IGO July News Extra
Summer is the time for both outdoor and indoor events of all kinds. I live ‘Up North’ and the events I’m looking forward to are The RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park, and both the Manchester and the Buxton International Festivals.
We’d love to hear from you about events in your neck of the woods - those you’ve enjoyed in the past and those you are looking forward to in the near future. I missed the Manchester Jazz Festival in May – so I’ll have to wait a whole year before it comes round again.
Summer is also the time for holidays and travel. In days gone by we had our Wakes weeks in July – the whole town took their holidays over the same two weeks.
Photo by Ann, Smartphone Art Member
Those days are gone but not entirely forgotten. Drop us a line or two if you have a story to tell us about a memorable holiday, or fill out our poll about dream holidays!
Rome and the Romans
Sheila's Photo of the Foundatin of Trajan, 104 AD
I have been attending the IGO Group Ancient Rome and the Romans since it started, and find it absolutely fascinating. We meet on Zoom once a month and Robert, the group leader, gives us a wonderful insight into life in ancient Rome. As well as learning about famous people such as Cicero and Julius Caesar he has also covered subjects such as the life that Roman soldiers led; how the empire was "governed", and religion.
Occasionally one of the group delivers a short, illustrated talk about somewhere they have visited or a subject they have studied. These have included the Antonine Wall (near Falkirk), Roman coins, and the British Museum exhibition on Nero.
My husband and I finally managed to visit the fantastic ruins of Ephesus this Spring, and you can see a photo from this trip above.
Sheila, member of Rome and the Romans
Armchair Travellers
Sonia's photo of the TSS Earnslaw Song Book 'Welcome Aboard'
We had such good fun at the recent meeting. I had shown the above booklet, telling the group about a Steamboat Trip we had during our stay in Queenstown, New Zealand. Another member picked up the story by telling us about her paragliding adventure whilst in Queenstown. Then another member told us of a similar experience whilst on a skiing holiday, when she tried paragliding. She was explaining that someone took a video of her landing while she started to run on impact but was still “up in the air”! She HAS promised to show us the video sometime, as we were all having such a good laugh!
Come and join us! Many group members have been on wonderful holidays, and it is great to share their experiences in Egypt, Thailand, China and more. For those of us who don’t get away as much now as we used to, and for those who are looking for somewhere NEW to experience, sit down for an hour with Chris on a Wednesday afternoon and ENJOY, you won't regret it.
Sonia from the IGO Armchair Travellers Group
What the 'Science in the News' group have been up to
Science in the News meets on the second Wednesday of every month to discuss just that! News articles about science.
Helen gives us a snippet of what each member's contribution was for their last meeting. Have a read of the IGO Science In the News Group Update, and join via the Beacon Members' Portal.
Quiz Time
Where in the world are these Roman remains?
1. In what modern-day country is Ephesus?
2. Heliopolis is now known as Baalbek in which Middle Eastern country?
3. Jerash is a wonderful site, where in the Middle East is it?
4. Leptis magna is in which North African country?
5. Which country is home to Herculaneum?
Get the answers in next month's News Extra!
New Groups
No access to a Local History Group? Willing to do a little research and share it with others? This group will meet monthly from September, numbers permitting.
Group Leader, Sandra
Have you ever felt you know next to nothing about the music young people listen to these days? If yes, here’s your chance to catch up. Each month, this group will listen to and study one great album from the last 20 years.
Group Leader, Richard
Bilingualism: How to cope with neuropsychological challenges in later life
There is good evidence that bilingual people with a neurological impairment can function better. This group will help to develop some bilingual skills.
Group Leader, Ed
Writing Fiction and Non-fiction
Our group welcomes all prose writers, new and experienced, fiction and non-fiction.
Group Leader, Sandra
Family History for Absolute Beginners
We will be exploring the basic sources to get a family tree started.
Group Leader, Dawn
Film Reviews - Start Up Group
This group meets once a month to discuss a film which they will all have watched.
Update on Coffee and Chat
IGO hosted its first coffee and chat session on Wednesday 19 July at 11am. We had about 20 attendees, and everyone broke into smaller breakout rooms of 4-5 people.
This format worked really well, allowing people to get to know each other and talk about all things IGO (and whatever else they fancied!).
We have decided to make this a regular occurence in the calendar. Please join the Coffee and Chat group on Beacon to get emailed the zoom link for the next session which we will be hosting on Friday 25 August at 3pm.
Update on IGO Online Fair
Despite a slight name change, plans are in coming together for the schedule of IGO taster sessions in the first week of October. This will be advertised to IGO members, u3a members, and anyone external who might be interested in joining.
If you would be willing to host a half an hour taster session of your group, we would be very grateful. Please email