Welcome to another WAU3A newsletter created by John Pettifer our editor. I understand that members look forward to receiving their newsletter and once again John hasn’t disappointed. If you

are able to contribute to the newsletter with news of the activities you have enjoyed, John will be pleased to hear from you.

Kevin Wallace created our web site and regularly updates it with news, information and documents.

In the summer newsletter there was an article explaining where to find information on the web site. However, it has become clear that many of our members choose to make a phone call or send an email rather than look at the web site. Please have a look at the web site and let the committee

know if there is any additional information you would like included. Who knows? You may discover that what you are looking for is already there!

Unfortunately, a number of groups will be using different rooms at Parkview because Woking Borough Council has decided to move some of its children’s services into community centres. I am pleased to say the Parkview staff have been very helpful re-allocating rooms within the building so all bookings

will be honoured although not necessarily in the requested room. These changes will continue until the end of the year and maybe longer.

The online renewal system has some issues associated with a change to Gift Aid recording. Linda

Lopez-Calvete, our membership secretary, has emailed members affected to check their Gift Aid status. If you have received an email from Linda and not yet replied, please do so. If we don’t receive a satisfactory reply, we cannot claim Gift Aid on your subscription which unfortunately means

WAU3A is missing out on refunds from HMRC. I’m sure none of us want that to happen.

The Third Age Trust has designated 3rd June, 2020 as the first national U3A Day.

U3As across the country are being invited to mark the day by celebrating and showcasing what happens in their U3A. Your

committee is interested to know if you would like this day to be marked in some way locally and if there are any suggestion or volunteers to help. Please contact a member

of the committee if you have any ideas.

Further information can be found at https://www.u3a.org.uk/about/news-archive/491-u3a-day-2020

Recently, there have been a number of requests for members of other U3As or visitors to attend WAU3A events. Unfortunately, we are not able to accommodate these requests. Our policy, available on the web site, makes this clear. Anyone wishing to enjoy the activities provided by WAU3A must

first join the organisation.

I trust you will continue to participate and enjoy WAU3A activities in 2020

Kath Street

chairman@wokingareau3a.co.uk.

NEWSLETTER Dec 2019 Winter Issue No.81w

From the Chair

Craft Together

This is the third year of the “Craft Together Group”. It is a very informal and friendly group.

We all bring our own projects to do and start each session with a “Show and Tell”. A whole range of crafts is produced by the talented

members. We have members doing beading, quilting, knitting, embroidery, paper crafts and

a lot more. People are always willing to share skills and two hours just rush past. When asked to describe the group, members used the following words: friendly, good company, encouraging, inspiring. They mentioned how belonging

to the group has made them sort through their unfinished projects (we all have some of those).

These are some of the crafts we saw during one “Show and Tell” session.

There will always be room for new members!

Linda Dolan

Why Go to Church?

One Sunday morning, a mother went in to wake her son and tell him it was time to get ready for church,

to which he replied, "I'm not going."

"Why not?" she asked.

"I'll give you two good reasons," he said. "One, they don't like me, and two, I don't like them."

His mother replied, "I'll give you two good reasons why you SHOULD go to church:

One, you're 59 years old, and two you're the vicar!"

Mobile Photography for the iPhone/iPad

The Mobile Photography for iPhone/iPad Group meets over eight weeks consecutively at

Horsell Village Hall. There is a lot to learn and leaving too much time between each group meeting makes it more difficult to pick up from the previous meeting.

During the first three weeks we covered in detail one good photo editing app, Snapseed. Everybody follows

along while we all edit the same photos. Much delight is shown in seeing the difference in small changes to highlights, shadows and colour. We also covered

cropping, healing, straightening, including perspective and more advanced features like applying different

looks to the whole or parts of a photo. Next we looked at different camera-controlling apps

which enable you to manually control the camera like you would a DSLR or specialist camera apps for slow

shutter, panorama, strobe effects or motion detection for example. During our last session we went out to the local church and tried our hand at using a 360-degree panoramic app and a blurring app.

Other sessions covered mobile phone accessories (such as tripods, attachable macro and telephoto lenses and handgrips), composition and photo backup.

All in all the participants go away with a lot of knowledge which no doubt won’t all be remembered but they will probably be amazed at how much actually sticks!

Ann Passmore

Chainmaille….. The Introduction to Chainmaille workshops held on 30th

September proved very popular. The response was amazing, and two sessions were facilitated to enable more

people to attend. Interest in Chainmaille had grown from members of the beading group and silverwork group run by Gill Washington.

Chainmaille is the practice of linking small rings together,

and the name comes from the French word “maille” which means mesh of net. Indeed, Chainmaille was used to make suits of armour

centuries ago. Chainmaille armour is often seen in battle reconstructions these days. The British Territorial Army apparently still adorn their epaulettes with maille as a status symbol.

There are three main families of Chainmaille - Japanese, European and Persian, and each has distinctive weaves. The jump rings are not necessarily soldered in Chainmaille, as the

structure of the weaves generally ensures that the rings do not pull open. Chainmaille jewellery is very popular with both men and women, with a range of different metal rings to create a heavy, masculine look such as copper or stainless steel or with beads or gemstones

incorporated with precious metals to create a more feminine style.

Some of the participants in the workshops had experience of making jewellery, and others had none. The first task was to learn how to manipulate small jump rings with pliers. All participants succeeded in turning a little pile of jump rings into this beautiful sterling silver

pendant!

An enjoyable time was had by all, and the feedback received was very positive!

If you spot someone wearing this beautiful pendant, you will

know they are members of Woking Area U3A! As a result of the Introduction to Chainmaille

workshops, a new group has been formed which will meet on a monthly basis. Here is a

photograph of “work in progress”, variations of helm weave, from the first session in October.

This photograph was submitted to the U3A Craft Facebook Group, and received the comment “This

must win the prize for the most unusual U3A group!”.

Jan Styman

French Polishing Group The group got off to a flying start last year, with 32 applicants!

At the start, the expectation was that some of the group would just want to find out what French

Polishing actually is - and one term is sufficient for this (using practice panels) - and two terms would be sufficient to become properly proficient. Sure enough, some members attended for just one term and some for two. But - having learned how to do it, some members then brought in

their own projects to work on.

Given that French Polishing is an unusual skill, unlikely to appeal to most people, we arranged to continue the project work for another term (this year), without seeking to attract new members – but more

members applied. We now have an ideal split of some working on their projects, while the newcomers are able to enjoy more individual

attention. The projects include a small table-top three-drawer cabinet (which was

in a sorry state before skilled hands got to work on it), a barometer, a demi-lune walnut gaming table (see picture, as it came in: when it is

finished it will be a thing of beauty), and a variety of boxes (you’d be surprised how exotic a £3 general-purpose softwood box can

look when it is properly dyed and French Polished. It can look like an Indian Rosewood or mahogany jewellery box - and makes a novel present).

Some of the peculiarities of French Polishing can be entertaining. For example, a novel way to remove a white watermark from a tabletop is to set fire to it! It sounds more dramatic than it

is: carefully spreading two or three drops of methylated spirit over the watermark and then setting light to it, burns off the moisture without harming the wood.

But alongside the entertainment we are working seriously. In the UK, a common method for

smoothing the application of french polish is to use a modest amount of linseed oil. After every

five or so coats of polish one has to allow the linseed oil time to rise to the surface, to be

spirited off with methylated spirit. But we heard of one practitioner in Bristol who swears by olive oil, and in the U.S. they use mineral oil - such as

baby oil. That set the group to wondering how well these other oils work. We looked at the

established range of literature but came up with a blank. So we did our own test, using a panel with four quadrants, in which we applied French

Polish – each with a different oil (out of sheer curiosity we tried Rapeseed oil in the fourth quadrant). And what did we discover? That the first

three oils worked fine, but the rapeseed oil didn’t work. It didn’t rise to the surface. So maybe we can claim a first!

Given the continuing interest in French Polishing we are now considering extending the course into the Winter and Spring - and maybe beyond - depending on demand, and available

accommodation. We will keep you informed!

Kevin O’Leary

Digital Photography – CAMERA CLUB

Digital photography has been a been around as a group for some time now in Woking Area U3A. We started with 3 Photography Groups – Beginners, Intermediate and Advanced. Photography

has changed over the years, especially with more people taking photos on their mobile phones.

We now have one group which covers all levels of ability. We try to include subjects to which all

can contribute. On technical matters, for those who are less experienced we use short presentations followed by discussion to answer any questions members may have, often the more experienced members find out something new. Sometimes we cover several subjects at

our meetings, as there are a variety of interests and levels of ability.

We show a lot of photographs as everyone can participate in this activity. These are often on

specific subjects following an outing or a photographic project. Some members ask for comments on their photos where they may have had problems with a subject. We also discuss photos in the context of composition as this runs through all our work.

Ownership of any type of camera is welcome in the group. Cameras members have range from compacts to SLRs. Some of use submit photos taken on a mobile on occasions as the quality is

so good. It maybe that you see something and a mobile is all you have with you.

We have had presentations and discussions on many aspects of photography – technical subjects, landscape photography, close ups, portraits, actions photography etc. More recently

we have had a couple of presentations by group members, one on some of the technical aspects of photography, the other was on photographing the Northern Lights as several members are

due to go and see them in the New Year. We do have trips out specifically to take photos. In the past we have visited Shere, Wisley Gardens, the river Thames and river Wey at Weybridge, Pirbright and Brookwood Cemetery. We

usually end up in the pub afterwards!

We are off to Runnymede towards the end of November and as always, after these trips we

show our photos at the next meeting. In addition, we run projects on various subjects, in the past these have included photographing Woking, Guildford, Christmas, my Village, people etc. We do these projects by ourselves over a few weeks and show some of our photographs at

meetings for viewing and comment.

Take a look further on at the Photo Gallery for a selection of photographs taken by members of

the Group. Cathy Wooden

Christmas Goose

Welcome Folks to Holly Farm, it’s good of you to call; At this special time of year, our greetings to you all.

Me? Oh, my name’s Christmas Goose, I’ll show you all around, Usually that’s Rover’s job but he’s gone into town.

Well, here’s my best friend Dilly Duck and this is Speckly Hen, The Turkey family live next door, they’ve got the biggest pen,

Sausage and Chop live over there, they’re getting jolly big, But let’s move on - they don’t smell nice - well who could love a pig?

Our friend Mint Sauce lives in the barn, she’ll have her lambs quite soon, The nights are cold, snow’s on the way, there’s a ring around the moon.

The farmhouse is ablaze with lights, there’s tinsel in the hall, The kids have hung their stockings up, awaiting Santa’s call.

There’s pudding steaming on the stove, the feast is drawing near, Sprouts and chestnuts, port and wine, or foaming pints of beer.

Most farmyards will be empty now but we’ll be here next season, No cause for fear, no butcher here: the family’s all gone vegan!

Juliette Edwards - Poetry for Recreation

SPANISH CONVERSATION

This group would be Spanish conversation. It would be a self-help group with no instruction, except by those whose Spanish is of higher standard. QUIZ GROUP Are you interested in helping create or joining a new Quiz Group? We propose meeting once a month and taking turns to set the questions covering a wide variety of topics, general knowledge/trivia/interesting facts etc and being quiz master! You can form your own team or take “potluck” with other members on the day. The main aim is to make it sociable and fun, as well as testing our knowledge and memories!

CHESS This would be a beginner’s group for those who do not know the game or for novices who would like to improve, as chess will be taught. This will be a chess for fun group which develop depending on what members want. THE ALLOTMENT This group is for anyone who has an allotment or is interested in getting one, and who is interested in growing vegetables. Activities might include meetings to discuss the various aspects of having an allotment and growing vegetables, exchanging ideas on allotment planning and what to grow and how. We might visit each other’s allotments, visit local exhibitions or exchange seeds. Group members will be expected to come up with topics or are welcome to organise something. TABLE TENNIS There was a lot of interest in table tennis a couple of years ago and we even had someone willing to run it, but there was no suitable venue. We would like to try this again so would anyone interested in participating or running/helping to run a group please email the Groups Secretary. PORTUGUESE Would you be interested in joining a Portuguese conversation group? We are seeking to form a mixed ability group so that those who have learned the basics will benefit from more confident speakers and the more experienced will have an opportunity to practice regularly. Dependent on

response, the aim would be to select a topic to aid conversation and explore vocabulary. In the first instance we are looking at European Portuguese rather than Brazilian. BOARD GAMES We have had a suggestion that we start a group that would play board games. At this stage we are looking to find out who would be interested in a group of this nature and members to run it. CRIBBAGE Cribbage (Crib) is a card game for 2, 3 or 4 players; traditionally the score is kept on a ‘Crib board’. Cribbage is great fun and is not tricky to learn. Players made suits, runs, pairs, and cards total 15 from a hand as well as ‘peg’ to totals of 31. This group will be fortnightly, for beginners and more experienced players, with the aim of having fun. Would anyone else interested in any of the above groups please contact the Groups Secretary preferably by email. Your email will be sent on to the member who is interested in starting the Group. Cathy Wooden – Groups Secretary Email groupsec@wokingareau3a.co.uk Tel 07984 453248

GROUPS NEWS

Group Leaders had the chance at their October meeting to say how communications within the Woking Area U3A could be improved.

Many ideas were suggested and general agreement was made in two areas: that email was the preferred method of keeping in touch, rather than social media or WhatsApp. Indeed, a later

check of members showed that 91 per cent had email access.

Secondly and, happily for this editor, the Newsletter was hailed as being ‘excellent’.

The next question was how far this should go. Bulk emails, those going to all members, seemed

to be acceptable for major matters while less important ones could go to GLs, who would then be expected to pass on the relevant information to their members.

Internal communications might cover all updates including vacancies in classes and any new classes while members could also alert GLs if they were unable to attend meetings.

The general ethos of all U3As, that of voluntary self-help, will be emphasised more in a number

of ways, at the monthly meetings and in the Green Book.

In other matters, GLs were also informed about the need to reallocate rooms at Parkview because

Woking Council was moving more staff into the centre, which affected more than a dozen groups.

They were also urged to remember that all membership cards had to be checked at a member’s first meeting – and they needed to be shown at all monthly meetings for safety and insurance

reasons.

Age is just a number! Would you like to learn to ski?

I learned to ski in my sixties. I’m now 76 and still going strong. When I started skiing, one of my instructors in Austria told me about an 83-year old banker from South Africa who booked him as a ski companion for two solid weeks every year. The instructor described him as ‘hard

skiing and hard drinking’!

Okay, age may not be an issue, but what about fitness? I would say that if you have enough strength in your legs to walk a mile at a reasonable pace, and have reasonable vision, you are fit enough to ski. The smart money is on technique - learning to let the skis do the work.

I know classrooms tend to be in short supply on mountains – but a few hours of explanation,

demonstration and discussion in a classroom could save many hours of stumbling and tumbling on the nursery slopes (it doesn’t hurt by the way, tumbling in one or two feet of snow).

So what about starting a ski group? We could aim for something like three two-hour classroom sessions, playing around with skis, ski boots, and skateboards (to simulate skis on snow), plus

video/DVD demonstrations, then a ½ day at nearby Sandown Park dry slope to put the learning into action. This is an inexpensive way of getting a feel for the real thing. What happens then?

Well, one can say ‘that was good fun’ and tick it off one’s list of things to try - or consider the possibility of a trip to the Alps or the Pyrenees for those who are hooked.

In the mountains, on real snow, temperatures can be anything from a couple of degrees above zero to 10 degrees below, so one has to wear the right sort of kit – but this is not as expensive

as you might think. I bought my first ski outfit - jacket and trousers - for £50 in a sale at Asda. But I’m jumping ahead. Let’s stick with the classroom sessions and a visit to a dry slope. If you

feel you might be interested, or want to chat first, do let me know. And if enough members are interested, I will set up a Group.

Contact Cathy Wooden, Groups Secretary. Email: groupsec@wokingareau3a.co.uk Tel: 07984 453348

Kevin O’Leary

P.S. If you are carrying a few extra pounds don’t worry. Skiing is a brilliant way of losing

weight without even knowing it: I talk from experience.

From the Editor’s Desk….

Do send any thoughts, comments, or suggestions in to our Letters Page - after all it is your

Newsletter.

Dear Editor,

I would like to suggest that as our U3A has grown so large, a good many people do not know who the Committee Members are.

If they would wear a badge with their name and their job responsibility clearly marked this would help identify them.

In addition, if they would personally identify themselves at the start of the Monthly Meeting this would give the personal touch to the proceedings.

Dorothy Bosomworth.

Dear Editor

I think the gremlins got their sticky little fingers on the last issue of the newsletter.

The excellent article about the Ukulele Group’s Friends and Family concert - with a special guest appearance by another of our groups, Hootenanny - was in fact written by John Foster, not me.

John plays in both groups. With Hootenanny he plays bass guitar and with the Ukulele group he

is a lead ukulele player. I am grateful for the opportunity to correct the error and give John the credit he deserves.

Linda Calvete [Ed: thank you Linda, I trust gremlins are banished… for now!]

Surrey U3A Network

Details via the LINKS tab on our website

www.wokingareau3a.co.uk

Study Days (at Menuhin Hall, Stoke d’Abernon)

Fri Feb

21st 2020

Astronomy: - including Moons of theSolar System and debunking moon landing hoaxers. Presented by David Fishwick and Graham Bryant

Fri Mar

20th 2020

Results of Research on Food and Nutrition. Presented by Prof. Susan Lanham-New, Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Surrey

Fri Apr

17th 2020

The most famous Pharaoh of them all: Tutankhamun. Presented by Clive Barham Carter

Letters to the Editor….

MEMBERS’ CORNER….

NATIONAL U3A DAY The National U3A is delighted to announce its very first national U3A Day – June 3rd 2020.

U3As across the country are being invited to mark the day by celebrating and demonstrating what

happens in their organisation.

Regional Trustee, Sue Stokes, a member of the Communications and External Affairs Committee

said: ‘We are so excited that from now on, every year, there will be a day dedicated to learning,

staying active and having fun in your third age (retired, semi-retired or no longer bringing up a

family).

‘We hope this day becomes not just an opportunity for U3A members to showcase some of the

amazing things that they do but a way to challenge negative perceptions of older adults and a chance

to invite other Third Agers to learn about the contribution U3A makes to the quality of life for retired

people.

‘This could mean the movement staging hundreds of eye-catching events across the UK on the same

day.’

The Woking Area U3A AGM took place at Parkview on November 11th, 2019

MORE than 100 members attended the AGM of Woking

Area U3A to hear the progress made during the previous 12 months and enjoy a concert of timely songs for

Armistice Day.

Chairman Kath Street gave an upbeat progress report on her predecessor, Andrew Hill, who gave up his position

after suffering a stroke. She also explained that a storage facility was required for some of the U3A’s assets and

asked also for suggestions for how the first national U3A Day could be marked locally.

In response to a question, Kath also explained that the

problems for groups using Parkview had been brought about because Woking Council had decided to bring some

children’s services in-house, but all bookings had been honoured – sometimes in different rooms. This situation was likely to continue.

The committee was re-elected and Alan Chalmers was elected to join the committee.

The Committee Members will take on the roles as set out below: Chairman – Kath Street,

Vice Chairman – Dave Andrew Secretary – Peter Grieve

Membership Sec - Linda Lopez-Calvate Treasurer – Ron Whitehand

Groups Secretary - Cathy Wooden Venues Secretary - Sue McBirnie Beacon Admin - Barrie Murray

Ad Hoc Projects – Alan Chalmers

The annual report, accounts and full AGM minutes are available on the

website http://www.wokingareau3a.co.uk.

Go to the Documents/Equipment tab, put in your password, then find the AGM link. You may

read and download the minutes but not edit them. For committee meeting minutes, go the same way and click on Committee Meetings link.

After the AGM, more than 40 members of the Singing for Fun group, led by Sue Holmes, entertained members with a medley of wartime and patriotic songs, especially chosen for Armistice Day. Many of the audience joined in the well-known songs and waved Union Flags.

Used Postage Stamps

After many years, I have decided to stop collecting used

postage stamps for RNLI.

If anyone wishes to contribute their used stamps to RNLI,

please email me (chairman@wokingareau3a.co.uk) and I will

forward the address of the gentleman who handles them on

behalf of the charity.

Thank you to all the members who have passed on their used

stamps to me for RNLI.

Therapist: Your wife says you never buy her flowers, is that true?

Him: To be honest, I never knew she sold flowers. Membership Cards….

You are regularly asked to produce your membership card. All Group Leaders have been instructed to check your membership card at the first meeting of any group that you attend in each year. You also need to produce it for any outings and for the monthly meetings.

Why is this necessary?

Several committee members have attended a Third Age Trust training day ‘Keep It Legal’. One of the speakers was the insurance broker for TAT, who provided some very useful information. A very small amount of your annual membership fee is for insurance – for the several different types of cover we are required to have. It is extremely important that anyone in our groups, on our outings or at our meetings is a bona fide member of Woking Area U3A and has paid this insurance premium. The insurance broker has instructed that membership cards must be checked for all activities to ensure everyone taking part is a member of WAU3A. U3As throughout the United Kingdom do this,

and we must conform.

If someone who is not a member takes part in any of our activities, there is no insurance cover in the event of an accident or incident. Should there be a claim made in these circumstances it would be WAU3A and the Trustees (all the committee members) who would be liable. The insurance broker at the training day gave us some examples of claims that had been made, including one for over half a million pounds – yes over £500,000. Fortunately, the person involved was a member of a U3A and the claim was settled. Just imagine the problems had they not been a member.

Please make sure that you carry your membership card with you, or you can of course store it on your mobile phone. There are advantages to having your card in your purse or wallet as one recent incident proved.

I received a telephone call from someone who had found a purse in a supermarket car park. In the purse was a membership card for WAU3A. The gentleman who phoned me asked if I would take his telephone number and pass it on to our member, which I was pleased to do. The member concerned was delighted: she was reunited with her purse very quickly. Thank you for your co-operation.

Linda Calvete - Membership Secretary

NEW MEMBERS’ MEETING In November we held our New Members’ Meeting and the committee was delighted to welcome almost seventy new members to WAU3A.

This annual meeting is the ideal opportunity for new members to meet the committee members and learn what their role is, but more importantly to meet other new members and forge new friendships.

For the committee it allows us to give some background to the U3A movement and explain our self-help ethos and the importance of being a willing volunteer. We always stress the need to find people willing to start and run new groups. There were some excellent suggestions made at the meeting and we are hopeful that we will soon gain some new groups. It is very impressive that new members to WAU3A are willing to get involved and share their skills and knowledge.

After the meeting a member raised an important issue. They had found it quite difficult joining established groups and did rather feel the odd one out. When we attend a group for a while we make friends and naturally want to catch up with everyone at the start of term. However, we must

all make sure that any new member to the group is made to feel welcome and included. Please take the time to chat to them and explain how things work within the group. Recognise that some people are quite shy or perhaps have lost their confidence due to bereavement or ill-health and give them some help to settle in.

We are all part of a wonderful organisation, let us make sure that everyone can enjoy it. Astronomy Group Observes the Transit of Mercury……

Transits of Mercury across the Sun occur about 13 times per century, but one occurred the same day as the Woking Area U3A’s AGM and provided the Astronomy Group with the opportunity to show members this phenomenon. We set up four different telescopes on the grass just outside Parkview.

Our telescopes were all suitably filtered, three using a special kind of astronomical foil that only permits five parts in a million of the Sun’s light to pass through.

However, no matter how good the

telescope it’s not going to see through clouds, and that sadly is what we suffered from for a good part of the time.

Astronomy Group members who were there early did see the very start of the Transit at 12.35pm, but from then on it

was just occasional clear patches that allowed us to continue observing and to show those curious enough who were

attending the meeting.

The photograph shows the tiny dot that is Mercury just to the right of centre – this was taken by the

simplest means, just clamping an iPhone to the eyepiece of a small astronomical refracting telescope. John Axtell

My Salad Days

In me allotment just north of the Humber,

In me shed made out of old lumber,

I began me growing,

The seeds of me first cucumber.

Near the ’ive where the bees kept their ‘oney in,

Was the best place to grow me spring onion.

But I got meself stung,

Trod in the dung,

Slipped over and trod on me bunion.

The missus would come say ”can ya’ go get us,

From Lidl, a fresh iceberg lettuce.”

I said “yes I will go,

But just so you know,

I’m growing them here if you let us.”

If the salad you need to dress,

With garnish of wonderful cress,

With the finest horse poo,

I was growing that too,

Now that did add quite some finesse.

Sometimes if the weather was baddish,

Me mates would come round and be laddish,

We’d ‘ave beer and play darts,

But if Fred had the farts,

We’d send ‘im outside to pick radish.

Now Jim said, “ya’ know the best way ta’

Grow the tastiest beef or plumb tomata’,

It’s not just the feeding,

Or continual weeding,

But the compost that Tom’s bringing round later”.

The wife said I was being insincere,

“You spend more time here than with me dear”,

I said while still hoeing,

And finished me mowing,

“But I’ll always Beetroot to you dear!”

Colin Ditum

Poetry for Recreation

National U3A chairman Ian McCannah has praised those members who put themselves forward

as trustees of local U3A groups.

On the organisation’s Facebook page he said: ‘We're so grateful to all our trustees, from those

on the committee of their local U3A to those on the regional and national boards, who give up their time to help U3A flourish’.

THE VIRTUAL UNIVERSITY OF THE THIRD AGE (vU3A) is based on

the premise that eventually we will all reach the stage where physical problems mean that we are unable to attend

meetings and may become lonely and isolated. Our activities take place on a

private member-only wiki for a subscription of £12 a year. We also have a public website https://www.vu3a.org where you

can get details of how it all works and sign up for our free newsletter. We are a world-

wide organisation with third-agers from France, Canada and Australia, and at the same time we are the only virtual U3A

affiliated to the UK-wide Third Age Trust.

U3A Resource Centre

The National U3A website -

https://u3a.org.uk has a Resource Centre which provide a facility

to borrow DVDs and CDs, online sources and contacts for advice on specific subjects.

U3A would not exist without its trustees. One of the key roles of the trustees is to oversee the

broad range of interest groups that are the beating heart of any U3A.'

He explained that the trustees also uphold the Charity Commission’s rules, organise the monthly

meetings, run the finances and make sure their U3As remain vibrant and continue to grow.

Mr McCannah added: ‘From my experience I know being a trustee is rewarding, challenging and, believe it or not, really good fun. It's about giving something back to U3A and helping shape it

for the future.'

Seasoning

The cinnamon stars have been hung on the tree With clove-studded oranges, sweet as can be.

There’s nutmeg and allspice in juicy mince pies To enjoy with sloe gin- not too much, if you’re wise!

The garlic bread’s crisping, the crackling is popping, The gammon is gorgeous with peppercorn topping.

The trifle is sherried, the turkey is stuffed With onions and sage- (I hope it’s enough!)

The butter is brandied, the carrots are buttered,

The kitchen’s in chaos, the dining room’s cluttered, There’s paprika’d parsnips- I think it’s quite barmy

At this time of year we could feed a small army!

So mull the red wine and spice up the toddy To ward off the chills and warm up the body. Have a gingerbread man- his nose is a cherry-

It’s the season of seasonings: MAY YOURS BE MERRY! Julie Edwards

Poetry for Recreation

MOTO Trip to Osborne House

During the summer, members of the MOTO group enjoyed an outing to Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. Fortunately for some of us, the outing wasn’t fully subscribed so non-MOTO group members were able to attend. We travelled to Southampton in a new luxury coach and caught the ferry to Cowes on the IoW.

When we arrived, our very knowledgeable guide told us about the history of Osborne House before we wandered around the building and grounds in our own time. Fortunately, the weather was glorious so we were able to lunch at the Terrace Restaurant where we had a surprise meeting with two WAU3A members and their family who were visiting IoW on holiday. WAU3A members get everywhere! After a very enjoyable lunch we walked to Queen Victoria's

Beach to enjoy a traditional ice cream (we were at the seaside!) before strolling back to the coach. The traffic on the IoW was heavier than anticipated but we were still able to buy the seaside rock that had been promised to a friend. We were fortunate to see the hovercraft arrive and take off before embarking on our trip back on the ferry. Thanks to Maureen Thomas of MOTO we had enjoyed a delightful day out.

The Dot

I am a dot, some say a spot Whichever name it’s fine.

Put lots of us together, Then we become a line.

A line as such, just isn’t much But two of us is swell,

If we stay apart and never touch They say we’re parallel.

But three lines now, together…. How?

You mustn’t let us tangle. Join us together at the corners And we have become a triangle.

A fourth if you dare, now that’s two pair,

The shape of the triangle’s gone. We’ve now become a perfect square, A line more for a pentagon.

One more in the mix and that makes six,

The hexagon is sublime. Then sept and oct and nonagon Is seven and eight and nine.

Don’t ask me more, it’s become a bore,

What’s twelve or twenty five? But bend me round to form an arc, Now we really do come alive.

The shape’s now changed, been re-

arranged, A circle, an oval too, A parabola or an eclipse,

To name but just a few.

A dot I was and just because I joined many friends at birth, Between us all, we’ve had a ball

And make any shape on Earth.

Colin Ditum Poetry for Recreation

A woman customer called the Canon help desk with a problem with her printer.

Tech support: Are you running it under windows?

Customer: 'No, my desk is next to the door, but that is a good point. The man sitting in the cubicle

next to me is under a window, and his printer is working fine.'

U3A Robots….. Cannock Chase U3A in Staffordshire has

organised the first U3A Robot Constructors Challenge event day to bring interested teams together from across the country.

U3A Teams from as far as places including Devon, London, Grantham, Gloucester, Cheltenham and Lancaster; the hall became

bedecked with laptops, displays, WiFi routers and technical equipment.

Barry James, Cannock Chase U3A, said “The variation and ingenuity of the robot

constructions and their adaptations were amazing and was a credit to U3A member abilities and team efforts beforehand and on the

day.

"Amongst the challenges for the day were a

Crazy Golf Course, The Egg and Spoon Race, The Maze, Follow the White Line and Skittle Alley. It was great fun to witness, and all seemed to

enjoy the day”. There were winners for the six challenges, and the overall day winner was Paul

Taylor of Grantham U3A with Grobot Isaac.

"Congratulations to all the winners of course, but we would like to thank all those who came

to compete for all their hard work and travelling so far. We were proud of you all”.

WAU3A - Did You Know.

As at 15th November:

There are 1,630 members., which equates to approximately 10% of all retired people in Woking.

Membership is increasing by approximately 3% per annum.

Annual turnover is £68,000.

There are 106 Interest Groups.

Of these groups 81 hire meeting rooms and halls at 26 different venues around Woking thereby

putting £40,000 into the local economy for hall hire alone.

There are 1,440 such meetings each year which means that in any one-month Woking Area U3A is holding 120 meetings. Or to put it another way - in any one working day WAU3A is holding 6

meetings somewhere in Woking.

21 groups meet in private houses or at sports venues. They add an additional 210 meetings to

the list and are not included in the above.

There are four groups that arrange Outings, Holidays, and Theatre Trips to country wide locations

and local theatres. Through their activities at least £11,000 is put into the local and national economy. Note this excludes personal expenditures at such events.

Moneys spent with local businesses totals about £7,000 - this includes printing our

newsletter/magazines and documentation and with caterers. All done with local businesses.

All this activity is managed and supported by teams of volunteers who give their time willingly

for no material reward. No one gets paid.

All of the WAU3A activities are entirely funded by the members themselves.

No financial support is asked for or received from national or local government and Quangos.

Thursday 26th March 2020 There has been a dockyard at Chatham for more than four

centuries. During the 17th & !8th centuries it became one of

the country’s most important industrial sites. There are

more than 100 buildings and structures here including four

historic warships. As a dockyard it closed in 1984 and over

the past few years the site has been used for the filming

of the BBC’s “Call the Midwife” series.

There are two places to buy lunch in the dockyard or you might like to bring your own picnic.

On arrival at about 10.15 refreshments will be available for us

in the Mess Deck. At 11.00 we return to our coach for a 45-

minute guided tour of the site. If you want to go on a tour of

the Victorian Ropery, you need to book on the day, with no extra

charge. The “Call the Midwife” tour is about an hour’s walking

and shows how the 400-year-old site is changed to look like

Poplar in the 1960s. Spaces are limited. We need 25 people per

tour at a cost of £4 each. This is why the booking form has two

options.

(“Call the Midwife” television set)

Look at the booking form very carefully. Once it has been submitted

to Chatham you will be unable to change your preferences.

There are some uneven surfaces around the dockyard so wear

comfortable shoes. If you have mobility issues, please indicate on the

booking form.

Spring 2020

Chatham Historic Dockyard Plus “Call the Midwife” optional tour.

Depart Woking Goldwater Lodge 08.30am

Pick-up to return at 4.00 pm.

See booking form for cost options.

All applications in by 20th January 2020.

but please ring if you miss the date.

Holiday Group - Lincolnshire & North Norfolk Trip - September 2019

Our latest U3A adventure began in Leicester with a stop at the Richard III Visitor Centre where we discovered the details of the Dynasty, Death and Discovery of this medieval king. He was the last

king to die in battle and the first to be DNA tested! A very interesting visit telling the story of his life and death at the Battle of Bosworth, you see the actual site where he was discovered after many years of research by a small team. The final part of the exhibition explains the discovery and identification of his skeleton using all the latest technology. We also had time to visit Leicester Cathedral to see his new resting place.

Our first day continued with a short cruise on Rutland Water, a large reservoir set in lovely scenery near Oakham, but due to the rain we had to imagine how it would be on a beautiful day.

Our first full day had a rather nostalgic theme starting with a fascinating visit to RAF Coningsby & the Battle of Britain Museum for a guided tour of the hangar which is the base for Spitfires, a Hurricane and more historic aircraft.

These aircraft still fly and can be seen at air shows in the summer months.

Our lunch was at the historic Petworth Hotel in Woodhall Spa made famous by RAF Squadron 617 of Dambuster fame where we saw the ‘haunted’ bar used by

officers. Well worth a visit to this lovely hotel if you are in the area. Our last visit of the day was nearby to the unusual Kinema in the Woods for an 80-minute ‘Down Memory Lane’ show with the resident organist and vintage slides and news clips. This cinema dates back to 1922 with unique rear projection still used to this day!

Next day started with a guided visit to Doddington Hall an Elizabethan Mansion dating from 1600. This property is still a family home with a variety of treasures on view during our 75-minute tour. There wasn’t enough time to see it all and sadly due to rain the extensive gardens were not a good option but there was an excellent farm shop where we could browse and have lunch. The afternoon was devoted to Lincoln city which was very enjoyable starting with a guided city tour on the coach taking in the University area and then a walking tour of the castle area, cobbled medieval streets and other historic buildings. We finished our walk in the splendid Gothic Cathedral and had very knowledgeable guides to point out some of its

special features. One interesting bit of information was that the Da Vinci Code was partly filmed here!

Our final full day was in North Norfolk starting with a visit to Royal Sandringham House, Museum and Country Park. It is only possible to visit some of the downstairs rooms but they are fascinating and full of interesting items. The Queen spends a few weeks around Christmas here every year with various family members visiting. The stables museum houses many Royal cars, carriages and much more. The afternoon visit started with a guide joining us on the coach at Norfolk Lavender for a tour of the local area whilst explaining about lavender and local legends. We even saw the infamous crossroads where Prince Philip had the car accident, now known as Philips Corner! We then enjoyed a cream tea before heading back to our hotel.

Our final day was homeward bound but we made a lunch stop at Boughton House near Kettering which is known as ‘The English Versailles’ and has been home to the Montagu family ancestors

since 1528. The house is only open on limited dates but as a group you can go anytime by arrangement and well worth a visit. The house is full of fine art treasures, tapestries and

porcelain…. too much to absorb in a short visit. We then had a short coach tour of the local villages in the estate and country park including the chapel of the Montagu crypts.

Some people have said to me why go to Lincolnshire…. But we had a very enjoyable few days seeing such a variety of interesting places and there is much more on offer if time had allowed. The mixed weather did not deter from our enjoyment of seeing the delights of another area of England.

Sheila Whittaker

PHOTO GALLERY

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY – CAMERA CLUB

MEMBERSHIP!

Besides enjoying the many benefits of

membership of Woking Area U3A, do you take

advantage of being a member of the wider

community of the U3A national body - Third Age

Trust? This is the national representative body

for U3As in the UK. They provide support for all

local U3As and have also negotiated some special

deals for all members.

For instance:

Discounted Entrance Charges to some

Exhibitions, Art Galleries and Museums – You

can use your U3A Membership Card to obtain a

Student Discount on Entrance Fees - if the Senior

Citizen Concession does not apply. The Student

Discount is also sometimes greater! They may look

a bit surprised that you are a Student but it is

worth asking – you may even get in for half-price!

Note: The FREE Legal Advice Help Line – This

is no longer available for use as Third Age Trust

has decided not to subscribe to the service any

longer.

For more information about the service and

resources provided by the Third Age Trust, visit

their website: www.u3a.org.uk

WHO TO CONTACT Membership: 01483 476350 membership@wokingareau3a.co.uk To join or leave a group: contact the leader of that group as indicated in the latest GREEN BOOK, distributed annually to all members, and information updated on the website. www.wokingareau3a.co.uk To go on a waiting list: if the desired group is full then contact the Group Leader, their details are in the GREEN BOOK. To enquire about starting a new group, contact Groups Secretary: Cathy Wooden, 07984 453248 groupsec@wokingareau3a.co.uk

We would like to continue to include a

members’ page in future editions of the

Newsletter, but we can only do so if you send

us your comments and suggestions.

Remember, this is your Newsletter, so

please take a little time and let us know what’s

on your mind

SUDOKU Corner – Hard (003)

Should you wish or NOT wish to receive future

copies of the printed version of the Newsletter

(you will still be able to view it on our website),

then please contact our Membership Secretary

on:

01483 476350

membership@wokingareau3a.co.uk

Send comments/contributions for next

Newsletter to

editor@wokingareau3a.co.uk

By 28th Feb 2020

This edition compiled by John Pettifer

Printed by: Knaphill Print Co Ltd, Woking, Sy, GU21 2EG

E: studio@knaphillprint.com T: 01483 474900