Hickling Broad U3A Newsletter February/March 2016

December’s Meeting: “Pastime with Good Company”

! The Norwich Early Dance Group entertained us with 5 Christmas Dances from Tudor times before mayhem set in as our members were invited to join in… Below are a few shots of them letting their hair down!

They began with a Farandole, dancing to the Boar’s Head carol which the audience sang to accompany them, followed by dances from Germany (to a tune that may have been written by Henry VIII), France and Italy as well as “Earl of Essex Measures” which formed part of the revels of the law students at the Inns of Court.

! ! ! ! After the dancing, it was time to tuck in too the Christmas Goodies that members had brought along and to raise a glass to each other and wish one and all a Happy Christmas and a great 2016.

It was also a pleasure to celebrate our member Gwen Bullock’s ninetieth birthday with a cake and a rendition of “Happy Birthday”. In the picture below she is seen receiving the cake and, in the second shot, with her daughter Jackie Cox.

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! BLURR, the Photography Group, produced a fine small exhibition of work, some from the current year and some older favourites.

January’s Meeting: “Ghosts and Phantoms of Norwich” The Man in Black regaled us with tales of horror on the streets of Norwich over the past 800 years.

Centring on the Cathedral we heard stories of the ghost at the Adam and Eve Inn where Lord Sheffield met his death and haunts the pub with his favourite manifestation of dancing tankards.

We then heard about the Maid’s Head which is supposed to be the most haunted inn in the UK. Here a chambermaid is said to create havoc in bedrooms, and the ghost of a previous mayor walks through to his rooms.

In the Great Fire of 1507 in Elm Hill the father of a family was burned to death after handing his wife and children to rescuers. His footsteps, burning smell and screaming still haunt the Strangers House to this day.

Further up the Hill, the ghost of “Father” Ignatius is said to walk. In the cathedral grounds there are two ghosts of young girls. One who was burned as a heretic for suggesting a mob burn down the cathedral gates in order to get at the inhabitants inside. Another

hanged herself from the cedar tree in remorse for allowing her sister to take the blame for pickpocketing and who subsequently died in prison. The Man in Black has led ghost walks in Norwich for the past 8 years where there is wealth of heritage and characters to inform his stories.

Next Month at a Glance:1st February Art

3rd February Walking

3rd February Bookworms

5th February Backgammon

8th February Wildlife Walk

11th February Let's Discuss It

12th February Main Meeting in the Barn

15th February BLURR Photography Group

15th February Art

16th February Country Dancing

17th February Pub Lunches

18th February Outing

19th February Backgammon

23rd February Gourmet Diggers

29th February Art

2nd March Walking

2nd March Bookworms

3rd March Cycling

4th March Backgammon

11th March Main Meeting in the Barn

Next Members’ Meeting: Meeting in The Barn: 12th February at 2.00pm 60 degrees north - The Shetland Chapter

HBU3A member David Hyams will be talking about living in the Shetland Islands. Many people only know the Shetlands as being at the top of the telly weather forecast maps where they are quite often hidden by rain and wind graphics.

However, for the two of us, it became our home for 6 years and it proved impossible not to fall in love with the place, its people and its customs.

My presentation in February will reflect upon our personal experiences and give the listeners a taste of what it is like to live in this beautiful and rugged location.

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Interest Groups

Although we are a small U3A we can boast that we have at this moment in time 15 Interest Groups, going from strength to strength.

Please look at the Interest. Boards on display at the Friday main U3A meeting, giving you the date, time and venue of each group.

If you have a particular interest that you might like to share with others (hang gliding,white water rafting, just a suggestion) please speak to me or any of the committee to get the group up and running, It's not difficult.

Interest Group Meetings:

As December is always a busy month for most people, we decided not to meet on the 21 December and resumed on 4 January 2016.

The group are working hard on their pieces for our mini-exhibition which will be shown at the AGM on 13 May. During the coming year we are hoping to visit the Forum in Norwich and other local exhibitions. Also, the possibility of having one of our local artists come along and give us the benefit of their experience and expertise. More information on these events will follow in future newsletters.

If you would like to come along to see what we get up to, you are more than welcome. We next

Art Every other Monday (2.00pm-4.00pm) in the Methodist Hall

meet at the Methodist Hall in Hickling on the 1 February at the revised time of 2:00pm – 4:00pm.

The Backgammon group meet on the 1st and 3rd Friday of the month at the Pleasure Boat pub 2-4p.m. Backgammon boards are provided come along and join us we’re a friendly bunch.

Beginners welcome there is no charge just buy a cup of coffee or something stronger.

Christmas lights provided last month’s challenge. Each in turn presented their photographs - the subjects varied from commercial lights, to personal tree lights, from shapes and strings to sunsets and the use of starburst filters, and even included a sneaky picture of another members tree decoration. Again an excellent variety. A well supported topic.

The Technical Session was on camera care and cleaning. Dust, sand, spray, salt, rain, fingerprints and rough handling were clearly identified as the enemy of the photographer. Precautions, prevention and maintenance then followed in a practical session. We all left the meeting with clean equipment.

The Christmas exhibition had gone well at the main meeting, and had been enthusiastically viewed by members present. Julia proposed a ‘thank you’ to Liz and Brenda for the fine job they had done in sorting, mounting and presenting the display. This was endorsed by all.

The next BLURR meeting will be on 15th February, when the subject for “Bring and Brag” is “The colour blue”.

In November the group read 'The Last Letter from your Lover' by Jo Jo Moyles and discussed it at our December meeting. An interesting and well written book, its about a young journalist which discovers a love letter in the archives of her newspaper and decides to follow it up. Further letters are found which take her in a written journey around the world and into the lives of the two people involved. We all agreed it was a worthy read and will look into reading more of the author.

Our discussion was followed but a Christmas lunch which was hosted by Jeanne and Mike (thanks again Jeanne and Mike!). Each member took along a plate of goodies and our group funds provided a glass or two. We settled down to a couple of hours of good food and good company which was perfect to kick off the Christmas festivities.

On 6 January we discussed our Christmas book 'Mystery in White: A Christmas Crime Story'. We all agreed it was a light read and perfect for the Christmas break. A bit Agatha Christie-ish and the 'whodunit' angle was discovered early by one or two of us.

On 3 February we will be reviewing the books we read during 2015 and will be taking away 'The Crossing Place' by Elly Griffiths for discussion in March.

Please give me a call if you would like to join us.

Backgammon1st and 3rd Fridays at the Pleasure Boat Inn (2.00pm-4.00pm)

BLURR – The Camera Group3rd Monday each month at The Pleasure Boat Inn (2.30-4.30pm)

'Bookworms' Reading Group1st Wednesday each month (pm)

The group met as usual in January and danced the gloomy afternoon away with a selection of old favourite dances.

Our February meeting is on Tuesday 16th February 2pm at Hickling Barn. Do come and join us for an afternoon of fun and laughter. No previous experience is required.

The next cycle ride hopefully will be on 3RD MARCH 2016 (weather permitting).

Well it seems Christmas is a long time past, so much has been going on since then.

Our Gourmet Diggers December meeting (picture left) was held at the Lessingham Star …… a superb LUNCH, thoroughly enjoyed by all 16 of us. The food at this pub is outstanding and worth every penny. We will definitely book again, which will then be the third year running. Martin’s photo of us all tucking in proves the point.

Our Jan 2016 meeting held 26th was well turned out 13 members, 2 apologies and a big welcome to Molly

and Fred Jolly - hopefully new members if our rather rowdy group did not put them off…

We kicked started 2016 with our new topic described in last news letter, and what a super feast Margaret and Nicky turned out. Pasta dishes and a Christmas trifle. Next month will test Helena and Martin.

I would like to wish Jane a belated Happy Birthday and Martin a wonderful one for the 28th, from all your G/Ds pals.

Our next meeting will be held at Friars Dyke Tuesday 23 Feb from 2-4: see you all then.

I must thank Steve/ Helena /Kathy/ Lauraine, /Margaret for helping with the tidying up ….THANKYOU …

Country Dancing3rd Tuesday each month (pm):

Cycling1st Thursday each month (am)

Garden Croquet4th Wednesday each month, May to October, weather permitting, 2.00pm

Gourmet Diggers4th Tuesday each month (2.00-4.00pm)

Best Wishes Brenda.

At our last meeting we talked about the Internet.....good or bad....developed & undeveloped world...effects on both adult & children's brains....the future & where it all seems to be going. It was an interesting & amusing discussion & we decided that the advantages of the web are greater than the disadvantages although there are many of the latter. We bemoaned the decrease in paper based records such as letters photographs etc on behalf of future historians. It also seemed that human brains are adapting to this newer way of obtaining & using information.

Join us for an interesting & enjoyable couple of hours. New members are always welcome.

We meet on the second Thursday each month at 2.00 pm

February 11th our topic is The Monarchy March 10th our topic is The E.U.

Our February outing is to Van Dahl Shoe Factory the date is Thursday 18th February. Once again meet in the chapel car park at 9:30a.m. There is no charge for this trip.

THEATRE TRIPS:

Five members went to see Cirque De Glace on Thursday 21st January. Mixed reviews I personally thought the second half much better than the first.

KING CHARLES 3rd A Comedy Drama: if you have put your name down for this play could you please pay for your ticket at the next U3A meeting on February 12th Ticket price £21:00.

'Let’s Discuss It’2nd Thursday each month (pm)

OutingsNo regular day

Our theatre trip for April is Northern Ballet’s Swan Lake. April 21st Matinee 2.30p.m. Ticket price £23:00

SAINSBURY CENTRE FOR VISUAL ARTS: Exhibition of Alphonse Muncha’s work includes drawings, paintings, photographs and iconic posters on until 20th March 2016.

FUTURE EXHIBITIONS.

In October 2016 FIJI Art – LIFE IN THE PACIFIC

POSSIBLE OUTINGS FOR THE SUMMER:

PENSTHORPE WILDLIFE GARDENS

BRESSINGHAM STEAM MUSEUM & GARDENS.

FOR FURTHER DETAILS SEE THE NOTICE BOARD OR ASK NICKY.

Christmas Dinner at The Ship, South Walsham

We had visited The Ship earlier in the year, and decided that as this was the best pub so far, we would have our Christmas lunch here. Obviously word had got around that the food was good as 23 of us arrived for the meal. As always the members of staff were very pleasant and helpful, and the food was excellent. Our high scores reflected this, and all 23 said they would visit again.

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The pub lunch group has been going for a year now. It has grown steadily in that time but always remains friendly and chatty and we have a good laugh too! Thank you all for your support and I hope we can continue in the same way through 2016.

On January 26th, 14 of us met up at the Swan Pub in Horning.

Pub Lunches3rd Wednesday each month

Unfortunately the pub was unable to cope with a large group, this reflected on the service and quality of the food.

But thanks to the good nature of this group we were able to rise above it all and enjoy a lovely sociable afternoon.

Our next outing will be to the Crown at Banningham for the next lunch - 12.15pm on Wednesday 17th February

On 5th December the group entertained, and were entertained by, the “voices” who had contributed their experiences to the project. Six “voices” and one prospective future interviewee came along, bringing relatives with them and in no time they were swapping reminiscences between themselves.

After proceedings were further fuelled by tea and cake (thanks Teri and Nicky) the “voices” listened to a presentation of extracts from their reminiscences accompanied by photos from the era, many of which they had supplied. Topics covered were village shops and tradesmen, winter and summer children’s games and the primarily Norfolk based custom of Jack Valentine’s Night.

The “voices” enjoyed seeing each other again and the group were given the chance to check facts, learn more fascinating snippets from the past and get ideas for future presentation topics.

Two hours passed in a flash and the group left brimming with enthusiasm and new ideas whilst several of the “voices” left with doggy-bags of left over cake, which they all declared far too good to waste!

The presentation will be corrected and refined and will form the basis of the HBU3A monthly meeting in March.

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With silly hats well to the fore, some 8 intrepid walkers set off on 29th January for a walk from Sea Palling along the beach to Cart Gap and back along the cliffs, followed by lunch at the Sutton Staithe Hotel.

For our January walk, 8 of us met up at Thurne, where we started our walk from. The weather was good to us as we walked along the river bank and enjoyed the wildlife.

Sailing1st and 3rd Friday each month (am), April to October

Voices of HicklingMeetings as required

Walking1st Wednesday each month

Martin and Maureen joined us at the Lion Pub at the end of our walk, where we all enjoyed a good lunch and natter. The landlord entertained us with a magic trick which puzzled us most of the lunch time. (Roy, during the evening worked out how it was done, perhaps he will show you one day).

The walk was about 4 miles. Thank you to Clive for leading the walk. The next walks are. 2nd March, 6th April.

As many of the local footpaths are VERY MUDDY, I feel that Winterton Dunes would be the best bet for our first walk of the year on February 8th.

It is impossible to say what we might see as so much depends on weather conditions. There may well be seals off shore as well as various seabirds searching for food. Skylarks might be singing if it is sunny and marsh harriers are not an uncommon sight.

Meet at Winterton Car Park at 2.00pm on Monday February 8th.

This month’s presentation from the “Voices” Project will introduce each of the voices recorded so far and tell us a wee bit about their birth and very early life. We will then briefly hear about the shops of Hickling - there were many, as well as regular tradesmen visiting from Sea Palling and Stalham in those days - about some of the games the children played in summer and winter and intriguingly about the strange custom of Jack Valentine’s Night, a truly local affair only occurring in Norfolk.

Useful websites: Not so much useful as interesting websites this month.

With Major Peake currently in the International Space Station and a heightened interest in space exploration generally as a result (there’s hardly a paper without some reference to the ISS these days!), a website well worth looking at for its stunning photographs from and of space and space objects is that of NASA, the American Space Agency.

Click here to load it: https://www.nasa.gov/ There are new pictures every day as well as a vast amount of information.

“Daily Overview” is also a mainly picture based website, this time with a daily addition of some earthly landmark photographed from the air, usually vertically rather than at an angle. Fascinating to see some the smaller details of the planet and the impact of mankind from this perspective.

Click here to load it: http://www.dailyoverview.com

Happy browsing!

If you know of or have a favourite useful website that you would like to share, please drop an email to martinjohns100@gmail.com

Wildlife Walks2nd Monday each month, 2.00pm

Next Month’s Meeting in The Barn - 11th March at 2.00pmVoices of Hickling - an update