Oswestry Borders University of the Third Age (U3A)

Third Age Trust

Special points of interest:

Our recruitment drive begins

What were different slates called?

What’s happening at Cambrian Railways Community Orchard?

When did women vote?

Six new online courses to study.

Borders Bulletin August 2013 Volume 1, Issue 5

Hot on the heels of a visit to Chirk Castle, the Local History Group met again in August for a guided tour by Joan Zorn of the Hoffman Kiln at Llanymynech Limeworks.

Inside this issue:

Chairman’s Message 2

Committee News 2

Interest Groups 3

Dreamtime 4

Slate Mining in North Wales

5

Monthly planner 8

Speakers and Members’ Meetings

9

Oswestry Borders U3A has been officially accepted as a member of the Third

Age Trust. Our application for full membership of the Trust became effective from

August 1 following a detailed submission from treasurer, Dave Pass.

As well as a folder-full of advice sheets sent with the notification, the Trust offers

a network of advisors, resources and experienced members to help committees

with policy and constitutional issues and support with membership packs,

promotional events and setting up new interest groups.

Benefits and Services that our U3A members can now receive by officially being

a member of the Third Age Trust include:

Online courses—tutored and untutored

Free publicity material and keenly priced merchandise

24 hour legal advice line and PPL licence

National Summer Schools, subject study days, shared learning projects

Resource Centre Library non-book materials to loan

Regular national mailings

Password protected members’ area on website

Exclusive U3A events and offers

40 National subject advisers offering support to group leaders

National, regional and network workshops and seminars

Magazine ‘Third Age Matters’ published five times a year—direct mailed

Support from National Office staff and regional trustees

Information leaflets, advice sheets, discussion papers, subject handbooks

Insurance cover for Public & Products Liability, Charity Trustee Liability,

Tour Operator Liability, and Equipment.

The Trust’s online website is a hub for sharing between all U3A groups. Members

can use all the facilities of the Third Age Trust website to keep up to date. You

will need to log in, but if you have any difficulty doing this, send them an email

(the contact links are on the public page).

You are also able to access the subject information available at the

U3A Resource Centre. Once again you will need to log in, though this very

straightforward. Once in the site, put a term in the search box and loads of

resources will be listed, including DVDs etc. that can be borrowed. This is

particularly useful for Interest Group Leaders.

It seems hard to believe but Oswestry Borders U3A has existed for only a few

months, yet we have had a range of excellent talks from our speakers, some

interesting members meetings and an increasing range of interest groups to choose

from. For many of us the looming problem is in selecting what not to do, given the

inflexible restriction of the week to a mere 168 hours. That, however, is a pleasant

difficulty to deal with.

One thing we could benefit from, however, is a few more members. Most of our

activities depend on there being enough people interested: to provide a lively

audience for a speaker, to get reasonable sized interest groups, to enable us to

share the work involved in all this and, of course, to enable us all to meet kindred

spirits. Maybe you have friends who would enjoy the activities we have; if so

perhaps you could suggest they think about joining. There is of course a limit to the

size we would wish our meetings to reach, or which our interest groups could cope

with, but we could cope with more people than we have, so please spread the

word.

Dave Stirling, Chairman August 2013

Chairman’s message

Library Stand

Fund Raising

Well done to Joyce

Whitehead and members

who organised the recent

car boot sale at Whittington

Castle and raised over £70

towards our projector

equipment fund.

If you are new to the U3A, we have a

a summary sheet to help explain

Oswestry Borders U3A to others.

This information will be sent to you via

email in advance of the event.

Please volunteer for a time slot below

and help boost our membership. We

are aiming for a couple of members for

each hour slot.

.

Can you give an hour of your time to

help with the Oswestry Borders U3A

publicity stand at the town Library from

Monday, 16 September to Wednesday,

18 September inclusive?

On the Monday morning we need

members to help set up the stand

which aims to promote Oswestry

Borders U3A to the public, and

hopefully, draw in new members.

Page 2

Members’ Meetings - a good place to meet up with old and new friends to learn something new.

Borders Bulletin Volume 1, Issue 5

Helpers Timetable

Monday, September 16

Tuesday, September 17

Wednesday, September 18

9 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Sue Evans Jane Davies

Robin Harvey Sandra Harvey

10 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Jane Davies

Melva Duley Avril Topham

Dave Boulton

11 a.m. to 12 noon

Brenda Stansbie

Pat Broadhurst Joyce Whitehead

Brenda Stansbie

12 noon to 1 p.m.

Wendy Lowdon

Bobby Coleman Jane Stirling Dave Stirling

1 p.m. to 2 p.m.

Eileen Thornton

Members’ Meeting The Centre

2 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Jane Stirling

Members’ Meeting The Centre

3 p.m. to 4 p.m.

4 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Maggie Quinn

5 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Maggie Quinn

Maggie Quinn Jane Davies

What’s My Mind

The Third Age Trust course

team is seeking up to a dozen

people to try out materials on

a trial run basis on the topic of

‘Music and the Mind’ which

may form part of a more

ambitious and longer course

of study of the mind in relation

to a range of human

experiences. Contact them

via Third Age Trust website.

Tea Rota

There are still quite a few

gaps on our tea rota. All

offers to help out with

refreshments at meetings

at The Centre are always

very welcome.

The Play Reading Group continued to

meet over summer despite inevitable

varying numbers owing to holidays.

Group members can choose to read the

selected play in advance or read it

unprepared and let the meaning unfold

from the shared experience of interpreting

the scripts. In a sense, we are both the

actors and the audience in this process,

which is all part of the fun.

At our last meeting on 2nd August, The

Old Country by Alan Bennett proved a

surprising and challenging play, evoking

mixed responses from the group.

The setting, and indeed situation, proved

to be very different from the one an

audience would first assume they were

seeing.

Interest Groups and Meetings

Page 3

We have a long list of possible group subjects but we still need group leaders to

volunteer and get them started. Photography is on hold for the time being.

Cycling looks like a promising new one. Scrabble, I believe is happening, but

without a named leader. The Singing Group will resume on September 11 and will

meet in members’ homes on the second and fourth Wednesday of the month,

from 10.30 a.m. to 12.15, The group will hire a rehearsal hall later when

numbers allow. The first meeting will be at my house. However, there will be no

meeting on September 25 as group leader, David Ryan is away.

Speaker meetings have been organised as follows:

September 4: Guiliana Becciu talking about the ‘Cambrian Railways

Community Orchard’;

October 2: Prof. Cynthia Burek will speak on the subjects ‘What is

Geodiversity and Geoconservation?’

November 6: Chris Cannon explores ‘Born out of Wenlock – the London

2012 Olympic Connection’;

December 4: Alister Williams investigates ’Who was Jones? How Welsh

Names came into Being.’

Members’ Meetings for September and October have also been planned. Aware

that the September Members’ Meeting was following the publicity drive in the

Library, we shall have presentations on as many Interest Groups as possible –

the session to be entitled ‘Groups Snapshot’. In October the Members’ Meeting

will focus on the ‘History of Pottery and Identification’.

A meeting with group leaders is to be arranged soon, when we will discuss a

range of issues such as copyright material and sharing attendance information to

help identify membership patterns which can help develop future programmes.

Anne Lynch, Education Co-ordinator

Play Reading Group

Borders Bulletin Volume 1, Issue 5

The photograph below shows some

members enjoying a moment from

the reading.

Sandra Harvey

Similarly, the various characters in the

play placed unexpected values on

tradition, orthodoxy and English

culture. Above all, we enjoyed

Bennett's wit.

Cycling Group The newly-formed Cycling

Group made the most of

good weather this month

with a couple of lovely

rides, one round Lake

Vyrnwy, and another on a

leisurely, fairly flat, 12 mile

ride round the quiet lanes

in the Kinnerley / Melverley

area.

I shall be trying to continue

rides through the winter on

dry days and will be

contacting those who’ve

said they are interested to

try and sort out a day that’s

convenient.

If you would be interested

in joining us, please get in

touch with me.

Sally Barrett

The Dreamtime

Lynn Rose was the host of this month’s meeting. Three of our members were

unable to attend due to summer commitments but the rest of us departed from

Oswestry in two cars at 1.00 pm for the trip to Lynn’s farm in Cilwgri which lies on

the outskirts of Corwen.

It was a pleasant drive through a very green Wales in goodly company. Wendy

played a bit of Slim Dusty, an iconic Australian country singer, but Avril and

Margaret politely indicated that he was an acquired taste and we returned to

general chat.

Lynn welcomed, us as did Steve, with a wave from the wood pile, a very happy

border collie, a large number of ducks and two magnificent geese.

Once we were all seated the theme for the meeting, The Dreamtime, was

discussed. The Dreamtime is the description given to the relationship that the

aboriginal people have with the land. The Aboriginal people, Koori, believe that

members of a clan are spiritually linked to a specific territory, are custodians of

that territory, which encompasses features and sites where the mythic beings left

part of themselves once creation was completed; ’fused with the earth to shape it

and make it sacred’ (D.J.Tracey).

The dreamtime stories are statements, expressed in art and name and dance and

song and ceremony, about the event that occurred in a particular place which

evokes appropriate rituals and responsibilities so that the species and character-

istics of that area will prosper. Clans were interdependent, they hunted and

collected seasonal food and resources in different territories but they were

informed of sacred sites and behaved accordingly.

The group was, for the most part, unable to relate to stories themselves which

were statements about the creation of a land feature or an animal rather than

parables. Living such a ritualised life in ‘a realm of unchanging’ was hard for us

all to imagine.

There was a discussion about feeling a connection to an animal or place, about

hostilities between groups over land expressed in our own society, but this was

considered to be a pale imitation of the Koori experience.

What the group were able to imagine and to discuss animatedly was the vast gulf

between how the indigenous people viewed Australia and how the incoming

invaders, white settlers, viewed Australia. It was agreed that unless settlement by

outsiders had been avoided altogether, the Koori 50,000 year old relationship

with their land was going to be brutally disrupted. As it was newcomers had a

particularly exploitative attitude to the environment that in some areas totally

destroyed clans and broke the ability of other clans to transmit the spiritual

significance of their country. Moreover they came in such overwhelming numbers.

Yet the Dreamtime as a concept and a way of seeing has permeated the

Australian cultural psyche and has a world acknowledgement. It is taught in

schools and there is a huge expression of the Dreamtime in the art; considered

by some to have made an impact more powerful than that by other colonised

people.

The next meeting is at home of Pat Broadhurst on Tuesday September 10 .The

members of the group will be researching the early coastal exploration of

Australia.

Wendy Lowdon

Australian Studies Group Borders Bulletin Volume 1, Issue 5

Page 4

A piece of Australian pottery, influenced and inspired by the Dreamtime.

The group was fascinated by the Dreamtime stories, told by Wendy in the atmospheric setting of the farm’s wood….

….and made even more goose-

bumpy when Steve showed us

these three ancient gravestones

he had discovered in the wood.

From the Sinc to Abyssinia

In his tantalisingly titled

talk ‘From the Sinc to

Abyssinia’, Ludlow U3A

member, David Hughes,

took us back to his

childhood days at his

grandmother’s home in

Llanberis, to the sound

of men’s boots as they

walked home from the

slate quarry, and looking

after the quarry ponies,

stabled on his Uncle

Bob’s farm.

In a brief overview of the

slate mining industry of

the British Isles, we

explored the geology of

the west coast, focusing

on the Cambrian slate of

Llanberis and Bethesda

in North Wales; back 530

million years, to the

chemicals in the ground,

crushed foliage, mud

and stone from the sea

bed, and land formations

from plate tectonics.

We heard how Penrhyn

Quarry in Llanberis had

been bought with

compensation money,

as a direct result of the

slave trade being

abolished. We took a

closer look at slate

products, putting aside

the obvious roofing item,

now facing fierce

Chinese competition.

We were shown a 16th

century oil painting on a

huge 30 x 13 ft piece of

slate, and powdered

slate used in ointments

and cosmetics.

Modern-day uses

included walls, gutters,

crushed gravel, fencing,

hearth slabs, paving,

headstones, garden

furniture and ornaments,

such as clock and mirror

frames and chess sets.

Elaborating on his title,

David explained that

‘sinc’ was Welsh for hole

in the ground, where the

slate was quarried in

terraces. A terrace, or

‘ponc’ to the quarrymen,

was usually named after

a headlining event, a

person or place in the

national news, hence

Abyssinia.

David told us of the hard-

ships of a quarryman. In

the days before the

works bus, men would

have long walks to and

from the quarry. At work

Health and Safety had a

low priority and there

were many accidents.

Penrhyn had its own

onsite hospital and work-

shop that made wooden

artificial aids.

The men would have a

quarry shed to eat their

food in and to run to for

protection during

‘blasting’ four or five

times a day. Each shed

had its own leader or

steward who kept order

among the men and

would barter over which

slate section to work on,

its value and bonuses for

the men.

Other quarry buildings

included the powder

house. The black powder

had a distinctive ‘softer’

explosion to prevent the

slate pieces shattering.

There were also slate

shelters to protect the

shunting engines that

pulled the trucks along

tracks over precarious

piles of slate rubble.

And in the midst of all

this, the dressers, after a

six year apprenticeship,

would sit with sack

aprons spread over

arthritic knees, splitting

the slate into as many

pieces as possible.

Like the terraces, the

wide, broad and narrow

slate pieces had their

own embellished naming

system –‘ Empress,

Duchess, Countess’.

Once given the ‘ok’ from

the steward (quality

control prevailed, even if

health and safety didn’t)

the slates were loaded

onto the trucks and

taken to the nearby

docks to be shipped

around the world.

Borders Bulletin Volume 1, Issue 5

Page 5

We heard of quarrymen who

became famed preachers and

teachers; of singers, brass band

musicians and orators for both

Eisteddfod and Union.

If you ever travel along the

Llanberis to Caernarvon road, look

out for the Union Rock, where the

union members met.

Working conditions for the quarry

men were often bad. In 1896 the

men from Penrhyn were locked out

for 11 months over a dispute over

pay conditions. It was three years

before the quarry was back to

normal.

We were introduced to a range of

transport vehicles – the kicking or

turning car where the men used

their feet to propel the car along the

track; the buses bringing workers

and, as in the sheds, each with

their steward, ensuring order with

each man occupying the same seat

for every journey.

JD

In contrast to the Spartan accommo-

dation of quarry sheds and basic

shared barracks for men from afar,

we were shown photographs of the

more ostentatious marshalling yard

and office buildings which are now

used as the headquarters of the slate

museum of Wales, well-worth a visit if

you want to find out more.

The Local History group

has been meeting happily

for some time now and it

is perhaps reflective of

the nature of much local

history that it has been

doing this without the

glare of much publicity.

Having had an excellent

talk by Lewis Coleman on

June 26, we followed this

up with an associated

“practical” – a tour of

Chirk Castle, guided by

Lewis, on 14th August.

Having been, as it were,

primed, we were able to

appreciate much of the

interesting detail of the

castle, its inhabitants and

their activities.

Some of us were much

taken with the details of

the mediaeval inside toilet

arrangements, good proof

that mankind has made

some progress over the

years.

Some were drawn to the

varied décor in the

rooms, and others just

appreciating the

interesting conversion

from a rather inhospitable

battle-ready castle to

something that modern

people could actually live

in.

All in all a good day out,

as well as an educational

experience.

Dave Stirling

But this figure was in a

population of some 14

million, which meant that

only 5% were voting.

This was also the first

time that males were

specified as voters.

Interestingly, on the

History of Women.org

site there is an item

about landowner, Dame

Dorothy Parkington, who

voted during the reign of

Elizabeth I.

The Act granted seats in

the House of Commons

to large cities that had

sprung up during the

Industrial Revolution and

took away seats from the

‘rotten boroughs’. It was

at this time that electoral

registers were created.

Subsequent important

dates for changes in

voting, electoral register

information and local

history researching were:

1918 – all males over 21

and property owning

females over 30 could

vote.

1928 - women were

given equal voting rights

to men.

Many members in the

group have used the ten

yearly national census

from 1841 onwards to

check details of family

members, servants,

ages, occupations,

addresses and birth

places.

We heard that the 1931

census was totally

destroyed in a fire on

December 19, 1942 (not

enemy action, no cause

for the fire was ever

found) and there was no

census in 1942 due to

the war.

The 1911 census was

released early but it will

be seven more years

before we can see

details of the 1921

census because the

1920 Act is still in force.

20th Century electoral

roles are available on

many genealogical web-

sites.

For more information

visit the Electoral

Registers.org.uk.

Nicki Carmody

In a review of ancestry

information sources, the

group explored electoral

rolls and registers, parish

records and the ten year

census in more detail.

Up to the 1400s all free-

men had been allowed to

vote. Then in 1429, with

the introduction of a 40

shilling Act, only land-

owners of property worth

40 shillings or more

could vote.

Poll Books existed from

about 1700 to 1872

when the secret ballot

was introduced. These

contained information

about land owner voters

but also gave names of

tenants of houses or

land held.

Property qualification

was still in force for the

Great Reform Act of

1832, but the amount

increased to £10, and

long-term lease value

was included as well as

owned property. By this

time the electorate had

increased from 500,000

to 813,000, allowing a

total of one out of six

adult males to vote.

The group listening to Lewis Coleman (centre, pointing) at Chirk Castle.

Local History Group

Family History Group

Page 6

Borders Bulletin Volume 1, Issue 4

They don’t make washing machines like this any more! The Local History group in the laundry at Chirk Castle.

The very first Census of Great Britain was taken in 1801. The returns gave a population of 10.9 million people living in 1.8 million houses.

Despite a spell of

uncertain weather, we

were very lucky to get a

nice afternoon for our

visit to NGS garden

Leeswood Green Farm,

near Mold, on August 1,

again a joint visit with the

Garden Group of

Oswestry U3A.

Anne Saxon and John

Glenn have a really

lovely garden at

Leeswood Green,

arranged around their

15th century farmhouse

in a series of ‘rooms’,

both large and small.

There is a wild flower

meadow, attractive

parterre vegetable

garden and orchard

all around the outside of

the informal perennial

gardens.

Anne and John are very

knowledgeable about

gardens and very willing

to share their expertise –

without making those

less experienced of us

feel foolish!

Their plant stall was also

raided by us, and the

wonderful cakes they

served (quite a few of us

had 3!) were wolfed

down at a variety of ta-

bles nicely placed in the

shade of various trees.

Our next activity is

another joint visit with

Oswestry U3A Garden

Group to Trentham

Gardens. We had hoped

to be able to share

Llanrhaeadr Garden

Club’s coach but they

have filled up the coach

themselves, so we will

be sharing cars.

On Sunday October 13

Oswestry Borders

Garden Group will be

visiting Gredington

Garden Open Day,

Whitchurch, for autumn

colour.

In November, February

and March, at 2 pm on

the second Monday of

the month, members will

be sharing their research

into different aspects of

gardening with the

group.

On Monday January 13

we are hoping to have a

bring-a-plate lunch,

followed by a talk from

the Chairperson of

Trefonen Garden Club

on Plants for Shade and

Woodland.

Sally Barrett

Garden Group

The group discussed

ways to share video with

others – as email

attachments, via mobiles

and on YouTube (with

private settings to limit

audience ). .

Three requests had been

made by members for

skills development. We

explored creating tables

in Word, and merging

cells in the header row.

Then we looked at text

formatting, where we

could wrap text around

an image.

Finally, the group was

given an overview of the

new website progress

and shown some of the

widgets we will use in

the design.

The Website Group has

worked hard,researching,

evaluating and designing

the new website.

A team of member

editors are now working

on a private version of

the website for committee

approval next month. In

time we intend to mentor

group leaders to edit their

own group pages and to

have a team involved

with regular edits and

updates. We are planning

to have the website

running by the time of the

Library publicity stand

(September 16 to 18) and

to show in the ICT Group

presentation at the

Members’ Meeting on

September 18.

Jane Davies

The focus this month

was on using ICT to

create videos

We looked at simple

cameras and mobile

phones, and the basics

for selecting video mode

to capture film, rather

than still photographs.

Then we followed the

steps to connect the

camera to the laptop and

download the video onto

the C drive.

With our example video

stored locally, we

opened up the free

Windows Live Movie

Maker program and

stepped through an

editing sequence, adding

photographs and mp3

music to the video clip.

Members strolling through the attractive gardens of Leeswood Green Farm near Mold.

Page 7

Borders Bulletin Volume 1, Issue 5

ICT Skills and Website Groups

Archaeology and

Walking Groups

The Clwyedog Trail was a joint

venture between the Archaeology

and Walking Groups which

seemed to make sense as there is

already an element of common

membership. The route took the

group from the Minera Lead

Mines, and followed the delightful

River Clywedog via Nant Mill and

the Bersham Iron Works, a

distance of some 6 miles, passing

Erdigg and finishing at Kings Mill.

I would be very grateful for

suggestions from both groups

regarding future activities.

John Scorer

Monthly Planner - September 2013

Day Morning Afternoon

1st Monday

(September 2)

Archaeology, Walking and Bird

Watching dates to be confirmed

1st Tuesday

(September 3

COMMITTEE MEETING,, 10 a.m. –12 noon. Pam Broomby’s

home, Treflach

1st Wednesday

(September 4)

OSWESTRY BORDERS U3A SPEAKER MEETING, 1.30 – 3.30

p.m. The Centre, Oak Street, Oswestry,, Guiliana Becciu ‘Cambrian

Railways Community Orchard.

1st Thursday

(September 5)

ICT Skills: Jane Davies, 2 – 4 p.m., group leader’s home

Garden: Sally Barrett, Visit to Trentham Gardens with Oswestry

U3A Garden Group

1st Friday

(September 6)

Play Reading: Sandra Harvey,

10.30 a.m. group members’ homes

2nd Monday

(September 9)

Sculpture: Tony Roberts, 1.30 p.m. Leader’s home / Screamin’

Chicken Gallery, Oswestry

Art & Collage: Sue Townsend, The Qube, in term time.

2nd Tuesday

(September 10)

Australian Studies: Wendy Lowdon, 2 p.m., members’ homes

Book: Sandra Harvey, 10.30 a.m. to 12 noon, members’ homes

2nd Wednesday

(September 11)

Singing : David Ryan, 10.30—12.15 p.m. members’ homes

Poetry Reading & Appreciation: Maggie Quinn, 1.30—3.30

p.m. group leader’s home.

Family History: Nicki Carmody, 4—6 p.m. Oswestry Library

2nd Thursday

(September 12)

2nd Friday

(September 13)

3rd Monday

(September 16)

3rd Tuesday

(September 17)

3rd Wednesday

(September 18)

OSWESTRY BORDERS U3A MEMBERS’ MEETING, 1.30 – 3.30

p.m., The Centre, Oak Street, Oswestry, ‘Groups’ Snapshot’.

3rd Thursday

(September 19)

ICT Web Design, Jane Davies, 10

– 12 noon, group leader’s home

3rd Friday

(September 20)

4th Monday

(September 23)

4th Tuesday

(September 24)

4th Wednesday

(September 25)

Art Appreciation: Led by group team,. 2—4 p.m, Visit to Port

Sunlight Galleries

Singing: NO MEETING AS GROUP LEADER IS AWAY

Page 8

Borders Bulletin Volume 1, Issue 5

Railways — Trains and Special Train Journeys

David Stirling opened the session with a presentation of his time as a teenager,

working on the Ffestiniog Railway, showing how with dedicated volunteers, there has

been a successful re-opening the line.

David Ryan, singing the Flanders and Swann "Slow Train", gave a beautiful

performance with great poignancy reminding us of 1960’s Beeching closures.

Carole Fahey gave an account of her train journeys through France in the 1970's with

mishaps and the possibilities of being in unlikely or hazardous travelling conditions.

Jane Stirling read Pam Dorricott's reminiscences of trains in WW2, travelling and

waiting on station platforms, to be with her soldier husband.

The session ended with Pat Broadhurst reading poems by John Betjeman , who wrote

evocatively about travelling on trains. We could have gone on, but time ran out, and

the train had already left the station….. Joyce Whitehead

Oswestry Borders U3A Borders Bulletin contact information All contributions to Editor, Jane Davies jane.davies@soundstud.freeserve.co.uk

Mobile: 07791117181

Online courses New website

Six tutored online courses are available

in the autumn from the Third Age Trust.

The tutors are in all cases, the authors.

Short Stories – Angela Gamby –

expected start date September 15.

Just Before Victoria – David Hopker –

expected start date September 30.

Three Viking Women – Val Bannister –

expected start date September 30.

The First World War; the Home Front –

Verne Hardinham – expected start date

September 30.

Digital Imaging – Peter & Sheila Reid –

expected start date September 30.

An Introduction to Anglo Saxon Poetry –

Val Bannister – expected start date Sep-

tember 30.

Oswestry Borders U3A website is

progressing well, with a trial build about

to start in WordPress .To date, six

people have been signed in as editors.

The website can be launched with just a

few pages to begin with, evolving over

time to include many more pages/

updates.

A website proposal will be presented to

the committee for a decision in

September. The website administrator

will have overall responsibility, with co-

editors able to add to specific pages.

We are planning to have the website (at

least a few pages) running by the time of

the Library publicity stand

(September 16 to 18).

Date Speaker and Members’ Meetings

September 4 Guiliana Becciu - ‘Cambrian Railways Community Orchard’;

September 18 ‘Groups Snapshot’ — Our interest groups give an overview

of their activities to date and future plans

October 2 Prof. Cynthia Burek - ‘What is Geodiversity and Geoconservation?’

October 16 ‘History of Pottery and Identification’.

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Borders Bulletin Volume 1, Issue 5

Snap September’s ‘Groups Snapshot’

will be short presentations of what

groups are doing. We need more

contributions please, even those

groups that have not got off the

ground yet. It would be good to

hear of any new group ideas.

Potty about Pottery?

We are planning a meeting in

October on the ‘History of Pottery

and Identification’. We have an

item on the history of Pilkingtons

and its famous potters by the

grand-daughter of one of the

potters. We have a short history of

British Pottery. It would be good to

have members input.

Do you have a piece of pottery that

tells a story? Would you like to

know something about a piece you

have? Bring it along. Sorry we

won’t be able to provide a

valuation but there will be help to

identify or admire.