Well, the Blues Appreciation Group got off to a good start and I’m fully subscribed for meetings at my house. So far we have looked at Robert Johnson and other artists that died at 27, Willie Dixon and the Chicago Blues, John Lee Hooker and B B King plus we did a Tracks of My Years for the Xmas meet.
This proved very interesting; I was introduced to the music of Elaine Delmar and by coincidence was lucky enough to receive tickets to see her at the Spring Havant. More Jazz than Blues perhaps, her set comprised of a tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, but what a performer at 80+ ….. Wow.
Unfortunately we’ve now got the Corona Blues and meetings would go against good advice, so I’m trying use a bit of tech by sending out a daily blues track and weekly magazine by email. Whilst this isn’t the same as meeting with people it might help a little with isolation and keep the interest going. I would be more than happy to include others on this email list. Any Hayling U3A members who would like to be included can email me.
Stay safe and well and I hope to see everyone in the not too distant future.
Social Bridge is a fairly quiet group. Actually it's quieter than that. We don't move around much either, except for a couple of times a year, when we de-camp to the Golf Club to rent the Sinah Room overlooking the lake, play and have lunch. The word "Frenetic" is not a good adjective for us, but we don't mind.
We regularly have enough members to fill 4 or 5 tables, and have space and kit for 6 tables as a maximum. So we have room for a few more members. If you would like to play Bridge, but don't know how, then we can direct you to classes that will get you started or improved (this is how many of us got started) - so don't give up hope!
We still miss Mrs. Vera Smith who led our group for many years, and trust she is enjoying her new home and U3A in Odiham.
It was a year of great sadness for Bell Canto as we lost five of our members who had been with the team almost from its beginnings. The loss of Audrey and Derek Knight, Avril Keyes and Paul Chapman, plus Joan Palmer who went into care, was grievous not only because they were all good musicians who contributed sensitively to the music but also because they contributed significantly to the friendship and concern for each other that has evolved in the group. Happily we have made four new recruits and we look forward to their becoming integrated into the group and its music making.
Our main events were crammed into the latter part of the year. Just before the summer break we shared a concert in the URC Church with the Hampshire Guitar Group, organised by Hannah Hone. After a gap of a year we returned to the URC Church for the Late Night Shopping Concert. We had a goodly crowd in to listen, and appreciated the many kind comments at the end of the concert.
At the end of the year we had two contrasting concerts. We shared an event with the Solent Fellowship Band in a packed St Mary’s Church. We played two sessions, one of light classics and the other Christmas music. This was our best playing ever with the bells resounding through the superb acoustic in the Nave.
Later 15 of us went to play to the severely disabled people who live in the Bryony House Care Home. There are just eight residents. Although individual communication was very difficult, their evident pleasure and enjoyment came across very clearly: and whilst, with one exception, no-one could sing the words of the carols, they all joined in humming and singing as best they could until the whole room filled with music, their sounds blending with the bells.
Big events, broadcasts and CDs over the years have seen the team play to many people. Perhaps our most worthwhile event was playing to those eight people whose lives, to us, seem impossible to bear.
One of the objectives of the U3A is to learn things. In History Group 2 we have found that a sure fire way of ensuring that you learn something is to be told that you are going to have to give a talk about it to your peers on your chosen historic subject. That is what we do.
Over the last year we have had talks on a wide variety of topics which included:
The Huguenots and their impact on British society;
Constantine the Great from 324 BC;
The Neolithic period of Prehistoric Britain;
Royal Navy Press Gangs from 1664 onwards;
The motion of the Earth round the Sun and its influence on how we measure time;
Conflicts between the USA and Mexico, Cuba, Spain and the Philippines;
What it means to be 'Celtic' in Britain from 1707 AD onwards;
The contrasts between reality and the Hollywood versions of the lives of Wyatt Earp and other western 'gunslingers';
Admiral Fieldhouse 1st Sea Lord during the Falklands War; and
The connection between the Meteorological Office and Pitcairn Island.
A very original and thought provoking talk was given by Richard North on what we mean by 'History', how it was taught when we were all pupils, and how it is taught now.
At present we are at maximum capacity but if we have any vacancies in the future it will appear on the U3A website.
All through the year, in the background, was Brexit! We kept stating that it wasn’t philosophy, but somehow it kept intruding itself on our discussions. We talked about the rise of ‘populism’ and what it was, and ‘sovereignty’ and such like.
However the group has evolved over the year. We have lost one or two members. We are all getting older, and ill health has taken its toll on some, the most recent and sadly missed being Paul Chapman, on the upside, we have new members who bring a fresh perspective to our discussions.
We have ventured into more scientific topics, such as ‘consciousness’ and ‘reality’, how far can we trust our senses? We still follow the same format: we agree a topic, somebody agrees to start off the discussion, and then pandemonium ensues! (No, we really are very polite and disciplined!) We always break for coffee and cake and a chat, (which I think is half the reason people come) but that is one of the benefits of belonging to this U3A.
I am often surprised by the interest shown by people in the group. When we started, more than ten years ago, I was sure we wouldn’t get many takers and it wouldn’t last. But here we still are, with people still wanting to join. We are even preparing for the return of Derek Dunn after his stints as past Chairman and past President. The problem always seems to be the timing of the group (Wednesday morning, third in the month) but I’m sure any other time would clash with other groups as well.
If anyone is at a loose end on a Wednesday morning and wants to try us out, do get in touch, there may be a short wait, but we can fit in one or two more.
The Science and Technology group have had a fascinating lecture series over the past year or so. This has been augmented by a number of group discussions.
The programme over the period Jan 2019 to Feb 2020 is listed below
Date
Topic
Speaker
Jan 2019
The Future of Drones
Group discussion
Feb
Nanotechnology
Group discussion
Mar
DNA
Group discussion
May
Satellite Radar Images - What You See Is NOT What You Get!"
Percy Phelps
June
Climate Change
Group discussion
Sep
The Science and Engineering of the Honey Bee. Pt 1
Percy Phelps
Oct
The Science and Engineering of the Honey Bee. Pt 2
Percy Phelps
Nov
The Paranormal
Joint meeting with Portsdown U3A
Dec
"Aerodynamic Characteristics of Reindeers"
Merry Xmas
Jan 2020
The Internet
Bob Hornby
Feb
Boeing 737 Max And The Accident That Was Going To Happen
Percy Phelps
Unfortunately the December meeting could not take place !
We have a membership in the region of 40, with an average attendance of 20. We meet on the 4th Wednesday of the month in St. Patrick’s Church hall. This venue has plenty of on-site parking so do come along and join us.
On a sad note, our founder member Paul Chapman passed away in January. He was a fine speaker and will be sadly missed.
Also realistically, it is unlikely that there will be any further meeting until September, as we normally take a break in the summer months.
From the 2nd November until the 17th November our U3A presented three outstanding events.
The first was the opening of the exhibition and book launch by Rear Admiral Colin Cook-Priest at the Royal British Legion on the 2nd November. The Rear Admiral gave a heartfelt appreciation for the effort that had gone into the book and its contribution to the history of the Island. The Mayor of Havant also attended as did Alan Mak, MP for Havant. Over the two weeks the exhibition was very well attended by Hayling Islanders, school children and many visitors from the mainland. Visitors were very complimentary about the exhibition, with comments of 'excellent' and commending its broad coverage of the years, interesting facts, illustrations, artefacts and Timelines. Likewise the book ‘Hayling Island, The Years of Change 1919 - 1946' was praised for the quality and content and many dozens were sold to the visitors.
The second event was a special service at St Mary's Church to unveil an additional memorial plaque to 19 Hayling servicemen who had lost their lives during WW2 whose names had not been recorded on existing plaques. A very moving service, when local schools and the College took part, 19 pupils placed a poppy and lit a candle as each serviceman's name was read out by the Head Boy of the college and the Head Girl read the poem 'Perhaps', by Vera Brittain. The service ended with a Hayling College student singing 'Keep the home fires burning' which brought a tear to many an eye.
The final event was on 13th November when the Mayor of Havant, Cllr Diana Patrick, unveiled a simple wooden plaque to all the civilian Men, Women and Children who lost their lives through enemy action on Hayling Island during WW2. Her speech is shown below
Hayling Island U3A with the help of the whole community presented three memorable events which brought together many organisations, families and individuals. The U3A were honoured to be able to interview men and women who served on Hayling Island during the war years.
Karen Walker
Shown below is the Mayor’s speech at the unveiling of a memorial to the civilian casualties killed by enemy action on Hayling Island during World War 2, on Wednesday 13 November 2019 at Hayling Island Community Centre
“Over the last couple of weeks I have been involved with the Hayling Island U3A commemorations of the period from the end of World War One to the end of the Second World War.
First we had the launch of your superb book “Hayling Island The Years of Change 1919 – 1946” followed by the opening of the Exhibition in the Royal British Legion room, a presentation of top professional quality, and then the Service in St Mary’s Church to unveil a new plaque to commemorate servicemen from the Island killed in battle whose names had not previously been publicly recorded. It was a moving and lovely Service enhanced by the way in which you incorporated schoolchildren and others from the wider Hayling Community: bringing the Lions and The Royal British Legion into the project.
And so we move on to the final event: the unveiling of the Memorial to the Hayling Island civilians who were killed on the Island in consequence of enemy action.
Before I do I must first commend Michael Burnham, most ably supported by his wife Jill, who conceived the project, gathered support around him, and worked towards this wonderful series of events: and to Paul Chapman for leading the Book Launch the other Saturday and Derek Dunn for today’s event.
I have been astonished by the quality of the book, the incredible standard of the Exhibition, and deeply moved by the Memorial Service. And I am most grateful to have been invited. But if I might say so, the whole project has been an unbelievable example of the ability, skills and professional abilities that still reside in older people and which can be utilised to the benefit of all. We are perhaps far too ready as a society to write older people off and to disregard the manifest abilities and skills that they can offer for the benefit of our community.
And so we move on to the final ceremony of your commemorations. I know from my conversation with Derek that you were unable to be absolutely satisfied that you had garnered all the names of the Islanders killed by enemy action: and that you have worded a general and respectful inscription. I also gathered that this is the first memorial on the Island to the civilian war dead.
It is hard to realise, at this distance in time, the horrors wrought by War, even on this peaceful and gentle Island. In unveiling this plaque I do so with the greatest regard for the people who died, in gratitude for their contribution to the War effort that was ultimately successful, and with a deep desire that such sacrifice will never be required again.”
Cllr Diana Patrick, Mayor of Havant
Plaque unveiled by the Mayor of Havant, Cllr Diana Patrick placed at the Community Centre on 13th November 2019Primary school pupil lighting candles for each serviceman namedTimeline displayHayling College singers who sang ”Poppies” composed and conducted by Neil Ogley Head of MusicHead boy Ethan Lewis and Head girl Lucy Walker of The Hayling College unveil the memorial plaque at St Mary’s Church 7th November
We have had another good year in terms of fun playing together but have all been saddened and shocked by the unexpected death of our leader Avril Keyes in September. Avril was a brilliant and versatile musician who brought a breadth of knowledge and range of skills to our group and in wider groups across Hampshire. She leaves a big gap behind her.
Our group are meeting in late November to decide on a way forward and how to cope with the loss of our lead player. We will report on developments and decisions through the website.
The Group continues to have a full complement of members with Sunday and Wednesday sessions at Seacourt Tennis Club's two rinks (or more correctly, pistes) each attracting an average of about 10 players. Earlier in the summer we were challenged by the newly formed Ems Valley U3A Pétanque Group to a friendly match which we managed to win by 3 games to 1. At the end of September we entered 4 teams in the annual National U3A Event at Mill Rythe which featured about 54 teams from across England and Wales. Three of our teams eventually went out in the knockout stages but one team made up for this by winning all of its games and ended up taking Gold! A truly magnificent achievement especially since many of the opposing teams were considerably more experienced. A photo of the winning team – comprising Sheila Partridge, Geoff Belding and Sue Humphrey - proudly displaying their medals is shown below.
Eleven ladies travelled to Horndean to play our first match. We hadn't had an opportunity to play a full game before due to lack of numbers but because we have had lots of ball practice we didn't let ourselves down. At the end of 4 quarters the final score was 6-4 to Horndean and they have been playing for 3 years compared to our 4 months! Well done ladies!
We had the inaugural meeting of Wine Appreciation Group 2 in July, and were lucky to be able to sit outside on one of those balmy evenings we enjoyed this summer. We had the help of Norma and Terry, who run Wine Appreciation Group 1, who came along to advise us all on how their group operates.
The theme of the evening was “A Wine for Summer” and we had 3 very different white wines and a rosé to taste. But to the surprise of us all, the winner was a red Cotes du Rhone bought from Lidl. Unusually for a red, the wine is required to be served chilled. Every wine came with interesting information about its provenance, and sometimes a story. In the case of the red, it came from the old-established firm of M. Chapoutier, and we were told that every child born to the family is given a name starting with the letter M in case they end up in charge of the family firm. Andy Henderson, who brought the wine, added that he first drank it at the end of a hot and exhausting day’s walking in the Alps – a recipe for making the evening’s refreshment memorable!
The group continues to meet every 2 months, with Australian Reds being the theme of our next tasting.
2019 has been a rather turbulent year for the Writers' Circle. One treasured member, Derek Knight, was bereaved when his wife, Audrey, passed away and was not in the best of health himself. Recently, we heard the sad news that Derek had died; he will be much missed by the community. He was a leading light of the Hayling Lions, the Hayling Choir and the bell ringers. He worked tirelessly for charity, after a successful career...his death an end to a memorable chapter.
On a happier note, we have acquired two new members who are extremely promising writers, although without a great deal of experience in the art.
I have also written some reviews for an online jazz magazine, which were published. This was due to the stimulus provided by being a member of a writing group.
It is vital for groups to renew and refresh themselves as much as possible and the U3A writers have continually realised their hopes and dreams through the medium of fiction.
We currently meet in different venues, all in members' homes, but without a permanent base. This situation may change in 2020.
To sum up this year, we have experienced loss and renewal but we continue to derive fellowship and inspiration from meeting each month and sharing our thoughts.
