Welcome
Editor Joanne Smith
When u3a members want to get something done, they tend to get on with it. Take Mac McKechnie, of Barnsley u3a, who not only invented Walking Cricket but got it endorsed by none other than retired international umpire Dickie Bird and former England cricket captain Joe Root. Then there’s Lynne Carroll, winner of the u3a short-story competition, whose success led to her being given a paid contract with a popular magazine.
And it’s not just within the u3a where members excel but in their own lives, too. Take Dinah Robertson and John Booth, who are among the first people to open their home to Ukrainian refugees. There are u3a members who are making cloud machines, and now a new initiative will see walking groups across the country meeting up to share their love of the outdoors (and don't forget to check out our walking apps and hi-tech clothing to help you!).
It’s no wonder GPs have woken up to the wonders of u3a and are prescribing membership to patients. I hope you enjoy this inspiring issue!
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COVER STORY
Walking Cricket is marvellous … it keeps you fit and the brain going
Barnsley u3a’s new honorary member Dickie Bird is a big fan of Walking Cricket. Here, he tells Joanne Smith about playing cricket with Geoff Boycott and Michael Parkinson . . . and keeping fit at 89.
Harold ‘Dickie’ Bird lives in
a little village outside Barnsley, South Yorkshire, where he was born. Apart from a spell in Leicestershire when he was playing county cricket, he’s lived in the Barnsley area all his life.
“They are very special people, salt-of-the-earth people,” says the retired international cricket umpire. “What
they have to tell you, they’ll tell you to your face.”
And Barnsley is very proud of Dickie, honouring him with a statue in the place he was born. People often shout greetings out of windows to him or stop to talk as he goes past on his regular walks, which are part of his exercise regime.
Barnsley u3a is the home of Walking Cricket, which was developed in 2918 by member Mac Mckechnie. This year, Dickie was invited by Mac to watch a u3a Walking Cricket event at Headingley Cricket Ground. It was between Yorkshire u3a Allcomers and Leeds u3a womens’ teams, in support of International Women’s Day, and Dickie tossed the coin for them.
“I think it [Walking Cricket] is a marvellous achievement, enabling older retired people to play cricket again, or for some for the first time,” he says. “This community sport is to be commended,
I only wish I were young enough and well enough to have a go myself. The good thing is elderly people can play it – it keeps them moving, it keeps them fit, it keeps the brain going. And they get some exercise, that’s the main thing.”
Dickie started playing cricket as a boy at Barnsley Cricket Club, along with Geoff Boycott and Michael Parkinson. They remain lifelong friends and are still in contact, calling each other regularly for a chat on the phone.
“We all played together on the same team, it was amazing,” he says. “Geoff was a good player, he had a lot of patience as a schoolboy and was such a good player off his back foot, that’s what I noticed. When you’re a good player off your back foot, you let the ball come to you and you pick the line and length up a lot quicker. He had that as a young boy and I thought, he’s got something, that lad.”
Michael was a good club cricketer, says Dickie. He went on to work for the local newspaper, the Barnsley Chronicle, before eventually going into a media career and subsequently his TV talk show, Parkinson.
“I’ve kept my friendship ever since,” he says. “Parkinson, Geoff Boycott and me were sat in the Pavilion at Barnsley Cricket Club one day and Parkinson said, ‘I wonder what life has in store for us’. It’s just amazing that each of us went to the top in our profession. An amazing story.”
Dickie was spotted while playing at Barnsley and went on to play in the first eleven for Yorkshire Cricket Club. “We had a great team,” he says.
After retiring from playing in 1965, he saw a lot of Boycott when he was umpiring county matches and then Test matches, when Boycott was playing for England. However, he never let his friendship interfere with his umpiring. “You forget that you ever played together,” he says.
Dickie was famous for stopping play due to the weather. “There’s nothing more frustrating than rain and bad light,” he says. Dickie umpired 66 tests over 23 years, plus three World Cup finals. He’s one of cricket’s great characters and a true Yorkshireman.
“I’ve seen the world and I’ve met some wonderful, wonderful people,” he says of his career. “I shall always treasure those friendships.”
Dickie, like most of us, found lockdown very hard and is now going out but avoiding crowds.
“I’ve tried to keep away from crowds as much as possible, walking in the fresh air to keep away from Covid and get some exercise. You’ve got to keep going because otherwise you get in such a state. If you don’t watch yourself, you can get mentally ill and then you have a serious problem on your hands.”
To help, Dickie exercises every day for an hour, alternating daily between going for a walk and doing gentle exercises, such as running on the spot in his garden. “That keeps me going, it’s a tremendous help. I don’t do weights, of course, I might just move my arms about. Afterwards
I feel better mentally.
“Don’t sit about watching TV all day. All my life I have done exercises. I don’t know whether that’s helped me get to 89, but it may have. When I was younger and an umpire, I trained with Barnsley Football Club. It’s played a big part in
my life.”
Dickie is an honorary life member of Yorkshire Cricket Club, Leicestershire County Cricket Club and MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club). And while Headingly is home to Yorkshire Cricket Club, it is at Lord’s where Dickie feels most emotional, and he’s hoping to get to the Test match there this summer.
“Lord’s is very special to me, the best cricket ground in the world,” he says. “It’s the home of legends, it’s steeped in history. When you walk through those great gates at Lords, it hits you. Tremendous. Headingly, of course, is my home ground, yet Lord’s was always very special to me.”
Dickie says the one-day matches open up the sport to fans who are working.
“People love to see one-day cricket,” he says. “I don’t think there’ll ever be anything to replace Test cricket, but one-day cricket gives people who are working in the week the chance to see cricket after work to see the start of play in the evening and have a pint of beer. And they come away having seen a result. And they go to work the next day feeling very good! I hope Test cricket will always be there, and county cricket. You need county cricket to develop young players. Yorkshire has some very good youngsters coming along.”
When Dickie started playing professionally in 1956, there were no one-day matches. “Then the 60-overs matches came into the game, the Gillette Cup, the Benson & Hedges Cup. Each side had to play 60 overs, so they were very long days. I think there were better players in my era, although there are very good players in the world today. Joe Root, of Yorkshire Cricket Club, and Kane Williamson, captain of New Zealand, are the best players in the world today. They are natural players and good Test players. They have this gift of being such wonderful players off the back foot and front foot.”
Dickie was famous for his white caps, all of which he has signed and given away to charities so they can auction them to raise funds. Something close to his heart is the plight of sick babies, and he has given nearly £2million of his own money to hospitals, including Great Ormond Street Hospital, Barnsley Hospital, Leeds and Sheffield. Before Covid, he would visit wards and meet parents, keeping in touch as the children grew up.
“I’ve seen a lot of them as they are growing up into fine young ladies and fine young men,” he says. “When I go round the wards and see them after they have had operations, I break down and cry. I see them so ill and I talk to the parents. It brings me a lot of satisfaction and pleasure to think the money has gone to sick little babies.”
He still drives and is getting out and about again, having recently spent the day and evening with players from Lancashire and Gloucestershire to celebrate the anniversary of a famous one-day match between the clubs in 1971, which ended in near-darkness. “It was a good day,” he says.
Dickie has had health problems since retiring, including suffering a stroke some 15 years ago. His career umpiring in the sun led to him losing his sight and needing complex surgery at Manchester Royal Eye Hospital. “That was caused by looking down the pitches all my life because we didn’t know in those days what sunglasses were,” he said. “In India, Australia, the West Indies, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the sun bounces back from the pitches. I got up one morning and I could hardly see a thing. A wonderful surgeon restored my sight. I’ve always remained positive. The main thing is to remain positive in life, whatever you are doing.”
How Walking Cricket began
Mac McKechnie was looking for a sport he could do to get fit after nearly dying from sepsis in 2018. He tried u3a Walking Football and wished it could be cricket, having played the game while in the Army. So he set about thinking up a set of rules.
Before long, u3as across Yorkshire were setting up Walking Cricket teams and non-u3a teams were forming too, with the help of Yorkshire Cricket Foundation. As well as Barnsley u3a, there are teams in Doncaster, Rotherham, Whitby Whaler and Sheffield u3as, and non-u3a teams in Wakefield, Huddersfield and Harrogate. There are also teams in East Dartmoor u3a and Sandbach & District u3a. The Yorkshire Walking Cricket League was set up for teams across the county.
The sport has been endorsed by former England cricket captain Joe Root, who said: “We all know that getting old throws up challenges, especially in overcoming isolation and loneliness, and being able to undertake group sports at a very gentle pace is important. Walking Cricket fits the bill on all these levels and is one of the fastest growing sports in Yorkshire.
“It started with one person’s idea in 2018, and now involves hundreds of players across the county. There are competitive inter-county matches planned this summer as well as simple social matches in many towns, where a cuppa and a natter at the end of a two-hour session is as important as the cricket itself. I would like to wish all Walking Cricketers every success this coming season. May you continue to grow in numbers and profile.”
Mac, who is the u3a Subject Adviser for the sport, wants to see more women take it up, which is why he set up a match on International Women’s Day. “It was an exciting day – the very first women’s match in Yorkshire for Walking Cricket and so important to me. We do hope this inspires more women to come and join a Walking Cricket group near them.”
If you want to set up a Walking Cricket team, contact Mac via his Subject Advice page on the u3a website. You can also find out more about Walking Cricket at yorkshirecricketfoundation.com.
News
What's been happening across u3a
New home, new hope for Ukrainian refugees
u3a members Dinah Robertson and John Booth have opened their door to a Ukrainian mother and her eight-year-old son from Kyiv. Here, they tell Joanne Smith how it all happened.
Maryna and her son Misha arrived in the UK at the end of April from their home in Kyiv, where they had witnessed neighbouring buildings being bombed. Their journey to safety took them via Poland to Liverpool airport, where they were met by Dinah and John. The couple had made a sign in Ukrainian to identify themselves.
“Earlier that day, Maryna had sent us a message to say they had left Ukraine and reached Warsaw safely by bus, so that was a relief,” says Dinah. “We spotted each other as soon as they came through the doors. It was emotional but we had to be practical.”
Like many people, Dinah and John had been shocked by the invasion and the images of suffering and fighting.
“We just felt we wanted to do something to help,” she says. “ We had both worked for the British Council for a long time, so we are used to having guests from other countries, and we’ve both worked in other countries. And with my husband speaking Russian, we were quite well-placed to respond.”
The process was made possible by the incredible community support in the Cheshire village where Dinah and John live, and who held a public meeting as soon as the Government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme was launched.
About 80 people attended the meeting, with 47 families willing to host refugees, while others offered clothing or free membership to groups and sports facilities.
In the audience were also Ukrainians and people who had worked in Ukraine, and soon a WhatsApp group was set up to connect with people in the war zone who wanted to come to the UK. This is where Dinah and John connected with Maryna.
The couple, who belong to Lymm & Thelwall u3a, applied for visas for Maryna and Misha in April and got them in ten days, whereas those who applied in March were caught up in a backlog. It also helped that Dinah and John filled in the visas on behalf of Maryna.
Maryna and Misha are originally from Donetsk, which has seen a lot of fighting and is occupied by Russian forces, but had moved to Kyiv. When a building very close to them was bombed, they decided they had to get away and moved to the west of Ukraine near the Polish border. Once they had their visas, they went to Warsaw by bus where they got a plane to Liverpool.
Maryna is divorced and her 15-year-old daughter has chosen to stay in Ukraine with her father.
“That is a worry for Maryna,” says Dinah. “She has a lot of family in Ukraine and distant relatives in Russia, so it is difficult.”
Within two weeks of arriving in the UK, Misha, who can’t speak English, was due to start at primary school and the family was rushing to sort out uniform for him.
“He’s a cheerful boy and he’s sporty,” says Dinah. “We’ve taken him to play tennis, which he really enjoyed, and he played with other children and joined in, even though he can’t speak English. We think sport will play quite an important part of him settling in.”
While Misha settles in at school, Maryna, who trained as a beautician, will be looking for opportunities to work and learn English.
Long-term plans are unclear; Maryna might choose to stay in the UK and find housing and a job; or return to Ukraine, which might be difficult as accommodation is hard to find in the west of the country due to everyone fleeing the war in the east.
“Maryna describes herself as quite an emotional person but over the last few years she has had to learn to be calmer,” says Dinah. “At the moment the UK is a safe place and she sees it as an opportunity for her son. I think she is hoping to find new opportunities for work and maybe to find somewhere to live. She enjoys gardening and tennis, so both of them are very active and want to make the most of what they can do here.”
Dinah said the first ten days had been very demanding and they were lucky to have the support of their community.
“There’s a lot of administration to do,” she says. “For example, getting a bank account is difficult when you have no proof of address; getting the school place; applying for benefits that they are entitled to; getting registered at the doctors, extending the visa, starting to think about working – there’s a lot to do in the first couple of weeks.
“We’ve been getting to know each other and wanting to take them on some gentle activities such as walks and visiting a local National Trust park, but we’ve also had to make progress with all this admin.
“There’s also been a lot of laughter as well! We knew these few weeks would be demanding on us but we are not regretting it.
“We think it is a good thing to do.”
John learnt Russian for his degree, along with Polish and German, but as that was more than 40 years ago, he admits he was a bit rusty and has signed up to do some u3a Ukrainian classes.
“Using my Russian again never occurred to me until we decided we were going to help someone from Ukraine,” he says. “I thought my Russian would be quite useful and I have enjoyed using it again. I have been doing a lot of translating as Maryna knows very little English. In a way, Ukrainian is a half-way stage between Polish and Russian really, I find it quite easy to read. Translating is quite tiring but we are getting on with it.”
Dinah joined Lymm & Thelwell u3a to set up the French group and is the u3a groups’ co-ordinator, while John is a member of the German group.
Lymm & Thelwell u3a has offered free membership to Ukrainian guests and people from other countries in similar circumstances until late March 2023, and two guests have already expressed interest in joining Flower Arranging and Mosaics groups.
u3as show support
Elsewhere in the u3a movement, members have been supporting Ukraine in various ways. Members of Syston & District u3a’s Singing for Fun group raised £300 at a church event in Thurmaston (top right). Fetcham u3a’s Sew and Sew group raised £500 for the Disasters Emergency Committee with a bring-and-buy sale, while Warrington u3a’s Knit & Knatter group made colourful blankets to send to the Woolly Hugs charity, which supports children in Ukraine.
‘A whole new career in my retirement years!’
u3a short-story winner Lynne Carroll, of Crediton & District u3a in Devon, is now writing for magazine The People’s Friend.
“Congratulations. I have great news in that we liked your story A Rose for a Rose, which made for a feel-good read.”
Alan Spink, of the fiction team at
The People’s Friend, was offering me a contract to become a regular short-story contributor.
How did it start? Well, last autumn
I was thrilled to be named the u3a annual short-story competition winner out of almost 500 entries with my story The Road to Lille. The previous year, I had been named South-West winner. Obviously, I was doing something right!
Although I’d been a member of the Crediton u3a Creative Writing group since 2019, I had not considered short-story writing until I read about the competition on the u3a website.
I had been concentrating on writing a novel. I had studied creative writing with a 12-month mentorship from a bestselling author and completed an Open University course.
As with a full-length novel, a short story must be compelling from the beginning, contain believable characters, have a plot which holds the reader’s attention and preferably elicit a twist in the tale. And all within 1,000 or 2,000 words! I enjoyed it and began regularly entering short-story competitions. My winning u3a story, The Road to Lille, was published in TAM along with two commissioned illustrations. It felt good and spurred me on to write fiction for other magazines.
I knew several women’s publications that included fiction, so I bought and devoured their editions, noting the types of stories and their submission guidelines. I decided to submit to just one after establishing my style of writing seemed to be a good fit, and set about writing my first story. Three days after pressing ‘send’, I received a rejection email. A very polite rejection email, but a rejection email nonetheless.
Although disappointed, I was not surprised and wrote another story. Three weeks later the email from Alan arrived, offering me a contract to be a short-story contributor, with payment! The payment is an added treat but, as with the u3a competition, it is the validation from a professional that is the real prize. Of course, it does not mean the editor will accept every story I write and there will undoubtedly be more rejections. But here I am, in my retirement years, with a new part-time career. And all because u3a holds an annual short-story competition. So go ahead, give it a go – you never know where it might lead.
Alan added: “Lynne’s story, A Rose For A Rose, contained a well-balanced plot. Together with the all-important ‘Friend’ feel-good factor, the story was easily a winner in my eyes.” The Road to Lille can be read on the u3a’s website under the Learning tab. She has more stories on her website, lynnecarroll.co.uk.
- Do you have what it takes to write a ‘Friend’ short story? If so, send your story to
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Don’t forget to check the guidelines first on The People’s Friend website thepeoplesfriend.co.uk
u3a 40th anniversary news
u3a members visit 40th Anniversary Woodland
Members of Abergavenny u3a have visited the site of the u3a 40th Anniversary Woodland. It is being planted on behalf of u3as across the UK, which have bought more than 8,000 trees as part of a project to plant one million trees in the Brecon Beacons area. The u3a target is 10,000 trees this year – twice the orginal target of 5,000.
Abergavenny u3a members have paid for a copse of about 100 broadleaved trees, which covers the cost of planting and maintenance for ten years while the woodland develops.
Richard Lewis, of Abergavenny u3a, said: “The site is on steep rough grazing land near the top of Blaenawey farm with wonderful views over undulating farmland to the Skirrid mountain and beyond. Our copse is in a corner with bracken, bluebells and pasture. It’s close to one of the main footpaths up the Sugarloaf, so easy to find.”
Past and present celebrate u3a milestone
A celebratory 40th Anniversary lunch was held for past and present u3a dignitaries. Guests included co-founder Eric Midwinter, previous CEO Lin Jonas, first u3a secretary Dianne Norton, former TAM editor Francis Beckett, u3a chair Liz Thackray, vice-chair Michaela Moody, membership support officer Sharon Ahtuam, past chairs Len Street, Keith Richards, John Lloyd, Pam Jones, Ian McCannah, Stuart Lewis representing his wife Barbara Lewis, SE Regional Trustee Susie Berry, first education officer Mike Long, Phyllis Babb, who started Summer Schools, ex-treasurer Terry Hardie, Trust volunteer Isobel Markham, and Baroness Pitkeathley, co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on charities and volunteering.
Fancy taking a turn on the catwalk?
Volunteers are needed to take part in a u3a fashion show. No, you won’t be made to wear outrageous outfits – you’ll be asked to turn up in jeans and a white top, and then customise it in any way you want to show that just because we are getting older, our style never grows old. Models can be any size or shape, male and female.
The show is part of the u3a’s Push Back Ageism campaign in partnership with This Age Thing and the Design Age Institute at the Royal College of Art to mark the movement's 40th Anniversary.
It will take place in Battersea, London, on Friday, 23 September to coincide with u3a Week.
- To take part, please email
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Bonus festival for bridge lovers
More than 700 u3a bridge lovers have already expressed an interest in a festival to mark the u3a’s 40th Anniversary.
The event will take place online or face-to-face in village halls from Monday, 19 September to Friday, 23 September.
The event is being organised by Steve Carter, who has taken over from Jack Rouse as the u3a Subject Adviser for bridge. Jack will continue to host bridge competitions on Bridge Base Online (BBO). Detailed plans about the bridge festival, which will include variations Chicago or rubber bridge, will be published nearer the time on the Subject Adviser’s page on the u3a website at u3a.org.uk.
- For more information, or to play online, email
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Southport u3a sows seeds of stardom!
Southport u3a’s Gardening Group’s 40th Anniversary garden will be on display at the town’s flower show from August 18-21. The cottage garden will celebrate all the many activities that the u3a
is involved in.
An army of volunteers is growing plants at home as well as helping to dig holes, build fences, paint things, lay turf, plant trees and flowers, with local companies providing sponsorship. The last Southport Flower Show attracted 55,000 visitors. Celebrities appearing this year include The Hairy Bikers and Adam Frost of BBC’s Gardeners’ World.
- u3a members can get an exclusive reduced rate ticket price of £18 instead of £27 by putting ‘u3a’ in the promo box when buying tickets on the show’s website, southportflowershow.co.uk
Quilt gets an airing
From wild swimming and juggling to a pasta master class and science groups, u3a members have showcased their favourite activities in a quilt competition. The judging panel included quilt-maker Stuart Hillard from the BBC’s Great British Sewing Bee and u3a Crafts subject adviser Kelly Benton. The quilt will be unveiled this month (June) at Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester.
Each square tells a story or theme about u3a. Brenda Major’s block Never Too Late depicts the brain and heart connected by a double helix of DNA to represent her science group at Shenfield u3a in Essex. “Although I attended high school in the 1950s, girls were not permitted to study science subjects, so it’s a special delight to have the opportunity to engage with these important topics,” she says.
Amanda James, of Exeter u3a, wild swims with other u3a members throughout the year, which inspired her square Wild Swimming. She says: “It makes me feel alive, with a devilish delight in living life to the full, and I can certainly be heard laughing as I enter the very cold sea. ”
The inspiration for It's Great to be Together, by Jan Burchell of Olton & District u3a in the West Midlands, was getting back together after Covid.
The quilt will also be on display on Monday, 8 August, at the Blanket Hall in Witney, Oxfordshire.
Step out around london
u3as in London are hoping to collectively walk all 230 miles around the capital this September. The route will take in the London Capital Ring and the London LOOP. Part of the walk will coincide with u3a Week (17-23 September). There are still some gaps in the walk to fill, so if you are a u3a in London that would like to get involved, please email
Derek Harwood on
u3a Week is an opportunity to showcase the many activities and to challenge negative perceptions of older adults .
- What is your u3a planning for u3a Week? Tell us by emailing
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Learning conference will hear about the tragedy of the severed head …
‘She smuggled home her father’s severed head, wrapped in her apron...’ This family story, handed down over generations, was a starting point for Glasgow West End u3a’s Local History group, which uncovered the tragic story behind the death of James Wilson from local archives and museums. Members can learn more about it at the Research and Shared Learning national conference on August 3 in Preston, Lancashire.
From archaeology to urban sketching, there will be displays of members’ work to inspire, handouts to take away, presentations by project leaders and opportunities to ask questions, and is open to all.
- To book, visit u3a.org.uk/learning/u3a-research. Lunch will be provided. The venue is opposite Preston railway station and there is parking nearby. If you have any questions, please email
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News
Climate talk for u3a by Mike Berners-Lee
Academic, author and carbon-footprinting expert Mike Berners-Lee (pictured right) will be discussing the climate crisis at an online meeting for u3a members later this month.
The talk, entitled What will it really take to deal with climate change?, will look at what individuals can do to help solve the crisis and the science behind it.
Berners-Lee is the author of bestselling book How Bad Are Bananas? The Carbon Footprint of Everything. His second book, There Is No Planet B: A Handbook for the Make or Break Years, is a practical and holistic tour of the 21st century’s biggest challenges. Berners-Lee notably appeared in the BBC TV programme Climate Change: The Facts alongside Sir David Attenborough.
- The event takes place on June 24 at 10am. Places can be booked on the u3a website under the events/educational-events tab
A dose of u3a will do you good!
GPs across the country are beginning to see the benefits of prescribing their local u3a to patients.
As reported in the Spring issue of TAM, Cheltenham u3a has linked up with its local NHS prescribing team, which has bought ten u3a memberships for GPs to prescribe.
Recently, Susie Berry, u3a Trustee for the South East and lead on u3a social prescribing, together with Chiltern u3a member Christian Scott and u3a policy officer Harriet Radermacher, were invited to an NHS Buckinghamshire networking event where they were able to talk to social prescribing team members about the health and wellbeing benefits of u3a. Chiltern u3a has forged a relationship with its nearest social prescribing team and has already received a referral, said Christian. “It’s a win-win, both for u3as looking for new members and for people in the community who may be isolated or lonely and looking for mental or physical stimulation while making new friends,” he added.
The event also gave Christian and Susie the opportunity to meet other organisations. Susie said: “Many organisations, such as Cruse Bereavement and Prevention Matters, are often seeking places to refer their clients and had not heard of u3a. These organisations don’t have the capacity to support individuals longer than a few sessions, so referring people to their nearest u3a could be a wonderful option for them.”
- To find out more, or to share your u3a experiences, please contact Harriet Radermacher at
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Sustainability policy for the trust
A working group has been set up to investigate environmental issues and produce a sustainability policy
for the Third Age Trust and an advisory policy for individual u3as.
Barbara Cordina, East of England Trustee, will coordinate this work with a team of seven.
Environmental issues will also be considered with a view to providing support and advice for individual members.
- For further information, please email
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AGM
The Third Age Trust AGM takes place on October 6, 2022. The meeting will be hybrid, allowing members to attend in-person or online.
Details of how to access the AGM will be sent to u3as shortly.
Step out somewhere new with u3a walking swaps
A new initiative is linking u3a walking groups across the country. Terry Dykes, of the u3a Walking Subject Adviser team, explains how it works.
Walking gives many members a great deal of pleasure. But our regular walks can become a little ‘same old, same old’, no matter how beautiful. There is so much of the UK to be explored but walking holidays can
be expensive.
A brand-new initiative by Jacky Carter, of Southport u3a, may add opportunities for u3a walking groups.
Jacky has suggested that u3as can lead walks for member visitors from different parts of the UK. For example, if Southport u3a wanted to experience the joys of walking in the Peak District, the two groups can get together. The local group would organise and lead suitable routes, while the visitors arrange their own accommodation and transport.
Under Jacky’s leadership, Southport u3a’s walking group enjoyed a pleasant walking break in the Peak District as guests of Buxton & District u3a. The group stayed in a budget hotel which allowed late cancellation if the weather was poor. Buxton will soon travel to enjoy the coast at Southport.
How it works
The u3a Walking Subject Adviser team is co-ordinating the initiative and has produced guidance for both visitors and hosts. We will supply further details to any u3a walking group that would like to be involved.
If you sign up to travel and walk elsewhere, you must also agree to host walks for other u3as.
Once signed up, you can let us know where you want to walk and we will hopefully be able to put you in touch with a u3a that has signed up to the scheme from that area. The rest is up to you, with the guidelines to help you. Jacky and members of the u3a Walking Subject Adviser team are on hand to help.
What's in the guidance?
The guidance includes things such as agreements about the number of walkers; who arranges transport and accommodation; details of walks provided by the host, including local points of interest, terrain and a risk assessments.
- Interested? Then email the walking team at
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A memorable trip to Buxton for Southport u3a walkers
Jim Hay, of Southport u3a, explains how they teamed up with fellow members for a three-day trip to the Peak District.
We had been looking at how we could walk in other parts of the country without resorting to expensive package holidays.
As there are more than 1,000 u3as across the UK, most with walking groups, it seemed that we should be able to harness this to organise trips with the help of these other groups. So we set about contacting u3a walking groups to sound out the idea.
After much discussion and planning, 13 members from Southport u3a travelled to Buxton for a three-day walking break with Buxton u3a, staying at a local hotel.
We met at Poole’s Cavern Cafe and set off for a walking tour of the lovely town of Buxton. We climbed to Solomon’s Temple, a Grade II-listed Victorian Folly on the summit of Grin Low Hill, with views to the Peak District. Clear blue skies and fantastic scenery made this a memorable first day.
The next day, we were guided on a hilly walk around the famous village of Eyam and heard the story of the villagers’ self-sacrifice during the bubonic plague in 1665-66.
On the third day, we were again blessed with fantastic weather. We started in the Goyt Valley, visiting the ruins of Errwood Hall, with fantastic views from the hills.
Jacky Carter, who led the Southport group, said: “As an experiment, we feel that this break worked really well. Our Buxton leaders were so welcoming and friendly. We really look forward to showing them around our area. We fear we have a lot to live up to but have been reassured they will love our coast.”
The trip was such a success that they have lined up another break with walking groups from Brecon.
Experiments that leave members on cloud nine
Chichester u3a’s Practical Science Group can be trapping moths one minute and making cloud chambers the next. Here, leader Nick Doll gives an insight into their activities.
Physics and electronics
One of the most interesting projects was initiated by Mike Evans, who built a cloud chamber to detect cosmic radiation as it passes through a saturated vapour, usually of alcohol. In a cloud chamber, it momentarily condenses into a white streak, rather like the vapour trial of a jet passing across a clear sky. The beauty of this simple device is that it can be built with items from your kitchen. We chilled our chamber with solid carbon dioxide.
We met in the physics laboratory at Chichester College and various designs of cloud chamber were tested. Most exciting of all, we had access to a wide variety of radiation sources, from radon gas and thorium oxide that generated alpha particles, to strontium-90, which emitted beta particles that could be bent by applying a powerful magnet. On insertion of the radioactive source into the cloud chamber, a steady stream of particle vapour trails was easily visible.
Another member had an interest in the historical development of early electric motors and detailed the surprisingly complex modification developed in the Victorian era to improve performance. A complementary practical session was held at Chichester College to assemble simple motors driven by a 3v battery.
chemistry
One project was the steam distillation of lavender flowers to isolate the aromatic oil. Yields were disappointingly low but the house smelt nice for days!
With the interest in hydrogen cells and green energy, some work on the simple electrolysis of water using a Hoffman’s Voltameter was of interest
to the group.
Visual chemistry is a popular option. One coffee morning saw a demonstration of oscillating reactions using the iodine clock reaction and the famous dynamic reversible Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction – or BZ reaction – which produces wonderful, patterned waves that stream across a petri dish.
Various forms of chromatography – the process for separating components of a mixture – have also been popular. We began with paper chromatography, using coffee filter paper and coloured pens, with water or ethanol as an eluent, depending on the type of ink. Later experiments used TLC (thin layer chromatography) plates to identify complex organic compounds. The
final phase of the project involved individual separation of isomers using solid phase chromatography in columns of silicon dioxide.
In the warmer weather last summer, we had great fun producing tasty ice cream with liquid nitrogen.
One of the most stunning experiments was applying a vacuum to liquid nitrogen, forcing it to boil under reduced pressure so that it froze at minus 210°C.
natural history
A popular activity has been mothing, using an ultraviolet trap. A member sets up the trap overnight in their garden and then everyone meets up for a late breakfast coffee to open the trap and identify what is inside.
We usually get around 50 moths, of which we can identify about 15 species using the excellent Field Guide to Moths of Great Britain and Ireland by Dr Paul Waring and Martin Townsend.
Most excitement comes from finding the spectacular giant hawk moth that is present in most gardens but which we often don’t see. After identification, the moths are carefully released under a bush away from predatory birds.
Identifying wild flowers and butterflies is another popular group activity. This consists of a morning visit to a particular habitat, such as a woodland walk or a stroll over heathland.
A very successful laboratory project suitable for group work is wet microscopy looking at common protozoa found in ditches and pond water. Alternative sources of material are simple hay infusions, or alternatively pure species culture, which are available from standard biological suppliers.
- If science groups wish to exchange ideas on practical projects, email Nick at
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Little did I suspect that I would be treading the boards …
A blues band which began as
a u3a group has gone from strength to strength. Here, founder Michael Heatley, of Christchurch u3a in Dorset, tells how it all happened . . .
Back in 2019, I launched a Blues Appreciation Group at Christchurch u3a. Little did I suspect that, less than three years later, myself and group co-leader Keith Dear would be treading the boards as frontmen of the Otis Jay Blues Band.
As an author, I have written many books, magazine articles and CD sleevenotes on music-related subjects but it was when I retired in 2015 and travelled the world with my wife, Helen, that my interest in the blues was rekindled. A two-week trip to Nashville and Memphis at the end of our ‘gap year’ saw us hire a car and drive around the American South. I wanted the course to convey the background to a music that has proved the foundation of so many forms of popular entertainment.
Landmarks visited included Tutwiler (where founding father W.C. Handy ‘met’ the blues), the famous Crossroads at Highway 61 and 49 in Mississippi where, according to legend, Blues singer Robert Johnson ‘sold his soul to the devil’ in exchange for his prowess on the guitar, and Clarksdale, birthplace of John Lee Hooker and home of Muddy Waters.
Memphis yielded Beale Street and the Sun Recording Studios where Elvis Presley followed in the footsteps of Howlin’ Wolf and Little Milton to cut his first legendary tracks. Helena, Arkansas, the home of blues radio broadcasting via the fabled King Biscuit Flour Hour, proved a ghost town and a rare disappointment. Parchman Farm, the prison that featured in at least one legendary blues song, was also on the itinerary, though it was viewed on the move – cars are forbidden to stop within a half-mile radius on pain of arrest.
Keith was one of the founder members of the now 25-strong Blues Appreciation group, whose meetings include watching Blues on YouTube and discussing recorded music from various eras. It was when he and myself, a bass-player, combined with other musicians to add live music to the mix that the stage was set to take things further.
We were amazed by the positive response and decided to do an evening show at the PSX Club in Southbourne, where our classes take place. An audience of 80 seemed to enjoy what we played and it’s all taken off from there.
As a music writer, I have interviewed such giants as Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green and Chicago legend Buddy Guy while Keith saw many greats perform live when a student in the 1960s, including Arthur ‘Big Boy’ Crudup, Muddy Waters, Magic Sam and Sister Rosetta Tharpe. But his avowed inspiration is a figure from a previous generation, Sonny Boy Williamson. He told me: “I was always attracted by the sound of the harmonica and the first album I bought was Sonny Boy Williamson And The Yardbirds. Still one of my favourite LPs.”
The Chess Records songbook is raided for a number of songs, while the legendary names of Fleetwood Mac, Elmore James and Buddy Guy also figure. These classic blues take on a new life in the hands of our select quartet, dynamics and inventive arrangements adding spice to a long-established recipe.
Drummer Brian Heely, former powerhouse of the popular Riverside Blues Band, is in the engine room, while at front of stage guitarist Brian Pasco adds melodic flourishes and accents around multi-talented Keith’s vocal, harmonica and saxophone.
The Otis Jay Blues Band played their first public date in April this year and have got half-a-dozen more in the book. They are on Facebook at @OtisJayBB, or can be contacted at
Meanwhile Christchurch u3a’s monthly Blues Appreciation group continues.
Help needed to reform housing for retirees
u3a members thinking about moving home or with a professional interest in the built environment are needed to help improve housing for older people.
Members will be asked to take part in consumer research, while retired professionals such as architects and planners will help inform a new ISO standard for age-friendly housing.
A report Cultivating Neighbourhoods That Care, published by the Agile Ageing Alliance with housing association Clarion and ISO (The International Organisation for Standardisation), says developers should focus on building age-friendly housing within multigenerational neighbourhoods to combat loneliness in all age groups.
These neighbourhoods might include large open courtyards with clear pathways, enclosed social spaces with plants and seating areas, large balconies, pharmacies on the ground floor, interactive shading and wayfinding systems for comfort and security.
Speaking at the report launch, u3a Chief Executive Sam Mauger said: “A multigenerational neighbourhood embodies equality of opportunity and talent. It ensures that older adults are seen as contributors and consumers in the same way that every other working adult or younger person should be.
“Let’s imagine a fresh collaborative approach which recognises that older people are not a burden but still have the potential to contribute to their communities.”
Ian Spero, founder of the Agile Ageing Alliance, said: “Older people today do not want to be pigeonholed. If they are thinking of scaling down, we know they are looking to move to environments that support their lifestyle, which should include gardens, restaurants and public space for socialising. What’s missing is a commonly agreed view of ‘what good looks like’, making it hard to plan. The sooner we can standardise best practice, the more confidence will increase and the faster the market will grow.”
Have your say
To get involved, please email your details to
Digital needs of u3as
The pandemic has speeded up the rate with which u3a has embraced technology, with many groups learning how to use Zoom for meetings and members finding ways to learn online.
Now a digital strategy committee is looking at what kinds of digital technology can best meet the movement’s needs. Use of online membership management systems, such as the Third Age Trust-supported Beacon, are becoming more popular and the Trust is upgrading the Sitebuilder website to Wordpress, which is more user-friendly.
The committee will consider what are the digital needs of Trust staff and what u3as would like from a digital future. It will also look at what organisations similar to u3a have done in developing their own digital strategies. The results will be published this summer, together with what will happen next.
u3a Networking booms
Hilary Jones will be standing down as chair of Network Link later this year after four years.
Hilary, who was u3a vice-chair from 2018 to 2021, has seen Network Link grow from around 30 groups to more than 80.
Networks are informal groupings of u3as that get together to share ideas and support each other.
“The feedback has been very positive,” says Hilary. “Each meeting, we have presentations and break-out rooms on Zoom for further discussion. It’s a wonderful way for u3as to communicate with each other and share ideas.”
Hilary, who is chair of Flintshire u3a in North East Wales, will be succeeded by Sue Russell of Cotswold Link Network.
- The next meeting is on 22 June. To book, email u3anetworklink
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Antiques insight from TV's Paul
When Wells u3a in Somerset needed a speaker to round off a workshop for group leaders and trustees, they were thrilled when Paul Atterbury, a regular expert on BBC’s Antiques Roadshow, accepted their invitation.
Paul entertained members with an amusing talk about his life and career. He told how his mother was a puppeteer on the Andy Pandy children’s show in the 1950s, which gave him his first taste of working in television.
His early love of Moorcroft china began as a teenager, when he started a collection which led to him meeting the family and eventually writing a book on the subject. He gave an insight into the production of the Antiques Roadshow and the delicate handling of the people who bring their treasures to the show.
The u3a workshop covered topics such as how to run groups, websites, accounting and the importance of making all members feel welcome.
Can you help as a u3a PR adviser?
Over the past year, u3a has been putting together a network of PR advisers across the regions to shout about all the brilliant things members do.
PR advisers help raise the profile of u3a in regional and national media, which encourages new members to join.
There is already a strong, talented network of PR volunteers but there are gaps in the South West, West Midlands, South East and the North West regions.
If you have a background in public relations, journalism or marketing and would like to be involved in promoting u3a by highlighting the great things going on in your area, PR Advisers’ coordinator Chris Winner would love to hear from you. Please get in touch by emailing her at
Tech news
Apps, maps and tracks
The latest gadgets to help you make the most of your walks by James Day.
The physical and mental-health benefits of a good walk are well documented, which is one reason why we’d like to hear about your favourite rambles by emailing
But whether you’re taking a short stroll or planning a more ambitious adventure, plotting routes and knowing what to wear are a headache you could do without. With this in mind, we’ve put together a potted guide that puts paid to the procrastination, featuring apps with maps, clothes fusing science with fashion, and the odd handy gadget to help you get around with greater ease and comfort.
Walking and wildlife
So where to start? Gradually. Slow Ways is an online initiative establishing a national network of walking routes between Britain’s towns, cities and villages. A successful ‘Slow Way’ connects neighbouring settlements using existing paths and trails, while combining them creates longer journeys.
There are currently 8,000 to choose from, stretching more than 62,000 miles, all established by volunteers during the spring 2020 lockdown. Simply stick beta.slowways.org into your web browser, then pop a place or postcode in when prompted to inspire your first adventure.
Arguably the most comprehensive walking app around, Komoot helps you navigate from A to B using GPS. What makes it so magical is the catalogue of pre-ordained routes that take the stress out of planning one yourself. The walks tend to be picturesque and flag points of interest. Komoot also rates routes for difficulty, even including the elevation, so you can choose one without fear of coming a cropper when traversing uphill and down dale.
Free at the point of download, unlocking special features for a particular region costs from £3.99. At its best, Komoot becomes a community of people sharing their best walks while you keep a lasting record of your rambles.
Alternatively, OS Maps from Ordnance Survey costs £4.99 a month but offers unlimited access to maps for the whole of Britain to view, print or download.
If you struggle to identify wildlife on your walk, here are a couple of apps to help you. Seek, by iNaturalist, is backed by the likes of National Geographic and the WWF. Take a picture and it’ll identify animals, plants and fungi and educate you about them. Early risers hoping to catch the dawn chorus could download Warblr for £4.49, which recognises British birds when you record their song.
Outfits and kit
If you’re doing things right, your feet should be the only thing touching the ground when walking, which makes investing in socks, shoes and insoles incredibly important.
Sock specialists HJ Hall has been innovating in Leicestershire since 1882. A pair from its ProTrek Light Hike range will set you back £10.50 and are specifically designed for shorter excursions and dry weather. They contain Coolmax cotton – scientifically engineered fabric with enhanced moisture-wicking and breathability – along with ankle-bracing support plus a reinforced heel and toe. For those bedding in new boots, a pair of ProTrek Anti-blister for £15 feature an inner liner to prevent rubbing and blisters from forming. Both are available from hj.co.uk
Connected insoles might sound far-fetched, but Digitsole from Decathlon analyses your walking style with every step, sending scientific data to a mobile-phone app to help you develop a healthier technique. We’re being serious, not least because they’re £89.99, but for double the price of premium insoles without the smart tech, you also get a built-in tracker for fitness stats, such as calories burned.
If you’re into trail running – or looking for extra comfort – the HOKA TenNine Hike GTX may look like something an astronaut might wear, but for £160 you’re getting footwear designed to tackle otherworldly terrain. You can’t miss the huge soles, which are designed to boost stability, add grip, soften impact and help you roll when stepping, saving your legs and lungs from extra fatigue. Still not convinced? HOKA offers a 30-day trial. Otherwise, for £135, the Skyline Mid Waterproof Boot from Ariat at ariat.com shares similar shock-absorbing soles with rain-repellent, full-grain leather.
HOKA’s boots are made from Gore-tex – the waterproof, windproof and breathable fabric membrane that repels water. It’s a badge of honour to look out for on outdoor clothing but can be expensive, so you’ll want to maintain them. Grangers’ market-leading waterproofing and reproofing products, such as Wash + Repel Clothing 2 in 1 , and Footwear Repel Plus, help maintain the water repellence and breathability of your garments from £9 at grangers.co.uk.
Gear and gadgets
Gadgets can so often be costly gimmicks, but here’s some great gear to pop in your walking backpack. If you’re setting off early, risk losing the light at night or are looking to amble back from the pub after dark, a head torch from Ledlenser will illuminate your path up to 100 metres while keeping your hands free. Prices start from £24.75 at ledlenser.com.
Hydration is essential, so pick up a Contigo Matterhorn water bottle on Amazon for around £10. Its Thermalock vacuum-insulated, stainless-steel construction keeps icy drinks cold for 24 hours or hot drinks hot for up to 10 hours. If you’re going a little further afield and worried about running out of water, the £60 MSR TrailShot Micro Water Filter magically makes wild water drinkable by filtering out the nasties. At the time of writing, TAM is yet to find one that turns water into wine.
- Have you got a tech question you’d like help with? Send in your questions to
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we’ll do our best to find a solution on these pages
- Follow James on Twitter @James_a_day
u3a offer
Discover the link between London's canals and the history of ice cream
Enjoy a visit to London Canal Museum with u3a Ice Cream Summer Specials!
How did a Victorian entrepreneur create an ice route from Norway to London? Why did that change how we eat ice cream today? What unexpected part did one of our most extravagant kings play?
You can find out the answers, and much more, at London Canal Museum, which tells the story of the capital’s canals and the Victorian ice trade. Popular with u3a groups, it’s an interesting and unusual place to visit.
The museum is a ten-minute walk from King’s Cross and St Pancras train stations, but, once you are through the historic doors of the former ice warehouse, you’ll feel a world apart from the city. You’ll see inside a narrowboat cabin, learn about the history of London’s canals, the cargoes, the people who lived and worked on the waterways, and the horses that pulled their boats.
You can peer into a huge Victorian ice well, built to store ice imported from Norway. You’ll also learn about one of London’s ‘rags to riches’ stories, that of Carlo Gatti, the famous ice-cream maker who created the canalside ice warehouse. You could also walk along the towpath to buzzing Camden or follow
the historic route of London’s longest canal tunnel. There are many restaurants, cafes and pubs nearby or you’re welcome to bring a picnic. The museum is fully accessible.
The museum is run entirely by volunteers. Group visits co-ordinator Joanna Charlton said: “Visits from u3a groups are always very welcome – the groups are friendly, interested and always ask great questions. Our u3a Ice Cream Summer Specials offer a chance to explore, learn and maybe meet other u3a groups who are also visiting.”
Roger Mead, of South East London u3a Heritage group which recently visited the museum, said: “We were made to feel welcome. The museum was packed with many exhibits and clear explanations that told the story of both the building and the canals. We had walked along the Regent’s Canal to the museum, so the refreshments were very welcome.”
u3a member offer!
u3a groups are such valued visitors that London Canal Museum has created 12 u3a Ice Cream Summer Special tours. Hurry though! Bookings are limited and on a first-come, first-served basis.
For just £10 per person, your group of a minimum of 10 people and a maximum of 20 can enjoy:
A visit to the museum
An introductory talk
A one-hour demonstration of Victorian ice cream-making; you’ll watch, take part and enjoy a small sample
Freshly made tea, coffee and canal-related biscuits.
Three tours are available per day at 11am, 1pm and 3pm on Friday 1 July, Friday 8 July, Friday 2 September and Friday 16 September.
- The museum is open Wednesdays to Sundays from 10am to 4.30pm. If you are interested in one of the 12 group visits, email Joanna on
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Esther Rantzen
How ‘tuxedo cat’ Boots stole dog-lover Esther’s heart
He’s laid claim to her favourite pouffe and has a voracious appetite, but she’s smitten .…
There’s been a debate recently on the radio and in letters columns between dog owners and cat lovers. Until a couple of months ago, I knew exactly which side I was on; I was ardently pro dogs and violently anti cat. Dogs, I used to say, are caring companions who console you when you’re down and keep you company when you need it. Whereas cats are calculating killers who murder and maim all the wildlife while regarding you merely as a food provider. No comparison, I would say.
My years on the BBC TV programme That’s Life! confirmed my view. For our regular feature about talented pets, we found dogs that sang, dogs that played football and the piano, dogs that could read and do the housework, and cats that refused to demonstrate any talent at all when the cameras were around. In the end we made a rule that no matter what claims the owners made about the skills of their beloved cats, we refused to send a film crew; we knew it would be a waste of time. Cats either sit and sulk or walk away.
Then my neighbours in my New Forest village moved, leaving their two ‘outdoor cats’ to stay behind in their old home, being fed by the new family. But cats, I now realise, have their own views. With the new family came a bouncy new dog, and after a couple of weeks a skinny cat arrived at my door. He is what my sister, who is a passionate cat lover, calls a ‘tuxedo cat’ – black coat, white chest and tummy, white paws and whiskers, and big yellow eyes. I discovered from my neighbours that he is 13 years old and his name is Boots.
He was timid at first, but his voracious appetite drew him into the kitchen, and my daughter Miriam, who lives with me, decided he needed somewhere to sit and digest his meal. So she took my favourite pouffe from the sitting room, spread a rug on it, and Boots climbed on and curled himself up into the neat circle cats achieve so tidily, like a soft, black parcel tied up by his tail. At first, I resented losing the use of my pouffe, but we now refer to it as his throne.
Boots has now established who is the boss in our house. We’ve had to make three mercy dashes to the vet when mysterious wounds have appeared on his head – we suspect battles with his old companion, who still lives across the road. When we sit in the garden, Boots finds us, and nonchalantly climbs on the chair, bench or table we are using. When we stand up, he canters ahead of us; he likes to lead, rather than follow. All this is new behaviour to me. I thought cats were cool and unfriendly. Boots clearly thinks he’s a dog.
My daughter and I are now reconsidering our holiday plans. Can we really leave Boots without the company he obviously loves? I am also reconsidering my views about wildlife; when Boots made a clumsy lunge for a bird which made an easy getaway, I laughed indulgently. And I applaud the neat way he, unlike the dog visitors who need their poop scooping, leaves his messages, neatly covered over in my flower beds.
Have I changed sides? Have my daughter and I been groomed by Boots? Too little has been written about the contribution our pets make to our lives. When they die, it is a real bereavement, and we grieve. Visiting pets do wonders for patients in hospital. When we stroke them, our blood pressure is lowered, and our contentment rises. They are a valuable antidote to loneliness. I never thought I would become a little old lady with her pet cat, but I have, and I am happy. Thank you, Boots.
Opinion
A chance conversation can spread the word!
Liz Thackray: view from the chair.
It can be hard to believe we are already nearly half-way through 2022, our 40th anniversary year. As I speak to u3a members from around the country, it is clear that there is growing enthusiasm for all the different events that are being planned locally, regionally and nationally as we seek to celebrate our past and to make our movement better known in our various communities.
One of the themes of the strategy review has been how the u3a might present itself more as a single movement than a large number of separate organisations. One suggestion has been that we should perhaps view ourselves as parts of an extended family. This has led me to think a little about families and ways in which we can present ourselves better as an extended family.
Each u3a is a family unit – some are big and some are small, but each has a similar structure. u3as come together in different ways at regional and network events, just as we join with relatives in our own extended families. At these events, we share news and ideas based on our own experiences – and we may learn how others have dealt with difficulties we may be encountering.
As in any family, some of us are more gregarious than others. Some thrive on meeting new people and sharing experiences, while others are more reserved. Some even avoid family gatherings. The same is true of u3as, some of which are said to not share some information just in case their members find another u3a more attractive – surely that cannot be true!
It is sometimes said that the u3a is a well-kept secret – but how do we make ourselves better known and attractive to potential members? We are all aware of the work undertaken by the recruitment and retention working group over the past two years, but I wonder how many of us have looked at their materials and used them? They are all available on the website and full of tried-and-tested ideas.
Some families have divisions because we see part of our family as different in some way. In the u3a movement, we sometimes fail to see the u3a staff as in some way apart from members. We have a saying ‘by the members, for the members’ but perhaps we should be rephrasing that as ‘with the members, for the members’ recognising the contribution made by staff – and by those members who take a lead
in significant areas of development that in many other organisations would be done by paid employees.
The u3a encourages all members to make others aware of what we offer. Anniversary events and open days are good opportunities, but sometimes there is opportunity for a chance conversation.
On my way to the board meeting, I was sitting on a bench at the local railway station and got talking to the woman sitting near me. She spoke about her work supporting people with disabilities and mentioned she was looking forward to retirement next year, but unsure what she would do with her time. It was an ideal opportunity to talk about the u3a and we parted with her having made a note of our website address and saying she would share the information with a newly retired friend. Just a chance conversation.
Together we are not only stronger, but we are also a family that is attractive and welcoming to new members.
Let’s crusade for our u3a model of self-help!
Eric Midwinter: u3a founder
Happily, there is discussion of how u3a might raise its voice in public discourse although, inevitably, there is debate about what issues would be appropriate.
On behalf of myself and my two fellow-founders, Michael Young and Peter Laslett, who were also my mentors, I would remind all that the single and irrevocable subject about which u3a has a right and, I would argue, a duty to campaign about is the u3a model itself – that is, ordinary lay people cooperating together and sharing their skills and experience for some social purpose. That was our hope for any extension of the format. It is so obvious a notion.
We have 40 years’ experience of practising the model. We know more about it than any other agency. And – the most intriguing test – no u3a member who had carefully read the terms of membership could rationally disagree with such a purpose: ‘Members promote the values of lifelong learning and the positive attributes of belonging to a u3a.’ Not the chair, not the committee; the MEMBERS.
Each u3a, if practising correctly, is a demonstration of one version of anocracy, defined formally as ‘a non-state association based on popular democracy’. It has been suggested that an authentic u3a is a rehearsal of anarchy, that is in its official form using Russian nobleman-turned-anarchist Peter Kropotkin’s definition in the Encyclopaedia Britannica, ‘Social harmony achieved by free agreements concluded between various groups, freely constituted’. I find it difficult to improve on that descriptor, but maybe it would not be advisable to claim that it’s absolute anarchy down at our u3a.
I believe that there are three openings for crusading the u3a model.
The first is the u3a model being utilised for other aspects of third-age activity; for example, preventive health, the arts, music, financial advice and support, house repair and maintenance, bulk-buying, etc.
The second is the u3a model being adopted in the wider educational arena. We, the u3a founders, deliberately chose the person-based rather than subject-based approach of the sharing learning circle because we knew, from international evidence, it was the superior method. The British education systems, increasingly narrow and test-driven and disconnected from everyday life, need a serious revamp.
The third is the u3a model as an example of a more socially co-operative device in all human public affairs, economic as well as social and cultural – a very far-reaching vision indeed. Michael Young, Peter Laslett and myself saw the u3a as a microcosm of the sort of national society for which we yearned.
u3a is possibly the most effective exercise in social cooperation in the UK since World War II and it is certainly already the most enduring. It is high time we found our voice and amplified it – locally, regionally and nationally – so that other people, organisations and communities might similarly benefit.
To take one example, it might mean our distinctive voice not just saying we think the NHS should be better funded for older people but asking why doesn’t a large anonymous outfit like the NHS become more people-orientated, with more powerful engagement of patient-participation groups for GP practices; more localised facilities such as wellness campuses with full community involvement? And so on. I remember years ago when there was a stand-off row between NHS staff and management, and Michael Young valiantly argued that the main people involved - the patients – were completely locked out of the dispute.
If we are to crusade, let us do so in the very area where we have expertise: lay cooperative action . . .
And, another Michael Young jokey but meaningful tip: If you’re talking to a Conservative, call it self-help; if you’re talking to a Labourite, call it mutual aid.
sources
Humphry davy notebooks; climate conversations; subject adviser contact details; a look at micro-organisms; new subject adviser; crewkerne filmmakers
For more inspiring stories visit sources.u3a.org.uk
How you could be the first person to read Humphry Davy’s Notebooks
Volunteers are needed to help transcribe the manuscript notebooks of chemist and poet Sir Humphry Davy (1778-1829). Here, Dr Andrew Lacey, senior research associate on the project, explains how you can get involved.
Sir Humphry Davy was the early 19th-century’s foremost ‘man of science’: he isolated more chemical elements than any individual has before or since. His achievements saw him rise from relatively modest origins to become, just over 200 years ago, the President of the Royal Society.
Davy was more than a chemist, however. He was also a poet, moving in the same circles as Lord Byron, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth. His notebooks also contain material encompassing philosophy, medicine, geology, mathematics, astronomy and more. There’s something for everyone in the fascinating historical artefacts that are Davy’s notebooks.
Davy’s collection of 75 notebooks is held at the Royal Institution in London and at Kresen Kernow archives in Cornwall. Using the people-powered research platform Zooniverse, the Davy Notebooks Project team is making images of the pages available online – all you need to get started is a computer and an internet connection.
Excitingly, most of Davy’s notebooks have never been transcribed before, so you might be the first person for two centuries to read what Davy has written. The notebook transcriptions will later be published as an open-access digital edition online, free for anyone to consult.
The Davy Notebooks Project launched in January 2021 and will run until 2024. In early 2022, the Davy Notebooks Project and the u3a set up a small-scale pilot collaboration with the aim of transcribing one short notebook containing lecture notes from 1808.
In 1808, Davy was Professor of Chemistry at the Royal Institution. By July 1808, he had isolated six chemical elements (potassium, sodium, magnesium, calcium, strontium and barium), announcing his results in lectures to the Royal Society and in print in The Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. Davy’s chemical research of the period reconfigured chemical understanding and he went on to make further significant contributions in later years, including inventing the miners’ safety lamp that bears his name circa 1815.
The u3a pilot group of around ten members took to the transcription task with ease, and transcribed the notebook in a little under two weeks.
Soon afterwards, the pilot group decided they’d like to become a ‘fully-fledged’ volunteer group and a u3a Volunteers’ Area was set up on the Davy Notebooks Project website to bring together all of the information and resources that u3a volunteers will need as they continue to work on the project.
The page has everything that members interested in joining the project will need to get started. You can find it at wp.lancs.ac.uk/davynotebooks/u3a-volunteers-area/
The Davy-u3a group holds regular catch-up meetings on Zoom, where volunteers have the opportunity to let the project team know how they’re getting on and to ask any questions or raise any issues that they might have.
By volunteering for the Davy Notebooks Project, members can make a tangible contribution to a live research project and also an original contribution to knowledge. The digital edition that will be published will go on to inform future research on Davy and will add to the sum of what we currently know about the various cultures (literary, historical, scientific) of the late-18th and early-19th centuries.
Please join the Davy Notebooks Project transcriber community of more than 2,000 volunteers and have a go! You can transcribe as much or as little as you like and help is always on hand from the project team.
Full instructions and a transcription tutorial are provided on Zooniverse, which includes information on how to deal with tricky words or phrases and what to do if you can’t transcribe a particular word.
The Davy Notebooks Project will appeal particularly to those with interests in literature, science and working with historical documents.
- Any enquiries about the Davy Notebooks Project may be sent to
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Happy transcribing!
Where have all the insects gone?
There’s been a catastrophic loss of bugs in the UK but u3as can help reverse the decline, says Victoria Benn of the Living Verges campaign.
Remember the 1970s? Of course you do! Flares, glam rock and just three TV channels. Perhaps you also remember how a summer evening drive would result in your windscreen and bumper being spattered in dead bugs? This particular irritation doesn’t happen anymore, thanks to the
UK’s acute biodiversity emergency.
“The facts speak for themselves. We have lost 97 per cent of our species-rich grasslands and hay meadows since the 1930s,” explains Dr Anne Readshaw from long-standing Yorkshire-based environmental campaigning charity Friends of the Dales. “Species-rich meadows support hundreds of plant varieties, myriad insect life and dozens of bird species, and we are learning that they store much more carbon than non-biodiverse grasslands.”
Following the lead of plant conservation charity Plantlife, Friends of the Dales has been lobbying local and regional councils and community groups to manage their road verges for nature by switching from ‘neat-and-tidy’ cutting regimes to ‘nature-positive’ ones.
“Road verges, especially rural ones, are some of the last refuges for the plant and insect life that was once common in our fields,” explains Dr Readshaw. “The key message is ‘cut less and cut later’ to allow dormant plants to flower and then set seed. We are literally erasing summer from our verges by chopping down plants and flowers in the spring, then repeatedly chopping them again throughout summer. This is the main cause of species decline in our verges and village grassed areas and explains why they aren’t as vibrant and buzzing with life
as they could and should be.”
Friends of the Dales advocates that any community, be that in Yorkshire or UK-wide, should find out who has responsibility for cutting road verges and village greens.
It may be the local parish, district or county council. “If it’s the parish council, hopefully cutting contracts can change pretty quickly. If it’s the district or county council, it is still possible to negotiate ‘taking back’ verge management, although you will have to ensure that sight lines at junctions are cut and clear,” advises Dr Readshaw.
The next step is to ensure that everyone locally understands the importance of not cutting verges between May and August inclusive. Friends of the Dales has leaflets and signs available on its website to help with this. An early cut, no later than April, can take place, but then the second cut should not be until September to allow flowering plant species to go through their full growing cycle. Cuttings should be cleared away to prevent the build-up of thatch, which increases soil nitrogen and can encourage docks, nettles and thistles to take hold.
If some neighbours are resistant to the changes, Dr Readshaw recommends offering to cut a 50cm swathe at the front of the verge, to provide a neat and tidy edge, but allowing the majority to remain as a haven for nature.
The charity doesn’t recommend sowing wildflower or other seed mixes into verges. “What we are aiming to do with the Living Verges campaign is to encourage the native plant species which support native insect and bird life to thrive,” says Dr Readshaw. “Sowing seed mixes can introduce non-native species which may not survive for very long or conversely may dominate and take over. The only seed I recommend sowing is Yellow Rattle, a classic meadow species which is excellent at controlling grass growth, encouraging a wide variety of other plants to come through. This should be sown in August or September as it needs to be exposed to frost to germinate.”
- If you are inspired to transform your local verges into Living Verges, visit friendsofthedales.org.uk/campaigns/verges for more information
Eat less meat, say youngsters
One u3a has been holding climate conversations with children.
Rubbish left on beaches, grandparents eating too much meat and the need for higher taxes on flying were among environmental issues that concern children most, u3a members in Church Stretton, Shropshire, heard during intergenerational events organised by its Climate Conversations group.
Children at Church Stretton School discussed climate issues with u3a members, where the youngsters aired their concerns that parents are not doing enough to combat climate change. The children are concerned that the climate situation is ‘devastating’ and that there is a ‘compelling need’ for urgent action.
They said they want to see more renewable energy, such as wind and hydro, and a ban on plastic packaging. The school has seen an increase in children eating vegetarian meals and the youngsters say they would have more faith in meat if they knew where it was sourced, such as from a local butcher. They also want to cut down on car travel, choosing to walk or go by bus instead. And they told u3a members that they feel the Government is not doing enough and that the UK Youth Parliament should be more prominent.
The u3a members also met the 2nd Longmynd Scout Group, where they heard about how scouts are taking measures to limit their own families’ carbon footprint.
Their ideas for combating climate change include lobbying businesses to commit to using renewable energy; local fundraising for more public electric car-charging points; encouraging schools to promote zero-plastic packaging for school lunches; encouraging scouts and their families to shop locally; and to encourage more tree-planting and community litter-picking.
u3a member Barrie Oxtoby, who organised the climate conversations, said: “I cannot wait to inform the Scouts and the school about u3a members’ achievement of planting 8,200 trees in only six months. The young people mentioned who took part in the Climate Conversations will certainly approve.”
Planet-friendly ways to reduce energy bills
u3a members share experiences of going greener at home. You can find the full story on sources.u3a.org.uk
Hillary Sillitoe, of Edinburgh u3a, subscribed to an electric vehicle company where, for £600 a month, he could try out a range of EVs without a long-term commitment. He has tried a VW ID.3 and a Hyundai Kona and found them to be quiet, smooth and easy to drive. But he has to plan trips carefully and be willing to wait up to an hour at charging stations.
Nick Ward, of Ruthin & District u3a, installed a ground source heat pump in 2017. The heat pump and plumbing, including half a kilometre of pipes in a next-door field, cost £19,000, but he says he will recoup these costs eventually. He can switch off the heat pump for half the year. Although it heats the domestic water when it’s on, in the sunnier six months the surplus free electricity from his solar panels heats the water. A large, well-insulated tank ensures a plentiful supply of hot water.
Idris Hughes, from Pershore & District u3a, has installed a battery pack to maximise the benefits of his solar panels and save money by reducing electricity drawn from the National Grid. A battery will store power produced by the panels during the day until needed at night or during dull periods.
Ann MacGarry, of Machynlleth u3a, sold her car and set up a car-sharing scheme in rural Wales. Recently, they acquired an electric car. She says that as well as reducing her costs and carbon footprint, it has lowered her stress levels!
Subject Advisers
Looking for fresh ideas for your interest group? Whether you want to share ideas with similar groups or need some support to start a new one, find resources and information at u3a.org.uk/learning/subjects
A gut feeling that’s good for you
New Science Subject Adviser Leigh Edwards looks at micro-organisms and how germs can be good for us.
For billions of years, life on Earth was just simple single cells, such as bacteria. More complex life did not arise until around 670million years ago. So, all animals and plants - in fact, all life - has arisen in the presence of vast numbers of micro-organisms, such as bacteria and viruses. For every person and child on the planet, there are an estimated 50 tonnes of bacteria alive and well.
Traditionally, we humans have come to believe that they are invariably bad for us and are the source of illness and disease. Nothing could be further from the truth; our bodies harbour a huge array of micro-organisms including bacteria, archaea, fungi, viruses and a vast community of special viruses called bacteriophages that attack only bacteria. This ecological community of microbes, called the human microbiota or microbiome, share our body space.
An adult human is said to host more than ten times as many extremely tiny bacterial cells as the very much larger human cells. Every nook and cranny, crevice, orifice, surface and cavity
has its own specific communities of microbes. Some like oxygen, others need oxygen-free conditions; some prefer it dry, others moist or oily; but they are everywhere on and in our bodies, and mostly are harmless.
That is not to say that bacteria, for example, do not cause disease. They do when they get into the wrong place, or out of balance, or one species becomes too numerous. Some microbes are essential for our survival and wellbeing, especially those microbes in our digestive tract, where they can amount to quite a few hundred grams. These microbes are sometimes referred to as the forgotten organ or inner garden, and we need a broad spectrum of different probiotic bacteria, in and on our bodies, to promote good health and wellbeing. Microbes were ever present throughout the whole of our evolutionary journey, so it is perhaps not totally surprising that we have learned to live with them as they have learned to live with, and depend on, us. The relationship between us and them is, in the most part, mutually beneficial. This is called a symbiotic relationship.
In one gram of faeces there are approximately 100 million bacteria, a similar number of viruses, plus skin cells, yeasts and other fungi; so it is not just the bacteria. The relationship between the make-up of a person’s microbiota and their immune system’s function, nutritional health, body form and obesity, psychological health, plus disease incidence such as MS, Crohn’s disease, IBS and Parkinson’s disease are all now under detailed study by scientists, globally. The link between our gut microbes, our immune system and our brain is crucial, not only to our state of physical health, but also to our mood, level of arousal and even levels of anxiety.
There is a strong two-way relationship between our brain and our gut; our brain influences what happens in our gut and the microbes that live there, and those microbes influence many aspects of our behaviour, mood, and neurological health. The Vagus nerve, the highly complex highway that connects brain to gut, is a twoway link that is now the subject of a huge amount of investigation and scientific research. Our immune system affects and adjusts the spectrum of species of gut bacteria we harbour and, in turn, they influence and tune our immune systems so we do not overreact to normal challenges coming from our environment. We have much more to learn about the human microbiome; so far, we have only scratched the surface.
Calling all local history groups
Sandra whitnell is the new Subject Adviser for Local History.
Thinking about how to pep up your programme this year? Wanting something a bit different perhaps? Or maybe you’re keen to attract new members? I’ve led my local group for more than eight years and just love local history. It’s helped me get under the skin of my town, its people and places. It’s inspired me to write and get published.
Whether you’re a well-established local history group, or thinking of setting one up, I’d like to hear from you.
Tell me about your experiences or just say hello! In return I’ll send you details of seven mini guides designed to stimulate ideas about activities. These include research skills, online research, field work
and more.
- Email me at
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
From Churchill’s secret army to watermills
How one u3a film-making group made its name across the globe with its fascinating local history stories.
Over 14 years, Anorak Communications at Crewkerne & District u3a in Somerset grew from very humble beginnings to become makers of professional social history films. The group was formed in 2007 by Colin Mayes, who had experience with computers, and Stuart Nuttall. They were joined by Alan Keene, a stills photographer, and Edwin George.
“There they were, four eager chaps, armed with one camera, very little experience but lots of enthusiasm, in true u3a spirit,” says the u3a’s former chair and Trust volunteer, Val Warren.
Their first film was about their u3a’s activities. They were joined by Brian Lawrence, who had experience of camera work, and elected a director, sound engineer, presenter and editor.
Word soon spread in the community and the group was asked to film concerts, promotional videos for clubs and charities, a local choir, educational events for Rotary and some of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee street parties.
The purchase of a drone boosted the group’s capabilities, providing some stunning aerial shots, and Paul Ebdon became the aerial cameraman.
Their film The Power and the Glory, about local churches, included the story of a German prisoner of war who befriended villagers and returned after the war to present stained-glass windows for their church.
As a result, Anorak’s reputation spread to Germany, where contact was made with the PoW’s relatives. The film also led to an invitation to go to New Zealand from a couple who happened to be in East Chinnock Church researching their family history at the time the Anorak team was filming. A copy of the film was sent to the couple and this resulted in an invitation to the group to go to visit u3a groups in New Zealand.
In another twist, the group was filming the watermill at Dunster Castle, a National Trust property in Exmoor, when they were asked to film the new wheel being made. The group spent many hours filming its construction in Bristol and at the castle, with the completed film presented to the National Trust, which sold it in the castle’s shop.
After 14 years, Anorak Communications has decided to give filming a rest. Their last film unearthed the work of Winston Churchill’s Secret Army on the Somerset Levels during World War II. The army was formed to protect local airfields and manufacturers from the Germans, should they invade.
Anorak’s research led them to secret underground bunkers, a railway built to transport troops and munitions, from the South Coast to the Bristol Channel. Built along the railway were pill boxes, bunkers, aerials for communication and even a railway station to deposit and allocate housing for child refugees from inner cities.
Val added: “From very small beginnings and little or no experience, they became a famous and popular filmmaking group whose popularity spread worldwide. How amazing is that? It’s a good example of u3a ethos. We should thank Anorak Communications for their hard work, determination and expertise.”
Val has been given a copy of the films and hopes to find a suitable home for them where they can be enjoyed by others.
“Their explorations shouldn’t be lost but should be made available to anyone interested in Somerset social history,” she says.
“Crewkerne has always had a lot to be proud of.”
GROUP STORY
Releasing the child inside
Sandbach & District u3a’s Circus Skills group has opened up a whole new thrilling world for members, along with boosting fitness in a fun way …
From improving their juggling and hula hoop skills to practising diabolo – where you spin cups on a string – there’s always a new skill to learn each week at Sandbach u3a’s Circus Skills group. For the more adventurous, there’s wire-walking and even stilts.
Former primary school teacher Sharon Ginnis leads the group with her partner Peter Duncan, who uses circus skills in his social-work role with young people. He undertook training with the renowned Cirque du Soleil and is part of a European network of youth circuses. Sharon says circus skills promote fitness, balance, co-ordination and, above all, are a lot of fun to learn.
“Hoops are very popular,” she says. “There’s lots of things you can do with hoops and there are training videos on YouTube for people who want to teach themselves. We love hula hoops because you can make really lovely shapes and movements.”
Sharon and Peter started the group in 2018 and kept it going during lockdown via weekly meetings on Zoom. Peter loaned members his circus props, such as juggling balls and clubs, diabolos and flower sticks, so they could practise at home, and made short films about developing circus skills to share with the group on WhatsApp.
Members are thrilled with the benefits that circus skills can bring, from improving balance and toning muscles to making people laugh.
Val Thomas says: “Circus helps with concentration, dexterity and is also fun. It’s an hour of new challenges and laughter. I never thought I would walk a tightrope, spin a plate or do tricks with a diabolo.
‘The health benefits have been great, with my core balance increasing, which in turn has helped with the healing of a torn and painful leg muscle.”
Nick Field had recently retired and wanted to keep body and mind active. “Circus Skills appealed as something different,” he said. “We are always learning something new and we encourage and support each other as we try to improve our skills. But I don’t think I will be running away to join a circus anytime soon!”
And Stuart Naylor has surprised himself. “When I try any new circus activity, I expect to be hopeless,” he says. “Usually I fail repeatedly. But I know that with practice I’ll get better, maybe even become good.
”Circus encourages resilience. Without resilience I’ll stay hopeless, but the more I develop resilience the more skilled I become.”
Peter travels all over the country teaching circus skills to community groups and charities. “Circus people laugh a lot and it’s great socially,” he says. “I teach the group something new every week and they often want to learn something that will impress their grandchildren!
“I started circus in the 1980s, so I can do most things apart from trapeze. u3a members are the kind of people who want to learn new things and they have the resilience that enables them to have a go. It challenges the brain as well as the body.”
Sharon’s interest in circus skills came about through her job as a teacher.
“Through work, I met some people who used circus as a way of getting young people from all kinds of backgrounds engaged in learning, and I discovered there was a whole network of social circuses encouraging communities to play and learn together,” she explains.
Sharon joined u3a following the death of her husband, Paul. She knew about u3a as her mother was a member, and so signed up and joined groups such as contemporary dance. After meeting Peter, they decided to start a u3a circus group.
They meet at a local rugby club, where the group can make use of mats and store equipment, and they have their own version of a tightrope. “Putting one foot in front of the other is very challenging,” says Sharon. “We start with walking along a line of masking tape on the floor and then work up to the balance beam. It’s not very high off the ground, so you can step off it, but it starts to give you the balance you need.”
In the past, the group has visited The Circus House in Manchester, where teachers put members through their paces while ensuring they stayed safe.
Since learning circus skills, Sharon has seen a difference in her fitness.
“My strength has improved massively, and I can feel a difference in my shape,” she says. “It’s not just the fun and the thrill of learning, and the feeling you get when you do something for the first time. It’s fun, it’s glamorous, it’s quirky, and I love it.
“It feels much more like playing than doing exercise. It brings you back in touch with a part of yourself you haven’t been in touch with for ages – the child inside.”
Most people will not realise there are often circus groups near them where they can learn some skills.
“There is something everyone can do,” says Sharon. “It doesn’t matter what size you are, or what physical needs you have, you can be supported and also support other people to learn skills. I would just tell people to take that first step and set out on an interesting journey.”
COMMUNITY STORIES
A worthwhile retirement
Phil Revell was looking for a worthwhile and challenging role when he retired, so he volunteered to become a Community First Responder. Here, he explains what the role involves.
‘I have a nines for you.’ Boots on and out to the car. The dashboard computer says it’s a 34-year-old male having a fit. Thinking about the scenario, my planning is interrupted by an ‘all mobiles’ radio broadcast asking for any available unit to back up a Community First Responder (CFR) en route to a paediatric cardiac arrest. It’s the same address and I realise with some consternation that the CFR is me. The dashboard computer pings with an update, which I can’t look at because I’m driving.
It’s a happy ending. There was no cardiac arrest; a child had suffered a ‘febrile seizure’ and the age confusion arose because the father had been understandably not thinking as clearly as normal when he made the call. The child recovered quickly and was taken to hospital as a precaution after the ambulance crew had assessed them.
This is not a typical call, for the good reason that there are no typical calls. On this occasion, the ambulance service sent the duty manager in a response car, two ambulances and a CFR – which was me. The family’s living room was full of uniforms. A cardiac arrest is a Category One emergency, even when it turns out not to be; confirmation is often down to the first resource on scene – in this case, the first responder.
Community First Responders are volunteers, trained by the ambulance service to respond to 999 calls within their local area. We are not paramedics but we are given initial and ongoing training that goes well beyond first aid. We are reserved for the two highest category emergencies, the ones where arrival time is critical. Our job is basic life support, keeping the patient alive until the ambulance crew arrives with their extra training and kit. We wear a uniform, carry basic equipment and drive a marked vehicle, though it doesn’t have blue lights.
I’ve been a CFR for eight years, applying soon after I retired. I had no background as a medic, having been a history teacher, then a journalist. Some young people see the role as a first step towards becoming a paramedic. At 67 I have no ambitions in that direction but I was looking for a worthwhile and challenging role in retirement, and being a CFR certainly ticks those boxes. Age is not a limitation; the requirement is that CFRs must be physically fit.
There are more than 600 CFRs who volunteer with the West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) and thousands more across the UK. The ambulance service provides training and basic consumables but the cost of uniform, equipment and vehicle is met by fundraising, which CFRs are expected to commit to as part of the role.
Individual CFRs are members of a local scheme, some of which have several vehicles and dozens of responders. In the Severn Gorge, where I respond, we have five CFRs and one vehicle. Shift patterns and hours on duty are a matter for each individual but the service expects CFRs to commit to at least 20 hours a month.
I book on duty two or three times a week. I check the vehicle and its kit, get into uniform, then radio control with my ID. In a typical shift I might be tasked to a couple of calls, or none at all because we are only sent to patients within our immediate area.
It’s not Casualty; serious trauma is unusual and most jobs are to patients who have an existing condition that has become acute. Falls are a common 999 event because elderly patients are more likely to suffer injury and because the fall itself may have a cause that requires investigation.
When the pandemic began in 2020, CFRs received the same protective equipment as professional crews. I have been on duty throughout and saw some very sick people, and some who were not so sick but very frightened. Many CFRs upped their hours, becoming full-time members of the ambulance service after receiving additional training.
Two years on and the situation has by no means returned to normal. Call volumes are the highest the service has ever seen and hospital handover times of four hours or more have become routine. On one day recently, WMAS in Shropshire had every one of its front-line ambulances stuck outside the county’s two hospitals waiting to hand over a patient.
The reasons are complex; a combination of staffing pressures, reduced capacity due to Covid restrictions, added to a backlog of chronic illness that was left untreated during the pandemic. Whatever the causes, the result is that ambulance response times have deteriorated. Some patients wait hours before the ambulance service gets to them, an issue that is deeply troubling for everyone in the Trust.
CFRs can help fill this gap, providing much-needed early care and reassurance, and updating ambulance control about those patients in need of an urgent response. It can be stressful but it is always enormously rewarding. WMAS chief executive Anthony Marsh said: “Community First Responders (CFRs) play a vital part in saving lives every single day. The faster someone starts CPR on a cardiac arrest patient, the better the chance they have of surviving.
“We are looking for CFRs in every village because that is how we will save more lives. How many other volunteer roles can you truly say that you are a lifesaver? We would also urge everyone to learn CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and work with their community to increase the number of defibrillators that are publicly accessible.”
- To find out more about becoming a CFR, contact your Ambulance Service.
The heart of the community
The number of defibrillators appearing on street corners for public use has increased significantly. Here, Martin Fagan, of the Community Heartbeat Trust, explains what they do.
Twenty years ago, a defibrillator was a mysterious super-duper medical device used by doctors to save lives. Now, they are everywhere and used to treat sudden cardiac arrest, when the heart has suddenly stopped working.
Sudden cardiac arrest is more than a heart attack. A heart attack is just one of many causes for a cardiac arrest, whereas sudden cardiac arrest is where the heart stops beating normally and blood is no longer being pumped around the body. It is instantly recognisable by the patient collapsing quickly (within the space of a heartbeat), becoming unresponsive, changing colour and showing no signs of breathing.
Saving a patient’s life is time-dependent – the rescue must start within a couple of minutes of collapse. The heart will degrade by up to 20 per cent per minute, so rapid action is key.
The process to save a life is known as the Chain of Survival, where each step is followed in sequence. The quicker each step is completed, the better the chance of survival. The defibrillator is step four, so this is as much about creating time as it is about having a defibrillator and education in understanding what to do, when, and how. Chest compressions create time, which is why this step is so important. The Chain of Survival is key:
1 Understanding how to recognise a sudden cardiac arrest is about learning and having the confidence to act.
2 Call 999 - early notification to the ambulance service is vital. They will tell you to start chest compressions (stage 3) and whether a defibrillator is needed, where the nearest one is and how to access it.
3 Start chest compressions within 60 seconds of your 999 call. Learning how to do these well is really important but not difficult.
4 Use your defibrillator. Modern defibrillators will have a visual display that will show you what to do.
5 Hand over to the ambulance crews so they know what has happened.
Getting a defibrillator for your group
Many groups such as u3as, Scouts, Guides, village halls and Rotary have supported defibrillators for their organisations or communities.
There are many types of defibrillator to choose between. A modern device will be easy to use, provide maximum support to the rescuer, have features enabling good CPR to be undertaken, and a visual display.
Considerations include where to site the defibrillator, who will be responsible for making sure it is maintained and having the funds to do so, whether it is supported by local trained volunteers, and whether it is kept in a locked or unlocked cabinet. If it is locked, the ambulance service will provide the code.
How much does it cost?
An external defibrillator in a weatherproof case will cost from
around £1,400 to £2,200, while internal placements in a hall or shop for example, will cost around £1,000. There are also installation costs of around £200, and maintenance and replacement parts, such as replacing the pads every two years or after a rescue (£40 - £50) and a new battery every four years (£166 to £255), all depending upon model.
about the Community Heartbeat Trust charity
CHT invented the concept of the community public access defibrillator - cPAD. The charity has delivered to more than 7,000 sites across the
UK, the majority governed by the WebNos Governance system. The charity advises NHS England, the Welsh Government and also works with UK ambulance services.
- For more details, visit communityheartbeat.org.uk
Recipes
Going solo!
Cookery writer Beverley Jarvis, of Ashford & Wye u3a, shares a couple of her recipe ideas for meals for one.
Many u3a members live alone and perhaps need a little inspiration to cook delicious meals for one person. Hopefully this nutritious, easy aubergine recipe will fit the bill. Maybe serve one aubergine as a main course, perhaps on a bed of brown rice, with a salad garnish? Should half the aubergine suffice, then chill the remaining portion and reheat in the microwave the following day. My husband and I often share one aubergine, served with rice, some canned tuna fish and a mixed salad.
The baked apple can either be cooked conventionally, alongside the aubergine, or alternatively it can be cooked speedily in the microwave.
Mozzarella aubergine with tomato and herbs
Use the remaining passata for a soup or a pasta dish the following day.
Ingredients.
½ x 500g carton tomato passata
1 tsp runny honey
1 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
1 large aubergine, about 350g
1 tbsp olive oil, approximately
2 medium-size ripe tomatoes, sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ tsp dried mixed herbs
1 x 125g ball mozzarella cheese, drained and sliced
You will need a fairly shallow roasting dish that comfortably holds one aubergine.
Method.
1. Preheat the oven to 210°C, 190°C fan, gas 6.
21. Pour the half-carton of passata into the base of the roasting dish. Stir in honey and parsley with a seasoning of salt and pepper.
31. Place the aubergine on a chopping board and, using a sharp vegetable knife, cut lengthways slits, about 1cm apart, leaving the stalk attached. Take care not to cut right through to the base as it needs to hold the delicious filing.
4. Using a pastry brush, brush all over and into the slits with a little olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Arrange the sliced tomato in a single row in the pockets, using a small knife to help you. Brush again with a little olive oil and sprinkle all over with the mixed herbs. Place the aubergine on the passata in the dish.
6. Bake in the oven for about 35 minutes, until the aubergine has softened.
7. Remove from oven and carefully push the sliced mozzarella slices into the pockets, beside the tomato slices.
8. Return to the oven for a further 15-20 minutes, until cheese me. Serve with boiled brown rice and a salad garnish.
Almond baked apple
For a quick dessert that is full of flavour, I often cook one Bramley apple in the microwave. However, if the oven is in use, you may prefer to cook the apple conventionally in the oven. This is from my book Eat Well to Age Well.
Ingredients.
1 cooking apple, preferably Bramley variety, about 200g
15g soft butter or olive oil spread
1 heaped tsp ground almonds
2 drops almond essence
1 tsp Demerara sugar
1 tbsp orange or apple juice
1. If cooking conventionally, preheat the oven to 210°C, 190°C fan, gas 6.
2. Stand the washed apple on a chopping board and, using an apple corer or a sharp knife, remove
the core.
3. Cut a small piece from the base of the core and use it as a ‘bung’ to plug the bottom of the apple.
4. With a sharp knife, make a shallow cut, right round circumference of the apple, about 2.5cm from the top.
5. If cooking in the microwave, stand the apple on a saucer that is suitable for the microwave. If oven-cooking, stand apple in a suitable shallow, ovenproof dish.
6. Prepare the filling. Put the butter or spread into a small mixing bowl. Stir in the ground almonds, almond essence and the Demerara sugar. Mix to a paste.
MICROWAVE COOKING
Microwave the unfilled apple for 11/2 minutes on high. Allow to stand for one minute, then fill the centre of the apple with the prepared filling. Pour over the orange juice. Return to microwave for about 31/2 minutes on high, until apple softens. Stand for a minute or so before serving with crème fraîche or vanilla ice cream.
CONVENTIONAL COOKING
Fill centre of apple with prepared filling. Place the stuffed apple into a suitable shallow, ovenproof dish. Pour over the orange juice. Bake in the preheated oven for about 30minutes, until apple softens completely. Serve immediately with crème fraîche or vanilla ice cream.
A note about Parmesan cheese
Oops, I made a bit of a bloomer over the cheese used in the courgette and red pepper parmesan tart recipe (TAM, Spring), which I mentioned was suitable for vegetarians. So sorry. Parmesan cheese uses animal rennet in its production to help separate the curds and whey. It is therefore not suitable for vegetarians. All leading supermarkets offer a vegetarian alternative to parmesan, often called hard cheese or Italian hard cheese under its own branding. As I often mention, if catering for vegetarians always check the product label. Most carry a vegetarian motif. Ready-grated Italian-style hard cheese suitable for vegetarians is also often available.
Prue’s approval!
I was fortunate to meet Prue Leith at a talk recently and I handed a copy of my latest book, Eat Well to Age Well, to her assistant. I was delighted to receive this email from Prue: “Beverley Jarvis’s new book Eat Well to Age Well is perfectly judged to appeal to us oldies - not too complicated, nor needing hours of work - ingredients easily available, healthy, light recipes and nutritional information simply explained.” By the way, Prue’s novels are real page-turners!
u3a member offer
u3a members can get Beverley’s new book, Eat Well to Age Well, at the discounted price of £17.99 (normally £24.99), available from hammersmithbooks.co.uk. To get the discount, simply enter TAM22JUNEW at the checkout. Or order by phone by calling 01892 837171..
Poetry Competition winners
Taking a stanza
Judges had a tough time selecting ten top poems in the u3a annual poetry competition.
u3a members got creative for the second national poetry competition, which attracted nearly 250 entries on the topic of ‘New’. Poems had to be no longer than 16 lines and were required to have a rhyming component.
The top three, in no particular order, were Jay by Denise Bennett of Havant u3a in Hampshire, The Birth of an Island by Jocelyn Wishart of Fairford & District u3a in Gloucestershire and New Day by Frank Edwards of Barnet u3a in London.
One of the judges, Chris Winner, said: “It was a pleasure and a privilege to be a judge in the poetry competition again this year.
“As last year, the poems, on the theme of ‘New’, were all of the same high standard we have come to expect from our members. The poets and poems all demonstrated the creativity that exist within our u3as. Well done to all.”
Jay
By Denise Bennett of Havant u3a.
She wishes to be known
by her new name now,
so I practice writing it
in sand and snow;
scribble it in black ink
in steam on the window.
Although the midwife
handed me Emily Jane,
it’s only the name I mourn
she’s just the same;
happier now with Jay,
more neutral, more plain –
my grown-up daughter
with her new chosen name.
The Birth of an Island
Jocelyn Wishart of Fairford & District u3a.
Subterranean rumblings grow.
Huge, Earth-shattering tremors start,
triggering white-hot lava flow.
Tectonic plates are pushed apart
in a hoarse, grating staccato
of shrieks that tear at the Earth’s heart.
Molten rock gushes forth, making
the oceans hiss steam, boil and heave.
Tsunamis form, grimly fanning
this chaos out, across the seas.
The birth of a new island, part
of South Seas’ archipelago
means sailors will need a new chart.
Where the black, cracked rocks do not show
how hidden forces ripped apart
the very Earth, larghissimo.
New day
By Frank Edwards of Barnet u3a.
Sunset settles on silver sea,
The earth turns one more degree.
As cliff-tops fade and song-birds call,
Night and darkness start to fall.
Lament this end but keep in mind,
Time’s cruel shifts are also kind.
As heat and light drains slow away,
Somewhere else becomes new day.
- To read the rest of the top ten poems, go to u3a.org.uk/learning/national-programmes
FAST REWIND
Life as a lifeboatman; memories of national service.
Excitement and fear: It’s all part of being lifeboat crew
Michael Clark, vice chair of Skegness u3a, recalls his time as a lifeboatman in the days when the crew was alerted to a shout by flares going off.
Nothing stopped Michael Clark from going out on a shout when the RNLI needed him, whether at a dinner party, asleep in bed … or having a perm at the hairdressers. Not even when he was out horse-riding with his wife, Margaret, and he heard the rockets for the inshore lifeboat go off, summoning the crew.
“I galloped off along the beach, arriving at the lifeboat station on horseback,” he says. “Right next door to the lifeboat station was the man who ran the beach donkeys. I gave my horse to this man and said, ‘Hold this horse, I’m going out on the lifeboat.’ I went to sea in jodhpurs and leather riding boots. The horse was still there when I got back!”
Michael spent 28 years with Skegness Lifeboat Station. It began innocently in 1971 when he offered to stand in for a friend who had broken his ankle. At the time, Michael was a lifeguard at the town’s open-air swimming pool.
For the first couple of years with the RNLI, Michael was based on shore, helping to get the boat back on to the trailer after a shout. When he was allowed on the Oakley-class lifeboat, the Charles Fred Grantham, named after the local landowner who paid for it, his job was to sit quietly out of the way. “You learnt by watching,” he says. “There were all sorts of things on board you had to learn.” With very little room below, the crew would spend all their time on the deck, exposed to the elements.
Initially, lifeboat crew were alerted to a shout by two rockets set off from the gardens next to the station, or by phone.
“There was a huge bang when you set them off, and again when they exploded in the sky,” said Michael. “You could see the cloud of white smoke in the air and hear the bangs all over town.
“They would also telephone crew members on the old dial telephones. You can imagine how long it took to dial each person and tell them to get down to the boathouse.”
The rockets were retired when bleepers came in that were clipped to crew members’ belts, meaning they were all alerted at the same time, making the process much quicker. In the 1980s, Michael was in the hairdressers having a fashionable perm when his bleeper went off. “Halfway through I had to leap out of the chair and run off to the lifeboat station. You can imagine how I looked. You could be at a dinner party and turn up at the station in your dress suit while someone else is in their pyjamas.”
In the early days, the crew had to supply their own gear. “We didn’t have helmets in those days, we had very basic clothing such as cagoules. When I started, you didn’t get anything. In fact, in the old boathouse there was a beam with nails in and wellington boots hanging off them, and there were all these men’s initials, some of whom had passed on, and these were the wellingtons you used. They were dead men’s boots from previous lifeboatmen!
“When you think of the men who rowed lifeboats out to sea, they were astonishing. When you’ve been to sea and you see what the sea can do to people and boats, that’s just astonishing. You can find yourselves in all sorts of situations out of the blue.”
So what made Michael stick with it after standing in temporarily? “It was the camaraderie. The experience of being at sea with all the blokes you know so well, the excitement and the fear at times. We never got to the point where we thought we were in serious trouble. The Wash is notorious for its sandbanks. At low water, all you can see is sand. Very often, people are out walking and the tide comes in behind them and cuts them off. Or yachting people go aground and as the waves come back in, they break up the boat.”
Many rescues were for children who got blown out to sea on inflatable boats. “The naivety of people and lack of care is amazing,” says Michael. “Parents put their little children in a blow-up boat. Those things can go a mile out in minutes when the wind gets them. When you get to the children, you are so relieved if they have stayed in the boat, because it’s when they either jump out or fall out that the tragedies occur.
“There was a time when we would stick a knife in the dingy so they couldn’t use it again but we would then get verbal abuse from the parents who had to go and buy another one.”
One rescue that sticks in Michael’s mind is that of Richard Branson’s airship, which came down in The Wash at night with just the pilot on board. The lifeboat went out and rescued the pilot before towing the airship back to shore.
“It was still inflated,” explains Michael. “We were quite a few miles from home and it was night-time. As we started to tow it, it came out of the water and took off, but it was still tied to the lifeboat. We could feel it lifting the back of the lifeboat. We had these flares on board, used for looking for people at night. So the coxswain said to fire some flares at this airship and try and get it down again.
“We took great enjoyment at firing the flares at the airship, some of which bounced off it while some went inside and then were flying round inside the airship like a big fireworks display. Having burst it, it then came down and we towed it ashore, by which time it was just this heap of wreckage.”
However, results are not always successful and Michael had his share of those. “You have a job to do and you do it and hopefully you get a good outcome,” he says. “No one thinks about being brave.”
Reports of clothes left on the beach are common. On one occasion, Michael and another lifeboatman had to strip to their underpants to swim under groynes to see if anyone had got stuck there, suffering cuts from the sharp shells on the groynes. But the person they were looking for was at home all the time.
Another time, an RAF fighter came down in The Wash. When the crew got there, there was an overriding smell of aircraft fuel on the water. Unfortunately, the crew had died.
Michael was mayor of Skegness in 1997, chair of the district council in 2000 and chair of the local drainage board. He joined Skegness u3a a few years ago, running the luncheon group, while Margaret enjoys the card-making group.
Memories of national service
Eric Midwinter’s account of National Service (TAM, February) sparked memories for Allen Buckroyd, of Baddow and Galleywood u3a in Essex. More stories are on the Letters pages.
In 1956, I passed three A-levels in physics, pure and applied physics but they were not good enough to get me to university. National Service beckoned and I chose the RAF.
I fancied being a pilot but the powers-that-be decided I did not have the aptitude, so in October 1956 I turned up at RAF Cardington, where all new recruits were sent.
After a week, a batch of us were shipped off to RAF West Kirby on the Wirral Peninsula. This is a windswept spot and we were now into October. We were billeted in wooden sheds, about 24 lads per shed. The NCO (non-commissioned officer) in charge was Corporal Wood. His job was to ‘lick us into shape’, which involved teaching us discipline, drill and how to handle the .22 and .303 rifles and the .303 Bren gun.
Every Tuesday, we suffered ‘bull night’. We had to thoroughly clean and polish our kit, then the billet. The latter involved polishing the lino floor until it shone. At around 9pm, Cpl Wood arrived on his weekly inspection. He had walked across a field from the married quarters, so when he walked from end to end of the billet, he left muddy footmarks on the floor. His standard comment was “This floor is filthy, do it again”.
Training to use the rifles was relatively straightforward. The .22 was easy to fire as it did not have too much recoil. The Bren gun was easier to fire more accurately but it was tricky to assemble, being in two pieces. These were joined together, then locked in place with an arm that rotates around and down. The NCOs emphasised this locking action again and again because otherwise a serious accident could occur. One of our squad could not get the hang of this manoeuvre, so he was made to run 100 yards holding a heavy Bren above his head. When he returned, he had bitten his mouth with the effort and collapsed exhausted. We almost lynched the NCO for that cruelty but it certainly emphasised the safety aspect of the gun.
After eight weeks of ‘square bashing’ at West Kirby, I was destined to be an air radar fitter and posted to RAF Yatesbury in Wiltshire. The course took nine months and served as the theory side of an apprenticeship in electronics. I found this very enjoyable. I specialised in one quarter of a radar system called NBS (Navigation & Bombing System) Mark 9A. It was used in V-bombers, the major offence weapon employed by the RAF in the late 1950s and during the Cold War. The V-bombers comprised the Valiant, Vulcan and Victor – made by four British aircraft companies.
After nine months, I was posted to RAF Finningley near Doncaster. When we got there, we were disappointed to find that there was only one elderly Anson there and empty new buildings destined to be our workshops, so we spent three months assembling the test equipment necessary to do the servicing.
The big day came when the squadron of Avro Vulcan delta-winged bombers arrived. We climbed into the radar tower for a better view and the planes came in very low over the airfield, three abreast in four waves, then climbed into the sky at 60 degrees, on full power. Four Olympus jets per plane multiplied by 12 made the earth vibrate. I shall never forget it.
At RAF Finningley, I studied three nights a week for an Ordinary National Certificate in Electronics at Doncaster Technical College. In October 1958, I was promoted to corporal and posted to RAF Honington in Norfolk. Here, I was allowed day release to study for the Higher National Certificate.
After leaving the RAF, I got five offers of work in the electronics industry. The RAF’s excellent training served me very well in civvy street.
Brain games
Bridge
From Michael Cleaver, of Lancaster & Morecambe u3a
Third Seat Openings
After two passes, you should be prepared to open the bidding with any hand that would be a sound overcall, even with as few as 8-9 points. You should agree with partner that you will only do so with a good suit, so partner will be quick to lead that suit if the subsequent bidding reveals that you were underweight.
Ask yourself “If right-hand opponent were to open 1♣, would I overcall?” If the answer is yes, then you open in third seat.
However, the suit quality must be good, ie. at least 8.
Suit Quality = Length in Suit + Honours in that Suit
(J & 10 are only counted if higher honours are present)
here are some examples of third seat openings:
1. ♠6,5. ♥A,K,J,7,6. ♦7,4,2. ♣9,8,3.
2. ♠9,6. ♥8,7. ♦K,Q,J,9,3. ♣Q,8,7,3.
3. ♠A,K,Q,6. ♥9,5. ♦9,7,3. ♣7,5,4,3.
4. ♠9,7,3,2. ♥Q,8. ♦8,6, 5. ♣K,Q,J,9.
If you play Weak Two's, Hand 1 is suitable for a weak 2♥, especially if not vulnerable. Note that on Hands 3 and 4, the bids can be made on 4-card suits as they are so strong.
Crossword
From Verulam u3a's Cryptic Crossword Compilers Group
Across
1. Long time …. after going out initially (3)
3. Confused Taoist almost led, echoing Greek philosopher (9)
11. Internally Gemima gets the picture (5)
12. Confusingly sore mimer learning his lines (9)
13. In the Jain sect, sometimes we find bugs (7)
14. Really wanted Deidre’s mess? (7)
15. With gran I twice fled round where wheat grows (10)
17. Sore grumpy man hiding back in the drive (4)
20. Stone for capital justice and duty essentials (4)
21. Computer programme conclusion freezes supplementary material (10)
24. Might Spooner offer free set of misty spray? (3,4)
26. Just too much in pet bird’s home for this pie? (7)
27. More tardy friend appears from the side (9)
29. I hear an Anglo-Saxon king made a good proposition (5)
30. Charlatan but still a hopeful king (9)
31. Soggy land’s part of life now (3)
Down
2. Spooner’s grand lass went round meadow (9)
4. Baby carriages around slopes (5)
5. A few utterly an addition (3)
6. Not off, don’t dawdle, attack (6)
7. A jet printer that starts losing air speed each run (5)
8. Area for locomotive not impartial (6)
9. Fighting around the garden (7)
10. Spanner for a card game (6)
14. Dig deep in Handel versus Bach composition (5)
16. Secondly, his injury appeared suitably stable to enter (5)
18. In Paris her café mostly fun when mixed and reheated (9)
19. This issue provides a ‘charged atom’ following an amendment (7)
20. Partly just lying a bit, lawfully? (6)
22. Promises rudely (6)
23. Not wet decay… (3,3)
25. Following stern royalty (5)
26. Bonnie builds ships there (5)
28. He’s cut short his pre-Easter restriction (3)
- To submit a Crossword, grids should be no bigger than 15 square. email it to
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Crossword solution
Across
1. Ago. 3. Aristotle. 11. Image. 12. Memoriser. 13. Insects. 14. Desired. 15. Grainfield. 17. Urge. 20. Jade. 21. Appendices. 24. Sea fret. 26. Cottage. 27. Laterally. 29. Offer. 30. Pretender. 31. Fen.
Down
2. Grassland. 4. Ramps. 5. Sum. 6. Onrush. 7. Laser. 8. Siding. 9. Fencing. 10. Bridge. 14. Delve. 16. Input. 18. Réchauffé. 19. Edition. 20. Justly. 22. Swears. 23. Dry rot. 25. After. 26. Clyde. 28. Len.
Professor Rebus
pitcherwits™
Across
7. Tameable, but not let out at boat side (5)
11. Go mad producing set beliefs (5)
13. Puzzle, set among the fruit (5)
16. Loaned (without a structure) in days of yore (5)
1a. From now on, the throne is restricted to the chef (10)
8a. Nice ham, but only if cooked right in the device (7)
14a. Everything considered, and every bell rung, say? (3,4)
18a. Not considered, even though price is reduced (10)
Down
2. The day before she was the first lady (3)
4. Loathsome bit of a curse! (4)
10. Essential mineral for evening (4)
12. Goodwill endings for a bit of a fishy breather (4)
15. Crystal coming from magnesium silicate (4)
17. Giddy expression in colour! (3)
3d. Raider soldier has nothing to order (8)
5d. Hormone, dug out for those who don't play away! (4,6))
6d. Cared for by humans, with hard-earned respect (4-6))
9d. Chill, you mad, mad clown! (4,4)
- For more professor rebus puzzles visit pitcherwits.co.uk
Professor Rebus solution
Across
1. Henceforth. 7. Abeam. 8. Machine. 11. Dogma. 13. Mango. 14. All told. 16. Olden. 18. Discounted.
Down
2. Eve. 3. Commando. 4. Oath. 5. Home ground. 6. Hand-reared. 9. Calm down. 10. Iron. 12. Gill. 15. Talc. 17. Dye.
Letters
Email your letters, Including your name AND YOUR u3a, and with “letters” in the subject line, to
I'm 86 and hooked on pop star Billie Eilish
A survey by the u3a found that four out of five members believe age is not a barrier to enjoying pop music (TAM, Spring).
I am 86 and age hasn’t stopped me loving certain pop singers as I grew older, for example Michael Jackson, Take That, Rod Stewart (from the start – I have every one of his CDs) and George Michael, to name a few. And I still listen to their music today.
I have never been one for dancing in public but when I’m at home and I put on Michael Jackson or Rod, I’m getting all the exercise I need in my own sitting room!
Recently, I came across American pop star and singer-songwriter Billie Eilish on YouTube. I’m hooked. What a voice, what lyrics; I can listen to her all day. How’s that for an older person appreciating today’s music?
My granddaughter raised her eyebrows when she saw Billie’s CD on my table but laughed and gave me credit for locking on to her.
From Karen Steele, Elmbridge u3a, Surrey.
When I was a teenager, and being of the fairer sex, most people were surprised to find out that I liked rock music.
I attended many concerts, including seeing Thin Lizzy in Adelaide, Australia, when I was 21, and even a few outdoor festivals. Now, at 63, I still enjoy listening to classic rock. But I believe that any kind of music should be accessible to all, regardless of age.
From Diane Cowley, Bolton u3a, Greater Manchester.
When my grandson was asked at his 16th birthday lunch what his favourite bands were, he replied The Beatles, Queen and Wham!. He didn’t realise that his 78- and 80-year-old grandparents and 50-year-old dad shared his taste!
His next visit to us was to sit and sort through our complete Beatles collection of 45s, LPs, tapes and CDs. Then he told us he could stream them all more easily!
Still, it’s nice, when he’s nodding away on the sofa, to be told that it’s Please Please Me on his headphones.
From Ralph Gordon, Havering u3a, London
Getting involved will help you make friends
I’d like to respond to the anonymous member who complains that her u3a is unfriendly (TAM, Spring).
In my experience, the way to make friends in a group such as u3a is to think about what you can contribute in the way of skills and expertise. Perhaps she doesn’t feel ready to step up to running an interest group just yet but there are many other roles that need filling, and stepping forward would make her much more visible to other members.
She may have IT skills that she could use. My u3a recently put out a plea for someone to help set up a Facebook group, something that the committee recognises as a priority but didn’t feel they had the time or expertise to tackle. She mentions that she attends monthly meetings, so why not volunteer to help with those, perhaps by greeting new members, helping put together the speaker programme or providing refreshments on the day? Don’t wait to be asked – step forward and seize the initiative!
Making oneself visible by actively participating in u3a will result in new friendships and respect from other members. I speak from experience, not just within u3a but as a member of another local group with more than 200 members. If she steps forward and takes on a new role, she will quickly have more friends than she knows what to do with!
Angela Bell, u3a East Suffolk
As a member of Flintshire u3a in north-east Wales, it was recorded by more than one over nearly 20 years how I and the whole u3a were so welcoming to all newcomers! After moving and joining Braintree u3a in Essex, I have received the best of welcomes by members of the six groups I have already joined in the past three months!
From Ken Archer, Braintree u3a, Essex.
I joined my local u3a and, like Anon, did not feel welcome. I am 62 and most of the members seem to be in their 70s and 80s and were very cliquey. When attending the monthly branch meeting, I was told several times that I ‘could not sit there’ as they were keeping those seats for their friends. I ended up sitting on my own. It appeared the members all seemed to know each other and I felt very much an outsider.
Most of the groups were full. The one group I did join was okay and though I did speak to other members I did not make any friends. My general impression is that unless you already know people and go along with them, then it isn’t very welcoming. I also felt I was too young!
Maybe other groups are more welcoming? And obviously many members would probably paint a different picture to mine.
From Anon, West Midlands.
Embracing hybrid meetings
I read with interest Tony Cheetham’s and national chair Liz Thackray’s comments regarding online and hybrid meetings (The Big Debate, TAM, February).
The u3a is indeed in a state of flux; perhaps in a state of development. It is suggested on social media that there should be a greater emphasis on ‘fun’ and ‘social aspects’ of the u3a over ‘learning’.
Liz’s suggestion of hybrid activities, where they are run both in person and online, is excellent. They enable those who have difficulties with face-to-face meetings, as well as those who wish to meet in person, to take part.
Tony cautions against some of the developments, pointing out that online meetings could threaten the financial viability of some u3as if members chose to stay at home and ‘sofa surf’ rather than attend in person.
In the same issue on the letters pages, former national chair Keith Richards also reminds us of the importance of learning as a function of the u3a and asks us not to lose this vital educational aspect.
Further more, Keith points to the particular and unique approach to learning developed by the u3a which, while a demanding model, is well suited to the members. It is about learning together, with each other and from each other; and all this without any demand to take formal exams. We should nurture and develop this model.
Modern research in the cognitive sciences shows the benefits that learning provides us. As a group, we now have more ability to pursue those things that we missed out on, or didn’t have time for, in the past. We should not shy away from the challenges of learning; rather, we should embrace them.
From Shri Sharma, u3a Philosophy Subject Adviser.
A com-pleat treat!
Trust u3a Fashion (Hybrid) group had
a wonderful opportunity to discover the art of pleating fabric at Ciment Pleating. Members visited the factory while others took part on Zoom. Owner Matt Weinert explained that Ciment Pleating was founded in 1925 and is the oldest and sadly the last remaining pleating company in Britain.
Pleating is a highly skilled art form and takes years of experience to master.Ciment Pleating is a small team of four. They use the traditional process of hand-pleating as well as machine pleating in a variety of styles. Most of the techniques use original equipment from when the company started, such as a 100-year-old pleat machine.
They have more than 300 types of patterns and pleats stacked up and ready to use, all handmade using cardboard and a scalpel. We were amazed at the rolls and rolls of cardboard patterns.
We had a wonderful time and felt very privileged to be there and see the process and samples of so many pleating styles.
From Ruth Lancashire, Trust u3a Fashion (Hybrid) Group leader and u3a Fashion Subject Adviser
- To read Ruth’s full report of the visit go to sources.u3a.org.uk
Action needed on packaging
It was with interest that I read Everyday items that make life hard (TAM, February). As a retired pharmacist, I connected with the 12 per cent of people who complained about medicine packaging and am surprised that it was as few as that. Blister packs and childproof bottles are of concern, of course, but must be considered in the light of patient and child safety.
When childproof bottles first emerged in the late 70s, I took several home, put Smarties inside and gave them to my young children. They opened all but one very easily. My elderly patients were less adept! There has always been the patient option to request medication in normal screw-capped bottles, but few requested this unless the pharmacist, seeing difficulty, advised it.
Small tablets are an unnecessary presentation and I believe that this increasing trend is to save on tablet excipients and packaging. Again, ask your pharmacist for a larger brand. If they decline your wishes, try a more accommodating pharmacist.
One issue I have been fighting for many years is the plethora of different packaging form, size and colour for generic medicines. A good pharmacist will try to dispense consistent manufacturers’ products. Others, mostly, will claim unavailability; the real reason is they will dispense the cheapest brand they can buy and that alters month by month. Dispensing inconsistent packaging is dangerous; patients seeing two or more different packs with the same instructions will take from multiple packs. What is needed is a consistent presentation, form, size and colour in a package that is similarly consistent between manufacturers.
From David Kent MRPharmS, Barnet u3a, London.
Time to celebrate
Following Covid-19 restrictions, May Day 2022 was a time of celebration in the town of Holywood in Northern Ireland, when they were able to hold their traditional fair in which the local u3a group took part.
Holywood is the only town in Ireland still to have a maypole, with the first records dating back to 1625. It was after the demise of the last maypole, during lockdown, that members of the u3a history group researched the 400-year history of Holywood’s maypoles. This resulted in an exhibition in the local library and museum when a new maypole was installed. It was on show again at the May Day Fair, where the u3a group had a stall to tell people what the organisation had to offer. The exhibition reminded them of the history of maypoles in Holywood while once again they enjoyed watching children dance around their new maypole.
From Betty McLaughlin, Holywood u3a
River Lea.
It was interesting to read about walking the Thames (TAM, Spring) but yet another article which refers to the ‘River Lee’. I wish the correct spelling of the name of this lovely river would be used. It is the River Lea. Reference to old Ordnance Survey maps will confirm this.
‘Lea’ is much more descriptive of the arable lands the river used to run through.
From Patricia Parsons, Bude & District u3a, Cornwall.
Nuclear debate
There will be not one particular solution to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels to acceptable levels but a number. It is essential we choose the correct technologies to develop and not pour money into projects that will eventually be a dead end, such as with canals 150 years ago when railways turned up to dominate the transport system. My fear is that we may have politicians steering the direction we take when, in reality, we need to be led by engineers and scientists.
We are now suffering the results of earlier political prevarication. For many years they haven’t had the political will to support the building of the next generation of nuclear power stations. Had they done so in good time, we would be on the way to significantly reducing our carbon footprint and, more immediately, we would have been better insulated from the current round of energy price-hikes the world is experiencing . The strike price of £89.50 per MWh for Hinkley Point C is now starting to look like quite a bargain for reliable base load generation!
Tim Gibbs, Torridge u3a, North Devon
In response to letters relating to nuclear energy and other aspects of the energy/climate debate, I have to admit that I respond badly to insistent people telling me what to think.
In terms of energy generation, I am not a Luddite. I’m interested in all the different sources of fossil-free energy and have installed solar PV panels and air-source heat pumps on my house. I’m aware that nuclear power is fossil-free, though it’s not renewable like wind, tidal, hydro and solar. I accept that, despite immense unresolved safety concerns, nuclear is likely to be a contributor to the UK energy supply for many years. Ideas of using small modular reactors (from submarines) and hydrogen fuel cells are also interesting to me but I’m aware that the technology is not yet available at scale.
However, in the interests of a balanced debate, I’d like to point out that the letter in favour of nuclear energy makes no mention of the potential environmental risks and costs to the UK taxpayer of the storage and disposal of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel.
A new organisation has been set up by the Government called Nuclear Waste Services as part of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). The operations of this company are funded by UK taxpayers. The NDA Business Plan for 2022/23 sets out the anticipated income and expenditure (as agreed with Treasury and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy): “Total planned expenditure for 22/23 is £3.65 billion, of which £2.825 billion will be funded by UK government ... ”
The NDA business plan includes a long-term programme for the removal of hazards such as coolants and the storage of radioactive waste, and for the clean-up and reuse of all redundant nuclear sites. “All land and buildings are to be decommissioned, demolished or reused by 2333” – that’s 300-plus years from now. Multiply that by three or more £billions every year – ouch !
from Kate Bailey, Teesdale u3a.
It was heartening to read so many articles and letters relating to climate change. Unfortunately, many people will not discuss it as they think of it as a political issue and/or ‘there’s nothing we can do about it’. Wrong on both counts.
The reality is that global warming is happening. Politicians and ‘green wash’ businesses will only make significant changes when they know their present lack of action will lose them votes and money respectively.
From Sarah Wakeford, Bolsover u3a, Derbyshire.
Compostable bags
Following Jan Elliott’s comment about compostable carrier bags (Letters, February), many only decompose under certain conditions in industrial anaerobic digesters. Most local authorities do not have this facility, so to tell customers they are 100 per cent compostable is misleading and they do not decompose in garden compost bins.
However, some retailers are supplying carrier bags that have been tested to both EB13432 (industrial) and ‘OK Home composting’ conditions. The Co-op have informed me that their carrier bags conform to these standards and therefore can be home-composted if your local authority does not collect food waste in them.
If your local authority does not collect food waste, I suggest you contact your preferred retailer to find out whether their carrier bags can be composted at home.
From Linda Wornes, Isles of Scilly u3a.
Memories of Mumbai
Dr Ved Sood’s article about meeting Mahatma Gandhi (TAM, Spring) was fascinating and a delight to read. It brought back personal memories of my time in India.
I remember reading a biography of Gandhi some 20 years ago and being blown away by the bravery and simple doggedness of this great man to try to bring peace and independence to India.
While working in the Far East during the first few years of this century, I visited several Indian cities, including Mumbai, and was lucky enough to have a little spare time to visit one particular house at 19, Laburnum Road, Gamdevi, Mumbai. This modest house was the place that Gandhi resided whenever he was in Mumbai between 1917 and 1934.
The house, called Mani Bhavan, is now a museum dedicated to the life and achievements of Gandhi. I can thoroughly recommend anyone to make a visit to this special place. For me, the most wonderful experience comes from standing in the second-floor room, which was Gandhi’s in his times of residence. I felt so humbled by this simply furnished room once occupied by a man of such greatness. And so a special thanks to Dr Sood for sharing his story of his personal meetings with Gandhi and for bringing back my own memories of my time in India, and of the one-time occupant of a room in a modest house in Mumbai.
From Dave Metcalfe, Chalfonts u3a.
The physics behind heat pumps
I am not sure where Henry Chandler got the idea that heat pumps violate the laws of thermodynamics (Letters, Spring).
When used to heat a home, they do indeed supply 3-4 kWh of heat for every kWh of electricity you put in. But that is because the additional heat is pumped (hence the name) out of the air or the ground (which therefore become colder), not because they break the laws of physics.
Angela Cotton, Southampton u3a
I think Henry Chandler should have paid more attention in his thermodynamics lectures regarding the performance of refrigerators and heat pumps, and the first and second Laws of Thermodynamics. Had he done so, he would know that heat pumps work more or less as advertised and the heating energy output is much greater than the electrical energy required for them to run. He would also be reassured that no ‘laws of thermodynamics’ have been broken. In fact, a little thought and some simple arithmetic show that heat pumps do work.
In operation, the refrigerant in a heat pump absorbs heat from two sources, first from its surroundings (Qin) and then from the compressor (W) that drive it round the system. It releases heat once to heat the building (Qout). Putting this into an equation, we get: Qout = Qin + W.
From this equation it is obvious that Qout must be more than W, you really do get more heat out than you put in as electricity! The ratio of Qout/W is called the Coefficient of Performance (CoP) and it is always greater than 1 for a heat pump. With very efficient compressors and modern designs, the CoP of domestic heat pumps can be greater than 4 (you get more than four times as much heat energy out as you put in as electrical energy).
There are problems with heat pumps but they are nothing to do with the laws of thermodynamics!
From Robin Trow, Kings Hill u3a, Kent.
My love of Scottish country dancing
I have always loved Scottish music and enjoy Ceilidh dancing, so when there was a demonstration at my u3a, I just wanted to join. Of course, you have to learn the steps, the terminology, the formations and counting the bars of the music. It is not only good for your body physically, keeping you on your toes with different moves, but also for your mental health. Your mind is learning and remembering and trying not to go wrong in a dance. With practice and time, you improve and enjoy the dance, the friendly group and the enthusiasm.
Scottish Country Dancing is very different from Ceilidh dancing. It is a lot gentler and more disciplined. The former is taught and learnt, whereas for Ceilidh dancing you don’t necessarily need formal teaching.
We dance on Tuesday afternoons at the Squash Club in Grantham. We have danced at Burns Suppers, festivals, nursing homes, a garden centre, golf club and other venues.
Even during lockdown, the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society (RSCDS) had Zoom classes. A teacher from somewhere in the world would teach us and encourage us to follow their steps while we were watching them. Our teacher, John Aitken, kept us together on Zoom by teaching us how to interpret the dance diagrams, which is proving very useful for us.
We have a lovely group of dancers who are very lucky to be able to follow the u3a motto Learn, laugh, live, while doing something so enjoyable.
From Amber Porter, Grantham u3a, Lincolnshire.
u3a campaigning role
I joined u3a to take part in member-led groups of people who share an interest in a particular activity, be it a sport, a language, art, science and so on. I didn’t realise I would be campaigning on a range of social and political issues (TAM, Spring).
If I choose to become an activist or campaigner, I will endeavour to join the relevant organisation. In short, I would be grateful if the u3a would refrain from speaking in my name on any social or political issue.
From Gary Webster, Faversham u3a, Kent.
Civil disobedience gives citizens power
I write in response to letters about Clive Teague’s article ‘Joining Extinction Rebellion Changed My Life’ (TAM, Spring). The questions (at least for me) are: What is our point? Over whom should we be exerting influence? And what does a balanced view on climate change look like?
The rationale for XR is, as I understand it, that governments have fallen short of their duty to protect people and the environment from the effects of climate change. Scientific evidence shows that these effects are already impacting humans and other species and that the trend is towards some sort of environmental collapse unless substantial steps are taken to reduce emissions.
Although we can all individually make changes to our lives to make a difference, the measures needed to avert what is apparently predicted are not within the gift of individuals – which is why we need to look to government to make it possible for us to make them en masse. I would argue that this is the point; that government is an appropriate recipient of influence; and that this is the foundation of a balanced view.
XR’s tactics have been to make this point and exert influence in a way that has historically yielded quicker results than the ballot box: non-violent resistance or ‘civil disobedience’. This is not a new concept. Introduced into Western consciousness by the philosopher Henry David Thoreau in the 19th century, civil disobedience is intended to wake people up so they are not unwittingly complicit in policies and behaviours that promote injustice – and climate change is unarguably an issue of injustice. The tactic was used by Susan Anthony in the Women’s Suffrage movement; Mahatma Gandhi in India’s independence from British rule; and Martin Luther King in the American Civil Rights movement.
Civil disobedience has a substantial heritage in equipping citizens with the means to procuring urgently needed governance change in society.
Whether climate change represents a similar threat to freedom and well-being as sexism, colonialism or racism is a matter for personal consideration, but some others who are of this view consider the actions of XR as proportionate to the gravity of the issue and silently applaud both the conviction and the activism.
From Neil Deuchar, u3a Countdown to COP26 group
While not involved in the activities of Extinction Rebellion, I am satisfied that we are facing an environmental crisis, defined as a critical and dangerous point. Like your other correspondents, I am unlikely to be around when my children are my age, still less if any grandchildren reach it. The time to act is upon us. It is true that other key players (Russia, China and India) combined to seriously undermine COP26 but the conclusion I draw is not that we should not therefore bother.
Rising global temperatures do not just affect the weather; it is also crucially about rising sea levels with the loss of large areas of land projected by the middle of this century. For example, much of Florida and Bangladesh, deforestation, desertification, wildfires, acidification of the oceans, disturbed rainfall patterns, the superficially paradoxical increase in both drought and flooding, changes in the jet stream and so on. Most scientists agree that the root cause of these and other related phenomena is man-made climate change.
It seems to me that we have two crises on our hands: the scale, pace and implications of unprecedented rapid climate change and the refusal of large sections of society to accept that we are facing a crisis. I will happily accept any retrospective criticism from my children in the future except that I did not see what was a blindingly obvious existential threat to their and their children’s happiness and future and that I did not do my bit, however modest.
From David Tolley, Chepstow u3a
Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the UN, said on Twitter: “Climate activists are sometimes depicted as dangerous radicals. But the truly dangerous radicals are the countries that are increasing the production of fossil fuels.”
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO)’s report, Global Annual to Decadal Climate Change, states that there is almost a 50 per cent chance that in at least one of the next five years the average world temperature will exceed 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. How ‘imminent’ do we need it to be to take the radical action required to prevent regular, intense heatwaves, droughts, fires and floods?
The climate crisis is already here. This is not a future problem, this a now problem. Millions of people are already facing the dramatic and destructive consequences of a warming world and it’s going to get much worse unless we take urgent action to cut emissions. Some extreme climate events and conditions that were not projected to take place until 2100 have already occurred. Storms like Dudley, Eunice and Franklin are likely to become the new normal across the UK.
XR is driven by the collective wisdom of the scientific community. The pinnacle of this is the report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), as it is a peer-reviewed collection of climate-related studies from around the world. These reports say that unless there are immediate and deep reductions across all sectors, limiting global warming to 1.5°C is beyond reach.
Faced with the enormity of the problem, members of XR have resolved to do whatever it takes to persuade governments and businesses to use their immense power and humanity’s amazing ingenuity and technological brilliance to reduce the effects of global heating. If you feel the same, you are not alone.
From Clive Teague, Odiham District u3a.
Cash or cashless?
At a Chesterfield u3a group meeting of ‘What the papers say’, the subject of the creep towards a cashless society was raised. As our discussion progressed, it became clear that Chesterfield u3a and presumably other u3as, as well as many organisations, societies and clubs, rely upon small change to run groups, coffee mornings, and so on. We were clear that they will find it very difficult to exist if we become a cashless society.
Like many of my friends, I use cash and also a bank card, with tap or pin. I am comfortable using online banking but many people are not. This group of people is becoming, by stealth, gradually marginalised and discriminated against. It seems lots of organisations might find themselves squeezed out of existence too if we are increasingly forced to go cashless. We are concerned, are you?
From Shirley Mountain, Chesterfield u3a, Derbyshire.
Past or present?
I’d like to start this short epistle with a question. Does anyone know when the words ‘standing’ and ‘sitting’ were replaced with ‘stood’ and ‘sat’? For example, we often hear “He was sat in the chair” rather than “He was sitting in the chair”. Books and TV all seem to have replaced standing and sitting with their past-tense equivalent.
To get to the bottom of this, I asked the walked group if they knew when this change took place. No idea! The ran group had no idea either. Someone from the ran group had their jaws moving. I asked “What are you ate?” They replied, “I’m not ate, I’m chewed chewed gum.” I’m not a great fan of chewed gum as it can stuck to your shoes, and requested when finished chewed that they disposed of it properly.
On the way home the bus was busy with students. It was stood space only. Graciously a student offered their seat to me. It felt good to be sat the rest of the way home. It must be an age thing, so I’ll need to go back to school and get learned what changes have been made since I was
a child.
From Stuart McKinney, Edinburgh u3a.
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