A word from the group leader of Play Reading – Phyl 

Thought it was time I gave a brief update regarding our Play reading group. 

The group started out in February this year. We have read out loud a number of short plays...mainly stored on the u3a website. 

My aim is to have enough members to be able to read classics such as Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw, The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, works by Agatha Christie, Galsworthy, Arthur Conan Doyle etc.  

We are a group of people who enjoy reading plays. Some members read out loud what is written, other members enjoy taking on the role of the character. Whatever your choosing you will be made very welcome.  

What is there not to enjoy?.  

Question - Where was Shaw born? 

I think we can learn a lot about the world by really listening to others. I have found, from long experience, that structured dialogue is a powerful tool to use in such listening.

The basic method is for each member of the group to be given the space to talk and for all the others in the group to listen without being able, immediately, to comment or challenge. That is the basic method this group can adapt collectively to help us to think more clearly." 

Winter Fuel Payments

History of Israel and Palestine conflict - The Rest is Politics Podcast  

Trump win changes everything - Andrew Marr, New Statesman

Milton's Paradise Lost - a new group starting in the new year 

An opportunity to read and share, in cheerful good company, an engaged appreciation of a great English poem 

Week by week we will read how the drama of our “first parents” played out, according to John Milton’s own vision. What he saw has gripped the imaginations of generations of English-reading peoples ever since it was first published in 1667. We shall also look at some of the art that the poem has inspired.  

No previous acquaintance with the poem is assumed. 

I hope to start in January 2025, on Friday mornings, weekly, starting at 9.25 and finishing at 11.00.  with a maximum of twelve members. Please provide your own copy of Paradise Lost.  

Michael the group leader says you can join now via the Beacon Members Portal.

Leaning, half raised, with looks of cordial love, Hung over her enamoured, Illustration by Doré, 1866 for Paradise Lost, Milton.

1. ‘Is this a dagger which I see before me?’  

2. 'To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, 
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day.' 

3. 'What’s in a name? That which we call a rose 
By any other name would smell as sweet.'

4.  I hate the Moor, and it is thought abroad that 'twixt my sheets, 'has done my office. I know not if 't be true.' 

Mushroom toad in the hole – add roasted garlic mushrooms instead of Sausages.

Make a Yorkshire pudding mix and set aside to rest.

Take out the stalks and remove the skin of the mushrooms. Roast cup side down in a sprinkling of olive oil. 

Chop a shallot some parsley stalks and a clove or two of garlic and lightly sauté. Fill each mush room with this mixture  

Add some oil to the roasting tin and heat until sizzling. Carefully add the Yorkshire and nestle the mushroom in the middle. Cook in a hot oven until Yorkshire is cooked and crispy. 

Chop finely another shallot and the mushroom stalks and skin sauté in a little oil add beef granules and a slug of red wine to make gravy to add upon serving …. 

Next month's feature is:

Your favourite festive food 

and/or

Your Christmas tree (real or imitation or an alternative festive decoration).

Send in your messages or photos you have taken yourself.

The IGO team will choose their favourites to publish in December News Extra. Please note: we will only publish your first name and the content of your message.

Group leaders and members can always send in short pieces to celebrate their group’s activities - we welcome items from 50 – 100 words written as the body of an email to the editor This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  - here are our deadlines for the next three months 

• 12 December 

• 16 January 

• 13 February 

Picture Hamlet Act 3 

1. Macbeth Act 2 

2. Macbeth Act 5 

3. Juliet Romeo and Juliet Act 2 

4. Iago, Othello Act 1