1

Cheddar Valley newsMay / June 2018

Volume 24 Issue 3 www.u3a.org.uk

Registered Charity 1040522 www.cheddarvalleyu3a.org.uk

The Lacemaking Group

2

The Chairman’s ChatIt’s April as I am writing this and winter is stillteasing us with cold and rain but at least thesnow has eventually relented. The vegetablepatch and allotment are at least 4 weeksbehind and I expect that the weather willsuddenly turn warm and dry which thenmeans that our clay soil will set like concrete.Still the potatoes will get planted somehow.

On a brighter note we have finally got to grips with the two significantadministrative changes that our U3A has been required to conform with.

Firstly our groups are now required to account for all income andexpenditure or, in many cases, provide a nil return to our treasurer.

Secondly for Data Protection and the change to GDPR we are requiredto: Obtain consent for any contact information which we hold. Hold it securely Delete it when no longer required Allow members to access their information

You will have noticed that we now ask on the membership and renewalforms for your consent for us to hold contact information. On the websitewe have our Data Privacy Policy and Data Protection Policy, and theseare also available from a committee member. There is a requirement thatthe information we hold is accurate and up to date, so please letMargaret Woodliffe, Membership Secretary, know of any changes.

I will be standing down at the AGM in May having completed four years,so this will be my last Chairman’s Chat. It has been a fascinating timeand I’ve only just learnt what I should have been doing! We have hadinteresting talks at our monthly meetings, noisy coffee mornings withexcellent group displays and a growing number of active and thrivinggroups. I have been very happy to have been involved, however, thecredit for all this bustling activity must go to your friendly, dedicated andhard-working committee, group leaders and all those many members

3

who make Cheddar Valley U3A what it is. I trust that you will offer thesame enthusiastic support to my successor.

Now where are those potatoes? Still chitting under the bed I expect.

Geoff Farnie

Chairman~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Monthly Meetings with Speakers

Except for the AGM in May (see below), meetings are held on the firstThursday of each month (except July and August) at Cheddar VillageHall (Church House) starting at 2.00 pm. A charge of £2 per person iscollected at the door and includes tea and biscuits. Visitors and guestsare always welcome. Tea and Coffee will be served from 2.00 pm,talks start at 2.30 pm prompt.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AGM Thursday 3rd May 2.15 pmat Draycott Memorial Hall

This talk follows the AGM.

"Mud, Sweat and Tears:walking Hadrian's Wall

for charity"

In 2013, historical fiction author Ben Kanewalked the length of Hadrian's Wall withtwo friends for charity. They did it in fullRoman armour.

Hear the amusing tale of how three middle-aged men toiled up and down theNorthumbrian hills, with some historythrown in.

4

Thursday 7th June 2.00pm for 2.30 pmat Cheddar Village Hall

"A Holiday Diary of 1836"

This is a return visit from Pat Hase, and this time she will present theholiday diary of Mr. T. Clark Junior when he took his family for a holidayto Weston-super-Mare from Birmingham in June 1836. The familytravelled from Birmingham to Weston by stagecoach occupying theoutside seats. The party included his pregnant wife and 2 youngdaughters, one of whom was unwell. The 11 hour journey was broken atGloucester where he took his ailing daughter around the Cathedral. InWeston Mr. Clark established his family in a hotel and then met up withhis friend, Mr. Laurence. The two men then made various visits to nearbytourist attractions in Bristol and Bath and several villages. Pat will givean insight into a 19th century family and Mr. Clark and his friend, and adescription of their exploits.

Pat fascinated us with her previous talk aboutworkhouses with reference to Axbridge. This talkpromises to be amusing as well as veryinteresting.

Arriving atFlat Holm

5

Speaker Meetings Refreshment Rota

We have a rota system of groups to serve tea, coffee and biscuits, and,afterwards, clear cups, etc. and wash up.

Thursday 3rd May 2.15 pm: Solos & Singing for Pleasure Groups

(AGM at Draycott)

Thursday 7th June 2.00 pm: Table Tennis Group

Coffee Mornings

10.30 am to 12 noonAt Cheddar Village Hall

(aka Church House, Cheddar)

On Thursday 17th May

With a display by the Walking (Original) Group

On Thursday 21st June

With a display by Les Francophiles (French) Group

6

Group Liaison Barry Coppard

By now every Group Leader should have received aletter from the Chairman, detailing the requirementsplaced upon us by the new Data Protection legislation,which comes into effect in May, and the new rules oncompleting a financial statement twice a year for theTreasurer. Although a little time consuming, neithertask is particularly onerous, but if you have a question,or need a bit of help, then please just ask.

It’s also that time again! Group Leaders please check that everyone inyour group is a current U3A member, and, by the end of June, pass a listto the Membership Secretary. As previously mentioned, our insurershave pointed out that any U3A group running with non-members present(apart from a one-off visitor) will not be covered by our insurance policy.

The Friday Music Group has begun its summer break earlier thanpublished. The resumption date has not yet been fixed.

Proposed New Groups

Rock Music Do you fancy playing or singing in a rock group? If so, dustoff those guitars, drums, vocal chords, etc. and put your name down onthe list at the May or June Coffee Mornings. If you are interested, but areunable to get to a Coffee Morning please contact me (by email preferred).

Mindfulness On the other hand, if you would prefer a more peacefulway of finding your inner-self, we hope to begin a Mindfulness Group inthe summer. This will consist of just a few persons meeting for onesession per week for six consecutive weeks. If this interests you, or youwould like more information, please put your name on the list at the Mayor June Coffee Mornings. If you are unable to attend a Coffee Morningplease contact me (by email preferred). Lynda Dearden, who is trainedin this technique, will be present to answer any questions at the JuneCoffee Morning.

Barry Coppard barrycop@gmail.com

7

Day Trippers' Group

ExeterOn Friday 13th April we enjoyed a day trip to Exeter. The weather waskind to us i.e. it was mild and it didn't rain! It was the first time we havehad a lady driver and she was excellent.

Than

ks to

Rog

er C

oe fo

r the

seph

otog

raph

s of

Exe

ter

8

Knightshayes N.T.

Our next day trip will be to Knightshayes, near Tiverton in Devon.Knightshayes is a National Trust property set in beautiful grounds andwell worth the visit even if you have been there before. We will be visitingon Thursday 2nd August and the coach will cost £12 per person. Entryto the house and gardens for non-NT members will be £11.60 payableon the day. There is a cafe at the entry point which provides hot mealsand also a tea-room in the conservatory attached to the house.

Application forms are available at Coffee Mornings and further copiesare available from Margaret Woodliffe and Mary Evans.

Please Note: As a result of the new data protection rules effective from25th May, we regret we will no longer be able to accommodate non-U3Amembers on day trips.

Holiday Trip to Yorkshire

If you want to join us....you're too late! We will let you know later thisyear our destination for 2019 so watch this space.

Roger Coe

9

U3A Equipment For Group UseThe following equipment is available for use by groups:

Held by Geoff Farnie

Digital ProjectorWindows 10 LaptopProjector Screen 6’ by 6’Small Screen 3’6” by 2’6”Small Portable PACD Player

Held by Barry Coppard e-mail: barrycop@gmail.com

Flip Chart and PadsA1 sized Magnetic Whiteboard and PensA3 Whiteboard3 Panel Notice Board

Welcome

Gary Amos Geraldine Jones

Nicky Amos Doreen Killah

Lynda Andrews Ellis Nearn

Julie Craig Joy Nichols

Pauline Edwards Georgine Smith

Jac Hele Kergozou Richard Smith

Jean Hopkins Patricia Thompson

We wish all these new membersa very warm welcome to our U3A.

10

ACROSS

1. Without fault (7) 5. For ice cream (4) 7. Appropriate (3) 8. Parts of the human body (8) 9. Fish (5)10. Peepers (4)13. Strong Eastern Europe alcoholic drink (4)14. Applaud (4)18. Money (informal) (4)19. Code of practice (5)21. Stab Cart (anag) (8)22. Paddle (3)23. Fruit (4)

DOWN

1. Exercise (8) 2. Analytical (8) 3. Constructs (6) 4. Steeple (6) 5. Wild plant (6) 6. Demand (4)11. American yacht (8)12. Place for landing aircraft (8)15. Sticker (6)16. Filament (6)17. Receptacles (6)20. Musical instrument (4)

Thanks to Barry Ede for creating thiscrossword.

Solution is on page 31.

11

25th Anniversary Garden PartyOld Vicarage Garden, Parsons Pen, Cheddar

Saturday 30th June 20182.30 - 4.30pm

Plans are well underway for the Garden Party to celebrate CheddarValley U3A's 25th Anniversary. The date is Saturday 30th June and it willbe held in the Old Vicarage Garden, Cheddar, opposite the Village Hall.The event is free but donations will be welcome on the day.

The afternoon will consist of entertainment by our Singing for Pleasure,Scottish Country Dancing and Handbell groups, and "Musicmakers", agroup of folk musicians who are members of Wells and Cheddar ValleyU3As. There will be a buffet, celebratory cake, tea or coffee and asparkling wine toast to Cheddar Valley U3A. Pam Jones, Chairman ofthe Third Age Trust, will be with us.

There will be a decorated cake competition, judged by Pam Jones.There will be a prize for the winner, and then the cakes will be eaten! So,get planning and baking! The cakes can be brought to the garden at2.30pm.

Entry to the event will be by ticket and available to members only. Thegarden can accommodate a large number of people; however, whilst wehope for a fine day, if very wet, we will use the Village Hall. Numbershere are restricted by fire regulations, so the first 130 tickets availablewill be "Wet Weather" tickets for the Village Hall, as well as giving accessto the event at the Old Vicarage Garden.

Please bring a picnic chair with you if you can.

Tickets will be available between the 1st to 30th May

from

Cheddar Library on Monday mornings - 10.30am to 12.00 noon

Speaker Meeting / AGM on 3rd May at Draycott Memorial Hall 2.15 pm

Coffee Morning 17th May, Village Hall, Cheddar 10.30 am - 12.00 noon

Margaret

12

Help requiredfor the 25th Anniversary Garden Party

Saturday 30th June

We would like this event to truly be a members’ event, with asmany as possible contributing in some small way. However, wedon’t want 50 people volunteering to welcome members at thegate, so some sort of list is required to bring order to it all!

We’d be grateful if you would consider helping in one of thefollowing ways:

Helping put up party tents /gazebos from 9.30 am on theSaturday morningTaking down tents etc after 4.30 pmTake chairs from Village Hall to Old Vicarage gardenTake tables from Village Hall to the gardenWelcome members on arrivalMake a loaf of sandwiches

If you can help with any of these please let a committee memberknow or contact Margaret by telephone:

13

25th Anniversary Garden PartyDecorated Cake Competition

There will be a Best Decorated Cake Competition at the Garden Partyto be held in the Old Vicarage Garden, Parsons Pen, Cheddar onSaturday 30th June. The decorated cakes will be judged by PamJones, Chairman of the Third Age Trust, who will be with us for thisspecial afternoon, and a prize will be awarded to the winner.

The cakes should be taken to the Old Vicarage Garden at 2.30 pm onthe afternoon of the 30th June. The cakes will be judged by PamJones, Chairman of the Third Age Trust, and afterwards will beshared and eaten by members present!

We need to know whether we need to set up 2 six foot tables or a cardtable to accommodate the cakes! So if you are interested in takingpart, please fill in the form below and either hand to a committeemember or to Margaret Farnie.

Good luck!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I would like to enter the Decorated Cake Competition

on Saturday 30th June.

Name: ………………………………………………………………….

14

"Traditional Acupuncture – Getting to the Point"

It might seem unlikely that someone with a fear of needles should endup as an acupuncturist but we learned from Dee Holbourne, our Aprilspeaker, that she once accidentally punched a nurse whilst awaiting aninjection. Dee was in hospital with Crohn's disease and had been toldthat she would probably suffer from the symptoms for the rest of her life.This was not something as a 20 year old she was willing to accept, andin seeking alternative treatment discovered that, for her, acupunctureprovided a cure. Dee took a 4 year course in traditional acupuncture,gaining a BSc (Hons) and has been practising for about 8 years.

We learned during the course of her very interesting and engaging talkthat practitioners take a holistic view of treating a patient, seeking torestore the body’s equilibrium with the use of very fine needles tostimulate the Qi. These are applied at points along myofascial pathwaysfollowing meridians that have been used in Chinese medicine for over2,000 years. Diagnosis by acupuncturists is by taking the pulses along

Thanks to Geoff Bathe for this photograph of Dee Holbourne

15

the meridians, looking at the tongue, patient's colour, their emotions,asking questions and in general observation. Use of needles is not theonly way to treat patients: cupping, massage and the application of heatby moxa can also be used.

Acupuncture promotes blood flow, stimulates the body’s built-in healingmechanisms and releases natural pain killers. Many people, (includingmyself), find acupuncture can relieve pain as it reduces the intensity andperception of chronic pain, it relaxes shortened muscles and reducesstress. Acupuncture has also been successful in helping people withaddictions, and animals also respond to this form of treatment. It mustbe remembered that many people seeking help may have been in painfor some time and unlike the use of painkillers, (which can give instantrelief, but only treat the symptoms), it may take several treatmentsbefore the full benefit is experienced. Pain relief is only one of the manyhealth problems that acupuncturists are consulted on.

Dee, who came over as a very caring person, certainly aroused a lot ofinterest among members judging by the number of questions asked andthe number of people who waited to speak to her after the talk.

Sheila Eastland

16

COMMUNITY NEWSThis Community News section of the Newsletter includes short specificitems of local interest or about people and places which are indirectlylinked to the Cheddar Valley U3A.

17

Group News

This section of the Newsletter brings you news of whatour various groups have been doing recently. Not everygroup has an entry in every newsletter, but allestablished groups and group leaders are shown in thetable on pages 33 and 34.

Classic Films Group

The last three monthly meetings of the Classic Films Group haveprovided viewings and discussions of the French “romantic” film UnCarnet de Bal in March and the full length “silent” film The Iron Horse,which records the inspiration for, and the construction of, the first trans-continental railway from the East to the West coast of America, at theApril meeting. The third and last meeting of this year’s Group session inMay will centre on a “comedy” film, yet to be chosen by the Members atthe time of writing this report, from the films of the great masters ofcomedy such as the Marx Brothers, W.C.Fields, Charlie Chaplin,Jacques Tati, Will Hay and Oliver and Hardy. A hilarious and joyoussession to end the Group’s 2017/2018 season.

The meeting in May will also be the last to be led by Brian Nicholls, whowill be retiring from his role as Group Leader at the end of the meeting.However, it is planned that he will remain as an advisor and contributorto the Group, with leadership passing on to Helen Batt and JulianRoberts, the current Deputy Group Leaders, both of whom have givenadvisory and practical help to Brian during the recent year’s activities.

The Summer break will be used by Helen and Julian to plan andorganise the meetings for the 2018/2019 session of the Group, and theyhave made it clear that they would very much welcome any thoughts andproposals from Group Members, or U3A Members who are thinking ofjoining the Classic Films Group, for next season’s meetings, as to waysin which they feel that the Group meetings can be improved, and areasof Classic Films that could be included in the 2018/2019 meetings.

18

E-mails with such thoughts and proposals should be sent to:

Helen BattorJulian Roberts

and should be offered up fairly soon while the plans for the 2018/2019sessions are being made during the break in the Group’s activities for theSummer holidays.

A number of new Members would be given a warm welcome if they wishto join the Group, and any U3A Members who are interested shouldinitially contact either Helen Batt or Julian Roberts to get information onjoining.

Brian Nicholls~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

U3A Computer Users Group (U3ACUG)

The Group meets on the second Monday of the month, 10 am to 12 noonat Greenhill House, Tweentown, Cheddar.

We cover Windows Operating Systems, Windows Programmes andApps, and try to sort out members' problems as well as looking at betterways of carrying out common tasks on PCs and Laptops.

All U3A members who use a computer are welcome; we are happy tohelp with the general problems on the common Windows programmes.

We have of course been discussing the latest events relating to themisuse of our personal data. Out of interest, I have been online toGoogle "How do I delete Facebook?" - a very popular search! There arefull instructions if you are a Facebook user and want to erase (most of)the data held on your account. For some people it is a way of life, so itmay not always be appropriate.

Another thing you may find interesting is to search for "My ActivityGoogle". After you login to your Google Account this will give you thedetails of everything that you have ever done using Google services:

19

Chrome searches, Web sites visited, YouTube, Maps, Your Location (ifyou have it switched on on your phone) etc, from the day you first startedto use Google. At least deleting is made simple if you really want to, justselect "delete activity by".

Please email me for any further details or the location of GreenhillHouse. The next meetings will be Monday 11th June and 9th July.

Bryan Smith~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Day Trippers' Group

Details of the Day Trippers' outings and holiday are on page 7.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Les Francophiles

Our group is still going strong and we enjoy our meetings. There is nowmore space available for new members, so anybody interested just giveme a ring. Although the level is fairly advanced we are by no meansperfect and language-learning goes on for ever. We are still using theBBC course "The French Experience 2" and coming to the end of it. Ourgreatest challenge and the most enjoyable one is to read Frenchliterature and we have read four novels so far. And we do try and speakFrench most of the time which is of course the hardest skill.

In the meantime our venue has changed and we are now meeting at 42The Lynch, Winscombe.

Here are our next meetings (they take place every 2 weeks on aThursday from 10 to 12am). This time I had to cancel a meeting in Mayand June, so we meet on:

Thurs 10th May and Thurs 7th June

Barbara Paganotto

20

Lace Making GroupThe group is up and running. Good progress is being made bynewcomers to the craft, and those who are revisiting a previous hobbyare settling back into the swing of things. Plenty of room for moreinterested people from 10 am to midday on Tuesdays at the CatholicChurch Hall in Cheddar.

Jackie Johnson

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Philosophy GroupAt the February meeting we discussed the contributions of BertrandRussell to modern philosophy. With his mathematical background, heemphasised the logical interpretation of statements, taking as an exam-ple the sentence “The present king of France is bald”. He was devotedto clarity in arguments and saw formal logic and science as the principaltools of the philosopher. He wrote a great deal on ethical matters,eventually coming to the view that ethical terms dealt with subjectivevalues that cannot be verified in the same way as matters of fact – an

Thanks to the Lace Making Group for this photograph,and the photograph on the front cover.

21

interesting change in his basic approach. His emphasis on analysis wasa major influence on other Western philosophers, though he did come toquestion the certainty which he had tried to achieve in his mathematics.

The March meeting included a brief discussion of the views of HannahArendt, a Jewish/US philosopher who has written especially on totalitar-ianism and how it can arise and become accepted through the apathy ofthe masses. The other main subject of the meeting was some consider-ation of the figurative question of "whether the glass is half full or halfempty", i.e. whether we have an optimistic or pessimistic view of thefuture. This involved thinking about what time scale was relevant andwhether we were considering our own family, locality, nation, or theplanet. Members had varying views according to which time scale orarea was concerned.

Dennis Stansfield~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Digital PhotographyThe Digital Photography Group meets at 2:00pm on the secondThursday afternoon of each month (except July and August), in a roombehind the Cheddar Catholic Church. The Group currently has 16members and could accommodate more.

At our March meeting Chris and Terry White brought along some of theiramazing collection of colourful minerals for us to photograph. They alsodemonstrated how to use a microscope with a camera attachment tophotograph the minerals.

22

Our April meeting was a practical portrait session, where wephotographed each other.

At our May meeting, Sue Bathe will give a talk on "Trick Photography".This talk will concentrate on creative tricks at the time of taking thephotograph, rather than doctoring the photographs afterwards usingcomputer software.

The June meeting will be our annual competition, when our efforts atphotographing "Fauna" will be assessed by an external judge.

Geoff Bathe~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Patchwork Group

In February, members continued to work on their own projects. In March,we discussed and began to prepare our fabric for the new group projectas shown in the photographs below. One of our members is going to leadthe group in the making of a small pot or the beautiful bag. This shouldtake the group through till June and our summer break.

Dates for Next Meetings: 18th May 15th June

No meetings in July or August.

For information, contact Barry Coppard, Group Liaison.

23

Reading Groups

All of the Reading Group Reports are at the end of the Group Newssection, on pages 27 to 31.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Science

We have had about ten members attending the last two meetings. InFebruary members brought along items of science and technology newsthat had caught their attention. Topics discussed included antibiotics,Vantablack, a new black colour that is so black it is invisible, and recentdevelopments in vaccine production. At the March meeting a discussionon greenhouse gases provoked some heated debate.

I have not had a response to my request in the last edition for a volunteerto take over as leader of this group. Don’t be shy. If you think you wouldlike to come to the group with fresh impetus and ideas, do please contactme to discuss.

Keith Bellingham~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Singing for Pleasure

We continue to enjoy our singing. At the moment we are practising for aconcert which will be on 22nd June at Cheddar Village Hall. Newmembers are always welcome.

Ann Clarke~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Scottish Dancing Group

The Scottish Dancing Group followed their successful Burns Supper inJanuary with their best ever attendance of 30 at one session. We arenow using two rooms at Axbridge Town Hall for our weekly meetings sowe are able to allow a small group to learn some more advanced danceswhilst the majority continue with basic steps and moves.

24

We are continuing to dance throughout May and June (apart from 2ndMay when the hall is not available) then will break until the beginning ofSeptember.

More details from John Morgan~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SCRABBLE GROUP

As most of you will be aware, Babs Henning sadly decided to hand overthe reins as leader earlier this year. Babs has carried out her job withfinesse and kept control of our sometimes noisy but enthusiastic groupwith ease. Thank you Babs, I only hope I can carry on the job half as well!

Our group volunteered to help with the catering at the monthly speakermeeting on April 5th and I was pleasantly surprised by the number ofmembers who turned up to help me and did a splendid job, namely: JoBlackiston, Jill Dyer, Joyce Green, Val Webb and Linda Williams –thanks to you all!

Attendance at our meetings has been fairly steady at around 15 to19throughout the year so far, but it would be good to see some new faces.Everyone is welcome and we are all friendly souls, though – of course –fairly competitive!

Useful Scrabble words: QAID (chief), QUAI (quay), QUEP (expressionof derision), QUEY (young cow).

Brenda Horwood

25

Walking Group

Wednesday, 9th May: Leader: Mary. Starting Point: Burrington Combebottom CP. Time: 2.00pm. GR478588. For further information contactMary.

Thursday, 24th May: Leaders: John and Karen. Starting Point: ShiphamVillage Hall. Time: 2.00pm. GR441567. For further information contactJohn or Karen.

Tuesday, 5th June: Leader: Roger. Starting Point: Gooseham Mead,Congresbury, a 4 mile walk. Time: 2.00pm. GR438639. For furtherinformation contact Roger.

Wednesday, 20th June: Leader: Martin. Starting Point: New ManorFarm, between West Harptree and Bishop Sutton. Time: 2.00pm.GR574584. For further information contact Martin.

Thursday, 5th July: Leader: Roger Penniceard. Starting Point:Wheatsheaf Inn CP, Stone Allerton. Time: 10.30am. GR408510. Forfurther information contact Roger.A walk of 4/5 miles followed by lunch in the inn, where you can taste thedelights of the on-site Valley Smokery, which supplies top chefs, egRaymond Blanc.

Martin Fewings~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Easy Walking Group

On Wednesday 14th March we met at the Wedmore Car Park to tackleNyland, starting at ST 455503 Quarry Farm with as few cars as possiblebecause Nyland Drove is narrow. We could equally have reached it fromCheddar. Peter, who had done some research on the internet, gave usan introduction on the importance of Nyland for Glastonbury Abbey, whoowned it. The shipping route, the only access to the sea fromGlastonbury, went on the Axe past Nyland.

Nyland, geologically a limestone outlier of the Mendips, is also one of theseven holy hills of Somerset. There was a chapel which no longer exists.

26

The name comes from Norse "ny", new, and land, but is not the originalname which was Andersey or Andrew's eye. We can imagine the Vikingscoming up the Axe from the sea.

In the not so distant past, namely last year and before, the walk aroundNyland was a suitable winter walk, as half is on the bridleway and halfon a quiet little road and the whole is quite short. This time however itwas the muddiest walk we have ever done due to the cattle havingchurned up the path and the area all around it. There is no right of wayto the top, but one man and his dog went all the way up, but the dog haddifficulties in the mud, and they were careful to avoid the near-impenetrable woodland on top. In spite of all the difficulties we did well,and finished at the Swan in Wedmore to celebrate our achievement.

For our April walk it rained in the morning in spite of a good forecast, butit had stopped when we set off, so Sue and I were glad we did not cancel.We had decided to walk on tarmac, as everywhere was so wet. Wewalked the lanes of Cheddar. There were 12 of us, and Carole joined usfor coffee, as she had broken a wrist. We walked Barrows Road, theBarrows, crossed over to Chicken Lane, then Kent Street, Silver Street,the lane to the east of the Gardeners' Arms then a wet footpath fencedoff between fields, and after 2 stone stiles we were on the road toBattscombe Quarry. There is a footpath next to the road which leads toa footpath and a road to the east coming out at Tuttors Hill at the TestingStation. There is also a bridleway which can be muddy. We took the roador lane; the views were not as good as expected due to the mist. TuttorsHill and Birch Hill got us to the bottom of Cheddar Gorge and theRiverside, where Carole awaited us.

Margarete Earle

The Easy Walking Group continue to meet and walk on the secondWednesday of each month at 10.00am. Last month we were pleased towelcome two new members. If you would like to join us please rememberto bring appropriate footwear and pocket money for a coffee afterwards.

Sue Gudgeon

27

Reading Group 1

"The Pigeon Tunnel" by John Le Carre

His birth name is David Cornwell so why did he adopt the pseudonym?Where did he get the idea for such an unusual name? Was he reallyinvolved with MI5 or MI6?

This is unlike all his other books in that it is not one story, but a series ofanecdotes, sometimes about how a book evolved or was researched,sometimes about the origin of the characters in a book or about episodesin the author’s life. But it is not a biography either and is not inchronological order, with which some found it difficult to cope.

Interestingly, the title was one he had considered using for at least threeprevious books and the origin of the title is a story in itself.

Parts of this book give an added insight to his previous books but opinionvaried amongst those who were not familiar with his other work – somehad enjoyed the anecdotes and his style of writing and wanted to readmore, others were impatient with the lack of structure of the book. Why,for example, leave his father’s story to near the end of the book whenmuch of it underpinned the development of the complex character weknow as Le Carre?

In summary I felt that this was David Cornwell recounting parts of hisown history to his readers and is as unstructured as a conversationbetween friends where each reminiscence may spark off another, oftenat random.

Marion Clements

"The Ice" by Laline Paull

Our book for March was The Ice by Laline Paull. One night when Lalinewas sitting up with sick children she decided she wanted to do somethingexciting. So, as one does, she took herself off to the Arctic. She found itthe most amazing place, "a real other worldliness", but had a paralysingfear of the effects of climate change. Some reviews refer to the novel as

28

one of the near future. It is a cautionary tale of friendship, power, betrayaland greed.

Tom and Sean are bonded by their obsession with the Arctic. Tom hasa need to save, Sean has a need to conquer. Laline Paull's descriptionof the Arctic and its stark beauty has such atmosphere. Sean'sencounter with a polar bear is graphic. His obsession with wealth and hisdownfall are painful.

We all enjoyed the novel. Some found it got better further into the story.It is recommended as a good read.

Margaret Needham~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Reading Group 2

"The Miniaturist" by Jessie Burton

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton is set, unusually, in 17th centuryAmsterdam. A rich V.O.C merchant takes a young bride into his homewhere she is initially subjected to the strict and forbidding control of hissister. He is distant and cold emotionally, and often absent. Tocompensate he presents her with a beautifully constructed replica oftheir house and the ability to collect miniature figures of the family to fillit, giving her some escape from unhappiness. Over time, these tinyoccupants bring dire predictions of future events and, as thesehappenings mysteriously unfold, an overwhelming desire to find andunderstand the illusive toy maker takes hold of her.

Mixed opinions among the group, several enjoyed it. Though a strangeplot, all agreed that the author’s historical knowledge of the time andplace depicted was a big part of the story’s appeal, but more effort intoseeking out this "psychic miniaturist" and less on sexual goings on wouldhave been preferred.

“The Widow” by Fiona Barton

We followed this with The Widow by Fiona Barton. It begins with theabduction of a two year old girl from the garden of her home in 2006.

29

Glen Taylor, a married man, is accused of the unimaginable. Jean, hislong suffering wife, pushing aside her suspicions, loyally stands by herman determined to believe in his innocence. Over a four year period, astime unfolds, she grows less sure, and it is only on his unexpected andsudden death that she feels free to tell her own story. A rather bleak tale;unfortunately paedophilia has always been in society, so we examinedwhether access to the internet has increased this activity whilst openingup the ability to expose the perpetrators.

Pam Hansen

Our poems were The Way through the Woods by Rudyard Kipling,Another Valentine by Wendy Cope and The Trees by Philip Larkin.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Reading Group 3

"The Road to Nab End" by William Woodruff

We were as a group looking forward to reading The Road to Nab End,by William Woodruff; sadly only one of us really liked it and several ofus failed to finish the book.

Set in the mill town of Blackburn, Woodruff presents us with a verydetailed picture of his childhood, hard but not always unhappy, withsome well drawn characters that failed to engage us. The author wenton to become a very respected historian and, although writing about hisown life here, he did do so dispassionately. As a work of social history ithas merit and certainly gave us much food for thought.

Why did the family return home from a comparatively comfortable life inAmerica when war was looming? Probably because at that time the pullof one's roots become very strong. Certainly William’s father, like somany, returned from serving in the First World War a changed man andthis greatly affected the way his family's life was lived. Following a youngWilliam through the depression in the 20's and abject poverty was notwithout humour but we did wonder if it is possible to remember in suchdetail conversations and events as the author wrote of them in the book.

Most of us decided we would give the sequel, Beyond Nab End, a miss.

30

The Silk Merchant's Daughter by Dinah Jefferies

A smaller than usual group of us met to discuss The Silk Merchant'sDaughter by Dinah Jefferies, to which we unanimously gave the thumbsdown. Our hopes were raised when the forward contained a dateline ofthe history of Indochina from Japanese involvement to the withdrawal ofthe Americans at the close of the Vietnam war, thinking we would learnmore of a conflict within our memories.

It was disappointing to find this badly written novel treated superficiallywhat could have been a very interesting subject. The story follows twosisters of mixed French and Vietnamese descent, concentrating on theyoungest, Nicole, who at the start is celebrating her 18th birthday. Wefollow her through a series of unbelievable situations against thebackground of the decline of French power, the involvement of Americaand eventual triumph of the Vietcong.

Like wading through syrup, saccharine sweet, unbelievable, werephrases used by members. It was difficult to engage with most of thecharacters and whilst some descriptions were good others were so overthe top that when read out made us laugh. The book's saving grace wasat least it presented an easy read. Particularly for those with the attentionspan of a gnat as the author raised and dropped issues at will, frequentlywithout any real development. Several of us looked at reviews on lineand wondered if we were reading the same book.

The author is obviously popular and appears to have quite a followingwhich Reading Group 3 will not be joining.

Sheila Eastland~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Reading Group 4

"Every Fifteen Minutes" by Lisa Scottoline

We don’t have a lot to say about this book except that we all thought it apoor novel. Written by Lisa Scottoline, an American thriller author whowas born and educated in Philadelphia, the story focuses on the life ofDr Eric Parrish, Chief of the Psychiatric Unit in a General Hospital

31

outside Philadelphia.

Despite his home life difficulties trying to bring up his 7-year-olddaughter, his work at the Hospital appears to be going very well and hisUnit is highly regarded. We all thought the story, which revolves aroundone of his young patients, was not credible and we were amazed at thenon-professional approach of Parrish who gets very involved with hisclient’s life. Additionally there appears to be a psychopath at work at thehospital trying to discredit him and the work of his unit.

We would not recommend the book to other groups although Scottolineappears to be a prolific and popular writer.

Sue Gudgeon~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CROSSWORD SOLUTION

ACROSS

1. Perfect 5. Cone 7. Apt 8. Earlobes 9. Trout10. Eyes13. Raki14. Clap18. Loot19. Rules21. Abstract22. Oar23. Pear24. Desktop

DOWN

1. Practice 2. Rational 3. Erects 4. Turret 5. Clover 6. Need11. Sailboat12. Airstrip15. Poster16. Strand17. Crates20. Oboe

32

Submission of material for our next issueSubmissions for our July / August edition

should be sent to:

Sue Bathe,

35, Greenhayes, Cheddar BS27 3HZ

01934 743812

cheddar.u3anews@yahoo.co.uk

DEADLINE: Friday 15th June

I will acknowledge all e-mail communications.If you do not receive an acknowledgement in a reasonable time,

you must assume it has not been received,and use another method to contact me.

If possible please send in your articles and reports by e-mail.The information can be in the body of the e-mail itself,

or be as an attachment in a common format,such as Word, Open Office, or as a pdf.

Photographs of your groups and group activitiesare also always welcome.

Please always state who took the photograph.

33

Group Contacts and Meeting Dates

Art 4th Friday 10am

Ballroom & Latin Dance Some Fridays

Boules/Skittles Mondays 2pm

Bridge (Tuesday) Tuesdays

Bridge (Wednesday) Wednesdays

Canasta 2nd and 4th Mondays pm

Cardaholics 2nd & 4th Thursdays

Card Playing 4th Thursday

Classic Films Group 2nd Monday

Computer Users 2nd Monday

Cooking for Men 2nd Monday

Day Trippers See page 7

Easy-Going Maths Thursdays

French Conversation 2nd & 4th Wednesdays

French Les Francophiles Alternate Thursdays

French Les Hesitants Alternate Tuesdays

French: Simple 1st & 3rd Wednesdays

German 2nd, 4th, 5th Wednesdays

Handbell Ringing 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th Thursdays

History 2nd Tuesday

Aspects of World History Thursday am 4-weekly

British History 3rd Tuesday pm

Industrial History 1st Wednesday

Italian Self-help 2nd & 4th Tuesdays

Group Leader /Co-ordinator

34

Group Contacts and Meeting Dates

Lacemaking Tuesday am

Needles & Pins Mondays 7.30pm

Patchwork 3rd Friday

Philosophy 4th Thursday

Photography 4th Tuesday

Photography: Digital 2nd Thursday

Photography Beginners By mutual agreement

Poetry 2nd or 3rd Wednesday

Quiz Group 2nd Wednesday

Reading Group 1 1st Wednesday

Reading Group 2 4th Tuesday

Reading Group 3 2nd Friday

Reading Group 4 4th Wednesday

Reading Group 5 Last Friday

Rummikub Monday morning

Science 4th Thursday

Scrabble 2nd & 4th Fridays

Scottish Country Dancing Wednesdays 9.30am

Singing for pleasure 1st & 3rd Tuesdays

Solos 1st Monday

Spanish 2nd & 4th Thursdays

Table Tennis Tuesdays 2.15pm

Tai Chi Original Fridays 11.00am

Theatre

Walking Original See page 25

Easy Walking 2nd Wednesday

Woodcarving Mondays 7.00pm

Group Leader /Co-ordinator