Meeting reports - April - July 2022

Monthly meetings

Bobbie Darbyshire - April

Bobbie won the 2008 fiction prize at the National Academy of Writing and the New Delta review Creative Nonfiction Prize 2010. She has worked as a barmaid, mushroom picker, film extra, maths coach, cabinet minister's private secretary, care assistant and volunteer adult literacy teacher as well as in social research and government policy. Her talk was lively, interesting and full of inspiring quotes from other authors, such as 'We should be continually jumping off cliffs and developing wings on the way down' - Kurt Vonnegut.

Jane Glennie - May

Jane is an actress and historian with 30 years of experience bringing history to life in museums, theatres, heritage sites and u3a meeting venues! Her talks are stand alone theatrical performances using original and replica objects and costumes to illustrate the talks.

At our meeting she appeared dressed as Catherine Dickens and described her happy married life to the great writer and the terrible way it ended. Jane conveyed the injustice of his treatment of his wife and the genuine sadness of Catherine. It was an outstanding performance and very moving.

Martin Lloyd - June

Passports, Assassins, Traitors and Spies was the title of the talk at June's monthly meeting The speaker, Martin Lloyd, had worked for the HM Immigration Service for 24 years. He now appears on television and gives talks on the radio and to groups. He told stories of how three passports have played their influential role in the course of history: an attempted assassination which altered the regulations for issuing passports; the capture of a spy which caused a worldwide modification to the design of the document and for one person the passport itself which turned into a killer.

Andrew Negus - July

By popular demand, Andrew Negus came back to us for a 4th time to tell us about his travels in the Far East. The talk was as full of anecdotes and humour as ever and included some adventures such as meeting some Komodo dragons but avoiding being eaten by them! In addition he saw the largest Buddhist temple in the world - the Lotus on the Lake, built in 800 AD. He visited the live volcano Mount Bromo and was offered boiled eggs from a volcanic pool. While he was in Java he was warned not to put any valuables in his trouser pockets because thieves would come and slash the trouser leg just below the pocket, remove your wallet and you wouldn't feel anything until you noticed blood trickling down your leg! Andrew Negus found a way round this by putting a row of safety pins below the pocket. He was not robbed!
He returned to the UK via Australia where he camped in the bush and saw the Gloucestershire Lookout Tree, used for spotting forest fires and with strong pieces of wood driven into the trunk so that people could ascend.

He crossed the desert from Perth to Adelaide on the Nullabar train which is the longest straight railway in the world and his wine box was confiscated, much to his annoyance. What a memorable trip!

Maggi Bridgman

Group report

Lawn bowls

Lawn Bowls continues on Thursday mornings at the Hayling Bowls Club. Members bowl in pairs and the equipment is supplied by the Bowls club. The cost is now £4 for 2 hours with refreshments.
The group is open to new members and tuition can be given to those that require it.

Contact me if you are interested in joining.

Julie Taylor

Group report

Meditation

We meet twice monthly in The Royal British Legion hall and have continued to enjoy practising different forms of meditation. We mix the different techniques in each session so that group members have a chance to investigate what works best for them. Meditations may include guided imagery, mindfulness, and silent meditation – with the use of a mantra, or ‘mala’ beads, if necessary - or, simply listening to a piece of music.

Group members also really enjoy Yoga Nidras. Yoga Nidra means ‘yogic sleep’, and it uses a systematic method to move from external awareness to internal awareness. The beta brain waves which are dominant in the normal active waking state become less dominant, and are replaced by alpha waves, which allow thought to become more gentle or meditative. When Yoga Nidra is achieved the alpha/theta boundary is experienced; this helps us to connect both to our unconscious, and conscious mind, and it is the state in which the mind is most flexible. This is the space in which we can connect to our creativity and break unwanted habits.

Apart from the actual practice of meditation, we have looked at the energetic aspect of the body, and learnt a bit about how the chakras function. We have also gained an understanding of the auric layers in the human energy field in both health and ‘disease’, and how these layers relate to the chakras.

Please do come and join us if you feel this type of thing would interest you. We have a cup of tea/coffee at the end, we always maintain a sense of humour, and we certainly don’t all eat lentils and sit in a half lotus position.

Ann Pearcey

Group report

Pickleball

The Pickleball group started on the 4th July at the badminton courts in HICCA. To begin with members started to learn the rules and, more importantly, how to score a game. Getting the ball over the net was quite a challenge to start with, so for the first half of the session we focused on serving and returning the balls. We then progressed to taking it in turns to play doubles games.

Pickleball is still open for new members if you wish to join us. The game is great fun and everyone comes away energised at the end of the sessions.

Julie Taylor

Group report - diverse reading

Reading 2

The library’s sets of books for reading groups commendably include many that have been long- or short-listed for prizes, or won them. Many of our choices have been from this pool. Recently there has been criticism of the listing process for its lack of diversity and tendency to select established writers. Amends are now being made and shortlists have begun to feature exciting new talents. We have played our part in reading over the past year an autobiography of a Chinese writer, whose first novel we had already read, and three very different books by black or mixed-race authors – a London primary school teacher, an Afro-American and a Nigerian, all women publishing debut novels.

Our reading, as always, has been diverse in other ways, featuring fiction and non-fiction, lighter and more serious books, and a variety of locations and eras. We read contrasting autobiographies – featuring a severely impoverished and unloving upbringing in rural China (“Once Upon a Time in the East” by Xiaolo Guo) and a conventional background for the son of a violin-playing Yorkshire butcher (“A Life Like Other People’s“ by Alan Bennett). An Edwardian-set mystery novel involving a rising star politician forced to resign after his fiancé suddenly broke off their relationship without explanation (“Past Caring “ by Robert Goddard) contrasted with a modern day small-town American tale of a girl’s killing and its consequences (“Parting Shot” by Linwood Barclay): both books involved murder, blackmail and well-plotted story twists. Modern-day America featured also in “Such a Fun Age” by Kiley Reid, contrasting with a tale set in Nigeria 40 years go: (“Stay With Me” by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀): both concerned children, the former in a wealthy white family employing and attempting close friendship with their black childminder, the latter featuring the heartbreak of childlessness and the desperate remedies employed to overcome it. Again, both books contained surprising twists, forcing the reader to re-evaluate the preceding storyline. Very different was “The Butchering Art” by Lindsey Fitzharris, the account of how 19th century surgeon Joseph Lister transformed gruesome and dangerous surgical and hospital conditions by introducing antiseptic methods: although not for the squeamish, it proved largely popular.

Jen Cayley

Visit to State Funeral Gun Carriage, Whale Island

Local history 3

Our group was very fortunate to have the opportunity to visit Whale Island and see the State Funeral Gun Carriage.

After security checks, we were given photo identity tags to wear and escorted around HMS Excellent, this being the oldest shore training establishment within the Royal Navy, and the location of the Naval Command Headquarters.

We had an excellent guide, Paul Barker who had a wealth of knowledge and presented an interesting and illuminating talk.

The Gun Carriage was very impressive and kept in pristine condition by Paul and his team. We learned about the history of the carriage which was first used for the State Funeral of Queen Victoria. This was pulled by a team of horses but there were delays because of inclement weather and the horses became tired and restless which resulted in some safety issues. The horses were unharnessed and Royal Naval ratings who were lining the route were seconded to take up ropes and pull the gun carriage. From this time, it has been the custom at all state funerals that Naval Ratings perform this duty. HMS Excellent seamen have had this honour at four State funerals.
At Ceremonial funerals the Gun Carriage is pulled by horses.

In the same building alongside the Gun Carriage there is a museum where there are photos of several state funerals showing the ratings pulling the carriage, it takes 150 seamen, quite a spectacular sight.

Also, here was a replica of the old warship HMS Charlotte, the original Naval Gunnery School, whose name was later changed to HMS Excellent. Built at Whale Island to perpetuate the memory of the original Naval Gunnery School. This is an incredible model, every detail exact to the original, the gun ports with canon, rigging, and figurehead. Originally outside the entrance to HMS Excellent in 1936, over the years deterioration set in and it is now housed inside and being renovated.

We were then taken on an extended tour and learned more of Whale Island history.

Originally a small island in Portsmouth Harbour, a narrow strip close by Portsea Island; it is now predominantly reclaimed land using deposits dredged from the harbour during the 19th century, increasing the land area by 125%. It was constructed with the help of the many prisoners taken in the Napoleonic Wars.

The island is linked to Portsea Island and thence to the mainland by road bridges.

We were amazed to hear there had been a zoo from 1913 - 1940. Part of the Island was known as the 'Captain's Garden' and it was here that animals, which had come back on Naval ships mainly ended up at the 'Zoo'.

Overseas countries often gifted animals to visiting ships and animals were often adopted as ship's 'mascots' by naval personnel.

These eventually ended up at Whale Island. hence the zoo.

There was an aviary with rare waterfowl, pheasants, peacocks, and cranes. By 1924, beavers had been presented and Naval ships brought a leopard and bear to the zoo. Eventually there were porcupines, a wallaby enclosure, a monkey house, lions, polar bears, and various other animals. There is a pet cemetery which shows the various types of animals which were kept there.

Unfortunately, in 1939 at the start of the war amid fears that more dangerous animals, including several big cats would escape during the intense bombing of Portsmouth, most animals were relocated throughout the country to more rural locations but others regretfully, shot.

We concluded our tour by seeing the Queen Charlotte figurehead in the grounds, and the Parade ground where the Platinum Jubilee rehearsals were held. As well as its reputation as a gunnery school it is renowned as the Royal Navy's experts in drill and ceremonial.

We all thoroughly enjoyed our visit and to learn so much about this historical Naval establishment, right on our doorstep!

Karen Walker

Group report

Family history 2

We are now attempting to get up to speed after the Covid hiatus.

Our first Group Meeting in January had a look at the 1921 Census which had just been released. Quite a few good tips came out of the meeting.

In the February meeting, I shared some family documents and letters which I had been given in October last year. They dated from around the end of WW1 into the 1920's. Many letters were from family, friends and Army colleagues to my Uncle Arthur who enlisted in early 1918. He was sent to Ireland at first, presumably to help deal with riots and general unrest caused by the many Irish men objecting to being called up to fight against the Germans and also by those seeking self rule. In November 1918, shortly after the end of war was declared, he was sent to France to deal with the demobilisation of troops and their return home. He was not demobilised until early 1920 and he returned back to England in March 1920.

The letters revealed aspects of the day to day lives of the various writers. Arthur's mother bemoaned the fact that the rationing in 1918 meant that she had to choose between making either a Christmas cake or a pudding. Several of the letters referred to people being ill with 'Flu, including my father. Clearly they were dealing with the so-called Spanish 'flu pandemic which resulted in the deaths of more people than the number killed due to the World War itself. Thankfully my father survived! Schools were closed. People isolated. They must have been frightened as there were no antibiotics or ant-viral drugs that could be used to treat the ‘flu.

Soldiers were encouraged to write letters to friends and family in Britain. Arthur received quite a lot of letters from former lady acquaintances. Many shared his interest in music - he was frequently involved in concerts of various sorts while in the Army. Many of the letters showed that they certainly knew how to enjoy themselves despite the circumstances.

One interesting letter to Arthur from his grandmother mentioned that she was going to vote in the General Election called immediately after the Armistice with Germany in November 1918. It was the first election in which women over the age of 30 could vote.

In April, we looked at a member’s Ancestry DNA results and we were able to come up with some promising leads from her DNA matches who appeared to share common ancestors.

Unfortunately, we have found it difficult to meet since, but hope to arrange a meeting before the summer recess.

We are now open to new members. We have been meeting on the 2nd Wednesday of each month but it is possible that might change in the future.

Ken Osborne

Group report

Photography

The digital photography group is still flourishing despite Covid trying to wreck everything.

Unfortunately we have to report that very sadly Tony Ricks died in January. Tony was a very keen photographer with an eye for the unusual. We all enjoyed his prints and miss him.

We continue with our “Subject for the month” and show prints at our monthly meetings. We were all given a plastic duck and told to photograph it. Some ducks were very well travelled and got into the most amazing places. Other subjects have been: Dilapidation, Favourite place on Hayling, Beginning with the letter I, New beginnings, and Take a pencil for a walk.

In April we are going to try Portraiture.

In addition to these “competitive” subjects, we also have a fun photo each week when we have a letter of the alphabet and look for ingenious ideas to show it. (The letters for March were: Z, T, W, S).

We don’t teach how to use cameras (really good photos can be taken on just automatic) but we improve our skills by discussing our prints.

Richard Bond has once again received great success in an International Photographic competition when he came 13th out of 650 entries. This is getting to be a regular event for Richard!

If anybody is interested in joining us we do have room for a couple more members who would be most welcome.

Wendy Wildey

This article appeared in the Spring 2022 newsletter.

Group report

Walking Netball

Hayling Island u3a Walking Netball may be featured in a national magazine!

On February 5th we gathered as usual at Hayling College for our weekly game but this time we had a photographer present, Dominic Joyeux. He took loads of photographs here's just one of them.

The reason he was there is that Jenny Bardwell, one of the ladies who plays, has been asked by the editor of The Oldie if she would write an 850 word article on returning to netball.

As you can see, we have lots of fun. Do come along and give it a try. We meet every Thursday during term time from 4.15pm for a 4.30pm start and we finish at 5.30pm.

Anne Hollis

This article appeared in the Spring 2022 newsletter.

The curse of twelve

Petanque 1

Triples game 10.30-11.30, Sunday 13th February 2022
We: Sue, Tony & Peter Them: Geoff B, Elissa & Anne

Sunday morning: Cold and windy with the threat of rain, Pétanque group 1 assembled at Seacourt. The lolly sticks were shuffled; teams were drawn, the piste freshly raked, the scene was set.

We won the toss, took the sunny side, and delivered the jack.
Despite scoring first, We were soon behind, most ends producing only one point. We were 5-7 down when they scored a massive 5 points, bringing Them to 12-5 up and only 1 point required for game! Our position seemed hopeless as They took control of the Jack and played for that one extra point and adjournment for coffee.

Not so fast!! As sure as a Harry Potter spell, the Curse of Twelve took effect. Could They get that extra point. No way! We proceeded to score two quick singles and a very lucky 4. Standing then at 11-12 down, the jack at 8m, favouring shooters, We were down to our last boule, They having played their last and We with one point ‘on the ground’.

Decision time! Should We take the point or play that last boule? Opinion was divided, with a risk of losing if it went wrong the last boule was delivered. Played dead weight it seemed at first to be too far to the right but by chance it clipped a short boule, changing course to the left, slowing dramatically and coming to rest by the jack! Two points and Game!

It is with regret that I have to report that We demonstrated a brief and unseemly celebration before retiring to Seacourt for their excellent coffee.

Anne Hollis

This article appeared in the Spring 2022 newsletter.

Group report

Collectors

The Collector's group is open to new members and meets on fourth Thursday afternoons except December, June, July and August.

Our 24th March meeting focused on postcards of Hayling Island; members and visitors were encouraged to bring their own collection of cards.

The 28th April meeting will explore crested china with emphasis on WW1. Any u3a members or visitors wishing to attend should contact me at peter@stitch-ed.co.uk in advance.

Peter May

This article appeared in the Spring 2022 newsletter.

Group report

Painting & drawing 2

We have enjoyed being back in the hall, working as a group. The hall facilities mean we cannot accommodate more than 18.

Since the U3A Open day we have a full register and 10 on the waiting list. We are now well into this year's programme, having had sessions on Chinese painting, modelling and drawing hats and scarves, and then African animals.

Next time… a busy market scene. So variety is the spice of life! We always have a good chat and a laugh, so a lovely social art group.

Lesley Vincent

This article appeared in the Spring 2022 newsletter.