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Art Appreciation in Kendal

No 16 Spring 2016

www.ilkleyu3a.org

Ilkley & District Third Age Group

F O R U M

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CHAIRPERSON

Roger Bainbridge 01943 839607 chair@ilkleyu3a.org

VICE CHAIRPERSON

Sue Butler 01943 600905

TREASURER

Pam Lamming 01132 507462 treasurer@ilkleyu3a.org

SECRETARY

Jean Smith 01943 461485 secretary@ilkleyu3a.org

GROUPS CO-ORDINATOR

Angie Grain 01943 465059 groups@ilkleyu3a.org

MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY AND COMMUNICATIONS

Gunilla Vriesendorp 01943 603899 webmaster@ilkleyu3a.org

membership@ilkleyu3a.org

VENUES

Carolle Bayly 01943 468592 carollebayly@btinternet.com

EVENTS

Patricia Baker 01943 603049 events@ilkleyu3a.org

SUMMER SCHOOLS ORGANIZER

Angie Grain 01943 465059 summerschool@ilkleyu3a.org

PUBLICITY

Alison McCloy 01943 604895 info@ilkleyu3a.org

EQUIPMENT

Sue Butler 01943 600905 equipment@ilkleyu3a.org

SUPPORT

Neil Stevens (IT) 01943 817326 itsupport@ilkleyu3a.org

ILKLEY & DISTRICT U3A COMMITTEE

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Chairman’s Comments

H appy New Year everyone and welcome to the first Forum of

2016. We hope you like the new format (We trust you have noticed!).

We can look forward to another busy year with a number of interesting

Study Days in the pipeline, at least two Shared Learning Projects, over

120 Interest Groups up and running, another Summer School of course

(see page 13) and some findings from our Strategy Review Group. We

have also recently set up a consortium of neighbouring U3As WestNet)

and hope that a number of exciting ideas might arise from this e.g. a joint

Shared Learning Project perhaps, inter-U3A group clusters possibly or maybe a

collaborative social event such as a quiz or musical event or sports day.

There are a number of important anniversaries this year (see page

23), not least The Queen’s official 90th birthday and the quarter-

centenary of William Shakespeare’s death. A huge street party will take

place on the Mall in London in June. Should our U3A engage in any local

celebrations, do you think?

The national U3A website is currently giving advice on MOOCS

(Massive Open Online courses). These are free, relatively short online

courses. Studying a MOOC gives everyone, including people who have

difficulty in getting out and about or people who prefer studying at

home or in very small groups, the opportunity to keep their brains

active. But they are also increasingly being used by U3A Interest

Group Leaders to enhance their own sessions or to develop ’courses’

based on one or two particular MOOCs. It’s certainly worth having a

look at these on the national website.

At present we are working with the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust

on a number of Shared Learning Projects. The first Dementia Outdoors

is already under way (see page 19). In the next few months we

hoping to begin a project on Quarry Tales which involves exploring and

recording the memories and experiences of stoneworkers in the Dales

National Park using Oral History methods and studying archives. In

June we hope be monitoring and recording bumblebee populations in

grassland habitats across the Dales. Let’s hope for better weather than

last Summer!! Roger Bainbridge

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T H E R A I LWAY S G R O U P

S uccess breeds success. When we began in September 2011 we

hoped to have a membership of about twenty; now we are three

times that and new members are still approaching us. Initially we met

in the main hall at Ben Rhydding Methodist Church but we have now

outgrown this so, in order to keep our membership open to all who

want to come, from September 2016 we will be moving to a larger

room at Clarke-Foley. Our established format is six indoor meetings

and one excursion before Christmas with another six plus excursion up

to Easter, meeting for a couple of hours on alternate Tuesday

afternoons. Our indoor meetings are a combination of contributions

from members – with a membership of sixty we have plenty of latent

talent to call upon – and outside speakers. From our own group, after

an afternoon looking back on the summer’s considerable outdoor

activity (East Lancashire Railway, Summer School culminating in the

ride in the Directors’ Saloon on the Embsay Railway, and then the tour

of St Pancras and Kings Cross) Mike Dixon led off with the premiere of

his new talk on Ilkley Station over the past 150 years. Topics covered

by outside speakers included maintenance on our local Keighley &

Worth Valley Railway, the future of rail travel in the Leeds region and

locomotives built in Leeds. Rounding off the session members

entertained us with memories of providing customer service and their

model railway based on Gargrave, and enlightened us on the realities

of the Burma Railway. As an addition we joined with the Architecture

and Art Appreciation Groups to present a two-part Study Day on

Railways and Art, culminating in a guided tour of the archives at the

National Railway Museum. With a bit of a gap between the last indoor

meeting and Christmas nearly twenty of us decided to take a round

robin ticket on the train. The plan was to meet at Bradford Interchange

and take the Blackpool train to Preston. This hilly route via Hebden

Bridge was unfamiliar to most, although in steam days it was a busy

and difficult freight route.

After an hour appreciating the architectural delights of Preston’s huge

station, we took one of the smart Virgin West Coast “Pendolino” trains

for an express run up over Shap summit to Carlisle. These trains tilt

round sharp curves to enable much higher speeds while maintaining a

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comfortable ride. There was snow on the higher fells but the flooding

north of Carlisle station had subsided so we ran largely to time. There

was enough time at Carlisle to admire the architecture of the station

and square, or to nip to the local shopping street, before gathering for

our more prosaic diesel train back home over the Settle & Carlisle line,

with a second, higher, summit at Ais Gill. Mince pies and mulled wine

were to be taken on board at Applby. We left promptly and John Hancock

was getting into his stride with the S&C Friends’ commentary (see

picture) when we

ground to a halt in

the middle of

nowhere (actually

Low House Crossing

Signal Box) short of

Armathwaite. At first

it was “deer on the

line” so there was

talk of venison for

supper and the driver

seeing red noses.

Then more seriously

word came through

of a landslip being

investigated. Eventually, with dusk falling, the driver was instructed to

take his train back to Carlisle, initially “wrong road” until he could use

an emergency crossover to regain his proper track. So we had to

retrace our outward route, in the dark this time, and reached home some

three hours later than planned.

Hopefully our next outing at Easter, a walking tour of railway remains

in Bradford, will not be so beset with problems. Before then we will

hear presentations on the railways of Bradford, the development of

electric railways, signalling, locomotive restoration and the lost line

along the Yorkshire coast north from Scarborough, with a mixture of

home and outside speakers. Come and join us!

Robin Leleux

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Wa l k i n g at W e e k e n d s

T his walking group is now in its second year and attracts about 15

to 20 people on each walk. On average we do about 6 miles with

the walks being of varying difficulties. In general we try and have a mix

of easy and less-easy walks over the year, but none so far have ever

beaten any of our members, nor we hope ever will do. Our walks are led

by members of the group and the emphasis is on enjoying the walk, plenty

of chatting and at least one café.

Walks are in the main on the 1st Saturday and 3rd Sunday of each

month and details are e-mailed out about 10 days before each walk, the

dates for the first half of the year are listed as follows: February 6th

- Fewston reservoirs February 21st - TBA March 5th - TBA

March 20th - Gargrave area April 2nd -TBA April 17th TBA

May 7th -Being led by Iain and Ann May 22nd - Being led by Karl

June 4th - Menston area June 19th - The 2 cafes walk

Hugh Bevington

M u s i n g s

We meet monthly on the fourth Tuesday at 10.30a.m. in the middle of

Ilkley at my house where we aim to discuss topics suggested by

members from an ethical point of view. We are not too serious, although

sometimes the arguments get quite lively. During the past year we have

talked about many diverse subjects, including:

Which has the greater influence on our lives Choice or Chance?

What do we understand by being Rich? What do we look for in our

Politicians? (just before the General Election)

For various reasons we have lost some of our loyal members and could

accommodate 3 or 4 more. If you are interested, please contact me

either at joantibbs@hotmail.co.uk or (01943) 969062. We are a

friendly group who seem to enjoy the chat and refreshments as much as

the meeting! Joan Tibbs

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F r a u d u l e n t E m a i l s ?

D o you know how to recognise an attempt to steal your money or

your identity? Criminals use emails to try and trick you into

revealing information such as your bank account details and passwords.

They tempt you to click on links that take you to fraudulent web sites

that appear to be genuine. They may entice you with tax rebates or

suggest that your bank account may be compromised. They may even

contain nothing but a blue web link with no explanation at all.

PROTECT YOURSELF

- Never respond to any emails that you don’t recognise.

- Never follow a link from an unexpected email — just delete the message.

- Protect your friends and colleagues. Do not put your friends and

colleagues at risk by disclosing their email addresses. Lists of addresses

in other people's email collections can be "harvested" and used by

criminals to reach more people.

Indiscriminately forwarding or sharing of addresses increases everyone's

risk of being spammed or scammed. So when sending a message to

many people (especially if they do not know each other) please protect

them as follows:

a) put people's addresses into the BCC (blind copy) list, rather than the

To: or CC list. Then no-one will receive the other people's addresses.

b) when forwarding a message, delete all the email addresses that

appear in the "original message" section.

If you would like more detailed information about all of this, have a look

at these web sites:

Financial Fraud Action: financialfraudaction.org.uk

Get Safe Online: getsafeonline.org

Age UK: ageuk.org.uk

Action Fraud: actionfraud.police.uk.

Hoax-Slayer: hoax-slayer.com

Elizabeth Rimmington, Brighton U3A

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RAILWAYS AND THE ARTS – STUDY

DAYS

D uring the autumn term we enjoyed a pair of linked Study Days

exploring the relationship between the coming of the railways in

the nineteenth century and the arts, in the broadest sense. This Study

Day involved a successful collaboration between three thriving Interest

Groups – Architecture, Art Appreciation and the Railways group. The

hope was that the subject would offer an opportunity to consider and

investigate this unusual but important interrelationship.

From the outset, the planners soon realised that one Study Day would

not be enough and we also wanted to harness the resources and

expertise of the National Railway Museum at York. It is too good a

collection not to make good use of if possible. The resulting format was

an initial day of presentations in Ilkley, followed a few weeks later by a

linked visit to the NRM. We had expertise within our own membership

for presentations on ‘The Early Years of Railways’ and ‘The Last of

Steam’ (Bill Berrett), ‘Impressions of Railways’ (Roger Cook)

and ‘Railway Architecture’ (Robin Leleux). Our visiting speaker

was the NRM's Senior Curator (Railways & Research) Ed Bartholomew,

who gave a lively talk about the selling of the Railways, the importance

of branding and the development of poster and other art for promoting

the various railway companies.

After such a splendid opening day, there was high expectation for the

subsequent visit to the NRM; we were certainly not disappointed as the

staff there could not have been more helpful and informative. Ed

Bartholomew showed us around the (normally off-limits) archives area

and his enthusiasm for his subject and the questions from his audience

meant that our time schedule slipped quite a lot, with everyone just

fascinated by the subject and no-one worrying about things falling

behind. We were very privileged to be shown some wonderful artworks

that are not normally on show for visits. In addition to fine art, many

poster originals and other objects we were all fascinated to see the

illustrated letter from a teenage observer of the very first railway to run

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on the Stockton/Darlington line. We also took the opportunity to

explore the rest of the museum and perhaps the highlight for some

was getting onto the footplate of the record-breaking Mallard

locomotive. A real not-to-be-forgotten experience! Many of our U3A

members are regular visitors to the NRM, though for some others, it

was a first visit, or the first one for years. Everyone, without

exception, thoroughly enjoyed their day and really appreciated the

time that was given to us by Ed Bartholomew as a senior member of

staff who is obviously so knowledgeable but also passionate about his

subject and more than generous with his time in showing us all around

for so long. The paired Study Days were deemed to have been a great

success by all participants and the model of bringing together

apparently disparate Interest Groups in such a way is one that it is

hoped will be repeated with other topics in the future.

Angie Grain

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The Hill & Dale Walking Group

– Summer Project 2015

O ur walking group, which only formed last year, usually

meets on two Thursdays each month for a walk of 10-13

miles. Being a new group we had no specific plans for the

summer months and a suggested project was to tackle a long-

distance walk called Lady Anne’s Way. The 100 mile route

between Skipton and Penrith was broken down into 8 stages to

be walked on each Thursday throughout July and August.

Challenge enough you might think – but using public transport

where possible made it even more interesting!

Peter Kierman put a lot of thought and imagination into devising

routes and timetables which worked (some tighter than others!)

to get us back for the last train or bus. This involved using

trains, buses, the Little White Bus, taxis and on some occasions a

very brisk walking pace. On a couple of the walks the mantra used was:

We don’t care if it’s sun or rain As long as we’re back to catch that train!

Lady Anne was a local lass –born in 1590 in Skipton Castle, the

only surviving child of George Clifford and Margaret Russell. On

her father’s death in 1605 she was not allowed to inherit the

estate – this passed by virtue of her father’s will to her uncle and

his male heirs. The injustice of this was felt very deeply by both

Lady Anne and her mother. Anne, greatly encouraged and

assisted by her mother, spent the next 38 years trying to regain

her inheritance, succeeding only on the death of her uncle and

male cousin. She spent the rest of her life restoring her castles

and nearby churches, and also building almshouses. She would

travel to each castle in turn and stay for several months to

supervise the work. A truly remarkable woman!

Starting from Skipton Castle, she would visit Barden Tower, Pendragon

Castle, Appleby Castle, Brough Castle and lastly her favourite Brougham

Castle where her widowed mother had lived. We all learned more about

her and the time she lived in, as we individually came across more

information and shared this with the group as we walked along.

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It has been a wonderful project which we have all thoroughly

enjoyed. There was a real sense of celebration and

achievement when we shared a meal together after walking the

final section. I wonder what we’ll do next summer?

Annetta Kershaw

Keighley & Ilkley Voluntary

and Community Action

Forum is printed by KIVCA, a registered charity with an office at

Riddings Hall, Riddings Road, Ilkley. It aims to provide a wide

range of information, advice and services, such as subsidised

photocopying for voluntary groups and all U3A group leaders.

KIVCA can also assist with design matters, drafting procedures

and policies and health and safety concerns. Contact KIVCA for

more information on 01943 603348 or email ilkley@kivca.org.uk

Ilkley & District Volunteer awards 2016 … Do you know

someone who deserves recognition for giving time and effort

for the benefit of others. Is so contact KIVCA for a Nomination

Form—deadline for submissions Monday 29th February.

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Ilkley U3A Tour Guide System:

an end of year report

A lmost a year ago we purchased a system that allows guides/

leaders to communicate via a radio link with up to 50 people at

any one time. So this seems to be a good opportunity to report back

on how the system has been used so far.

The first use was in March 2015 on a railway themed walk in

Leeds. Since then it has been used on 27 different trips by 9 separate

groups. Peak month was July with 5 separate bookings. Lowest was

November with one booking.

I cannot tell how many individuals have benefitted exactly so far.

However an estimated 669 folk were on these trips. On four additional

occasions the system has been used as a microphone (linked to

speakers) as an aid at various indoor speaker meetings. Looking

ahead, there are 7 trip bookings by 3 separate groups so far from Jan-

uary to end March 2016.

For those who have not yet experienced the system, it is simple to

operate. Each member of the group listens to the guide through

earphones attached to a portable receiver. In this way, the system is

effective in noisy traffic or factory environments but is discreet enough

to be used inside art galleries, museums, churches etc. In our various

visits, a guide can be heard quite clearly over a distance of

several hundred yards.

Earphones are provided similar to those used on city tour type buses.

But you can use your own if you prefer. If you use the “T” switch on

your hearing aid, then 5 of the receivers have that facility available too.

Group Leaders, please contact me (email Octopuss@btinternet.com) if you

would like a consultation/demonstration before planning a visit.

John Hancock

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SUMMER SCHOOL

4th – 8th July 2016

ILKLEY & DISTRICT U3A

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H I K E T O L U N C H

T he second half of the 2015/16 Hike to Lunch season began on

Wednesday January 6th, and continues until Wednesday July 20th,

when we take a six week break, after which the group will be

reconstituted for 2016/7. The group meets on a fortnightly basis, on

the alternate Wednesday to Keith Collard’s “Walk to Lunch” group and

the alternate week to Angie Adam’s “Dales Walking Group” (DWG).

In the first part of 2015/16 we walked around Thorner, from Sutton, at

Darley, on Silsden Moor (when the glorious views were obscured),

around Langcliffe to see the salmon run, from Ilkley to Addingham

(when we were diverted by the floods) and from Burnsall. Finally Ian

Barrett led a local walk to Denton before our annual Christmas lunch at

the Wheatley Arms, whose staff provided an excellent party. Despite

the recent wet weather we have

enjoyed the walks and have had a high

group turn-out. See our group picture

taken on a sunny day of some of us at the

coffee stop.

In January in conjunction with DWG,

with invited representation from the

other walking groups and supported

by the U3A, an informative first aid course to members was provided by

Chris Leleux. He is a certificated First Aid Trainer for CLX Activities,

who runs longer first aid courses for the YDNP.

The group is led by David Adam, who will add applicants to the existing

Waiting List. (david@davidwadam.co.uk or 01943 600914)

David Adam

An old man is enjoying chatting with a recent companion:

….and how old do you think I am?

You’re 85.

How did you know that?

You told me yesterday. Cairns U3A

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N o n - F i c t i o n B o o k s # 1

O ur recent reading has comprised the following:- Where China

meets India by Thant Myint-U. The story of Burma under military

rule for 50 years – what are the chances now for a true democracy?

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson – Marmite man – entertaining

or annoying, mildly amusing or closet misogynist– like him or not you

always get loads of interesting facts.

Lucky Planet by David Waltham. We certainly are – we have had four

billion years of good weather which is why we are where we are today.

Is there similar life somewhere else out there? It doesn’t matter

because it would be so far away as to be irrelevant.

Katherine Swynford by Alison Weir. Historical biography of John of

Gaunt (who owned one third of all England) and his mistress later to be

wife – now that was unusual for medieval times. Lots of interesting

stuff but gets a bit bogged down in the detail – would be good at half

the size.

Membership of our group is limited to 12. Currently we have one

vacancy . If you are interested in joining this friendly group who like to

read something other than just fiction, please contact me.

Roy Grooby

Teacher asks a pupil, Where's your heart?

The little boy points to his behind.

Why do you think that's your heart?

Every time grandma visits, she picks me up, pats my bottom and says,

‘Bless his little heart’.

An elderly couple were watching television.

The husband asked his wife, What happened to our sexual relations?

After a long, thoughtful silence, the wife replied, I don't know, I don’t

remember getting a Xmas card from them this year. Logan U3A

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A R T A P P R E C I AT I O N # 1

T he 40-odd members of the group have had a very lively

term with indoor meetings about Aboriginal Art, John

Singer Sargent and Art and Power in the Early Renaissance. Our

pre-Christmas meeting is usually less formal and this year the

group had opted to have a theme, perhaps predictably, on

‘Christmas and the Nativity in Art’. All group members were

invited to contribute ideas, electronic images and artefacts –

which led to a lively discussion, more than somewhat improved

by excellent refreshments provided by Margaret Richardson.

Members of the group had contributed to the organisation and

planning of the ‘Railways and the Arts’ Study Days – see other

item in Forum for more information.

Our programme included occasional visits to explore the arts

outside the meeting room and we had some excellent visits to

the Abbot Hall Gallery, Kendal (Canaletto exhibition) and

Blackwell House (Arts & Crafts); the Yorkshire Sculpture Park

(Poppies) and the newly re-opened York City Art Gallery.

In addition to our regular fortnightly meetings, this term we

have introduced a range of ad hoc visits on non-meeting dates

to explore other exhibitions, galleries etc to widen our range.

These have included the Mercer Gallery in Harrogate, the Open

8 exhibition at Leeds and the Pateley Bridge Workshops.

We have had only one external speaker this term; all the other

sessions and the visits have been organised by our own

members who are becoming more confident about presenting

topics and arranging trips out. It is only in this way that the

group can function – we all take a part in the planning and

running of the group and the sessions.

Hopefully Spring term will bring another fascinating range of

topics and places to explore.

Angie Grain

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French Conversation

W e are a smallish group who meet twice a month to chat in French

in The Lister Arms. We are a new group which didn't start until

the last Friday in October and we immediately seemed to get on well as

a group. Each meeting we discuss a topic which we have decided on

beforehand and everyone makes his or her contribution and the others

ask questions, so it is a conversation not a series of monologues. Topics

so far have been introducing ourselves, our interests, a mini Desert

Island Discs, a first or memorable visit to France and food.

Topics to come are a balloon debate, an item from the news and an

object or photograph where we explain the story behind it. The standard

of the group varies from someone who is fluent to people who can put

sentences together albeit with a few mistakes. We don't correct each

other but we help each other out if we get stuck and it's a very light

hearted atmosphere in which to practise our French and get to know

new people.

Liz Hey

Fun French For Francophones

Fun French continues to thrive, although we still don’t know how we manage to keep talking for an hour and a half with no silences. We discuss anything and everything: politics,

environmental issues, last night’s TV, roadworks, travel, education. Film has been a hot topic of late, with the opening of the new cinema. We try to avoid the temptation to turn into

the French equivalent of ‘Grumpy Old People’ but sometimes

someone just has to share - the therapy is very useful.

Our new members have been a delight and we still have room for more. The only requirement is to be confident chatting in

French, when you’ve no idea what the topics will be. A sense of humour helps too. We meet every other Wednesday in Addingham – details on the website.

Susan Robins

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H ilary certainly inspires with

her calm and efficient manner.

What a delightful two hours

watching Hilary preparing and

cooking some tasty dishes. She

makes it all look very easy and one

goes home with the recipes, looking

forward to trying them out. It

actually makes the next

supermarket shop very pleasurable,

finding all the different ingredients.

I can really recommend Hilary's

group to give you new ideas, new

flavours and inspiration. We all

enjoy it! Janet Lockwood

Cooking to Inspire

N o r t h e r n T o w n s

The U3A Summer School is going to be held from 4th - 8th July this

year. Our Northern Towns Group has supported this for the past two

years by organising visits for the wider membership. Two years ago we

had a fascinating guided tour of Ilkley by renowned local historian, Alex

Cockshott. Last year we enjoyed a visit to Otley, which included a

walking tour of the town entitled 'Murder and Mayhem' as well as a tour

of The Courthouse. This was kindly led by Courthouse volunteers. We

also had an insight into Otley's Irish connection at the time of the

potato famine.

If you feel that you might be able to organise something on a Northern

Towns' theme during the week, please would you contact me so that we

can have a chat about it?

Jean Smith

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A r t f o r F u n

I n October 2013 Art For Fun started very small with just over a

handful of enthusiasts getting together for 2 hours on Friday morning

"doing their own stuff". The group decreased even further so we

decided to come together in our own homes in the first half of 2014.

But thanks to the excellent marketing efforts of John & Carol Metcalfe

during the Meet the Leaders in June we started our 2nd year with 20

members and today in our 3rd year, we have 30 names on the

list. A few more members could be added, but maybe it is almost time to

start a second group! Gunilla Vriesendorp

D E M E N T I A O U T D O O R S

A group of about ten members have recently become involved in

working with the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust in a U3A Shared

Learning Project entitled Dementia Outdoors. The basic aim of the

project is to devise and provide a range of outdoor activities within the

southern area of the Yorkshire Dales National Park for people with

dementia (including their carers where appropriate).

Research has shown that enabling people with dementia to engage in

activities out of doors has a number of beneficial effects for them.

These include improved physical health, an enhanced sense of well-

being, more awareness generally and improved attentiveness,

memory, social interaction and verbal expression.

The number of people with dementia is set to double over the next 30

years. If you know of anyone who might benefit from engaging in

these activities or if there are any of you who would like to join our

group please contact me on 01943 839607 or at

rogerdbainbridge@googlemail.com

Roger Bainbridge

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A s k h a m B rya n

W e are planning what we hope will be an interesting and inspiring event for our members in Yorkshire and

Humberside. It will be at Askham Bryan Agricultural College

near York, on August 3rd. We are calling it the Showcase Event, for we hope that all of the 48 U3As in the Region will be able to take part. We are hoping to arrange the following:

◊ Interest groups displays – of painting, poetry, crafts, photographs etc.

◊ The performance of dancing groups, drama groups, musical groups and such activities as Tai Chi and so on ◊ Organised competitions between games groups eg Scrabble, Chess,

Mahjong etc.

◊ Sporting events involving Badminton groups, croquet groups, table tennis groups and keep fit groups.

◊ Maybe there could be an inter group quiz.

But we will obviously need you co-operation. Please feel free to contact The Organisers with ideas/suggestions/questions on 01226

241477 or at web@yahru3a.co.uk or Showcase@YAHRU3A.co.uk

New Committee Members Wanted

Several members of the current Committee come to the end of their

three-year terms this November and we are on the

lookout for replacements. With a

membership of over 1300, we ideally need another three

members to put their heads above the parapet and

come and join us. There are many, many able people

out there, we know. Surely not all of you are

shrinking violets! Why not give it a try! Email me or any

Committee member. We will be electing a new

Committee at the AGM in November but do not wait until then.

Please! Roger Bainbridge, Chair.

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S c i e n c e a n d T e c h n o l o g y

W e are enjoying another knowledge- and fun- packed year.

We started with a trip to York University to try our hand

at DNA testing, The Biology Department at University of York is

one of the leading UK centres of research and teaching in the

field of DNA profiling. This is science and technology at the

“cutting edge” of medicine and crime detection so our members

were fortunate to be able to visit the facility in September. Ex-

planations about the discovery and development of DNA profil-

ing were interspersed with a practical exercise that saw mem-

bers use the laboratory facilities to extract DNA samples and

match these to crime scene

samples and identify the

chief suspect.

Since then we have had

excellent talks on Medical

Imaging, Diesel Engines,

Marconi and his Radio, and

Solar System. Quite a wide

spectrum of subjects, but

really enjoyable and thought

provoking. As always, we

have alternated our talks

with 'outside' visits, and

following on from York University, we have visited the Leeds Flood

Alleviation Scheme (rather topical at present), Leeds University

Department of Medical and Bioengineering to see how artificial

human joint replacements are designed and tested, as well as

Bradford University School of Engineering's Vehicle Breaking Re-

search Laboratory. We have three more visits and two more talks

on the list before the end of our current 'season', and we

have already started planning next year's programme.

Bill Jones & John Hancock

22

C r a f t s f o r C h r i s t m a s

F ollowing the very successful Creative Crafts group that met

in the Spring and the summer school session the group met

again in October to create a range of Christmas gifts and

decorations. Twelve of us met on Thursday afternoons at St

Margarets meeting room and undertook four fun projects which

included Japanese folded quilting and fabric flower making. Each

week we completed a different project which was quite a feat as

there was quite a lot of laughing and conversation along the

way. It is amazing how everyone starts with the same materials

but with each persons own interpretation of the project the end

result can be quite different and we all learn from one another.

Creative Crafts and Crafts for Christmas are fun groups and it is

good to learn a new skill in a lighthearted way. It's particularly

good for the person who says " I've never made anything" to

which I always reply "try it and surprise yourself if you can't

complete the project I will give you your money back" so far

there have been no refunds!

Christine Lynes

C a n a s ta

This is proving to be a pleasant way to spend a couple of

afternoon hours , (and in some keen cases, additional evening

games!). A relatively easy card game to learn .... but does

seem to have quite a few variations in play, of which we are

working on.

We have members new and old to Canasta and have to say a

big THANK YOU to those who have patiently given their support

to the beginners.

Jenny Dixon

23

A N N I V E R S A RY C O R N E R

50 years ago England footballers win World Cup beating

West Germany 4-2 after extra time.

60 years ago Hungarian Uprising is crushed by Russian

troops, leading to the deaths of over 2500

Hungarians.

80 years ago King Edward VIII abdicates before marrying

American Wallis Simpson a divorcee twice over.

90 years ago Queen Elizabeth II born. She is delivered by

Caesarean section at a house in Mayfair.

100 years ago Battle of the Somme. Nearly 20 000 British

troops die on the first day.

100 years ago Sir Len Hutton born in Pudsey. His innings of

364 in 1938 is still the highest individual Test

Match score for England.

150 years ago Beatrix Potter born in London—author of 30

books, mostly Tales for Children.

200 years ago Charlotte Bronte born in Thornton, Bradford.

She and her sisters go on to write some of the

greatest classics of English Literature,

including Jane Eyre.

300 years ago Capability Brown is born in Northumberland.

He designed over 170 parks, many of which

still exist today.

400 years ago William Shakespeare dies on his 52nd

birthday in Stratford-upon-Avon. His 38 plays

are performed more often than those of any

other playwright ever.

24

Feb 5 Drop-in session Clarke Foley

Feb 20 The Lascelles Family & the Caribbean Connection Terry Suthers

Mar 4 Drop-in session Clarke Foley

Mar 5 Leaders’ Supper Clarke Foley

Mar 19 Talk tba

Mar 30 Peace Study Day Peace Hall Yard Bradford

Apr 1 Drop-in session Clarke Foley

May 6 Drop-in session Clarke Foley

July 4 Summer School Week begins

The talks (in italics) will be held at The Clarke Foley

Centre(CFC). From 10 am members will be able to socialise.

Coffee or tea will be served until 10.35 a.m. The talk of

approximately one hour will commence soon after. The

meeting will close at noon.

CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE SUMMER 2016 EDITION OF FORUM

These will be very welcome, particularly from the different group

leaders. Include reports, articles, photographs, puzzles, jokes and

poems if you wish.

email me at rogerdbainbridge@googlemail.com

D at e s F o r Y o u r D i a ry