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In this my last Issue …..
Members articles 2 – 6
Simple exercises 7
Memories of VE Day 8 – 11
National U3A 11
Quiz 11 – 12
Newsletter & me 13
Contact list 14
SWANLEY AND DISTRICT
Newsletter
No 88 May 2020
Hello everyone,
I hope you and your families are all well and safe.
This is such a surreal situation and we are all having to adapt to
a change of life style. I am sure you would all agree that we
have much for which to be thankful; this hopefully will be over
soon and we can return to our families, in health, albeit with
some changes to our lives. I for one will try to remember to take
stock and be grateful for all the small things in life that I take so
much for granted. Like my little granddaughter’s hugs.
There have been many heart-warming stories of generosity, of
service and of humour and it is good to remember that the
humanity in people far outweighs the indifference and negativity.
It is good to hear that some of the groups have managed to keep
in touch virtually by Zoom and WhatsApp. Thank you to those
group leaders involved. I won’t mention names at this point as I
may miss someone out.
We have a fantastic bumper issue in Peter Cudd’s swan song! Our wonderful editor takes a much
deserved break and hands over to Tony Scale. He has done such a marvellous job, as the
newsletter is a vital part of our communication and every month, with thanks to contributors of
course, we have had a lively and interesting read. Anne, his wife has acted as his PA, as well as
being firstly, Speaker Secretary and then Minutes Secretary. Both have been loyal and productive
members of the committee since our inauguration. We also say ‘goodbye’ to Roger Bryan who
too, is taking a much deserved break. He has been, from the beginning, a fully contributing
member of the committee, a very conscientious and efficient Membership Secretary, as well as
leader of the walking and birdwatching groups. Roger has given freely of his time in all cases,
sometimes when he was clearly unwell. Unfortunately ill health has curtailed his ability to keep up
his excellent work and sadly has had to step down.
I hope to be able to pay them tribute and thanks, in their presence, at the AGM [whenever that
might be!] and to welcome their replacements. Gill Baker has kindly volunteered to take on the
role of Minutes Secretary and Tony Scale has achieved a seamless takeover as Membership
Secretary and now takes on Peter’s role as Newsletter Editor. What’s that about ask a busy
person? Thank goodness for volunteers and people willing to help keep this club going. John Baker
mentioned recently about people being described as ‘Radiators and Drains.’ I had heard the
expression but glad we have some radiators and not too many drains!
Enjoy this bumper finale from Peter and thank you to all the contributors. I hope we will soon be
able to meet again and enjoy each other’s company. My phone number is on the back of the
newsletter. If you are alone, please feel free to text or call me for any reason. Stay well and safe.
Sandie Treloar
Charity No T1155593
Learn, Laugh and Live!
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Art in Isolation
I am fortunate to have a hobby that I can carry on with during this time of social
distancing and isolation. Art has been a passion of mine for several years now; I
painted a lot when I was younger, but didn’t do much for many years until about 10 years ago
when I joined an evening class. I then remembered what a joy it can be to immerse myself in the
development of a piece of artwork. As our children moved out, a spare room in the house was
repurposed as a studio, and my art took up a greater importance in my life.
Now I paint and draw several times a week, and belong to two art groups. I paint places, things
and people that mean something to me – it’s good if others like what I produce but the main
purpose is to please myself. I like painting with other people, and several Swanley and District
U3A members paint alongside me at the groups we belong to. Now that we are not able to meet
together, we have used social media to discuss and share our recent work, and to keep in touch.
Art is a very good activity to promote emotional wellbeing, and the total absorption it requires can
lift your mind away at least temporarily from the troubles of life at this difficult time. I am never
bored if I have access to art materials, and I have found painting helps to relieve my anxiety. It
has been a real blessing in recent weeks.
Here is some of my work completed over the last few weeks since we have been social distancing.
All painted in acrylic.
‘After the Party’ was an image from a friend’s 70th
birthday party which took place in March just before
lockdown.
‘Pebbles from Dungeness’ – the stones were collected in
January from one of my favourite places.
‘Still life in the kitchen’ – I started this at our last group meeting before the lockdown.
Other like-minded U3A members have kindly shared their recent work:
Sylvia Leggett sent me this beautiful watercolour painting of glorious Pear
Blossom outside her kitchen window, which she said seemed to fill her kitchen.
Gill Morrin recently completed a pastel drawing of a Gloucestershire
landscape, seen from a hotel last year. She has also included a still life of
perfume bottles, drawn using conte crayons.
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Mick Reardon explained the development of his latest acrylic painting: ‘At the commencement
of the Corona-virus lock-down I splashed some colours onto a blank canvas with no real plan
about what I was going to paint. (Fig 1)
A day or two later an idea of a road leading into the distance came to me with an image of a
bare-footed person walking along the road (Fig 2). Trees and mountains followed (Fig 3). The
painting was completed in about a week and is entitled ‘Walking Barefoot into the Future.‘ Very
apt.
Gill Baker
Creative Writing
Drains And Radiators
I have taken an actual event and then used the voices of two contemporary
commentators to give conflicting views. Negative and positive, dismal and hopeful,
optimist and pessimist, drains and radiators. Is the glass half full or half empty? Each literary
character is limited to precisely one hundred words.
“Let’s go now, shall we? I don’t want to stay and see the end. We’ve blown our chance. There’s no
way we can possibly win. I can’t believe this has happened. So close, one hand on the cup, and
then we throw it away. If we go now, we can beat the rush. Get ourselves down to the station and
head for home. There’s no point staying. What a total let down.
It was all looking so good this morning and now this. What a disaster! I’m really disappointed. I
can’t stand this anymore. Come on, I’ve had enough.”
“Don’t be so sure. Anything can happen in a game like this. You know what they say… It isn’t over
until the fat lady sings. I don’t think she’s even started to warm up. Let’s wait a bit longer. You
never know how things might turn out. We can’t give up just yet. I have a feeling there could still
be a few surprises. If we lose, then we lose. If we win, you will be able to say you were here on
the day of our greatest triumph.
Besides, I think Ben Stokes might just do something special today.”
JDBaker
Fig 1 Fig 2 Fig 3
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The Mirror
This writing was inspired by a painting by William Holman Hunt called “The Lady of Shallot.” It
was produced at the end of the nineteenth century, the last of his magnificent Pre-Raphaelite
pictures. A young woman lives alone in a tower on an island in a river. A curse has been placed
upon her and she may only see the outside world by the reflections in her mirror. Leaving the
tower will have fatal consequences.
Her shining sadness fills the room
As she works with patience at her loom,
Like a fading and forgotten autumn flower.
Her tapestry on the floor unfurled.
A mirror, her view upon the world.
Our lady in the cold and lonely tower.
A prisoner with no chance to stray.
A curse that binds her night and day
With everlasting strength and fearful power.
A life to live, a life to save,
No chance to leave this tender grave.
The lady stands alone here in the tower
Her softly flowing auburn hair,
Cascades upon her shoulders fair
Like blossoms in the loving springtime bower.
The seductive paleness of her skin,
A radiant beauty concealed within.
Imprisoned in the unforgiving tower.
She dare not gaze and watch the light.
Reflections now her only sight.
A shadow moves to count the passing hour.
The distant sound of a tearful bell,
A song bird calls as if to tell
Of a world beyond the walls, outside the tower.
She casts the mirror to the floor,
Through splintered glass to the iron door.
No longer in the corner will she cower.
Her guilty eyes now understand
Enticing treasure across the land.
Now comes the time to leave the dismal tower.
And she departs this mournful day,
The river takes her far away
To the golden distant spires of Camelot.
Her grace and beauty will never fade,
Despite the curse which once was laid
On our melancholy Lady of Shallot. JDBaker
April 2020
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Singing Group
Early in 2016 one of our members suggested I start up a singing group for
Swanley U3A. Whilst I love music I am no expert, could not read music or even or play an
instrument. I investigated this, helped by a number of people and we had an inaugural meeting
at Ken Perry's home in June 2016. Sadly, Ken died before our first singing session but he was one
person who was so supportive and was looking forward to our group getting going.
Our first meeting was in July 2016. Other members, like me, wanted to come along for the sheer
fun of it and love of singing and music. Because I was attending a singing group already I had
some idea of acceptable and enjoyable songs. Since then our numbers have swelled and in
addition we have a wonderful singing teacher, Sandra Booer, who is excellent and encourages us
to learn in a light-hearted way. We have taken our Grade 1 in music and are now on to Grade 2.
We are also very lucky in having several members who are experienced singers, from doing
shows, pantomimes and highly regarded singing groups.
Our group is currently made up of 22 other members, aided of course by our teacher. In normal
times we meet on the third Tuesday of the month between 2pm and 4pm and we would love to
see more members come along and join us when we are in a position to meet again.
There is no pressure, no test to see if you have a squeaky voice - good because I certainly do!
The group is run collaboratively and we are always open to ideas and certainly more members as
our venue, Wilmington Memorial Hall, is ample for our needs and is a super place to sing. We
hope to have an informal concert, open to U3A members, friends, family and others, when things
get back to normal.
Rest assured though that if we are back by the end of the year we will have our annual
Christmas event to which everybody will be welcome to.
Sue Scott
Poetry Group
In the absence of face to face contact and the joy of hearing our chosen poems read
aloud we have done the best we can. We have set up an email group and Penny has
suggested various themes about which we might find a poem. Our first 'titles' were SPRING,
GOOD and BAD and the second lot HOPE and DESPAIR. We have enjoyed finding poems and
sharing them in a rather different way. Some of us have been able to read the poems aloud to
those in our households.
Below is a copy of a sonnet by an unknown British author, which many of the group really
enjoyed. It was shared as the GOOD poem in the first selection.
From first poems by Richard Elwes
I have been greeted by long absent friends
And loved the starting pleasure in their eyes
Have known the silence as the singer ends
Holding the listeners dumb with ecstasies;
Have filled my nostrils from the opening rose,
Have shouted verse exultant down the wind,
Have gazed at moonlit water as it flows,
And morning mountains with the sun behind;
Have felt the blessed ease that follows pain,
And heard great tides of music as they sweep,
Have found lost infant memories again,
Seen heaven visiting children as they sleep.
I summon up these joys each one apart –
And I have held my love against my heart.
Gill Heath
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Post War London
Resting proudly amongst a collection of history books on the shelves is a slim volume called “The
Building of London”. It is a Puffin Picture Book published for
children in 1946. The authors are Margaret and Alexander Potter.
The retail price was nine pence. The thin cover, the limited
number of pages and the basic colour illustrations reflect the
shortages experienced in the immediate post war years. The
book tells the history of London and its buildings from AD 100 to
1945, from “Roman to Modern times.” The message is clear.
London needed a plan to rebuild. The damage inflicted during the
war made rebuilding inevitable and new planning possible. It is
calculated that air raids had resulted in the deaths of about 30
000 Londoners and the destruction of 100 000 houses. In addition,
one-third of the City of London was destroyed. The bombing raids
by the Luftwaffe had been followed by the introduction of V1 and V2
rocket attacks. My personal connection is with my great uncle,
former landlord of the Poulters Arms just off Cheapside. His pub was
destroyed by bombing in 1940.
The authors of the book remind the reader: “If we have to rebuild
anyhow, why not on a better plan, just
as Charles II and Wren said to the
London merchants after the Great Fire.
Our task is much greater than it was then, but we have just as urgent
a need. Shall we have the courage and patience to plan a better
London which will be more convenient and healthy than the old
London and more beautiful? That question will have to answered in
the next few years. You will see the answer. Already the new plans
have been drawn up, but they are still only plans on paper.”
They also listed the priorities for the post war planners. They
included: fine houses for all, playgrounds, schools, hospitals and
clinics, parks, trees, fresh air and “good things for housewives”
(Don’t ask! I don’t know either!) Were these noble targets
achieved? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. The evidence of
London’s war time experience is still with us. The bomb damage
transformed it into the architecturally diverse city we now know.
Eighteenth century buildings still stand close to those
constructed in the fifties and sixties. This little book tells a two
thousand year story. It also suggests ambitious plans for a fresh
beginning. It reveals a voice of optimism for the young reader in
1946.
John Baker
Gardening
As you would expect the gardening group cannot meet up and visit beautiful
gardens as we have in previous years. However, there is a way but only if you
have a computer and the internet !
The National Garden Scheme is running virtual tours on its website showing
glorious gardens in beautiful settings. Fancy one complete stand out garden then a trip to Wisley
is a must. Their website will show off many of their plants in various settings where you can take
inspiration from their plant techniques or just enjoy the views. Who doesn’t like Azaleas, they
possess such delicate bold colour flowers and are out now. For a chance to see them in all their
splendour go the Great Comp website. One of the biggest events in the gardening world is the
Chelsea Flower Show, this year for the first time, it will be a virtual show, the RHS will be
announcing details soon. I am sure there are other gardens you can find.
( the links above work if you press Ctrl and left click )
Meanwhile back at Istead Rise, I am busy sowing, taking cuttings and simply enjoying my garden
with my climbing roses looking lovely. Peter
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Simple Exercises
With so many of our usual activities off the menu now, Jan Elci from Gravesend U3A
has devised a simple sitting down exercise routine for everybody. Aim to do the
routine every day – or more ! But of course, it has to be at your own risk.
Sit on an upright hard chair without arms. Sit to the front part of the chair, feet touching the
ground, a hip width apart. Sit upright, tummy tucked in.
1. While sitting, start marching your feet then extend one arm out in front, palms down, stretch
out as far as possible, bring it back, change arms, all the while a gentle march. Aim for eight
sets counting right / left as one set.
2. Keep marching feet, now left one arm up into the air palms facing forward, take your arm up
as high as is comfortable, bring down, change arms, keep the feet marching. Aim to do eight
sets.
3. Take one foot forward and tap heel to ground, bring back, other leg repeat. At same time
swing both arms to one side, clap, bring to other side, clap eight sets.
4. Feet stay still throughout. Sit upright, arms hanging down side of body, palms facing in. Let
your arm slide down one side to give a side stretch, come back to centre, do again. Nice and
slow, eight on right side eight on left.
5. Lift both heels off the ground so that you are up on your toes. While you lift to your toes circle
your shoulders backwards and round, lower feet, do again. Repeat for times. Do the same
with heels, up on toes, but this time circle both shoulders forward and round. Repeat four
times.
6. Toe tap alternate feet whilst rotating wrists, eight rotations each way.
7. Sit with hands in prayer position, chest height. Keep hands in prayer and raise hands high (
as high as comfortable ) separate hands and let them circle round, down and back to prayer (
like breast stroke shape ). Do this four times slowly.
8. With hand resting in your lap, drop your chin to your chest to stretch the back of your neck,
enjoy stretch for a while, lift back up to centre.
9. Drop your head to one side aiming for ear to touch your shoulder, hold for a nice stretch, go
back to centre then do the other side, no need to rush, slowly for a nice stretch.
10. Turn your head to one side, hold still for a while, back to centre then face the opposite side,
back to centre. Repeat twice.
11. Rotate one ankle four times, then four in reverse direction. You can hold around your thigh to
support this. Change legs and repeat.
12. Stretch out one leg and point your toes then flex your foot so that your heel is pushing
forward. Try to flex, point feet, four sets each foot. Stand up, shake your arms, stomp your
feet, have a wiggle. Open your arms wide, bring them back in to give yourself a big hug and a
pat on the back. Well done !
( This article courtesy of Penny Collins, with kind permission of Jan Elci )
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To celebrate the 75th anniversary of VE Day I asked if any members had any recollections or
stories regarding this momentous day in our history. The following articles are by our members to
whom I am very grateful. So I do hope you enjoy this piece of local history.
Peter
VE Day – Pauline Long
September,1939 - a memorable month for the world - and also
for me, as that was the month I started school. The first thing
we had to learn was our ID and ration book number - I did -
LFOB64.7!!
We lived in Bebington on the Wirral and had heavy bombing
raids - targets being the docks and shipyards at Liverpool and
Birkenhead and shipping on the Mersey. My father had to stay on shifts at work in Liverpool some
nights as a Fire Watcher. (He was unfit for military
service due to injury in the 1st war - as an 18 year
old soldier he had been dragged from the mud at
Ypres.) It must have been so hard for my mother
with 3 young children and our very elderly granny to
care for and protect night after night. One of my
strongest memories was the sound of the broken
glass tinkling on the strapping taped on the windows.
Our victory party
was in the next road
with children there
from the surrounding
streets. Each family
took their best
efforts at party food,
but my favourites
were the pink wafer
biscuits, brought
from America by a
neighbour who was
in the Merchant
Navy.
All children had a message card from the King after
the war. There was a victory parade and I remember
marching with our school Guides along with other
local organisations and servicemen - including
Americans from the local USAAF bases.
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VE Day - Ann Cook
This VE Day Party was in Albercore Crescent Lewisham. I
can remember my mother making jellies using the baby
clinic orange juice, somehow they must have acquired
some gelatine. The pram in the picture is somewhat
different to prams / buggies in use nowadays !
In this picture I am sitting close to an enormous cake. The small chairs for
the toddlers were brought out from the Sunday School in the same road.
This is the programme for a rather grand affair for all the family held at R.A.F. Maintenance Unit
Kidbrooke. Can you remember blancmange that appears on the
menu ?
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Roger Neaves VE Day
For me and all the kids in my neighbourhood VE Day lasted about six weeks. Gone was the threat
of pilotless planes and rockets, V1s and V2s. It was now time to celebrate. We had street parties,
bonfires with effigies of Hilter on top. Parents built a stage and put on shows, Anyone who could
sing, tell a joke or play a musical instrument joined in. It was euphoria!
We used to play in the bomb damaged buildings and in an almost
completely destroyed church we found an organ that still worked !
One of the boys on our group could play piano, so it did not take
him long to figure how to play it. I can’t remember what tunes he
played but the popular songs of the day were, You Are My
Sunshine and Don’t Fence Me In. I’ve often wondered if passersby
thought that the church was haunted.
As well as the stage parents organised games. They closed both ends of our street off and we had
races, the street was about 150 yards long. The young boy’s favourite race was the Mum and
Dad’s Relay. One parent had to race to the far end of the street, hand over to the other parent ,
the Mums always ran the second leg. One mum was of ample proportions which is why it was the
boy’s favourite, as her vast bosom bounced up and down whilst she ran.
My school had a glass roof which had collapsed so we went to another school which had extra
temporary classrooms. All London school children received a letter from the King, George VI. I still
have mine.
Although the war was over, times were very hard, almost everything was on ration and as
growing boys my brother and I were always hungry. To fill us up, between meals, we would have
a slice of bread and dripping. Screams of shock and horror from today’s dieticians.
A short story about rationing I must tell you. Word went round that at Carpenter’s, the
greengrocer, he had some oranges in. We rushed down
there with our ration books and some money to join the
queue. Word went along the queue that the other
greengrocery shop, also a Carpenter’s (they were
brothers) had oranges as well. Having got served at the
first shop we hurried home to gently rub out the pencil
marks on our coupons, Coupons for fruit were not cut out
but “marked” to cancel them. We hurried on to the second shop to get some more oranges,
intending to rub out the pencil marks again, but the shop keeper used a blue crayon which would
not rub out.
VE Day went on until VJ Day and then we partied some more !!
Jessie Collins (David Collins' mother) - VE Day
At last, in May 1945, the war in Europe came to an end. Churches held services of thanksgiving.
My father led one at our church, followed by a social evening, when anyone who could spare
anything from our rationed provisions brought along a few biscuits or cakes, and cups of tea were
served. We heard that there was to be a firework display outside a factory about half-an-hour's
walk away. It was to begin at midnight and all our young people were anxious to go. I asked if I
could join them. Mum said , 'No,' but Dad said, 'Don't be silly. She's a big girl now (I was nearly
17) and there is a crowd going. She'll be quite safe.' So of course I went. It was amazing. Crowds
of people, mostly young ones, were walking along in rows, arm in arm, singing patriotic songs and
laughing and joking as we went along. The fireworks were wonderful after so many years without
anything of that kind. We returned home in the early hours of the morning, but that was no
problem, because schools had been given two days' holiday to celebrate victory.
Of course there were those who didn't feel like joining in the celebrations, because the war in the
Far East was still going on, and they had loved ones out there.
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Penny Collins – VE day
My ballet teacher was a member of The Sadler's Wells ballet during the war. She danced with
Margot Fonteyn and Robert Helpman. On V E day she had to cross London on foot to get to The
Sadler's Wells theatre where there was to be a performance of Coppelia that night. Everyone in
the streets were dancing, singing and celebrating and it took her a long time to get there. During
the performance Robert Helpman who was playing the part of Dr. Coppelius staggered on to
music. He was meant to pull out a handkerchief from his pocket and wipe his brow but instead he
pulled out a long string of bunting that went on and on to the cheers, applause and the uproar
from the audience.
Linda Herilhy – VE Day
I cannot really remember much about the war or the end of it as I was six at the time. I
remember being evacuated but that is not relevant to VE day. I don’t remember how our street
looked intact but what I do remember is coming out with my family with everyone else into the
street from the shelter in the morning and seeing that the houses at the end of the road had been
destroyed, I must have been very young then. As for the party I just remember a happy feeling
after years of tension.
( Special thanks to Linda who suggested VE day memories for this newsletter )
National U3A
Below are some points from National U3A via their newsletter. You can sign up for the
newsletter via the link.
Many U3As have taken interest groups on line, providing support to learn using Zoom and
WhatsApp. Others have used teleconferencing and developed telephone buddy schemes.
The Trust has developed a whole series of national programmes and more will be rolled out each
week U3A members are contacting me to share their experiences and ideas. We are using those
to add into our link to learning ideas.
We have also launched a programme of national learning initiatives to get people involved either
individually or to participate in within their U3A groupings.
Currently this includes our photography project, U3A Eye, our diary project and our
birdwatch initiative as well as regular mindfulness sessions and a weekly quiz.
Please keep checking our website for new content as we have got a whole raft of new initiatives
which we will be launching over the next few weeks, including a national creative writing
competition, and some more regular puzzles and challenges.
Quiz
First the answers to last month's quiz:
1.Mother Goose 2.Ronnie Corbett 3.Motherwell 4.Judy Garland 5.Simnel cake
6.Mother-of-pearl 7.Abba 8.Tutankhamun 9.A bone 10.It Ain't Half Hot Mum.
11.George Formby 12.Pink Floyd 13.Saddam Hussein 14.Mother Courage 15.Joan Crawford
16.Goldie Hawn 17.Leda 18.Gwyneth Paltrow 19.Paul Simon 20.Imhotep.
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Not much chance to celebrate St George's Day this year so I've chosen 'England' and 'St George'
as my themes for this month, with 10 questions on each:
1.'England expects that every man will do his duty' is a phrase associated with whom?
2.Measuring 1.33 miles, the world's longest pleasure pier is in which English seaside town?
3.Who expected to see a non-indigenous species of bird over English cliffs in 1940?
4.The film 'The Full Monty' was largely set in which English city?
5.Broadcaster Jeremy Paxman, chef Marie Pierre White and actor John Simm were all born in
which English city?
6.Which English composer is particularly associated with Malvern, Worcestershire?
7.'Brandy Nan' was the nickname of which English queen?
8.Which English city hosts the annual British Fireworks Championship?
9.Which English county is home to the most listed buildings?
10.In which play did Shakespeare extol the virtues of England as 'this sceptred isle'?
11.Which country honours St George in its name?
12.In which army is St George said to have served?
13.Of which royal complex is St George's Chapel a feature?
14.The Queen traditionally announces new appointments to which royal order on St George's Day?
15.Who fought in the Holy Land with the cross of St George on their tunics?
16.Which Shakespearean figure rallies his men with the words 'Cry God for Harry, England and St
George'?
17.The English National Football Centre, St George's Park, is in which Midlands town?
18.Who was considered the patron saint of England before St George?
19.In years gone by, what flower did people wear in their lapel on St George's Day?
20.In which year is St George usually said to have died - 303, 603, 1203?
And here's 10 anagrams of English cities to get you thinking:
1.LADS FOR 2.BYE CURRANT 3.THUMP ROOTS 4.TECH RICHES 5.RED REF HO 6.CANAL REST
7.CHILLI FED 8.SNOT REP 9.TOUGHER PROBE 10.CLOSET URGE.
Again happy quizzing everyone and I'll give you the answers in next month's newsletter.
David Collins
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Newsletter and me.
So way back in 2012 I attended, like many of you, our first
meeting at the Alexandra Suite and following on from that and
subsequent meetings of the proposed Committee I volunteered
to edit the newsletter. The first newsletter launched in January
2013 it was one page long, as shown over.
The February 2013 was four pages long ! At that time we had
four interest groups up and running Walks and Rambles ( Roger
Bryan ), Creative Writing ( Penny Collins ), Family History (
Susan Polden ) and Chess ( Victor Southern ) with many more in
the pipeline. The whole newsletter was in black and white as, at
the time, Swanley Council printed the newsletter for us and
that’s all their copier could cope with ! The staff at the Council
Offices used to look forward to the newsletter so they could see
what we were up to !!
The next challenge was the website, after learning the intricacies
of a rather dated software package the website was born and
has over the years had many visitors to its pages. One of the
most popular being the newsletter page !
I could go on about all the newsletters as I have kept all of them, but thankfully, I won’t ! It has
been an interesting task and at times tested my skills of one of my none-too favourite computer
software packages, Microsoft Word. I hope you have all enjoyed the newsletters I have produced
but as I have always said the newsletter is only as good as the copy received and to that end I
would like to thank everyone who has sent me articles over the years. My job was just to format,
copy, and yes okay let’s say “ tweak ” a bit to bring the whole thing together.
I do have some personal “thank yous”, first and foremost to my wife Anne. She has helped with
proofreading the whole newsletter each month and helping me decide wording to use when
necessary.
To Roger Bryan, who took on the job of circulating the newsletter to all members via email and
printing many, many copies for the monthly meetings.
Lastly to Paul Brenchley and Phil Saunders who have now taken over circulation of the newsletters
to all members.
So from me it’s a case of .....
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Newsletter
The closing date for the next newsletter will be Thursday 28th May please send copy
to Tony Scale at [email protected].
.
Contact Details
Chairman Sandra Treloar [email protected]
Vice Chairman David Collins [email protected]
Business Secretary Carol Willingham [email protected]
Social/Outings Coordinator Penny Collins [email protected] 01322 669724
Membership Tony Scale [email protected]
Linda Herlihy [email protected] 01322 664287
Group Co-ordinators John Baker [email protected]
David Collins [email protected]
Website - https://u3asites.org.uk/swanley
The views and opinions expressed in this newsletter are of a general nature and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Swanley and District U3A or any part of the University of the Third Age unless specifically stated. All rights reserved, any reproduction without permission is prohibited.
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Groups Timetable
Group Leader Group meets
Antiques and Collectables John and Gill Baker 3rd Tuesday morning
Art & Craft Penny Collins 4th Tuesday afternoon
Art Appreciation Margaret Austin 1st Monday morning
Art & Painting Outdoors Gill Baker As notified
Bird Watching Roger Bryan 3rd Wednesday morning
Book Group Linda Herlihy 2nd Tuesday afternoon
Chess Terry Bennett 4th Wednesday morning
Computer Paul Brenchley 4th Thursday afternoon
Creative Writing Penny Collins 1st Thursday morning
Croquet Bill Hammond As notified
Dining Peter Mitchell As advertised
Family History Susan Polden Last Monday of month in morning
Fishing Mike Axford 2nd Wednesday
Food Appreciation Anne Cudd 3rd Thursday afternoon
Gardening Peter Cudd 4th Wednesday afternoon
History Modern Jackie Griffiths Monthly as advertised
History of London 1 John Baker 2nd Thursday morning
History of London 2 John Baker 4th Thursday morning
Let's Speak French Barbara Ramsay Wednesday mornings fortnightly
MOTO (Members On their Own) Sue Neville As advertised
Music Making Mark Fittock Every Tuesday morning
Petanque Bill Hammond As notified
Photography Alan Hayward 2nd Friday afternoon
Play Reading Penny Collins 3rd Friday morning
Poetry Appreciation Penny Collins 3rd Wednesday morning
Quiz Team David Collins As advertised
Rugby Appreciation Alan Hayward As advertised
Singing Group Sue Scott 3rd Tuesday afternoon
Spanish Leigh Aldrich As advertised
Table Tennis Bill Hammond 1st and 3rd Friday afternoon
Theatre Appreciation Madeline McCubbin As advertised
Wednesday Walking Clive Rayner 2nd Wednesday morning
Friday Walking Clive Rayner 4th Friday morning
Wine and Dine Santha Blankley As advertised
Wine Tasting Bob Brickell 4th Wednesday evening
For contact details of group leaders please contact John Baker
[email protected] or David Collins 01322 669724