Members at Symonds Yat - Read about the U3A holiday on page 19

Membership Renewal Page 28

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Photo Group at Brodsworth Hall

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Contents Page

Architecture 9 and 36

Art Appreciation 11

Committee, Convenors and Contact Details 29

Editorial 4

General Meetings and Speakers 5

Gardening 12

Grand Tour des Churches 23

Group Meetings Summary Page 35

Holiday 1 and 13

Legal Advice – Free for U3a Members 27

Luncheon Club 17

Music for Us 18

Membership News 27

Membership Renewal 28

Opera Group 18

Photo Group 2

Theatre Group 19

Visits Group 20

Welfare and Website 4

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Note from the Editor Welcome to your October Newsletter. The Newsletter is published 4 times a year, in January, April, July and October. The deadline for the January 2016 publication is Thursday 3 December. Contact details for the Newsletter are: Email: lindseyu3a@gmail.com Thank you to all those members who sent in contributions and I also want to thank the Editorial Team: Sub-Editor: Dawn Bowskill and Member: Len Verrall.

Peter Abela Editor

Margaret Campion is the Welfare Member. If you know of anyone sick or someone who has been absent for a while and unwell, or if you think a card from the Committee would be welcome, then let Margaret know and she will send a suitable message. Her contact details are email: margaret.campion@btinternet.com

Lindsey U3A Website http://community.lincolnshire.gov.uk/LindseyU3A/

Webmaster: Henry Jones

Email: handb@handb.me.uk

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General Meeting Speakers Date Speaker Topic

1 Oct Eric Houlder In Dead Men’s Footsteps

5 Nov Horace Liberty Lincoln, Then and Now

3 Dec Ken Moore Flying Tornados over Bosnia

7 Jan Nigel Burn History of Lincoln Castle

Lincolnshire Birds and Reserves (June General Meeting)

June’s talk and presentation was given to a very reduced audience of members on the 4 June at the Welton Village Hall. The speaker was Steve Lovell who was an undoubted, and totally devoted man to the cause of wildlife and in particular, birds of some of the Lincolnshire reserves which are operated by the RSPB, the Bird Club and the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, which gave Steve a chance to flex his knowledge and photography. Some eleven major reserves were mentioned in and around Lincolnshire backed up by an array of splendid photographs of some ninety birds, which out of a total of 263 reported bird species seen in our county, was a very fair representation of what can be enjoyed, given the right weather, the right season, and the right equipment. Steve was able to give his first hand experiences in the formation of various habitats in and around the county, and with a collection of similar minded people with the muscle and expertise, were able to produce just what the birds needed, despite all of their variations of diet and accommodation; quite a major feat in its own right. He spoke of his involvement at Frampton Marsh, the Wash shoreline, including Frieston Shore,

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and marching on to Donna Nook and the Far Ings reserves around the Humber. From there we moved on to Messingham, to the naturalised quarries, and Alkborough, where the first Northerly Avocets took up residence way back in the 80’s. Kirkby gravel pits created another environment in that its natural condition used to be heathland before man needed tons and tons of building sand and gravel. Since the pits have closed, the heathland has recovered with splendid results to be seen in the returning wildlife species. Swanholme Lakes, yet more retired pits and Whisby Nature Park again are redundant sand and gravel areas, and have made splendid Nature Parks for general public access.

Lincoln Cathedral has become famous not only for it’s presence but as an annual nesting place for the peregrine falcons, who, thank goodness have a penchant for pigeon, for breakfast, lunch and supper and during their period of residence it is calculated

that some 300 - 400 pigeons are consumed by the peregrine family, the City Fathers must love them! Passing through the huge areas of open farmland and entering the Wolds area Steve mentioned the Worlaby reserves, where the finch family in all their variants take up residence and enjoy this type of landscape with its hedgerows and wooded areas. We finally ended up nearer to the Southern end of the county at the Deeping Lakes where the waders and shovellers, sediment sifters and crustacean crunchers have enjoyed all of the efforts made by we humans to help them survive.

Frampton Marsh

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A totally impeccable presentation but I’m afraid there was little time for questions at the end. Two impressions that stuck in my mind were the lady reeves standing in a circle whilst the male ruff strutted his stuff much as in Strictly Come Dancing. They announced their approval or disapproval but not with grading cards. The other vision was of all the birds’ migration South from North, East and West and all ending up at Frampton Marsh for the winter season, having used Thompsons or Thomas Cook travel facilities even though they cannot read!! All those present were asked to give a vote of thanks to Steve for his excellent talk, which made one realise that there is someone out there who cares about wildlife.

John Smallwood

Scenes from the Towpath (August General Meeting)

As someone who has travelled on many of the Country's canals I thought I knew what to expect from Ken Day's talk entitled 'Scenes from the Towpath', but I was wrong. He had put an historical twist to the presentation by showing us scenes that were taken in the 70's, when life was very different and long narrowboats carrying cargo shared the waterways with leisure boats full of holidaymakers. He showed us an extensive range of photographs which covered the length and breath of the Country: from the Caledonian Canal in Scotland to the Kennet and Avon in the south; from the Llangollen Canal in the west with it's impressive Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, across to our own Brayford Pool in the east. We saw the Bridgewater Canal stained bright orange with iron ore deposits, the swing bridges and staircase locks of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and the flyboats leaving the potteries on the Trent and Mersey Canal.

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I'm sure we all learned something new, or maybe just had our memories jogged about things we may have once known but have forgotten. However, I know we all enjoyed this visual step back in time as we sat and viewed Ken's 'scenes from the towpath' depicting our youth and a bygone era.

Prue Chadderton.

From Hong Kong to St. Petersburg by Train (September Meeting)

Our speaker, Julie Stephenson, described in vivid detail and with considerable enthusiasm the last stage of the `gap year` world tour adventure she and her husband undertook in 2013/14. This final phase encompassed an 8,000 mile train journey, starting in Hong Kong and then onwards to Shanghai, Beijing, westwards across Mongolia and Siberia to Moscow and then St. Petersburg. Her anecdotes and fond memories of their ever changing sleeper accommodation companions, the welcoming residents of the many destinations visited, together with the illustrations of the scenery, buildings and spectacular monuments seen en route were both amusing and informative – leaving some of us wondering whether a future Group Holiday Tour could retrace her footsteps!! If this is too ambitious perhaps we could be treated to a further talk in 2016 describing her earlier travels through both the North and South American sub-continents and then Asia before arriving in Hong Kong.

Alan Monighan

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Architecture

Architecture Group July Visit St Andrew’s Church, Heckington Ten members of the Architecture Group paid a visit to St Andrew’s Church, Heckington on Thursday 16 July 2015. We were met by Mike Rose, our guide, who enthralled us with his knowledge of the church. The superbly decorated Gothic church was built in the early 14th century.

The builder of the nave was probably Henry de Beaumont, Earl of Buchan. The man responsible for the chancel was Richard de Potesgrave, Chaplin to both Edward II and Edward III, rector of Heckington in 1309. The tower is topped by an octagon, itself surmounted by a slender spire. The tower has over 35 beautifully carved statues. More carved figures peer from the south front and the interior and exterior of the south porch. A decorated Gothic font stands at the west end. On the north side of the chancel is a carved Easter sepulchre. The sepulchre is composed of a central recess flanked by niches depicting the three Marys and angels. Beneath the canopy of the Sepulchre are figures of sleeping Roman soldiers, almost hidden by carved foliage. Opposite the sepulchre is a sedilla, adorned with intriguing carvings. Also in the chancel is the recessed tomb of Richard de Potesgrave. We finished our tour with a visit to the only two-storied vestry.

Architecture Group at Heckington

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After our tour of the Church we sat down to the lovely sandwich lunch, prepared by Jan Lovatt, a member of the Ladies Group of the Church with Mike Rose.

Jim Baker

The Architecture Group Visit to Market Rasen - 18 June We assembled at the historic market place (hence the town’s name), to meet Hazel, our guide. The market place is now privately owned but was owned by the Church and leased from 1219, and used to be much larger. The site was used fortnightly for horse and livestock fairs, also May hiring fairs, where job seekers paraded in their working clothes to attract future employers. The May and September feasts days were occasions for everyone to enjoy the traditional fun-fair attractions. Magistrates Courts were held to fine parents for keeping children off school (no change there!) to help with farm work. The Church of St Thomas lies behind the Market Place and dates from the 12th century and was founded by the Sixhills Priory. The Church has a Norman doorway. The original bells dated from 1553. In 1563 the Church was desecrated and burnt out by the Reformists and was refurbished in 1862 by James Fowler. One dramatic event happened in 1602 when a dispute between the landowner and the townsfolk ended with the Vicar the Rev. William Storr being stabbed to death by Frances Cartwright, a landowner, who thought a sermon in church was directed at him. Notable citizens of Market Rasen include John Conolly who revolutionised the treatment of the insane in Europe and America – to a more caring approach. He was honoured by the American Government in 1869 and his bust is in the Royal College of Physicians in London. Other notable citizens were Dr Zephaniah

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Art Appreciation

Barton and his brother doctor, John Rhodes a solicitor, and George Tennyson and family who also lived in the town. There is a lot more to discover about Market Rasen – perhaps another day!

Pat Davis

Art Appreciation.

On Monday August 10, 14 members travelled to Reg Taylor`s Garden Centre at Normanton near Southwell in Nottinghamshire. We were there to visit the exhibition “Sculpture in the Sanctuary”, a wonderful display of over 250 works designed and made by over 50 renowned artists based throughout Britain; some from local counties but others from

much farther afield. The outdoor exhibition was spread over the nine acre Swan Sanctuary with beautiful lakes and walkways through woods and grassy meadows while a smaller display was arranged in one of the indoor plant halls. So, each of us armed with a comprehensive well-illustrated directory, we set off at our own pace to view the works. And what a variety of sculpture to see! Some I loved, others I admired but lacked purse to purchase or estate large enough to home while with others I could admire the workmanship but the object itself did not arouse my interest. The sculptures, all varying in size and origin were made from steel, fibre glass, a variety of woods, ceramic, bronze, iron, slate, stoneware, wire frame, aluminium, soapstone, resins, car tyre and other sources.

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Gardening

Such was the variety – from “Dexter” a life size horse in oak, through “A drift of swans” moving by the wind on one of the lakes in stainless steel, a “Dragonfly” with hovering wings on a 5 foot stem in steel, “Ballet Girls” in cast bronze, “Allium” in copper wire, “Contemplation”, a sitting figure in car tyres. Several of the exhibits already carried “sold” notices and I am sure by the time the exhibition closes by the end of the month there will be many more. It was a most interesting display with something for everyone and all enjoyed this, our second visit to one of Taylor`s exhibitions.

Margaret Campion

Gardening

Our visit in August was to Neil Timm’s garden and nursery at Binbrook. The weather was a little unsettled with rain promised later. We were a little worried on numbers as only 10 people had put their names down but in the end 19 arrived so that was great. The garden had been developed from scratch over about 25 years. There were a lot of trees Neil had planted that were now very mature,

showing how quickly trees do grow. There is a natural stream running through the garden, which Neil had cleverly used to enhance the garden and produce a water feature. The nursery is a fern nursery and Neil gave an interesting talk on how they propagate ferns, producing in excess of 10,000 new plants each year. However they do take 3 years to develop from seed to saleable plant so he has to be very patient. It was good to see how ferns were used in the garden and we were given a number of ideas. We finished up with coffee and biscuits in the

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clubhouse of the local bowls club who lease their space from Neil. As we left it was starting to rain so a perfect afternoon for us but we felt sorry for the group who were visiting later that evening!

Henry Jones Gardening Group Programme October 27

“Mosaic mirrors for the garden and the materials I use to make them”. This will be a demonstration by Kate Sell of “Garden Reflections” November 24

Xmas Lunch – venue to be arranged although Kirton Lindsey is looking favourite at present. Sheets will be available at main meetings so please add your names so that we have an idea of numbers. You can of course still come to visits even if you don’t put your name down. We have started looking for ideas for next year so if you have any please let us know.

Holiday 2015

My neighbour, who very kindly offered to take us to Welton Village Hall, at the crack of sparrows, complained, when he’d dropped us off on a particularly miserable summer morning on the 14 July, but brightened up when I said. ”At least you can go home, and go back to bed, we’re off on our holidays.”

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And off on our holidays we went with Kevin Radley in his very modern and virtually brand new coach. Some 28 of us in the end from various U3A’s I think; anyway a comfortable number, as we could spread around a bit. We did the three pick up points comfortably and headed South West. After a comfort break in Leicester we made very good time to arrive at our first destination, which was Hidcote, a world-renowned spectacular garden, which we all enjoyed to the full, as entry had been included in the holiday package, as were all of our visits. After checking the plumbing and the cafés, and discovering some erstwhile chickens who were walking along the backs of recumbent Dexter cows in a field, picking off anything that moved, and when they got to the rear end, a swish of the cows tail removed them, and the process was repeated on the next cow, with a similar flick. This must have been the practice over some time as it was so slick. There was a sad tale about the hens’ cockerel that had been eaten by a vixen only a few days before. The hens’ owner said the fox always ate the cockerel first as he made all the noise when there were any intruders. We all mounted up and Kevin steered us toward our Hotel, the Bells Hotel in Coleford. It was a golfing Hotel, with accommodation annexes. The meet and greet was most successful as we did not have to touch our luggage at all whilst the very well trained staff plied us with welcome ‘drinkies’ of various sorts. When we had downed these drinks and manipulated all of our stiff bits, we found our rooms, which were very well appointed indeed. Checking everything out, as one does, we found that we had a very operatic loo, when refilling the cistern, so we made a note not to use the facilities during the night, as the noise was horrendous. The evening meal was very good indeed and everyone’s choice was delivered to perfection, table companions were selected and we all eventually retired. The second day, we were met by a Blue Badge Guide who was to be with us for at least two days whilst we toured the itinerary.

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After a hearty breakfast, as one does whilst one is away, we headed off to Welsh Wales, to the Blaenavon World Heritage site, which is a closed coalmine, one of the last to close in Wales in the 80’s. On the way there Roger Bailey, the Guide, was very forthcoming with his knowledge of what we could see and were about to see, which is a great advantage of sitting on a coach. You can see over hedges and into peoples’ gardens. The tour of the mine was very good indeed. I was not aware of any of our intrepid U3A-ers going down the lift into the depths of the mine, but a party of French children visiting thought it was very good but frightening. Some of our ladies visited the shower facilities at the pithead and were surprised with what they saw there!

After lunch we went over to the Forest of Dean Railway, a heritage

rejuvenated railway, run expertly by volunteers, except right at the very end, the driver thought he had finished his shift and shot off leaving staff and passengers with

red faces. The track ran for quite a way through some spectacular countryside, with hedges and tall grass edges. I would have loved to have had a rummage in them, but no time was allowed for passengers to hop off and look at the wildlife. The remaining railway staff found us another driver that could get us back to our bus.

At the Smelting Works

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The weather had improved from the time we arrived at the Bells Hotel, still a bit cloudy but very much brighter too. Day 3 was to be a heavier day with visits to Gloucester, Cheltenham and passing through the Cotswolds into Broadway and Bourton on the Water. This is an area which Joyce and I have not visited for some considerable time and although there was obviously a lot more people milling about, the ambience of all of these towns was very much the same and surprisingly there were not too many catch penny places. Quality ice creams and cream buns, and the most beautiful selection of locally grown fruit and vegetables could be seen and purchased. I had a lucky purchase in Bourton. I have been looking for a small spring that fits in my Swiss army knife, to operate the scissors single-handed. None to be found anywhere except in a very old fashioned hardware shop where the lady regaled me with a choice of springs of different sizes, so suddenly the holiday was well worth it!! We tried to go to look at Symonds Yat, when we returned from the visits the previous day, but a conflicting traffic sign made Kevin wary, so he explored the options at the end of the third day, whilst we dined. We then went as a coach load to view the spectacular view of the rivers and the gorges, thanks to Kevin for his perseverance and fortitude. Roger Bailey, the guide left us after this visit, with applause and thanks for his services and knowledge. Day 4 consisted of quite a long but very interesting trip to Bristol in and out of the Welsh border and bridging the river Severn. We arrived in Bristol to be met by Liz Gamlin, our Guide to Bristol and all of its points of interest in and around the waterfront. This was a bigger version of what Lincoln’s Brayford Pool area has become - a load of cafés and bars with all of the nation’s bigger shops in groups away from the Waterfront. We had a splendid visit to the SS Great Britain, which was rescued as a wreck from

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the Falklands. After around eighteen months of being hauled, it arrived in Bristol into dry dock and very expertly resurrected, a worthy end to a spectacular ship. We headed off back to the Hotel, well worn out, and a bit sad that the next day we were off home. Throughout the stay at the Hotel the food and service was excellent, the staff were very kind as well, and really put themselves out if there was a problem, except for our musical loo. I managed after three attempts to silence the brute, with a feeling of great satisfaction. Our return journey was punctuated with a stop in Stratford on Avon, which we all enjoyed again. The amount of people of all shapes sizes and colours was totally amazing, but they did not disturb us from the first floor restaurant of BHS overlooking the Marina. We arrived home in very good time and all thanks were expressed to Kevin, to Jo and Shirley, as well as to Pam our lady from the tour company. A very good break in good company, thank you all for being there.

John Smallwood

2016 Summer Holiday 18 July (4 Nights) Hotel in Telford

Visiting locations in Shropshire and Staffordshire Details at October Meeting

Luncheon Club Christmas Lunch December 12th at 1pm

Stags Head. Newport Road. More Details Later

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Music For Us The ‘Music for Us Group’ meets in a member’s home on the third Wednesday of the month. There is now a vacancy for a member to join. Contact Hugh Taylor for further details.

Hugh Taylor

Opera Group As the history of opera unfurls, so does the growing knowledge and understanding of what opera is about. It could be said that this is the experience of the Opera Group. It is now nearly two years since the Group came together. They have travelled the development of

opera, its history, roles, sounds of voices, whilst at the same time, the historical and literary background of each work. Moving through the various levels, from operetta to grand opera meant our own self-appraisal of responses to the music, voice and history. Sometimes sadness, joy, feeling anger, appreciation of its beauty, was all shared. We have listened, watched, been taken inside opera houses, seen interviews with performers, giving feelings that you were actually there, between acts and preparation. When the Opera Group was first formed, it was based on the diversity of each member, having an understanding and experience of the subject, from nil to musically aware. Together with reading and listening, these levels have been worked through. We have listened to composers from various eras, for example: Rossini, Bellini, Verdi, Puccini, to name a few, and heard some of

Opera Group

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Theatre

the greatest voices in the world and there is still much more to come. It has been my own personal view that opera is there for us all, amongst other music. It needs just a little application. I would like to thank the Group for being flexible with their time and for their appreciation of the work we now do together. I trust that this helps everyone know what we do in the Opera Group.

Muriel Ball

Theatre Group

Saturday 15 August 2015 dawned bright and promising. By 8.15 members were boarding the coach at Welton, followed at 8.30 by members at Waitrose; all looking forward to some shopping and lunch in Harrogate, whilst some of us were looking forward to the now little performed Gilbert and Sullivan

production of Patience. Patience is a satire of the aesthetic movement of the 1870s and 1880s in England that emphasised aesthetic values over moral and social themes in literature and fine arts, that is, the valuing of ideals of beauty above any pragmatic concerns. The two poets in the opera recite their own poetry out loud to a chorus of admiring rapturous maidens. The central character of Bunthorne is said to have been inspired by a mix of Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837 – 1909) and Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828 – 1892), whilst both Bunthorne, and his rival Grosvenor are also said to be based on Oscar Wilde (1854 – 1900). Although dated today, fads and hero worship are evergreen; one only has to wonder at the modern day cult of celebrity. Clearly, the opera was enjoyed by one and all.

Mike Moody

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Visits Group

Visits Group

Visit to the Kinema in the Woods – Friday 21 August 2015 Many members may have enjoyed film shows at the Kinema in the Woods and, in particular, been thrilled by the sight of the ornate Compton Kinestra organ emerging through the stage at the intervals.

Our party of 18 spent a pleasant morning learning the history of this unique cinema and going “behind the scenes”. We were welcomed by the owner/manager Philip Jones, who guided us to seats at the front of the original auditorium (Screen One). Soon we were hearing the rousing strains of the Dambusters’ March as Alan Underwood rose into view, seated at the magnificent organ. Alan, who has been the resident organist for over 25 years, continued with a medley of wartime and other well-known tunes, carefully selected to suit a mature audience. The organ recital was followed by a talk by Joanne, the owner’s mother, on the history of this special building, which started life as a sports and entertainment pavilion and dates back to the late nineteenth century. In 1922 it was purchased by Sir Archibald and Lady Weigall and, with the assistance of Captain Carleton Cole Allport, the pavilion was transformed into a cinema which opened its doors on Monday 11 September 1922. The roof of the building is too low for an image to be projected from the back of the auditorium. Films on Screen One are projected from behind the screen and on to a mirror to flip the image. This is then shown on the back of the screen. The Kinema is believed to be the only full-time cinema in the UK still using rear projection. The first sound projector was installed in the Kinema in 1928 and was replaced in 1978 by two electronically controlled projectors.

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Major C C Allport ran the Kinema for over 50 years, until 1973 when it was taken over by James Green. In June 1987 James Green installed the Compton Kinestra organ. In July 1994 a 92-seat auditorium, Kinema Two, was opened adjacent to the original. As an enthusiastic teenager, Philip Jones spent his spare time assisting James Green and at one point he was the youngest ever projectionist. His passion developed to such an extent that after university the cinema became his life and he was employed as James Green’s manager. Joanne was proud to announce that James Green has recently retired and now Philip is the owner. Joanne interspersed the talk with fascinating and amusing facts and snippets of information from the opening of the cinema in 1922 to the present time. There has been a strong connection with the Petwood Hotel, which was the home of RAF officers during the Second World War. The airmen were regular members of the audience and affectionately referred to the Kinema in the Woods as “The Flicks in the Sticks”. Why Kinema - is a frequently asked question!! Apparently, the name derives from the kinematics rather than the cinematic projection technique! In preparation for the next stage of our tour, we remained in our seats whilst a short film setting out the workings of the cinema was shown. This demonstrated the technical procedures (and also the dangers) of the projection operations required in bringing the films to the screens. We were led outside and separated into small groups to view the projection room and organ chambers. The projection room is surprisingly small and only just adequate for the projectionist’s needs. Philip pointed out the film reels, spools and various pieces of equipment we had seen on the film, which related to mechanical projection. Now, of course, digital technology has advanced and the computer has taken over.

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The organ chambers house a vast array of pipes, which appeared to be going in all directions, together with the machinery and electrical equipment needed for the smooth running of the cinema – too much for my non-technical brain to take in!! Having had a brief look at the areas normally “off limits”, it was time for more nostalgia. Wandering into the foyer was like stepping back in time. Past the ticket office and refreshment kiosk is an expertly arranged museum of interesting cinema memorabilia!! We were delighted to pick out former heroes and heartthrobs from the galleries of photos. There was so much to see and we would have liked to linger and browse. However, the Kinema in the Woods is open seven days a week, with matinee showings on Saturdays, Sundays and school holidays, so it was time for us to leave and Philip to open for business. We thanked Philip and his team for a most enjoyable and informative tour. We hope this quaint little gem of a cinema continues to entertain filmgoers of all ages for many years to come. Our party then went separate ways – some to the highly recommended Tea Shop in the Woods, others to explore beautiful Woodhall Spa or go further afield, no doubt seeking out suitable lunch venues!

Jenny Porter

Visits Group Programme Wed 21 Oct - Coach trip to Birmingham. Somewhat changed from the original idea. Now a coach trip for up to 49 of our members. We start with a guided tour of the Jewellery Museum, then proceed to the city centre where there is free time to enjoy the art galleries, museums, or several large shopping centres. !Fri 30 Oct (7.30pm to 10.30pm) - An evening of Jazz We have arranged for Zoot, a five piece Jazz band with singer,

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who will be playing a selection of popular jazz, and some songs we grew up with and know well. Tickets - £7 per person. Venue: Dunholme Village Hall. A bar will be provided. Please bring a plate of nibbles for your table. See Alan to book a table and make up a party.! Thu 19 Nov 6pm - Visit to Radio Lincolnshire William Wright, one of the Radio Lincolnshire presenters, will take us on a tour of the building and the regional TV studio. The tour takes approximately an hour and we can accommodate no more than 20 people. There is no charge for the tour. Car parking probably available.!

Alan Campion !

The Grand Tour des Churches

When my wife Margaret retired in 2000 she looked around earnestly for some activity to soak up all the expected free time. My suggestions – sleeping, eating and TV - were treated with disdain and she announced that she was minded to visit every church in Lincolnshire. From long experience I have learned that it is pointless to argue; pointing out problems only strengthens her resolve. I have found the best solution is to ignore the suggestion and hope it goes away. This approach served me well for 25 years when Margaret proposed a cycling holiday in Bavaria. I thought of those mountains and kept quiet, only agreeing to a cycling holiday 25 years later and stuck out for Holland – no hills. Her subsequent approach to the churches visitation was very subtle. One nice sunny summer day Margaret suggested a country cycle ride. We hung the bikes on the back of the car, drove to near Grimsthorpe and spent the whole day touring the nearby villages. These were conveniently only a few miles apart and a church, or churchyard, offered a welcome resting or picnic

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site. We did six villages, and six churches, on the first day. Margaret had cunningly equipped herself with the Thorold book of churches of Lincolnshire, and wrote margin notes about the ones we had visited, with dates. We repeated the exercise a few weeks later, and she was off and running. It was only after we had been engaged in the church visits for a year that I dared to ask how many churches there were in total in Lincolnshire. According to Thorold there were 640 churches that he counted worthy of inclusion in his ‘Lincolnshire churches revisited’. I settled in for a long haul, thinking I would need to survive to 130 years old if we were to finish the task. As we are both ‘fair weather cyclists’ we quickly moved on to visits by car, and spent many happy hours visiting villages we had only previously heard of, usually combining with a pub lunch or afternoon tea. I coped very well and just accepted the challenge. And challenge it sometimes was. From experience about 95% of Lincolnshire churches are in the middle of the village, and easy to find. Looking out for ‘Church lane’ paid dividends, as did having the relevant OS map. The remaining churches were tucked away in woods, supposedly private gardens, on remote fens or in farmyards. In one church we managed to visit I stood in the preaching position in the pulpit and noticed a red Hereford bullock peering at me through a window from six feet away. We have always enjoyed looking round churches. The reader probably has a better understanding of the wealth of architectural gems standing in our county’s churchyards. Guided by Thorold we were soon looking out for such gems as perpendicular, reticulated, and pre Norman windows, Norman and barrel fonts, rood screens, crocketed pinnacles, and Thorold’s ‘tasteless Victorian renovations’. We did not have to visit many churches before we realised that we could find examples of most important architectural features locally. We also quickly realised that many churches had available a locally produced guide to the church.

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Reading this first enabled us to quickly witness the most important features, historical or architectural. One of the first problems we encountered was access. Over the whole exercise we recorded those churches that were open and those that were not. Only about 45% were open when we visited. Some locked churches had a list displayed where one could collect the key. The key holder did not always live in the same village, sometimes there was only a phone number, and on a few occasions there was a notice saying ‘List of keyholders’ but it was in a locked porch where we could not read it. Collecting keys proved interesting. We collected from manor houses, public houses, village shops, unlocked sheds and farmhouses. We were never asked to prove our identity, or sign for the key, even though I pointed out on many occasions that the large antique keys were valuable collectors’ items. I well remember when collecting one key having to suffer a diatribe from the key-lady on the evils of Lincoln Cathedral. Apparently she had not been allowed to park her Land Rover at the East end when setting up a flower arrangement some years ago. She had a long and unforgiving memory. On another occasion we were treated with obvious suspicion and were accompanied by the key holder who never left our sides. He must have marked us down as stealers of kneelers or hymn books. We received a much warmer reception one Sunday when we inadvertently arrived at a church door just before the start of the monthly church service. It would have been difficult to leave, so we were offered seats and hymnbooks, and attended the matins; we comprised one third of the congregation! When Thorold wrote his book, some of the churches were already in private hands. We encountered several which were

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now private houses, a few had been demolished, at least one was a builders store, and a few were fenced off and labelled as ‘dangerous - do not enter’. We also visited one locked church with so many cracks and faults in the stonework that I would have hesitated to enter anyway. We went back a few years later and it had been completely, and no doubt expensively, repaired. In the early years we visited any churches that took our fancy, but after about six years we had passed the half way mark, and I decided that from then on we should adopt a more logical approach. We got a special road book and highlighted all the villages where there were churches that we had yet to visit. We then set out to visit all the remaining churches, one area at a time. In this way we once ‘ticked off’ 10 churches in one day. We quickly learnt to overcome our disappointment if the church was locked. I also quickly realised that we did more in a day if they were locked. Collecting and returning a key meant in practice we took about 1½ hours to visit, whereas we could tick off a locked church in 20 minutes. Readers might notice that I have not enthused on any of the churches we visited, or mentioned any churches by name so far. I know I am preaching to the converted when I say we are in the centre of a county with a wealth of real architectural treasures, just waiting to be enjoyed. I must now name the last church on our list. For some reason we had visited all the surrounding villages but missed Asterby. In July last year we visited Asterby, an unfortunate last choice, as the church is now a private home. I commented, “Asterby is the last one. If you want to visit any more: you are on your own.” My admiration though was for Henry Thorold. If he wrote a book called ‘Lincolnshire churches revised’, he must presumably have visited each one at least twice!

Alan Campion

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FREE 24-HOUR LEGAL ADVICE FOR U3A MEMBERS

Simply telephone FirstAssist 01455 251 500 and quote the following details: Name: The Third Age Trust. Number: 70494 FirstAssist can advise U3A members on any legal issues, not

just U3A-related ones.

Membership We now have over 275 members, still a long way short of last year, so we still have room for more. The groups continue to prosper with several new ones. If you have friends, family and/or neighbours looking for new interests, or to extend the ones they have, do encourage them to join. Membership cards are being issued to all new members. If you have paid your subscription but have not received a membership card, please let me know. You should remember to wear your badge when you come to the general meetings. Should there be an emergency, it is necessary to be able to identify people. (The membership card is not your badge, they are different.) If you have lost your badge, please let me know and I will replace it. If you forget your badge we can give you a temporary one at the door. Hope you had a pleasant and enjoyable summer.

Sid Mil ler , Membership Secretary and Vice Chair

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Membership Renewal for Year 2016 1 January to 31 December

*I/We wish to renew my/our membership of Lindsey U3A

(*Delete as appropriate, please complete in block capitals)

Mr/Mrs/Miss

First Name Surname

Mr/Mrs/Miss

First Name Surname

Address

Post Code

Tel: Mobile:

Email address Contact in case of an Emergency

I/We%agree%to%adhere%to%the%rules%and%constitution%of%the%Lindsey%U3A.%%

!Signature!……………………………………………………………………………………….!The!renewal!fee!is!£14!per!person,!payable!at!a!General!Meeting!or!by!post!to!the!Treasurer!address!below.! ! Please! make! cheques! payable! to! “Lindsey! U3A”.! ! If! you! want! details! of! how! to! use! bank!transfer! please! contact! the!Treasurer! ! email! lindseyu3a@sudbrooke.eclipse.co.uk.! ! All!membership!enquiries!to!our!Membership!Secretary,!Sid!Miller!!email:!memlu3a@gmail.com.!!Your!information!is!held!for!use!by!Lindsey!U3A!and!is!never!disclosed!to!any!third!party.!!If!you!have!not!renewed!your!membership!by!16!February!2016!it!will!be!assumed!that!you!no!longer!wish!to!remain!a!member.!

I am interested in joining the committee Internal use only Treasurer Cheque Number Mr Mike Kirkby Date Received Value

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LINDSEY U3A COMMITTEE MEMBERS & DUTIES

Chairman Michael Moody

mtmLindseyu3aChair@gmail.com

Vice Chair and Membership

Sid Miller sid.milleru3a@sidspace.com

Treasurer Mike Kirkby lindseyu3a@sudbrooke.eclipse.co.uk

Secretary Prue Chadderton prue.chadderton@hotmail.co.uk

Publicity Elizabeth Walker pmw@avoncroft.freeserve.co.uk

Groups Organiser Shirley Droy shirleydroy14@gmail.com

Newsletter Peter Abela lindseyu3a@gmail.com

Committee Member Jo Smith joansmith10@aol.com

Kitchen/Door Rota Organiser

Mollie Winter Mollieg.winter@gmail.com

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Groups Meetings

Week One of the Month

Monday 9.45am Walks Kevan Chippendale

kevanchipp@talktalk.net Walks of about 4 to 5 miles 2pm Poetry Group Marion Plenderleith

wee.scotty@uwclub.net

Tuesday 10am Book Group 3 Jerry Buttery

js.buttery@ntlworld.com Held in members’ homes Wednesday 1.30pm Bridge Nadine McKee

lenandnadine@tiscali.co.uk Chicago Bridge for experienced players Thursday 10am General Meeting in Welton Village Hall

Welton Village Hall is at 51 Ryland Road, Welton, Lincolnshire. LN2 3LU Friday There is nothing planned on this day

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Week Two of the Month Monday 2pm Computers for

All Mike Kirkby lindseyu3a@sudbrooke.eclipse.co.uk

Meetings held in the Welton Room. Welton Village Hall 2pm Art Appreciation Elizabeth Wilson

elizabethrwilson52@gmail.com Meetings held at a member’s home

Tuesday

10am Knitting Barbara Jones handb@handb.me.uk

Meetings held in the Welton Room. Welton Village Hall 2pm Armchair Travel Val Wright

val.wright31@btopenworld.com Meeting held at Church Hall, Cherry Willingham 2pm Book Group 2

(Bookworms) Diana Jenkinson dianaj821@btinternet.com

Meetings held at members’ homes Wednesday 1.30pm Bridge Nadine McKee

lenandnadine@tiscali.co.uk Chicago Bridge for experienced players

Thursday 2pm Aspects

of History Bob Wise thewises@hotmail.co.uk

Meeting held in the Welton Methodist Hall Friday There is nothing planned on this day Saturday 1pm Luncheon

Club Shirley Droy shirleydroy14@gmail.com

Venue announced at the monthly meeting

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Week Three of the Month

Monday 9.45am Walks Kevan Chippendale

kevanchipp@talktalk.net 10am Family History Elizabeth Walker

pmw@avoncroft.freeserve.co.uk

Tuesday 10am Circle Dancing Margaret Doughty

revmd@gmx.co.uk Meeting held at Methodist Church Hall, Nettleham 2pm Book Group 1 Marjorie Whaler

Wednesday 1.30pm Bridge Nadine McKee

lenandnadine@tiscali.co.uk Chicago Bridge for experienced players 2.30pm Music For Us Hugh Taylor

hughandursie@hotmail.co.uk All Day Bird Watching Robin Gulliver

robin.g@talktalk.net Thursday 10am Architecture Jim Baker

jp.baker43@btinternet.com Visits or meet in members’ homes

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10.15am Coffee Morning To be arranged

At Scothern Garden Centre coffee shop 2pm Singing For Fun Michael Moody

mtmLindseyu3aS4P@gmail.com Meeting held at Mike's home Friday There is nothing planned on this day

Week Four of the Month

Monday 2pm Play Reading Margaret Howard

howardoldhall@tiscali.co.uk Meeting held at Margaret’s home in Sturton 2pm Music to Enjoy Joy Goodale

Tuesday 2pm Gardening Henry Jones

handb@handb.me.uk Welton Village Hall in Winter; Garden Visits in Summer Wednesday 1.30pm Bridge Nadine McKee

lenandnadine@tiscali.co.uk Chicago Bridge for experienced players 2pm Discussion Michael Whalley

m.whalley1@ntlworld.com Meeting held in members’ homes. Discussion of current affairs

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A Reminder for All Group Convenors

It would be appreciated if Group Convenors were to write a brief résumé of group activities and visits from time to time, at least annually, for inclusion in the Newsletter.

Thursday 10am Photography Jim Smith

jimdnsmith@hotmail.co.uk Meeting at Welton Methodist Hall in winter and various locations in summer Friday 1.30pm Opera Group Muriel Ball

allen.ball@talktalk.net Meeting at Muriel Ball’s Home in Welton Theatre Group Jo Smith 01673 862944 Shirley Droy joansmith10@aol.com shirleydroy14@gmail.com Theatre trips take place at regular intervals during the year Visits Group Visits take place at regular intervals during the year

Alan Campion campion133@btinternet.com

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Group Meetings Summary Page

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Mon 9.45am

5/6 mile walk 2pm Poetry for Pleasure

2pm Computers for All 2pm Art Appreciation

9.45am 5/6 mile walk 10am Family History

2pm Play Reading 2pm Music to Enjoy

Tue 10am Book Group 3

10am Knitting 2pm Armchair Travel 2pm Book Group 2 (Bookworms)

10am Circle Dancing 2pm Book Group 1

2pm Gardening

Wed 1.30pm Bridge

1.30pm Bridge

All day Bird watching 1.30pm Bridge 2.30pm Music for Us

1.30pm Bridge 2pm Discussion Group

Thu 10am General Meeting in Welton Village Hall

2pm Aspects of History

10am Architecture 10.15am Coffee Morning 2pm Singing for Fun

10am Photography

Fri

1.30pm Opera Group

Sat

Luncheon Club

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Architecture Group Visiting a Saxon House at East Firsby

Inside the Saxon House