Salisbury and District
U3A 
Salisbury and District
U3A | From the Chairman My wife and I were students together; I was a Civil Engineer and she was reading English. It soon became evident that I was woefully lacking in culture, with a very small acquaintance with literature, little knowledge of theatre and film, and not the first idea of art. We agreed that my wife should guide me in the right direction (and she has done so ever since). Our first venture was to the theatre, and in all innocence, I went to see 'The Wild Duck' by Ibsen. I had heard of Ibsen, but certainly not 'The Wild Duck', and I found the whole affair to be depressing (surely the theatre was meant to entertain), incomprehensible, and unreal (surely I should be able to relate what I saw to actual life experience). Altogether it was nearly the end of a lovely friendship. Fortunately, we were able to come together over Mozart, and I girded up my loins for further adventures. We had serious problems over Samuel Beckett, with his strange settings such as that of 'Waiting for Godot'. Then I found that I just could not take his two people talking to each other while crouching in dustbins, and the simple title 'Krapp's Last Tape' was enough to induce a feeling of nausea. However, with my advancing years I did (and do) find an empathy with his well known saying, going something like this: This seems to me to express the need to persevere even though progress can only be relative. It is only with experience that we are able to appreciate the uncertainties of life, and to realise that perfection can only be an ideal to be aimed at but never achieved. We of our generation realise that success and failure are approximations, the former never to be too wonderful and the latter never to be utterly devastating. Perhaps our generation especially has that understanding of life that can be of inestimable value to our society, and perhaps our contribution is undervalued by that society. In our U3A we are seeking opportunities to interact with our community and this has recently included participation in the U3A Healthcare project at the Hospital, our various activities with the Playhouse and our connections with the Schools through the Sixth form forum and, now, the classes in computing. We also have representation on the local Learning Partnership, and our activities such as the choir and handbell ringing reach out to a wider audience. It would be easy to extend ourselves beyond our capability, but I would welcome news and ideas of other activities that we are undertaking or could undertake to increase our community connections and to make available the expertise and experience that we possess. ----John Illston----- |
| Speakers for Monthly Meetings | |||
| Monthly meetings are normally held on the first Wednesday of the month in the Methodist Church Hall, St Edmonds Church Street, Salisbury. Coffee is served from 10.0 am, business starts at 10.30 and the Guest Speaker is introduced at about 10.45. | |||
| August 4th | David Quinion | Transport In Britain through the Ages | |
| September 1st | Jim Palm | Adverts in Aspic | |
| October 6th | Rex Sawyer | Imber, the Deserted Village | |
| November 3rd | Anniverary Lunch | To be held at St Francis Church Hall. | Full details here or from the Secretary |
| December 1st | David Waymouth | The background to Trafalgar | |
| January 5th | Michael Passmore | History of the Automobile Association | |
| U3A Information File |
| This
is to remind members that a file containing information about U3A
is to be found in the Salisbury Reference Library shelved with
Prospectuses of Higher Education under the heading '370 EDUCATION'. The
file has a copy of the current Newsletter and programme and the latest
Third Age News. It also contains recent issues of Sources, sections on
Spire and Sarum U3As, together with a copy of Salisbury U3A's New
Constitution. If you want to place information in this file or have any questions about it please contact Joan New. |
| Outings News | ||
| Having
completed 10 years of running our outings, I thought it was time
to have a change. From March 2005 John Ewington will be taking over and
he would welcome suggestions and details of places and events of
interest. To make the transfer as seamless as possible, John will plan
for March and thereafter, letting you know the details in the next
newsletter. I will continue to run the outings until February. |
||
| September Thursday 30th | Stratford-upon-Avon Hamlet | The seats for Hamlet have all been sold but there are still 4 seats on the coach available at £8.50. Coach 8.15am Tesco's Southampton Rd. 8.30am Coach Station Castle St. |
| October Wednesday 13th | Sussex Coastal Curios | This is an opportunity to explore some of the lesser known treasures of the south coast with a guide from City & Village Tours. There will be a lunch break at Worthing, with time to walk along the pier. We will leave the Art Deco airport at Shoreham at 4.45pm. Bring lunch or buy in Worthing. Coach 8.30am Coach Station Castle St. 8.45am Tesco's Southampton Rd. Cost £15. Booking now open. |
| November Wednesday 10th | The British Museum. | A one-hour guided tour will available - limited to 25 people - or explore the Great Court, Reading Room and Main Museum at your leisure. 'Mummy the Inside Story' exhibition could well be worth a visit (£3 extra for concessions). The British Library is also nearby and displays some of the world's most famous books. Coach 8.30 Tesco's Southampton Rd. 8.40 Coach Station Castle Rd. Cost to be confirmed, approx. £8.50 for coach (no admission charge), £2 guided tour, £3 Mummy exhibition. Booking now open. |
| December Thursday 2nd | Bath | A day in Bath to use as you like, we will leave Bath at 4pm. Coach 9.30 Tesco's, Southampton Rd 9.40 Coach Station Cost £ 6.50. Booking from September General Meeting |
| Please make all cheques payable to Salisbury U3A Outings Group and not to me personally. | ----Rosemary Nicholls----- | |
| Walking Groups | |||
| All walks
meet at 13, Dorset Road, unless you are going straight to the start.
New walkers require stout shoes and a drink. |
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| All walks are on a Thursday. | |||
| September 23rd | Bus walk. | Catch X4
bus at 9.00am from Salisbury bus station to Heytesbury. (Ticket £6 or £3 with pass). Walk along the Wylye valley. Stop at the George Hotel, Codford for lunch. Bus back at 13.52 pm. 5 miles. If going by car to start, park near the Angel Inn, Heytesbury GR 925425 and catch bus back to your car from Codford. Leader - Ann Donaldson. |
|
| October 7th | East Chase Farm. | Stone
Down wood near Woodyates. Park on verge near farm. GR 018211. 5 miles. Meet 9.15 am start 9.45. Leader - Graham Carter. |
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| October 21st | High Corner Inn. | Holly Hatch Cadmans Pool 5 miles GR 196108 ( Pub car park) Meet 9.15 am start 10.00 am. Leader - Kay. | |
| November 4th | Win Green | Ferne Estate GR 923205 Meet 9.15 am start 10.15 am. Hill at end of walk. Lunch possible at Talbot Arms, Berwick St John. Please note: I would need to know numbers on previous walk. Leader - Rex Sawyer. | |
| November 18th | Bourne Valley | Bishopdown, Ford and Laverstock. Park in Bishopdown Road, left hand side, after school. 5 miles GR 150314. Meet at start ( instead of Dorset Road.) Leader - Anne. | |
| December 2nd | End of term lunch. | Walk at Tytherley, Lockerley Holbury Wood. Park at Star Inn. 5 miles GR 294298. Meet at 9.15 am start 10.00. Leader - Maggie. | |
| Dates for Next Term 2005 |
January
13 and 27, February 10 and 24, March 10 and 24. Please give me walks
for these dates as early as possible.
|
||
| ----Anne Bull----- | |||
| Mini Walks | ||
| Mini walks are held on the third Thursday of the month, but there will be no August walk. The following are planned: | ||
| September 16th | Swallowcliffe | GR971268 Park in lay by on A 30 |
| October 21st | Nunton | GR159261 |
| November 18th | Broadchalke | Park at Radnor Arms pub |
| All walks start at 10.00am. Stout shoes or boots are necessary and please bring a drink. | ||
| ----Sheila and Peter Brown----- | ||
| Family History Programme Until Christmas | |
| Once again, I am offering help with researching your family tree and the past history of your family. In between the meetings designed for beginners, I shall have informal, open meetings where I welcome anyone, beginner or experienced, who would like to consult my fairly comprehensive collection of books, discuss problems, boast of achievements and chat over a coffee. | |
| The dates and subjects are as follows: | |
| September 24th | Introduction; what we want to find out and where to start. |
| October 8th | Birth, marriage and death certificates, their value in Research, and where to find them. |
| October 22nd | Open, informal meeting. |
| November 5th | The Censuses 1841 - 1901. The Family records Centre. |
| November 19th | Parish Registers, research before 1837. |
| December 3rd | Open, informal meeting. |
| December 17th | County Record Offices. The International Genealogical Index, the IGI |
| January 7th | First meeting after Christmas. |
| All meetings are held on Friday mornings at 10.15 am at 8 Shakespeare Road, Stratford-sub-Castle. If you are a member of the Group and can't attend, please phone me. | |
| I am also arranging a visit to London on Thursday, September 16th, leaving the Coach Station off Castle Street at 7.30 am. The coach will go first to The National Archive/Public Record Office at Kew, and then on to the Family Record Centre at Myddleton Street, Islington, so you have the opportunity to choose which you want to visit. Thursday is late opening day at both offices, so we will leave the FRC after 5 pm to avoid some of the rush and pick up at Kew probably about 6 pm. Please contact me if you would be interested in going on this trip, by phone or email me at mchrism@tiscali.co.uk . | |
| ----Chris Dickson----- | |
| Sorting the
Groups A message from Chris Dickson, your Group Co-ordinator |
|
| As I am
sure you know, Group Co-ordinators aim to give everyone their
first choice in the Groups they will enjoy through the year.
Unfortunately, this year I have to admit I can't achieve that and I do
apologise to those members who will be disappointed. The main problem
involves the Painting, Watercolour and Village Visit Groups. We can only remedy this situation by increasing the number of Groups available. Would you be willing to lead a Group in any of these subjects? You do not need to be an expert: help would be, I am sure, available from other Leaders. It would be very helpful to offer painters the chance to get together in a group and help one another, without instruction - the Leader would only have to arrange the venue and meeting dates and ensure there was coffee on tap! I would also like to hear from you if there is some subject that we don't at present have on our Programme that interests you. I am not asking you to volunteer to lead such a Group, but I am sure it would be helpful to get together with other members with similar interests and see if we can find some way of setting up more Groups. I would be very grateful if you would get in touch with me to discuss any ideas you have. Please leave a message if I am not home and I will get back to you, my email is mchrism@tiscali.co.uk. May I remind Group Leaders that U3A Insurance covers us all for damage that we may do in the course of our activities. If anyone should be hurt in an accident please fill in an accident form and return it to Neville Jennings for our records. I have the forms, obtainable from the above address. |
|
| Notes on U3A groups | |
| French for Beginners | Leo
Lewis , who runs the French for Beginners group and starts on
Monday 20th September at 2.00pm in the hall above the Cycling Club in
Salt Lane, has asked me to remind members, particularly new members,
that they can have very little French to start with and will find it
enjoyable. If you would like to join but are anxious about the standard of your French, Leo asks that you have a word with him. |
| Early Music | The 3rd Friday of the month at 2.00 pm. A number of members have asked me, James Mogford (your Editor), that because the group is usually oversubscribed, why don't I run it in a hall like some of the other larger groups? My house has currently 8 keyboard instruments which we look at, listen to and play which would be impossible other than in my house and the maximum number with which I can cope I'm afraid is 8 people. |
| Village Visits | John
Hawkins is still in the process of preparing the visits which will
commence in November. Details will be available at the September
Monthly meeting (coffee morning) and those not able to attend will be
informed by John. |
| Contributions from Members |
| The Longest Day |
| Look
at the date carefully whilst Jean Lucas recalls some very special
memories. At that time I was a ten year old living in Chipping Norton, where my father was a Church Army Captain attached to the local parish church. We were surrounded by airfields and it was decided to rent a local house which had belonged in earlier times to the local woollen mill owner.This was converted into a canteen and social centre which the airmen and any other service personnel could use. It was a glorious house and expensive to run and so the upper two floors were rented out to teachers from the Grammar School - most had come out of retirement, since their younger colleagues were in the Forces. Then the Americans joined the conflict and they needed accommodation. Next door the old woollen mill had stood empty and it was quickly converted to house them. As a child I was fascinated by these new neighbours who used our facilities and fitted in so well with the airmen from round about. They were mostly family men who liked nothing better than to show us pictures of their families and they certainly understood the rules of Ludo and Snakes and Ladders! Our school had extensive playing fields and each weekend, when we had finished matches, they came to play baseball, leaving a crate of oranges to be distributed by the headmaster - a form each week. On the fIrst few days of June the quartermaster came round with stores they could not take on their next move - secret of course! Could the parish use a full bin of rice, blocks of butter etc.? I would say so! We heard them drive off and then they drove back; there was a delay. The thing they were short of was BREAD -plenty of Spam, butter etc. but no bread! Like many young girls I liked to know what the adults were talking about and I saw a solution! I rummaged in the cupboard for my old dolls pram and made off to the vicarage where my friend Ginny, the Vicar's daughter lived. She found her's and we knocked on as many doors as we could saying, 'Have you any spare bread for hungry soldiers'. We must have got our message over as we collected all types and conditions of bread which we took to my father who passed it on to the cook-house. I have since thought of two things - did their sandwiches help them on their way to Normandy? And did this strange situation tell the local populace what may be happening? I hope it helped them a little - we were told later that very few of that group survived, those who survived D-Day were ambushed in the Ardennes. |
| Carving Geology |
| A note from
our geologist member, Annette Harris When faced with the problem of commissioning a memorial it may be found very difficult to find anything that is not a mason's catalogue of standard gravestones, blank and ready to be cut by machine. Also the 43 dioceses have 43 different sets of petty rules. However there is now a booklet by Harriet Frazer, 'Memorials by Artists' from Snape Priory, Snape, Saxmundham, Suffolk, IP17 1SA costing £7.50, or at httpl/www.memorialsbyartists.co.uk, which contains a register of letter-cutters, a wealth of information on the presentation of words, and much other advice. |
| The River Fairies |
| Wendy
Freemantle has just joined our U3A and she sends me a charming little
tale. The river Batcombe played an important part in my lonely childhood. I was an orphan, brought up by my spinster Aunt who seemed as old as Chaucer. We lived in a small white cottage with a heavy thatch, in a very remote area of the Blackmore Vale. Our nearest neighbours were the Friars of Saint Francis who lived at the Friary some two miles away. Because we were so isolated I seldom had friends to play with, so after tea I would hurry down the garden, pass the little orchard, its trees covered with grey hairy lichen, to the river that ran along the bottom. The river Batcombe sprang to life in the green hills behind the Friary, and meandered down through fields on its way to Dorchester. Where the river passed our garden was an old rickety wooden bridge where my Aunt and I crossed every Sunday morning to follow a rough track, that had been made by the brown clad, barefoot Friars on their meditative walks, to attend the Eucharist held by the Brothers in their beautiful little chapel. I remember one Easter watching the Brothers washing each other's feet in the river, acting out the Last Supper where Jesus washed the feet of the disciples. I used to believe the river was a magic river, coming from a Holy place where God lived. On Sunday afternoons I took my rag dolls' and solemnly genuflected on the river bank to christen them, dipping my fingers into the cool clear water, I'd make the sign of the cross on the dolls' foreheads and sing aloud the 'Kyrie Eleison' with all my heart and soul. Sometimes I found a dead mouse or bird and held a reverent funeral service, gathering wild flowers for the grave and sprinkling it with 'Holy' river water. I'd religiously chant psalms making up the words as I went along. Some summer evenings I would beg my Aunt for a jar, a long piece of string and some stale bread, to take down to the river to fish for minnows. More often than not the bread would float out of the jar and down the river with me racing after it, scrambling over the slippery rocks, trying to retrieve it. Or, flinging the jar too hard, it would smash on the rocks and I would have to wade out, my skirt tucked in my knickers, to pick up the broken pieces, later getting a 'ticking off' from Aunt Mary for wasting her precious pickling jar. One day I made a great discovery. I was sitting quietly beside the river watching the orange sun going down behind the hills, and listening to the breeze rustling the leaves of the willow trees. I could smell the scent from the lavender bushes in the garden, so rich and relaxing. It made me feel light, so light I could almost have floated out over the river. I watched hypnotised, the reeds, sweet and canary grass, their long slender stems, green and purple, bending in the breeze. It was then I noticed the fairies, sitting among the reeds spreading their translucent wings in the sun, gossamer blues and greens. They had large eyes of brilliant emerald green and nymph like ethereal bodies, slender, long and so delicate. I watched in amazement as they fluttered and danced in the breeze, flying over the river, dipping around the rocks as if they were trying to catch the tiny droplets of water that bounced off them like very small diamonds. I held my breath whilst watching the fairies curtsey to the kingcups, flickering like little blue flames, weaving their magic spells. Then I jumped up and raced home excitedly to tell my Aunt, She said that she too had seen the fairies, their names were Demoiselle, Libellula, Agrion and Cordulia, and these little creatures were the sacredness of nature. Time passed and I went to college to became a photographer. I often go back to my beloved river, to capture pictures of the fox who comes down to drink, the colourful kingfishers, grey herons and yellow breasted wagtails, the reflection of the willow trees in the water and my darling fairy dragonflies who live among the reeds. |
| From the Editor |
| Writing Competition |
| Obviously the writing competition did not appeal to members, as we had very few entries. The wife of our Chairman, Olga, who runs a literary group, was the chairman of the judging panel. The panel thought the standard of those who sent me a story was high, but the final verdict was that Jerry Gates (who runs a Bridge for Beginners group) was the winner with an ingenious little story printed below. Thank you other members who sent me an entry, I can assure you that your offerings were read very carefully and much enjoyed. I am hoping that Jerry will be at the next Monthly meeting so that he can collect his little prize from the Chairman. |
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| The sound
was soft but persistent and anyway it would be rash to ignore it. In
these circumstances the unfamiliar must be respected and feared,
although really I was more intrigued than frightened. The call came
from the Director of the Mauritshuis at The Hague. He explained, in
strict confidence, that with the increasingly sophisticated thieving of
works of art, insurance premiums on their
old masters were now so high as to be insupportable. He wanted copies
made of the most valuable paintings for display to the public with
originals kept in the vaults for availability to serious art students.
In view of my proven record as artist and restorer and my known passion
for Rembrandt, would I be prepared to make a copy of Rembrandt's 'The
Anatomy Lesson of Dr Tulp'? I, who had always been fascinated by
Rembrandt and would have done anything to have met him, eagerly
accepted. The fee was good with all expenses paid. The Museum provided several cleaned canvases from the period, a good existing copy of the painting with colour photos and paints and brushes, as near as possible to those used in the 17th Century. To produce a painting as authentic as possible I would have to try to live and work as Rembrandt had done. His house no longer existed but there were others of the period in the area. I rented an attic studio with box room. Houses then had only small windows so the attic was very dark. No electricity was connected but candles were more in keeping, I thought. I spent the first days setting up the studio and preparing the materials. I transferred my detailed sketches to the canvas and then glazed the whole with brown grounds in order to achieve the vivid chiaroscuro effect exploited so brilliantly by Rembrandt. I was ready to start painting. That night I heard a soft persistent sound. I later realised it was the sound of a badger-haired brush laying paint on canvas. I crept to the studio door and the sound ceased immediately. But there, in the corner, was another canvas already sketched and with its brown grounds glaze also drying. I was stupefied. Next morning, trying to put everything out of my mind, I started to paint the outline of the seven bearded anatomy students crouching and watching intently as Dr. Tulp dissected the left arm of the cadaver lying on the table in front of him. That night I heard the soft sound of the paint brush again. In the morning, the second canvas had been outlined in the same way. My thoughts became a whirl and the following days passed in a confusion of waking, dreaming and painting, with no clear idea at all of what was happening. The boyhood scar over my right eye, which always reacted when I became stressed, was a livid wheal. At times, I was dimly aware of figures looking down on me, of bright lights and guttural voices. The soft sound of brush on canvas never stopped. Then, one morning, I awoke differently. There was a strange peace. All seemed eerily quiet. My head was clear. My livid scar had subsided. The soft sound of brush strokes had ceased. There, in the studio, was my finished painting and beside it on the easel was the other, incomparably better, bursting with life and character and full of marvellously vivid chiaroscuro tones. When I turned again it was gone. Was I hallucinating or was I mad? I took my painting to the Director. We compared it to the original. As I peered at the cadaver stretched out in front of Dr. Tulp, the faint scar over the right eye was clearly visible. My left arm was sore and itching. I said nothing but I was certain that by some strange and incomprehensible combination of space and time, I had been on that table and there I really had met my hero, Mijnherr Rembrandt van Rijn. |
| ----Jerry Gates----- |
