borders bulletin · some of us are just getting started, while others are very experienced. dave...
TRANSCRIPT
Oswestry Borders University of the Third Age
Our new website
Special points of interest:
Wireless microphone and lit-up lectern
How to prevent air bubbles in glass sculpture
What’s happening at Cambrian Railways Community Orchard?
What makes a good PowerPoint?
Switch from monthly to quarterly Borders Bulletin.
Borders Bulletin September 2013 Volume 1, Issue 6
Some of the editors who have worked tirelessly to bring you the Oswestry Borders U3A website. Well done and thank you team.
Inside this issue:
PR News 2
Interest Groups Data 3
CROP Speaker 5
Exploring Explorers 7
Monthly Planner 8
Group Snapshot 9
Interest Groups Information
10
Oswestry Borders U3A now has a new website, with over 600 online visitors in
the first ‘live’ week.
After a couple of months researching website design and a trawl of free website
builders, the editors were given the go-ahead by the committee in September to
start work using a WordPress building theme, Suburbia.
A team of eight Editors (Sally Barrett, Jane Davies, Melva Duley, Carol Faherty,
Carole Greig, Robin Harvey, Anne Lynch and Dave Pass) have been busy
creating pages of content, a gallery of photos, online contact forms and links to
useful documents, support material and other websites. You will find some pages
are complete but others are still in the editing stage, or requiring content.
Navigating around the site is
easy. Pages can be accessed
by clicking on a title in the Menu
bar down the left side.
When the main page opens you
may be presented with more
choices. For example, there’s a
table of interest groups to select
from, or three types of contact
forms.
Alternatively, you could enter a name in the Search window box (top right). For
example, type in Walking Group and press Enter to get to the relevant page.
On the pages you will notice that some text is a different colour and when you put
the cursor over this text, it will change to a pointed finger. This means that you
can click the text and you will be taken directly to a page or a document to read
more about the highlighted content.
There are three online contact forms for interested visitors to find out more. One
is for joining our U3A, another to find out more about interest groups, and the
third for making general enquiries.
There will also be opportunity for members to make comments and join in online
discussions. These will be on password-protected pages on the website. Only
members of Oswestry Borders U3A will have access. You will be sent the
password via email.
We are looking for any creative writers in the U3A who would be interested in
writing King Offa’s blog on the website.
Finally, although we have registered with all the main search engines, like
Google, it can take up to six weeks for our website to appear on their listings.
Meanwhile, if you click on the link below it will take you directly to the website:
www.oswestrybordersu3a.wordpress.com
At the last Members’ Meeting the various interest groups all outlined what they
had done so far, and current plans. This showed that we have plenty of interest
groups and lots of activity, just as it should be, and very healthy for an
organisation just a few months old.
However, we can't afford to get complacent, and while some groups are finding
their numbers getting too large to cope with easily, one or two of the interest
groups could benefit from more members to help keep them vigorous. A healthy
organisation is one that keeps striving to develop and improve what it does, which
is clearly happening now. Let's keep Oswestry Borders U3A that way!
Dave Stirling, Chairman September 2013
The suggested meeting pattern, for those interested, will be to aim for the 2nd
and 4th Wednesdays of each month, from 10.30 a.m. until 12.15 p.m. The idea of
meeting in houses seems to have worked well, but, if numbers grow, we could re
-establish ourselves in a rehearsal room, but at a cost.
I would be interested in any comments/observations and the details of any new
recruits. Offers of house (with keyboard) would help, as would the recruitment of
an accompanist.
David Ryan
Chairman’s message
Library Stand
Speaker Equipment
To support our speakers
we have decided to buy a
radio wireless microphone.
We have been looking at a
digital lapel clip-on
microphone, compatible
with the sound equipment
at The Centre.
The speaker would wear a
the clip on microphone and
a small box, secured
around the waist. This
would be wirelessly
connected to another box
linked to the sound desk.
A lectern with a battery
powered LED clip-on light
has also been bought to
support speakers when the
Hall is darkened during
PowerPoint presentations.
Information and contact details for
Oswestry Borders U3A were
distributed, as were the sweeties,
which enticed several people over to
the stand.
The promotion coincided with the
Members’ Meeting at The Centre,
where we had six visitors and one new
member. Several mentioned the stand.
More than 20 members volunteered to
help promote Oswestry Borders U3A
at our stand in Oswestry library during
September. The stand displayed
information about 18 groups and
details of forthcoming Speaker and
Members’ Meetings.
We were visited by the local press and
a group had their photograph taken.
Page 2
Borders Bulletin Volume 1, Issue 6
Charity status
We are now registered with full
membership of the Third Age
Trust (registration number:
957/935/13).
We are a charity as part of the
Third Age Trust, but not
registered with the Charities
Commission because our
income (excluding that for
social events) is not £5,000 or
above.
Singing Group
Publicity and Membership
Our PR autumn campaign is now well
under way with a promotional stand at
Oswestry library and national leaflets
which include all our contact details.
Members have responded well to the
‘bring a friend’ to meetings. Posters
(shown opposite) are being distributed
throughout the town and surrounding
district to advertise future meetings.
With our membership at 95, we hope
that this publicity drive will help build
up the numbers.
The group has been working through
the first stages of glass sculpture. To
begin with we had a meeting to
discuss the different processes and the
materials used. Then we compared the
firing temperatures/timing of the kilns
for different productions.
We have modelled in both wax and
clay, but have gone for wax which is a
very easy medium to work with. One of
the tips we are using is to push sticks
into the wax model to prevent air
bubbles forming in the glass. At the last
session plaster casts were made. The
wax will be melted and removed from
the plaster at our October session.
Watch this space to see what happens.
Tony Roberts
Interest Groups and Meetings
Page 3
Most Interest Groups are going from strength to strength.
We are building up our database to explore trends within the interest groups. So
far, 77 members have joined groups. 34 have joined one group, 21 have joined
two groups, 17 have joined three, two have joined four, two have joined five and
one member has joined six groups.
At our most recent Members' Meeting, group leaders gave presentations on their
group's activities, which made for a very interesting and lively meeting.
Leaders, or group representatives, will be invited to a special group leaders’
meeting at The Centre on Tuesday, November 12, 2 – 4 p.m. together with
members of the committee, to celebrate all their hard work in the first six months,
establishing group activities since our launch in March.
A short questionnaire is soon to be distributed to see what members feel about
Oswestry Borders U3A.The questionnaire form can be completed online, and
then printed out and brought to a meeting to maintain anonymity.
A one-off summary sheet of future activities will be printed out and posted to
those members who don’t have/use email or access to our new website. Also
new members will receive a Monthly Planner when they join.
Unfortunately, the Art/Collage group has had to rethink meeting at the Qube in
Oswestry as more regular members are needed to cover the cost. Group leader,
Sue Townsend is willing to lead sessions at her own home for the time being.
We still have a long list of potential Interest Groups (requested by members) just
waiting for someone prepared to lead them. See the list opposite.
If you are interested please contact:
[email protected] 01691 657489
or [email protected] 01691 654234
Anne Lynch, Education Co-ordinator
Sculpture Group
Borders Bulletin Volume 1, Issue 6
The different first stages of making
a glass sculpture.
Leaders wanted for:
Antiques
Bridge
Crafts
First Aid
French for Beginners
German
Italian
Maths
Sewing
Social Law
Spanish
Suffragettes and
Feminism – 100 years on
Table Tennis
Travelogues (Lonely
Planet)
Welsh Conversation
In September Carol Fahey with the help of the Justice.gov website, took us
through the process of researching Wills and Probates. We then went on to
discuss how useful local newspapers are for researching deaths and wills.
(Oswestry Library holds many back copies of the Oswestry Advertizer on
microfiche and hard copies).
The final part of our September get-together was to decide on what topics the
group would like to investigate over the next few months and these included:
free websites available to store a family tree
problems researching Irish ancestry
help and advice offered by the reference library in Shrewsbury
a visit to the new Birmingham Library.
Our small group have varying amounts of expertise into the research of families;
some of us are just getting started, while others are very experienced.
Dave Boulton
Family History Group Borders Bulletin Volume 1, Issue 6
Page 4
Wills can be a rich source of information when tracing family histories.
PowerPoint works best for things that are presented visually.
ICT Skills and Website Groups
In ICT Skills this month we considered
the question: ‘Is PowerPoint a
blessing or a curse to an effective
presentation?’
A careful presenter can make the most
of PowerPoint's strengths, but only
with a healthy dose of communicative
discipline.
PowerPoint works best for things that
are presented visually. It helps when
you need to draw a picture.
A picture aids memory by making a
visual connection to an abstract idea
where memory rests on connections,
and a vivid picture forms a solid
connection. PowerPoint makes it easy
to create visuals, and, by using a
template, makes it easy to be
consistent.
PowerPoint, however, does have a
downside. It can often take control
away from the presenter and stop
them establishing ethos. When this
happens it can make for boring talks,
stop spontaneous discussions and
impede audience attention.
A PowerPoint presentation is good
when it precisely targets your
audience’s background, knowledge
and experiences. It should focus
tightly on its subject and have an easy
-to-follow logical sequence. It should
use appropriate, but limited forms of
communication persuasion – visual,
audio, video, and minimal text. It
should be accompanied by handouts
for the audience to take away and
afford time at the end for a question
and answer session.
Finally, always rehearse your
presentation. You might think that you
know your presentation off by
heart because you created every
slide, but you won’t know how it hangs
together until you present it.
All the news from our Website Group
is featured on the front page of the
Bulletin. Just want to say well done to
the team of editors for all your hard
work on the new website. Give
yourselves a pat on the back.
Jane Davies
For our Speaker Meeting
this month we were
transported to a small
triangle of land, sand-
wiched between the old
railway line and the
Gobowen Road,
opposite Oswestry’s Hill
Fort.
Guiliana Becciu told us
about CROP, the prize-
winning Cambrian
Railways Community
Orchard Project in
Oswestry which has
received Big Lottery
Funding and a trophy for
outstanding work,
supporting voluntary
teams of young people.
The aims of the project
are to provide education
training in developing a
sustainable bio-diverse
environment; working
with local craftsmen;
growing more fruit for
local supply and
consumption, including
disease resistant
varieties; highlighting the
usefulness of railway
and cycle walkways
between Oswestry and
Gobowen. Work started
last year with litter and
ground clearance, and
has been greatly aided
by a grant of £10,000.
This was then followed
by necessary tree
surgery close to the
road. The volunteers
worked with experienced
helpers, laying hedges,
grafting and planting 30
half standard fruit trees,
constructing a shelter
and systems to collect
rainwater for irrigation.
There’s been extensive
work to improve the ve-
hicular access to the
site, plus lots more graft-
ing and planting some
200 different fruit trees.
Tom Adams, the local
orchardist involved, said
it was a great opportunity
for people to learn about
organic fruit production
and heritage varieties of
local apples.
Andrew Tullo, Project Co
-ordinator for the Cam-
brian Heritage Rail-
ways, added, ‘This pro-
ject uses currently re-
dundant railway land for
the benefit of the local
community.’
Guiliana, a former social/
youth worker, spoke of
the huge gains to young
people learning new
skills, in developing
strong bonds, confidence
and team work.
If you can offer
experience in this work,
or want to volunteer, you
are welcome to join them
on Fridays on site.
Borders Bulletin Volume 1, Issue 6
Page 5
CROP (Cambrian Railways Orchard
Project) is aiming to re-establish
local apple species and an orchard
economy that will eventually bring
produce to Oswestry via the
restored Cambrian railway line.
Below, cherry trees just planted.
Rainwater runs down the wooden gutters to the six water collection tanks.
The Clywedog Trail
Ten members of the
Walking and the
Archaeology Groups
combined to walk the
Clywedog Trail recently.
We started at the
Minera Lead mines and
walked around this site,
much of which has been
reconstructed.
We then walked along
the tree-lined banks of
the River Clywedog to
Bersham, a distance of
some four miles, passing
en route the visitor cen-
tre at Nant Mill.
Evidence of Industrial
Archaeology abounds all
along the route,
culminating in the
Bersham Iron Works,
scene of the achieve-
ments of John Wilkinson
in the second half of the
18th Century.
Wilkinson, known as Iron
-Mad" Wilkinson,
achieved great leaps
forward in the iron
industry and munitions,
including the first use of
sound cuttings and
accurate boring for
cannons.
He was very involved in
the construction of the
famous Iron Bridge at
Coalbrookdale.
Both the remains of the
iron works and the
excellent heritage centre
nearby proved extremely
interesting,
So much so that it was
mooted that a return visit
sometime in the future
would be a good idea,
when the Archaeology
Group could spend more
time studying the site in
more detail.
John Scorer
Walking and Archaeology Groups
Cambrian Railways Community Orchard Project
The Local History group
visited Llanymynech
Limeworks for a tour
conducted by Joan Zorn.
Joan explained the
puzzle of an English
Wharf and a Welsh
Wharf (both in Wales) on
the canal. This gave a
fascinating insight into
an industry that has all
but disappeared, where
limestone was extracted
to be used for various
purposes.
It was a building material,
or could be sent to iron-
works as the flux to
remove the slag created
in forming iron or, yet
again, could be ‘burnt’ to
form quicklime for
agricultural purposes.
The last of these was
carried out in Hoffman
Kiln at Llanymynech, in a
process where the kiln
remained continuously
hot, even though batches
of lime were at different
stages in the conversion
process. We got some
idea of the grim working
conditions that applied
over a century ago: the
health and safety move-
ment, though we may
occasionally poke fun at
it, has enormously
improved working
conditions over the
years.
Dave Stirling
This month the following
items were discussed by
the committee along with
other items reported
elsewhere in the Bulletin:
Discussion Papers
The committee is keen to
review some excellent
discussion papers
available to download
from the Third Age
Trust’s website.
These include topics
such as ‘The Challenge
of finding Group
Leaders’, ‘The Challenge
of finding Committee
Members’ and ‘Making
Communication a
Priority.’
Committee members will
read ‘Keeping your U3A
Vibrant’ to discuss at the
next meeting.
These issues could also
be aired through online
discussions between
both group leaders and
committee members on
our new website.
Joan Zorn of Llanymynech Limeworks, explains the quicklime conversion process.
Local History Group
Committee News
Page 6
Borders Bulletin Volume 1, Issue 6
Editors of the new website in a relaxed learning environment, sharing their ICT knowledge.
Day Trips
It was agreed that Day
Trips will not an Interest
Group, but should be part
of Social Events.
The guidelines are now
redrafted and are on the
Committee Policies page
on Oswestry Borders U3A
website. New booking
forms are also available.
Future trips will be
planned by Glenys Lloyd
and Joy Burgess in liaison
with Margaret Pritchard,
Assistant Education Co
-ordinator, and Dave
Pass, Treasurer.
Subscriptions
Members joining after six
months should pay half
the subscription fee
(£7.50 for new members,
£6 for members of
another U3A).
Regional Events
A Study Day is planned
for regional U3As in
September, 2014, and a
workshop for Group
Leaders and potential
Group Leaders on March
17 in Market Drayton.
Budget
Budget projection
indicates we have
enough money to
proceed for the year.
Some funding needs will
be set aside for publicity
and promotion costs.
Financial priorities will be
considered later in the
year.
Grant application
We will have to wait until
October 25 to hear if our
grant application for
projection equipment
has been successful.
This is when Oswestry
LJC meet to consider
requests for grants.
Bird Watching Group
We met at Ellesmere and welcomed a
new member, Helene Linstrand, and
had a pleasant stroll along the mere.
We observed Canada Geese, Greylag
Geese and most notable, a Great
Crested Grebe diving for food.
Then we met Amanda Bevin a
volunteer with "The Heron Watch"
who gave us an interesting talk on
how Moscow Island was formed in the
middle of the Mere where the Herons
now nest each year. We also watched
a short video of one of the nest sites.
Pam Broomby
If it’s not fun, it’s not U3A!
For our fifth meeting, 12
members of the
Australian Studies group,
including new member,
Lyn O’Connor, met at
Pat Broadhurst’s home
to discuss early coastal
explorers of Australia.
Australia, Jave La
Grande, first began
appearing in French
maps in the mid-1500’s.
There was a very strong
belief in a Great South
Land. Wendy spoke
about Jean Binot de
Gonneville, a French
navigator, who recorded
an exploration of Austral
Land by two rivers
(Perth, WA?) where he
had to live for six
months, effecting repairs
to his ship in 1503.
Joyce and Jane spoke
about Jansz (Dutch) who
explored part of the
Cape of York in 1605.
Louis Vaez de Torres
mapped the southern
coast of New Guinea
without seeing Australia.
Dirk Hartog was
mentioned by several
members as he left
physical evidence of his
landing on Shark Island,
WA, in 1616. Carsentz
(Dutch) followed the
northern coast now
called Arnhem Land after
the ship. Exploration was
not extended because
the reports were about
the inhospitable country
and the hostility of the
indigenous people; no
trading opportunities
evident at all.
We spoke about wrecks,
including the Batavia, the
survivors of which set to
murdering each other.
Abel Tasman, a Dutch
commander, in 1642 was
sent to find a southern
route to Peru. He found
the ‘murderous savages
and perilous coasts’ of
Southern Tasmania. His
exploration of the Gulf of
Carpentaria in 1644 was
equally fruitless for trade.
William Dampier, a
British adventurer,
described the West
coast of Australia in
1688 as dry and sandy
and the people the
‘miserablest in the
world’. His sponsored
return in 1699 ranged
along the western coast
for 900 miles and found
only barren country and
brackish water and
resulted in him being
court-marshalled for
cruelty to his men.
After this the indigenous
people of Australia
enjoyed only 70 more
years of isolation until
the exploration of the
east coast of Australia by
Captain Thomas Cook.
Avril was very impressed
with this mariner; not
only his seamanship, but
his care for his men, the
considered way in which
he dealt with the people
he met, his inventive-
ness in preventing his
ship from sinking and in
refurbishing it, and his
superb mapmaking.
Several members are
going to research more
about Cook.
The other explorer that
amazed us was Flinders.
His achievements are
extraordinary in terms of
the distance covered, the
small size of his boat
and the loneliness of his
experiences. We also felt
he was very unlucky.
Several members
thought that they would
do further research here.
We were all amazed by
the intrepid nature of
these sailors in small
boats sailing to places
unknown.
Wendy Lowdon
In case you have not
heard of him, he was the
19th Century German
excavator of Troy and
Mycenae, obsessional
enthusiast who regarded
Homer’s Iliad as the
literal truth. His is a
fascinating story.
To get the flavour you
may care to do some
reading on The Trojan
War. We still need
suggestions for future
activities. Is anyone else
prepared to present a
topic? John Scorer
The next meeting of the
Group will be on
Monday, October 14th at
my house, The Brick
Barn, Knockin at 10 a.m.
I will give a brief talk on
Heinrich Schleimann.
Captain Thomas Cook
Page 7
Borders Bulletin Volume 1, Issue 6
Archaeology Group
Australian Studies Group
Schleimann’s excavation force
Monthly Planner - October 2013 Borders Bulletin
Day Morning Afternoon
Art/Collage: Sue Townsend, leader’s home—date/time to be arranged
Cycling: Sally Barrett, Date, time and location to be arranged
1st Tuesday
(October 1)
1st Wednesday
(October 2)
OSWESTRY BORDERS U3A SPEAKER MEETING, 1.30 – 3.30 p.m.
The Centre, Oak Street, Oswestry, Prof. Cynthia Burek – ‘What are
Geodiversity and Geoconservation?’
1st Thursday
(October 3)
ICT Skills: Jane Davies, 11 - 1 p.m group leader’s
home
1st Friday
(October 4)
Play Reading: Sandra Harvey, 10.30 a.m. group
members’ homes
1st Monday
(October 7)
PR Meeting; Jane Davies, 2 p.m. PR Co-ordinator’s home, Oswestry
2nd Tuesday
(October 8)
Book: Sandra Harvey, 10.30 a.m. to 12 noon,
members’ homes
Australian Studies: Wendy Lowdon, 2 p.m., Convicts and Settlement,
members’ home, Morda
2nd Wednesday
(October 9)
Singing : David Ryan, 10.30—12.15 p.m. mem-
bers’ homes
Poetry Reading & Appreciation: Maggie Quinn, 1.30—3.30 p.m.
group leader’s home.
Local History: Dave Stirling, 2 p.m. Cambrian Railways, group
leader’s home, Morda
Family History: Nicki Carmody, 4—6 p.m. Oswestry Library
2nd Thursday
(October 10)
Sculpture: Tony Roberts, 2 p.m Glass sculpture, group leader’s home,
Knockin Heath
2nd Friday
(October 11)
Sunday
(October 13)
Garden: Sally Barrett, 2 p.m. Gredington Garden Open Sunday,
Whitchurch. Members lunching at The Boathouse, Ellesmere, 12.30.
2nd Monday
(October 14)
Archaeology: John Scorer, 10 a.m. Talk on
Heinrich Schleimann, group leader’s home, Knockin
3rd Tuesday
(October 15)
3rd Wednesday
(October 16)
OSWESTRY BORDERS U3A MEMBERS’ MEETING, 1.30 – 3.30
p.m., The Centre, Oak Street, Oswestry, ‘History of Pottery
and Identification’
3rd Thursday
(October 17)
ICT Web Design, Jane Davies, 10 – 12 noon,
group leader’s home
3rd Friday
(October 18)
3rd Monday
(October 21)
4th Tuesday
(October 22)
4th Wednesday
(October 23)
Singing : David Ryan, 10.30—12.15 p.m. mem-
bers’ homes
Bird Watching: Pam Broomby, 1.30 p.m. members’ home, Morda,
Watching Bird DVD and planning next year’s activities
Art Appreciation: Led by group team,. 2—4 p.m Visit to Port Sunlight
Gallery
4th Thursday
(October 24)
4th Friday
(October 25)
4th Monday
(October 28) Walking: John Scorer, Time and location
tba
Page 8
Future events
Oswestry Borders U3A Borders Bulletin contact information All contributions to Editor, Jane Davies [email protected]
Mobile: 07791117181
Group Snapshot
What a wonderfully diverse lot we are at
Oswestry Borders U3A. And no more
so than when we are standing up, telling
members about the interest groups we
belong to. In ‘Group Snapshot’, our
September Members’ Meeting, 13
interest groups were ‘on show’.
The event opened with a whacky woman
walker advising us to ‘avoid tame group
names’. In her piece about unusual U3A
group names (it didn’t really deserve to
be called a talk, did it?) Jane Davies fully
embraced the slogan ‘If it’s not fun, it’s
not U3A.’ We still can’t believe some of
the ‘actual’ U3A group names she used.
Lynn Rose proudly got to grips with
PowerPoint to illustrate some wonderful
locations visited by the Garden Group.
Margaret Pritchard marched on to
didgeridoo music and modern Aboriginal
art to explain some of Australian Studies
Group projects. Sandra Harvey told us
about how the new Book Group was
shaping up, and then, with no need for
microphones, the Play Reading group
gave an amazing character study from
Dylan Thomas’ ‘Under Milk Wood’.
We heard of informed visits made by the
Local History group from Dave Stirling,
the combined ventures of the Walking
and Archaeology Groups from John
Scorer, and about birds and local places
to spot them from Pam Broomby.
Dave Boulton explained the different
ways Family History Group researched
at Oswestry Library.
Maggie Quinn outlined the work of the
Poetry Group.
Gina Pearson told us where the Art
Appreciation Group would be visiting
(and lunching).
We were expecting Anne Lynch to sing
her bit for the Singing Group, but hey-ho!
Jane Davies finished with a PowerPoint
to demonstrate the best learning
environments for ICT and then gave a
quick demo of the new website.
We managed to sort out the projector,
but the sound system was beyond us, so
welcome back Mr Barrett…over and out!
Page 9
Borders Bulletin Volume 1, Issue 6
Since our launch in March the
Borders Bulletin has proved a
valuable resource, keeping
everyone up-to-date on a
monthly basis with U3A news,
and always celebrating our
news and achievements.
Now, because we have our
website, regularly updated by
a team of editors, we intend to
move from a monthly Borders
Bulletin to quarterly editions.
The next Winter 2013/14 issue
will therefore be produced in
January 2014.
Date Speaker and Members Meetings
October 2 Prof. Cynthia Burek - ‘What are Geodiversity and
Geoconservation?’
October 16 Members’ Meeting - ‘History of Pottery and Identification’
November 6 Chris Cannon - ‘Born out of Wenlock - the London 2012
Olympic Connection’
November 20 Members’ Meeting - Family Stories
Contributions very welcome. Contact Joyce Whitehead
December 4 Alister Williams – ‘Who was Jones? How Welsh Names
came into Being’
December 18 Members’ Meeting - t.b.a.
The introductory whacky, woman walker—the warm-up!
Interest Groups Information
Page 10
Borders Bulletin Volume 1, Issue 6
Subject LEADER DAY, FREQUENCY, LOCATION
Archaeology John Scorer Monthly, 2nd Monday, a.m. Location varies
Art / Collage Date/time to be arranged, group leader’s home (No longer
at Qube, Oswestry). Still life painting for fun and relaxation
Art
Appreciation
Gina Pearson Monthly, 4th Wednesday, usually 2 p.m. Location varies
Australian
Studies
Wendy Lowdon Monthly, 2nd Tuesday, 2 p.m. at group members’ homes
Bird Watching Pam Broomby By arrangement
Book Sandra Harvey Monthly, 2nd Tuesday, 10.30am – 12.00 at group members’
homes
Cycling Sally Barrett Weekly, where possible, no regular day – arranged each
time
Family History Nicki Carmody Monthly, 2nd Wednesday, 4 – 6 pm Library (room hire
charge)
Garden Sally Barrett Monthly, 2nd Monday, 2 p.m. Group Visits, shared research
on garden-related issues. Location and dates can vary
ICT Skills Jane Davies Monthly, 1st Thursday 11 a.m. at group leader’s home
ICT Web
Design
Jane Davies Monthly, 3rd Thursday 10 a.m. – 12 noon group leader’s
home
Local History David Stirling Monthly, 2nd Wednesday 2 p.m.
Photography John Barrett On hold until further notice
Play Reading Sandra Harvey Monthly 1st Friday, 10.30 a.m. at members’ homes
Poetry
Reading &
Appreciation
Maggie Quinn Monthly, 2nd Wednesday, 1.30 – 3.30 p.m. at members’
homes
Scrabble Regular meeting time may be arranged when group is
larger
Sculpture Tony Roberts Irregular monthly meetings (next Thursday, 10th Oct)
Singing David Ryan Twice monthly, 2nd and 4th Wednesdays 10.30 a.m.– 12.15
at members’ homes. Need pianist
Walking –
occasional
John Scorer Monthly, 4th Monday, a.m. Location varies