cybercrime is, and why criminals are turning to it instead of more traditional crimes. They will speak about the internet and those devices we all have which connect to it. There are a number of different cyber threats both locally and nationally we need to all be aware of, so they will cover some of the more popular ones as well as touching on social media and further steps to keep protected whilst online in general.

… and next month

Wednesday 15th September 2pm, Tiverton Rugby Club and Zoom The Great American Songbook - Roger Browne

Jazz, Minstrel Music, Blues, Opera, Operetta, Musical Theatre, The Two World Wars, The Financial Rollercoasters of the first half of the 20th century and The Golden Age of Radio, were all influencers of, and inspirations for, the great composers of the years between the two wars. Composers such as George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Harry Warren, Hoagy Carmichael, and many others, between them, wrote thousands of richly melodic masterpieces, with equally memorable lyrics. The output of this period became known as “The Great American Songbook” In this talk, Roger traces the history and music of this genre and, as with all his talks, he illustrates it with live examples on the piano, and the hilarious stories about the people, places and events that fuelled the development of this unique milestone in Western popular music.

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Our Website http://u3asites.org.uk/exevalley Facebook Exe Valley u3a

National Website http://www.u3a.org.uk/

Newsletter 163 - August 2021

News from the Committee Last month’s speaker Mike Hollingsworth is a regular on the u3a circuit (we were his 21st

audience this year) and a real expert on medicines, having been Senior Lecturer in Pharmacology at Manchester University. He took us on a truly fascinating journey through the history and composition of penicillin, aspirin and morphine, so that none of us tonguing a tablet can ever say we don’t know what’s in it again. The small but appreciative audience came away truly enlightened.

Looking forward to September … Don’t forget that on Wednesday September 15th at 2pm we are again meeting face to face in the rugby club! We really look forward to seeing lots of new and old members at this, but please remember to book your place with the secretary Marion Luck as soon as possible, as numbers will be considerably reduced owing to ongoing hygiene concerns. You will need to book with Marian by 5pm Tuesday 7th September at the very latest.

However, we will also be experimenting with a hybrid setup, so that those who wish to continue meeting on Zoom, or who can’t get a ticket, will still be able to see our Speaker and submit questions, using the usual login.

Sorry, but we won’t be serving tea at this meeting, until we see quite what the venue hygiene and Covid restrictions are likely to be. Bring your own thermos!

************************************************************************** New Members

We extend a very warm welcome to four new members this month - Valerie Burns, Kathleen Holmes, Andrew Mason and Sally Ricketts. We hope you enjoy your time with us and find us a friendly, active and informative group.

************************************************************************** Welfare Officer

Marilyn Dawson Marilyn prefers to be contacted by email. If you know of anyone who is ill or has been admitted to hospital, or anyone who has a special anniversary to celebrate, please email Marilyn with details and she will send a card on our behalf. We will also add an item to the monthly committee agenda so that Marilyn can let the committee know via the secretary if she has sent anyone a card. It would also be helpful if group leaders could keep Marilyn informed of anyone in their group who they think should receive such a card.

************************************************************************** Newsletter

Please email reports for the next Newsletter to Lynne by 9am Friday September 10th. Thank you!

************************************************************************** Bowls

(This isn't a u3a group, but many of our members take part.) Bowls is a healthy and satisfying outdoor pursuit and is ideal for both men and women of any age. Tiverton clubs would be pleased to show you the basics of the sport and then try a short

game, with a view to playing regularly. Equipment will be provided and a member of the club will provide guidance. The clubs have qualified coaches to advise any new bowlers or refresh the skills of anyone who has played previously. All you need is a pair of flat soled shoes.

************************************************************************** GENERAL KNOWLEDGE JULY QUIZ

contributed by Chris Hammett 1. Which Beatle sang ''Here comes the Sun''? 2. The ''First Day of Summer'' is an annual Public Holiday celebrated in which

European Country in April? 3. Who was credited with saving 77 lives during 7 summers working as a

lifeguard at Lowell Park, Illinois starting in 1926? 4. Who sang about the ''Summer of 69''? 5. Which novel is told partly by its heroine Esther Summerson? 6. Who has a summer villa at Castel Gandolfo? 7. What is the Italian word for Summer? 8. Which actor, who later found fame in ''It ain't half hot Mum'' played one of

Cliff Richard's friends in ''Summer Holiday''? 9. Which singer was known as the ''Queen of Disco''? 10. What famous Walt Disney characters first words were ''Hot dog''? 11. British Summer Time begins and ends on the last Sunday of which two months

(two answers) 12. The lyrics ''all around, people looking half dead, walking on the sidewalk,

hotter a match head'' are from which song by the Lovin' Spoonful? 13. In the heat of summer the iron in the Eiffel Tower expands making the tower

grow by more than 6 inches. True or False? 14. Name the cities that hosted the Summer Olympics in 1952, 1960, 1972 and

1988. 15. What was the title of the 1998 sequel to the 1997 film ''I know what you did

last Summer''? 16. Which musical features the song “Summertime''? 17. Who were ''sitting in the midday sun'' in 1973? 18. Can you give the first line of Grease's ''Summer nights'' lyrics? 19. ''I'm gonna raise a fuss, I'm gonna raise a holler, about working all summer,

just to try to earn a dollar''. Which late artiste performed this iconic song? 20.How many points in Scrabble would you get for the word SUMMER?

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News from the Interest Groups

Arts Appreciation Gina Brown, Keith Bush, Catherine Makepeace, John Massey During July, members enthusiastically shared pictures of varied interiors, as well as industrial art for discussion via Zoom and email.

This month’s Zoom meeting will be the last via this medium and will take place at 2pm on Thursday 19 August; the theme will be ‘Ships and the Sea’. The featured painting for the art appreciation exercise will be ‘Dance to the Music of Time’ by Poussin (see above); and we will be sharing pictures featuring ‘Light’.

We are excitedly looking forward to meeting in person once again on Thursday 16 September at 2pm in the Britton building at the Old Heathcoat School Community Centre. John will be giving a presentation on the 20th Century Welsh painter Nina Hamnett; this will be followed, in true democratic style, by discussion of what will be of interest to members for future meetings, including whether any of the activities shared during lockdown should be continued. Anyone wanting to join the Group or just to dip their toe in the water on that date will be more than welcome.

Board Game Group Marilyn Dawson The Board Game Group is still not planning to meet at present. We are short of members so if you would like to spend a fun afternoon playing board games old and new, please get in touch.

Boules Tuesday Boules Janet Phythian

We are enjoying playing every Tuesday morning from 11am until 1pm at the Waldrons in Cullompton which is a very pleasant oasis in the town.

Thursday Boules Joan Kelly The Group is still meeting every Thursday at 10am weather permitting. We now have a regular group of core members who are very enthusiastic and it is much enjoyed by us all.

Discussion Irene Oakley Another lively morning with the discussion group! Our first subject was 'Should Shamima Begum be allowed to return to the UK to fight for her citizenship?' Shamima was 15 years old when she left the UK to go to Syria where she was married to an Isis fighter 10 days later. Six years on, she is in a camp in NE Syria along with many other Isis brides and children. The Home Secretary removed her passport and it was thought she was eligible for a Bangladeshi passport through her parents. Bangladesh has refuted this and if she arrived there, she would be imprisoned with the possibility of capital punishment. Currently she is stateless and appeals have failed to let her return to the UK to fight her case. We discussed the implications of her return, if permitted. Where would she belong? Who would she identify with? Would she still be radicalised and a terrorist threat? Under law she should have a right to justice and to plead her case. Perhaps by not allowing her to return it is enforcing a negative view on the UK and could turn more people to be radicalised!! Does she deserve a second chance?!!

Our second more light-hearted subject was 'Have you ever caused chaos around you?' Getting lost aged 3, definitely caused chaos and worry for her parents and the loss of a handbag, which wasn’t really lost after all, certainly caused chaos for a few hours. Chaos was also caused vicariously by one member who adopted the personna of a very naughty little girl who got up to lots of mischief. Her children delighted in her doings and helped to think of naughtiness while realising they shouldn’t do it! Lastly a student performance of Lord of the Flies had a slightly different build up of chaos, in the murder scene, each night.

Our next meeting is on the 10th September at 10:15am, at Marilyn’s home where we will be discussing 'What is your attitude to Risk and what is the greatest Risk you have ever taken?' Secondly, 'Should we change to phonetic spelling?'

Folk Dancing Pat Robertson, Tiverton u3a Pat is erring on the side of caution and planning to return to dancing in September…unless of course there is another “wave”!! We will meet on 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month, 2.30 - 4.30pm in Halberton Village Hall (car park at rear and bus stop outside). New members are always welcome….no partner or previous experience required! Look forward to seeing some of you there - just come along or give me Anne Everleigh a call.

Gardening Joan Kelly, Jo Jeffrey, Carol Powney We are not meeting in August but have planned to visit Pounds, near Hemyock in September. This garden is described as - a cottage garden, colourful borders and roses, set within low flint walls with distant views, plus a furrow orchard among ornamental trees. We will be meeting there on an allocated NGS day. Monday 13 September 2pm.

Local History David Meredith Mid-August summer weather did not allow us to meet outside in The Exe Valley Farm Shop café but we were nicely accommodated in the upstairs large and well ventilated café area.

Numbers were limited to 36 and we are sorry several had to be refused places. A delightful talk was given by Helen May who spoke about the family Farm which produced beef, lamb, pork and 5 varieties of potatoes all sold in the shop and also sold under contract to Morrisons. The excellent farmland stretched from Thorverton Bridge to Stoke Canon Bridge. She and husband Ross, their 3 children and other employees worked the land with her niece managing the Farm shop and her son’s girlfriend running the café. Very much a family concern. The opportunity came up 3 years ago to develop the small on-site shop into a country store with a butchery and café based on the principles of local produce. Helen also told us about the small Netherexe church located on their farmland believed to date from 1125. Without electricity, water or a made-up road to it, 4 services were held each year all well attended. As churchwarden she was probably the youngest churchwarden in Devon! Waiting staff took orders and served tea and cakes amidst plenty of chat. It certainly felt good to be with people face to face. A look around and purchase from the store ended a very enjoyable afternoon.

Our second outdoor visit takes place next month on Thursday September 9th. Meet at the Haddon Hill Car Park, 1pm, for a picnic lunch, bring your own chairs. 2pm hear a talk by the Exmoor National Park Conservation Officer on the archaeology and history of this fascinating area high above Wimbleball Reservoir and home to wandering ponies. 2.45pm Optional circular walk around the summit, just over a mile on firm and fairly flat ground. The heather should be in full colour at this time and if lucky skylarks will be around. I will be sending out final details nearer the time. Plenty of parking with toilets but no undercover space so very dependent on a fine day. Please let me know if you wish to be added to our mailing list.

If the covid situation allows, I hope that from October we can return to monthly meetings at the Cherith Hall.

MOTO (Members On Their Own) Wendy Cook We were due to meet as usual for al fresco coffee at Elsie May's on Saturday 31st July, but due to an outbreak of this wretched virus, it was closed so we had to switch venues at the last moment. After a fair amount of panic on my part, it was suggested by one of our members that we meet at The Lowman, where not only do they have a garden but also an outdoor covered area. We were made very welcome by the owners and have decided to switch our monthly coffee mornings to The Lowman permanently. We have also decided to restart our Sunday lunches, the first one is on 12th September at Tiverton Golf Club.

Now all sorts of other events and venues are reopening, there is much more scope for our outings, so if you are interested in joining us and you are on your own, please come along to coffee on Saturday 28th August, 10.30 at The Lowman, Lowman Green, Tiverton - near the Clocktower.

Musical Discoveries Jean Fogg, Patricia Sansom The subject of last month's meeting was unusual instruments or voices and once again our members excelled themselves with their selection of music. Many of the composers were completely unknown to me including many multi-cultural musicians, our group name proving to be most appropriate!

The prize for the most confusing choice (and also for most surprised member) goes to Mike who had forgotten the piece he'd chosen, thinking he'd sent a vegetable orchestra........is everyone following this?! Most bizarre prize goes to Nigel who chose a bamboo flute piece,

the musician wearing what appeared to be a waste paper basket on his head, apparently designed to "remove the ego", you really couldn't make this up! We heard bagpipes playing the blues, a wooden xylophone playing Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring, the original theme to Dr. Who which was the first electronic music to be used for a TV programme, a contemporary style of clapping music, a spooky woodland themed piece sung by Yma Sumac, a ukulele orchestra playing The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and Florence Foster Jenkins murdering Adele's Laughing Song in her own inimitable style. We also heard weird and wonderful percussion instruments, pan pipes, choirs, folk music and a 1952 Bollywood musical, the first production in this genre.

Our August meeting will take place on Friday 20th August at 2pm via Zoom when the subject will be unusual versions of famous pieces.....what fun!

Poetry Margaret Wallwork

A Baker’s half dozen (? = 7) met this month at Tim’s, but with the unshaded temperature outside nudging 110° Fahrenheit, (43° C) we rapidly adjourned indoors with all windows and doors open and fans cooling us down. Three funny ladies were our subject:

Wendy Cope Carol Ann Duffy Dorothy Parker

- who proved to be just right for a languid summer afternoon, just demanding enough to get us discussing while entertaining enough to tickle our funny bones.

William Barnes’ Dorset Dialect works could be more challenging - August 26th, 2pm at Tim’s, but new members ready to give him a go are most welcome.

Rambling Ray Rice Our planned August walk fell victim to the wonderful summer weather we are experiencing lately! Fortunately we cancelled the evening before to save last minute problems contacting people, and as it turned out, it was the right decision, because the rain next morning was relentless!

We will try to do the same walk as was planned for August in September, so on Thursday September 2nd, Chris Tully will lead us on a walk starting from the Globe Inn in Sampford Peverell, along the Grand Western Canal, then via Connegar, Boobery, Higher Town, some more canal, then Sampford bridge, fields to the Village Hall, and finally the canal back to the Globe. She estimates this will take just under 2 hours, with lunch at the Globe afterwards. As usual, please let me know if you plan to join us for this walk, so that we can arrange lunch numbers with the Globe.

The plan for October is a walk led by Keith around the Sandford area, on October 7th. More details nearer the date.

Reading Reading Group 1 Alison Rice

This month’s book was Black Swan Green by David Mitchell. This was his fourth novel and followed his highly acclaimed Cloud Atlas. It is a coming of age novel written through the eyes of 12-13 year old Jason, afflicted with a bad stammer (for which he is mercilessly bullied by his schoolmates) who has to put up with a dysfunctional home life. He lives another interior existence writing poetry under a pseudonym and finds solace and understanding with an elderly bohemian emigre who encourages him to stand up for himself. After encounters with gypsies, and obtaining some respect from his tormentors, Jason emerges with some dignity. There are pertinent comments on Mrs Thatcher’s reign and the Falkland war, and witty observations on family life. We found the characters to be authentic, especially Jason who is relatable and likeable, with exquisite use of language especially his slang, and references to pop culture. The group was almost unanimous in its praise for the book, giving high marks all round, which is unusual!

We next meet on August 23 at 2pm to discuss Warlight by Michael Ondaatje.

Reading Group 2 Chris Redhead On 2 August we met face-to-face again to discuss Disgrace by JM Coetzee. Although it was generally agreed that this book was well written, it concerned a selfish and lecherous university professor in south Africa for whom most of us felt little sympathy. The story included an attack on the professor, his daughter and the dogs she was boarding on her farm and provoked a detailed and interesting discussion. One of our number had personal experience of such an attack on her family and could lend insight into the motivation and intention of such violence in post-apartheid South Africa. The book did nothing to restore our faith in human nature but it did provide us with food for thought.

As usual over tea our conversation broadened to a range of associated and then not remotely connected topics and exemplified the u3a exhortation to live, learn and laugh – we did a lot of laughing.

Our next meeting is on Monday 6 September at 2pm at Wendy’s house. We hope that next time we won’t find ourselves between the erection of a telegraph pole and the re-roofing of the village hall. We will be discussing Grandmothers by Salley Vickers and receiving the first book from our newly submitted choices list of twenty four books from the library.

Old Road Reading Group Sally Butler Our book this month was the posthumous collection of Helen Dunmore’s short stories, Girl, Balancing. Several months before her death, the author gave her files and notes to her son from which the book was produced. She looks at life, love, friendship, betrayal and grief and writes about the gaps between people, the way in which love can be selfish and oppressive, about misunderstandings which are sometimes wilful and sometimes nobody’s fault. She negotiates the difficult territory in which people reach out to each other and find that the other’s, once necessary hand, has fallen away. Most of our group completed the book, all had preferences from the various stories and we agreed that we would prefer one complete story rather than a collection of short stories. Helen Dunmore’s extraordinary range as a writer has prompted one of our group members to select her last novel, Birdcage Walk, as one of her book choices for the group.

Our next meeting will be on Thursday 26th August.

World History Chris Hammett In July’s meeting of World History, Helen Booth told us about the Great British Seaside and a most interesting talk it turned out to be with lots of superb photos. Helen told us about the creation of seaside infirmaries in places like Margate. She told us King George third’s physician suggested that the sea air at Exmouth was as good as any to be found in the south of

France. Scarborough claims to have had the first bathing machine in 1735 - Helen described these bathing machines which were meant to provide privacy and coverage for women who were changing. In the 1800s swimsuits were typically called bathing gowns they were long dresses typically made of wool. Some time around 1811-1820 visiting the beach began to be more for pleasure than therapy. The first swimming club, for men only, started in Brighton in 1858.

With the coming of the railways, it became easier to get to seaside resorts. In 1845 Thomas Cooke organized his first commercial venture, by train, from Leicester to Liverpool, 1200 booked places on this trip and 800 a fortnight later. John Heathcoat organized a trip for his workers in 1854 to Teignmouth.

She told us the first holiday camp (again for men only) opened in 1894 on the Isle of Man, where the men stayed in tents, Caster in Norfolk soon followed with a camp. Gradually these camps changed from tents to more permanent brick-built structures. She told us about Billy Butlin whose first holiday camp opened at Skegness in 1936 followed by Clacton on Sea two years later, his aim was to make the British seaside holiday accessible to all. Billy Butlin once lived in Tiverton. After the war holiday camps became very popular, offering three meals a day and lots of entertainment throughout the day.

During the 1950/1960 self-catering holidays grew and through the 1960/1970 car ownership grew so people could now drive themselves to the seaside, this led to many traffic jams in the West Country. By this time people had started to take package holidays abroad to places like the Spanish Costas, where sunshine was more guaranteed. This saw the British seaside holiday start to decline, leading to loss of jobs and the decaying of many of the British seaside resorts. Some have rebranded themselves as specialist destinations.

Following Helen’s talk, we all reminisced about our early seaside holidays.

We are having a holiday ourselves in August but will return on Monday September 20th with a Zoom talk by Alan Ball from West Lakes u3a in Cumbria, entitled “The rise and fall of maritime West Cumbria.”

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A reminder of Zoom log in details. You can join any of our groups by clicking on the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2772605615?pwd=WW9MbVc1Y1piOUdVMHAyWkpQMS9Rdz09 or join Zoom and click Join Meeting: ID: 277 260 5615 Password 471390

************************************************************************** DIARY

AUGUST Monday 16th Tuesday 17th

11am - Boules - The Walronds, Cullompton 7.30pm Bridge - Bridge Base Online

Wednesday 18th 2pm Monthly meeting - Zoom - Cyber Crime Laura Cowie and Grahame Mace

Join as usual: Click or Ctrl + click: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2772605615?pwd=WW9MbVc1Y1piOUdVMHAyWkpQMS9Rdz09 Meeting ID 277 260 5615, password 471390. (OR PHONE 0131 460 1196 or 0203 051 2874. A voice will ask you to enter the meeting ID (as above), followed by #. When asked if you are a participant, press #. It then asks for the password, followed by #. Then you'll be in, by audio only.)

Thursday 19th 10am Boules - The Walronds, Cullompton 2pm Art Appreciation - Zoom

Friday 20th 2pm Musical Discoveries - Zoom Monday 23rd

2pm Reading Group 1 Tuesday 24th


Wednesday 25th Thursday 26th

10am Boules - The Walronds, Cullompton 11am Old Road Reading Group 2pm Poetry Group - Tim’s

Friday 27th Saturday 28th

10.30 MOTO coffee – The Lowman, Lowman Green, Tiverton Monday 30th Bank Holiday Tuesday 31st

11am - Boules -The Walronds, Cullompton

7.30pm Bridge - Bridge Base Online SEPTEMBER Wednesday 1st

10am Committee meeting - OHSCC Thursday 2nd

10am Boules - The Walronds, Cullompton Rambling Group - Globe Inn, Sampford Peverell

Friday 3rd Monday 6th

2pm Reading Group 2 - at Wendy’s Tuesday 7th


Wednesday 8th 2.30pm Folk Dancing - Halberton Village Hall

Thursday 9th 10am Boules - The Walronds, Cullompton 2pm Local History - Haddon Hill Car Park

Friday 10th 9am Newsletter contributions to Lynne please. 10:15am Discussion Group - Marilyn’s home.

Sunday 12th MOTO lunch - Tiverton Golf Club.

Monday 13th

2pm Gardening Group – Pounds, Hemyock Tuesday 14th


Wednesday 15th 2pm Monthly meeting - Roger Browne - The Great American Songbook Rugby Club and Zoom

Thursday 16th 10am Boules - The Walronds, Cullompton 2pm Art Appreciation - Britton building, Old Heathcoat School Community Centre

Friday 17th Monday 20th

2pm World History - Zoom Tuesday 21st


Wednesday 22nd 2.30pm Folk Dancing - Halberton Village Hall

Thursday 23rd 10am Boules - The Walronds, Cullompton

Friday 24th Monday 27th Tuesday 28th


Wednesday 29th Thursday 30th

10am Boules - The Walronds, Cullompton

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COMMITTEE MEMBERS Chair / Technician Tim Dyke 07925 543333 Vice-Chair Deborah Lal Secretary Marian Luck Treasurer Eric Oakley Programme Organiser Joan Kelly Meeting and Social Organiser Jo Jeffrey Beacon Administrator Sue Phillips Membership Secretary Jill Riddiford 01884 258091 Groups Co-ordinator Minutes Secretary Joan Kelly Publicity Alan Phillips NON-COMMITTEE Website Manager Wendy Cook Welfare Marilyn Dawson Newsletter Editor Lynne Lyddon

************************************************************************** Answers to Summer Quiz.

1. George Harrison, 2. Iceland, 3. Ronald Reagan, 4. Bryan Adams,5. Bleak House, 6. The Pope, 7. Estate, 8. Melvin Hayes, 9. Donna Summer, 10. Mickey Mouse, 11. March and October, 12. Summer in the City, 13. True, 14. Helsinki, Rome, Munich and Seoul, 15. ''I still know what you did last Summer'' 16. Porgy and Bess 17. The Kinks, 18. ''summer loving, had me a blast'', 19. Eddie Cochran ''summertime blues'', 20. 10 points.

Join as usual: Click or Ctrl + click: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2772605615?pwd=WW9MbVc1Y1piOUdVMHAyWkpQMS9Rdz09 Meeting ID 277 260 5615, password 471390. (OR PHONE 0131 460 1196 or 0203 051 2874. A voice will ask you to enter the meeting ID (as above), followed by #. When asked if you are a participant, press #. It then asks for the password, followed by #. Then you'll be in, by audio only.)

and next month

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