Ramsey and District U3A

UNIVERSITY OF THE THIRD AGE NEWSLETTER

A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OUR MEMBERS

The chairman welcomed all to the first meeting of 2018, the usual safety notices were read out. She recommended that if you have not had the ‘flu jab that there is still time to have it, as it can lessen the effects of the Aussie ‘flu which is sweeping the country.

Members were reminded that there is a table set up in the foyer for less able members to sit and have their tea and coffee.

The chairman then asked if anyone was available to audit the R&D U3A finances, please contact Lynda Lewis by email if you have the necessary skills.

Pam Blanchard then spoke of a quiz night to be held in March to raise funds for the annual Flower Festival. (See Other News for more details).

Jane Cusworth (Group Co-ordinator) then spoke of two sign-up sheets that were available in the foyer, Angling/Coarse Fishing and Hand Bell Ringing.

The Trips and Holiday groups have amalgamated, the first meeting will be at the White Lion, Bury on 17th January, starting at 11.00am.

The Bulb-fields trip is fully booked, but places are still available for our Battlefields tour to Belgium/France 11th-14th September 2018. Cost will be £500 per person. Contact Terry or Enid if you wish to sign up for this trip.

Jane ended by thanking all Group Leaders for using the Beacon System and keeping the website updated with dates and events.

The Chairman then introduced Jan Munt and her subject Ely Cathedral, by saying how beautiful the cathedral was and that it was such an amazing building to visit.

Jan then told us a little of her background, formerly a Secondary School RE teacher, she after taking retirement in 2000, went for a job interview with the Cathedral as an Education Officer. To her delight, she got the job, as in her view, ex-teachers make the best people to teach youngsters. Her main role was to make the cathedral available to young people.

One of her earliest tasks was to persuade the Cathedral Authorities to give her a substantial amount of money to put together a cathedral roadshow. The main feature of the roadshow was a model of the cathedral and its outbuildings in miniature, made of wood and made to slot together like a jigsaw.

Each member of the front two rows was given a piece of the building, each numbered and to be placed in turn as required. A brief history of the site was then given with a start date of 632 AD for the original abbey. The cathedral as we know it now began in 1083, and it is claimed that it is a copy of Winchester Cathedral.  The East end of the building was started first as this is where the monks would pray and here was a shrine to Etheldreda, which would attract pilgrims.

The build of the model cathedral started with each numbered piece being placed on the table and slowly the shape and complexity of the cathedral appeared.  Each piece would elicit a tale of the community that lived within its precincts. In 1322 the central tower collapsed and was replaced by the Octagon and Lantern, which was built of wood.

The finished model was a work of art and drew many comments from the membership. Jan finished her presentation with a short question and answer session. The chairman thanked her for an excellent afternoon, and we broke for tea and biscuits.

An amendment to our December Newsletter is required, the final paragraph should read, ‘The telling, included a musical accompaniment by Janet Owen, the sound system was managed by Dave Cusworth and the PowerPoint presentation was by David Gilbert-Hill.’

The winner of the letter competition ‘V’ was Eileen Wade with a Virginia tile, the runner up was David Cusworth with a varnish diorama.

Do you have auditing skills?

The Ramsey and District U3A are looking for a member to inspect our financial accounts before presentation to the membership at our Annual General Meeting (AGM) in April. If you can help, please reply either in writing or by Email to the Secretary. Thank you.

Future Open Meetings

Our next general meeting will take place on Tuesday 13th February 2018 at the Community Centre, when Karen Reid will be the speaker, she is a Community Protection Officer

Our next letter for the competition is ‘W’ and will take place at this meeting.

U3A National Website

The email address to receive information about the national newsletter is:

https://u3a.org.uk/about/newsletter

Other U3A News

MARCH U3A are holding a CEILIDH with Knitters Jig Band and an experienced caller.

Come and join us for an evening of fun and dance Saturday 24th February 2018 7 pm to 10 pm at the United Services Club, 1 New Road, March, PE15 9AN

Tickets £8 Bring your own nibbles. Drinks from licensed bar only.

All U3A members, their family and friends are welcome.

For tickets and information contact Kathy Crowther on 01354 658768 or 07722543476 or Sharon Smith on 01354 279871

Other News

Becket Flower Group are holding a FUN fundraiser quiz to raise funds for the annual Flower Festival which is held at St. Thomas a Becket Church, Ramsey.

The quiz will be on the evening of SATURDAY MARCH 24th (7pm [1] for 7.30 start) and will be held in the RAMSEY COMMUNITY CENTRE.

Teams of 6 (preferably) but teams can be created from pairs/individuals, so please buy a ticket. We are trying to raise funds for the flowers used in the Flower Festival. The proceeds of the Festival itself all go to St. Thomas a Becket church fund. Food will be provided but please bring your own drinks and glasses.

We hope that you can support us. Tickets will be £8 each and can be purchased at Pet Havens in Ramsey (on The Great Whyte) or Pam Blanchard 01487813686. There will be a raffle and donated RAFFLE PRIZES will be gratefully received.

If you can’t make the quiz but would like to make a small donation, then this too would be gratefully received, just put it in an envelope and hand in to either of the contacts mentioned above.

And Finally

Car Parking – Please remember to park your car considerately and use car sharing, if you are able.

JOKES

In our local B&Q, an assistant asked, “Can I help you find anything?” “How about my misspent youth,” joked my husband. The assistant shot back, “We keep that in the back, between world peace and winning lottery tickets.”

In January, I met with an old friend, “So was Santa good to you?” I asked. “Very good,” he said, “I had an SUV.” “Nice.” “Yes… Socks, Underwear and Viagra.”

Editor: Mike Lewis