Noticeboard
NOTICE OF 26TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Wednesday 18 April 2012 at 10.30 am
Central United Reformed Church, Norfolk Street, Sheffield
Only current 2012 members may attend and vote at the AGM. The final agenda for the AGM and 2011 minutes will be published in the April issue of Links. Members wishing to raise business under clause 13(viii) of the Constitution (see below) should notify the Secretary, in writing, by Tuesday 28 February 2012, so that it can be included in the final agenda.
Clause 13(viii) reads "The agenda for the AGM shall be published in the last edition of the SU3A Newsletter to be issued to members at least 14 days before the AGM and shall include any other business notified in writing to the Secretary in sufficient time before publication".
There will also be the opportunity for informal discussion (see agenda item 9) but no decisions can be made on these items at the AGM. There will be three vacancies on the Committee. The Committee meets bi-monthly, usually on the first Friday of the month. Nominations for election to the Committee should be made on the form downloadable here and should reach the Secretary no later than Wednesday 4 April 2012.
Vera Dyer Secretary (0114) 237 7854
AGM DRAFT AGENDA
Registration from 9.45 am, when tea/coffee and biscuits will be served. The meeting commences at 10.30 am.
1. Apologies for absence
2. Minutes of the 25th Annual General Meeting
3. Chair’s Annual Report 2011/12
4. Treasurer’s Report
5. Elections to Committee, including 3 vacancies
6. Election of the Independent Examiner of Accounts
7. Introduction of new Regional Trustee, David Morton
8. Any Other Business (previously notified in writing and which can be voted on)
9. Any Other Business (brought up informally but no decision can be taken at the meeting)
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Askham Bryan Appeal
Askham Bryan is coming up again on August 15 2012 - this year. This time it will be not just Sheffield but also U3As from all over Yorkshire and Humberside. Our nimble Country Dancers and our beautiful-Quilt Makers are exhibiting, and your Committee is standing by to organise coaches for travel there.
Exhibitors will have expenses paid. If you and your Group want to exhibit contact me, General Coordinator, for more details.
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Two enthusiastic volunteers sought to help the General Coordinator
Are you interested in the workings of our whole organisation?
Can you contribute to planning the agendas for, and the delivery of, the Coordinators’ Meetings?
Can you meet with me, say, three times a year, to maintain and refine the accuracy of our database and general record-keeping?
Do you have special skills to involve yourself in the networking and sometimes the social care of our Groups?
Do you want to be part of a revision team providing guidance to Coordinators?
If all or any of your answers are yes then please contact me to discuss the ideas.
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SHEFFIELD U3A TRAVEL ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Thursday 8 March 2012 1.30 to 4.00 pm.
At Holy Trinity Church Hall, Grove Road, Millhouses Sheffield 7
· Come and discuss our visits
· Give us your ideas for possible activities
· Your comments and support help us to plan for the future
· Enjoy tea or coffee and biscuits with us
· Open to all SU3A members.
Barbara Robertshaw Coordinator
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Oral History Group Lectures
7 February Oral History Group invite you to Millhouses Methodist Hall, 10.30, History and Building of the Channel Tunnel (Mike Bennett, who was closely involved) £2.50 fee
6 March Oral History Group invite you to Millhouses Methodist Hall, 10.30, A cruise down the Nile, places now inaccessible (Susan Deal) £2.50 fee
3 April Oral History Group invite you to Millhouses Methodist Hall, 10.30, A Pennine Journey, amusing talk aimed at railway enthusiasts (Stephen Gay) £2.50 fee
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Weekenders Beetle Drive
Do you remember playing the game of Beetle?
Come and play again at our Beetle drive on Saturday 14 April. There will be a pie and pea supper (with a vegetarian option) and a prize for the highest-scoring player.
The Group is open, so requires no specific Group membership - just come along and join us.
The Beetle Drive will be held at Holy Trinity Church Hall on Grove Road, Millhouses at 7.30 pm. The cost is £9.50 per person. If you would like to join us, please complete the form downloadable here and return it to Jane Whitehead, with a cheque made payable to Sheffield U3A and a stamped, self-addressed envelope.
Please ring (0114) 230 9312 if you would like further information.
Future events include a boat trip on the Sheffield canal and a day trip to the 1940s’ weekend in Haworth. Further details and booking forms will be in the April issue of Links.
Dot Sutcliffe
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Literature Network
Quaker Meeting House, St. James Street, S1 2EW
Thursday 9 February 2012 at 2.00 pm.
"Leonard and Virginia Woolf – as I knew them"
We are privileged to have as speaker Cecil Woolf, nephew of Leonard and Virginia Woolf, whose personal memories of two of the great scholars and writers of the 20th century should not be missed. A writer and publisher himself, Cecil has written and published works on the First World War poets, John Cowper Powys, Frederick Rolfe (Baron Corvo) and many others, as well as the 'Bloomsbury Heritage Monographs' whose general editor is his wife, Jean Moorcroft Wilson.
Bookings may be made by sending the completed slip on page 23 of the December ‘Links’ or downloadable here, together with a cheque payable to Literature Network of SU3A for £3.50 per person, to Judith Vernier, 7 Forth Avenue, Dronfield Woodhouse, S18 8ZG, enclosing a small stamped self-addressed envelope.
Judith Vernier Coordinator
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Study day: Exploring China FULLY BOOKED
Weston Park Museum,
Thursday 23 February 2012 10 am. – 4 pm
The study day takes advantage of a new exhibition from the British Museum which delves into China’s rich past to tell the story of thousands of years of innovation through priceless, awe-inspiring objects.
Exploring themes such as food and drink, festivals and beliefs, technology and play, China: Journey to the East will shed light on the intricacies of Chinese culture. Visitors will see the forerunner of today’s calculator, the Chinese abacus, 1300 year old jam tarts, examples of the first porcelain, ‘oracle bones’ inscribed with early Chinese writing, and much more.
Museum staff will brief us beforehand on how to make the most of our visit. There will also be workshops on Chinese language and arts and crafts run by the Confucius Institute.
Places are limited. Tickets cost £4.00 and can be obtained via the booking form on page 25 of the December 'Links' or downloadable here. Please note, no tickets will be sent out between 12 December and 11 January.
Queries to Shelagh Woolliscroft on (01246) 416 139
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Study Day: The Family in British Art
Tuesday 24 April 2012, 10.30 am - 3.30 pm
The Arundel Room, Millennium Galleries
Refreshments from 10.00 am
"A family well disposed" – representations of relationship and status in painting, from the 18th century onwards
The Study Day will be led by Dr Barbara Morden and is being run in conjunction with the exhibition "The Family in British Art" at the Millennium Galleries. The aim is to use some of the paintings in the exhibition to affirm the argument that in portraying the family there were, and continue to be, conventions determining both the pictorial representations of figures in a setting and the viewer’s role in interpreting, affirming or perhaps challenging the assumptions implied there.
Barbara Morden is a cultural historian, lecturer and writer on the visual and literary arts. She led the successful regional study day in August 2011 on "John Martin: Painter of Apocalypse" when her audience found her to be a knowledgeable and inspiring speaker.
Tickets (which include tea or coffee on arrival) cost £7.25 and are non-refundable. Members should make their own arrangements for lunch. Application form downloadable here.
Places will be allocated in order of receipt. The event will be advertised to neighbouring U3As from March onwards if there are unfilled places.
Shelagh Woolliscroft (01246) 416 139
Classical Concertgoers’ Concert 14 March 2012
Our first visit in 2012 is to the De Montfort Hall Leicester on Wednesday 14 March for a concert to be given by the Philharmonia Orchestra, directed by the celebrated Finnish conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen with Antti Siirala (piano).
The programme includes Beethoven's Overture "King Stephen", his majestic Symphony No. 3, "Eroica" and Schuman's Piano Concerto.
The cost is £28.00 per person and bookings may be made using the reply slip on page 25 of the December issue of ‘Links’ or downloadable here. Please include the full names and contact numbers of all members for whom you are applying and send as soon as possible, with a small stamped addressed envelope, to Derek Shipley, 40 Wollaton Avenue, Sheffield, S17 4LA. The coach will leave the bus parking bay on Ecclesall Road South, near the top of Millhouses Lane, promptly at 4.45 pm
Our visits are open to all SU3A members. No special Group membership is required.
For Your Diary: Saturday 2 June 2012: Concert of Handel's Royal Music, to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of H.M. the Queen, at the Symphony Hall Birmingham, with The Academy of Ancient Music and Choir, directed by Richard Egarr.
Derek Shipley Coordinator (0114) 236 6257
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Charity Quiz
Presented by the one and only PETER CHATTERTON
at Greens Leisure Centre, Napier Street, Sheffield
on Saturday March 17 2012
Open from 7.00 pm, for quiz to start at 7.30 pm
Pea and Pie Supper or vegetarian option
Tickets £8.00 (includes quiz and supper). Entry by ticket only (form downloadable here).
No more than six in a team, please. Teams can be arranged on the night. Please see either Marion or Peter.
Ample parking and bar facilities available.
For further information, please contact Marion Edmondson on (0114) 235 0313.
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Lunch and Lecture
Friday 16 March 2012
You are invited to lunch at the Doubletree by Hilton Sheffield Park Hotel, Chesterfield Road South, Meadowhead, Sheffield S8 8BW on Friday 16 March 2012
Speaker: Professor Melvin Jones –
The Remarkable Gatty Family
They lived in a vicarage in a Yorkshire village, spent much of their time writing, endured poor health and were amongst the best known authors of the nineteenth century and their name was not Brontë.
The village was Ecclesfield and the family were connected to such illustrious nineteenth century figures as Admiral Lord Nelson, Ruskin, and Lord Baden Powell, to name but a few. Joan and Mel Jones have put together an impressively researched account of the members of the Gatty family and you will be amazed at their findings. Come and listen to their account of the lives of this talented family and their connection to what is now north Sheffield.
Please arrive at 12.00 for 12.30 pm. Cost £15.50.
There is ample parking and the number 53 bus from bay A3 at the Sheffield Interchange stops outside the Hotel. The number 75 bus from Ecclesfield via High Street stops near the Hotel at Meadowhead.
The menu will be: Roulade of Pork; loin of pork wrapped around a sage, onion and apricot stuffing with apricot sauce.
The vegetarian option is: Roasted Vegetables en Croute; vegetables roasted with honey and whole grain mustard, wrapped in puff pastry.
The dessert is: Baked Mascarpone and Fresh Berry Cheesecake.
If you would like to book a place, please fill in the form downloadable here and send it, with a cheque, to arrive no later than Friday 2 March 2012.
Doreen Bezant Coordinator Dot Sutcliffe is handling bookings on 0114 268 5918
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Architectural Tour Of Dresden
21-25 May 2012
Come and join Architecture 1 in a tour of the beautiful city of Dresden, Germany, which has been restored to its former glory.
We fly from Heathrow to Berlin. (It costs £100 more to fly from Manchester to Berlin) then take the coach to Dresden. I will hire a coach to the airport.
We will be staying in the Ibis/Holiday Inn in the centre of Dresden within walking distance of the main attractions. Our stay will be half-board.
Day 1: we will visit the Royal Palace, the New Green and the Pillnitz Castle and Gardens.
Day 2: Panoramic tour of the Elbe Valley, Bastei Rocks, Konigstein and the splendour of Saxony.
Day 3: Tour of the Porcelain Museum in Meissen and Schloss Wackerbarth including wine tasting.
Day 4: Walking tour of the Zwinger Palace, the Old Fortress and the Old Masters Picture Gallery.
Day 5: Free time in Dresden before flight home.
This is a tailor-made tour for SU3A.
The cost is £650.00.This includes flights, all taxes, hotel on half board, guides and entrance fees every day, and coach where applicable in Dresden. It does not include gratuities, lunch, insurance, or the coach to the airport which should be around £35.00.
Please send a deposit of £150.00 cheque made out to Architecture 1 SU3A together with the completed slip on page 35 of the October ‘Links’ to Shirley Marney.
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Children and the Environment: Sheffield Hallam UniversityResearch Project
Why do our children appear to have such a poor relationship with the environment? What is behind their inability to engage with it? Why do they not know how to dress for it, interact with it, enjoy it, treat it well?
Perhaps our increasing engagement with digital media - especially social network sites - is one of the underlying causes of our children's inability to engage.
Perhaps we perceive nature as a threat to our children. Why is that? Is nature really dangerous or have we just lost touch? What do you think?
Would you be willing to help me find out?
Could you, and two generations of your family, spare a few minutes to complete a survey?
For more information please call Siggy Parratt-Halbert on (0797) 131 9439
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Perception of Streets in Sheffield
Sheffield University Research Project
Jemima Unwin is looking into how the 65 + age group perceives streets in Sheffield, as part of a government funded research project at Sheffield University's Department of Architecture. If you would be willing to take a few photographs (cameras will be provided if necessary) and attend an interview about this topic, then please e-mail her on merlin.jemima@shef.ac.uk or call on 0114 222 0307. You will be reimbursed £15 for your time and expenses.
About 25 participants are required.
For details click here (link to participant information sheet)
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Effects of "Interval exercise training" on fitness and vascular function in post-menopausal women
We are looking for
healthy post-menopausal women aged between 55 and 85
who do not take part in regular vigorous exercise
to take part in a research study investigating the effects of "interval exercise training" on fitness and vascular function.
For details click here (link to participant information sheet)
If you are interested in finding out more about this study, please contact:
Garry Tew at the Centre for Sport and Exercise Science, Sheffield Hallam University Tel.: 0114 2252358
Email: g.tew@shu.ac.uk
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Lest We Forget
As part of SU3A’s Jubilee celebrations the World War II project team has produced a book of SU3A members’ memories of the Second World War. Entitled ‘Lest We Forget’, it contains stories which cover a wide range of experiences: from being an evacuee to being a prisoner in a concentration camp; from serving in the Forces to surviving the Sheffield Blitz; from rationing and make-do-and-mend at home, to living in an enemy country.
They are all stories from ordinary people who lived through extraordinary times.
The book is available from the Drop-In or from Dot Sutcliffe on (0114) 268 5918, email dotsutcliffe32@btinternet.com or Irene Davy on (0114) 266 4605, email irene@mulehouse1.plus.com .
The price is £5.00 plus post and packing of £1.30 per copy.
Dot Sutcliffe
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Digital Images
I help look after some of the U3A audio and visual resources. A number of groups use the Visualiser, which allows printed documents and images to be projected onto a screen. The cost of a new machine, when our current one is beyond economic repair, cannot be justified (the new model is a super digital device with a price tag to match).
I am going to provide training for any member who wishes to know how best to prepare images or documents for showing to Groups as part of a presentation without using the Visualiser. This training will show members how to take any document and store a digital copy in a computer and how best to show it as part of a presentation. The training will assume no prior knowledge of anything and is open to everyone, even if your Group does not use the present Visualiser.
The training will take place sometime this summer (mid May to June) at a venue to be confirmed, once I have an idea of the number of interested members. To register an interest, please email mikeford@blueyonder.co.uk with “U3A Training” as the subject. If you do not have email then please call me.
Mike Ford ………………………………………...….. (0114) 281 8510
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SU3A Commemorative Garden
Calling all Artists!
We are looking for artists who would be interested in contributing a small botanical illustration to the Book of Donors which is being prepared in connection with the SU3A Commemorative Garden at Whirlow Brook.
Further details from Shelagh Woolliscroft (01246 416139 or shelagh@woolliscroft.com) or Alison Cowper 0114 274 6165 or alisoncowper@tiscali.co.uk
Our ‘Gardening at Whirlow Brook Park’ group will continue to work throughout the winter on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month, from 10 am to 12 noon. New members will be very welcome!
Donations for the SU3A Commemorative Garden
Some members have asked if they can donate towards a shrub as a present for a friend. This is possible and if desired we can produce a suitably inscribed Gift Card. Please contact Alison Cowper on 0114 274 6165.
The Garden continues to develop. By the time you read this the group should have planted another 20 shrubs/trees and a large inscribed boulder will mark the pond-side entrance to the Garden. Work on tidying the site will continue throughout the winter (weather permitting!). New members will be welcomed – contact Shelagh Woolliscroft on 01246 416139 or shelagh@woolliscroft.com
Shelagh Woolliscroft, Coordinator 01246 416139
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U3A Online Videomaking Group
Geo Meadows of Hagley U3A had set up a group on Vimea at http://vimeo.com/groups/62178 and would like to hear from any U3A members who would be interested in uploading videos, adding comments and using the forum. He is available at geowarm3@gmail.com.
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COULD YOU SUPPORT CHILDRENS’ READING IN PRIMARY SCHOOL? BECOME AN ESCAL VOLUNTEER…
READING AND TALKING VOLUNTEERS – THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
Back to school and the ESCAL (Every Sheffield Child Articulate and Literate by the age of 11) project is hoping to receive more offers of voluntary help in primary schools from SU3A members.
The Project originally targeted pupils in Years 5 and 6 who needed to develop their reading skills before they moved on to secondary school. More recently they’ve introduced a second programme (Talking Volunteers) aiming to build pupils’ confidence in communicating.
Now schools can take advantage of both these schemes from children’s very first introduction to school, up to Year 6 level. Some potential SU3A volunteers have asked about working with much younger children so now’s your chance! If you’re interested in one or both of these opportunities for volunteering contact Faye Jeffrey at ESCAL (0114 2506853 (faye.jeffrey@sheffield.gov.uk) or SU3A’s liaison with ESCAL Yvonne Rowland (0114 2425201:yvonne_rowland@hotmail.com)
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Lectures for All
Lecture Programme 2012
Venue: Showroom Cinema unless stated. Refreshments from 10 am . Lecture from 10.30 to 12 noon. Seats may be reserved on arrival. |
Date |
Title |
Presenter |
17 February |
The Anglo-Saxons: Living, Speaking, Healing
In this lecture we'll explore the world of the Anglo-Saxons. We'll look at some artefacts and texts that tell us what kind of people the Anglo-Saxons were. We'll learn to speak some Old English! Finally, we'll delve into the mysterious world of Anglo-Saxon magic, performing some charms and imagining how the Anglo-Saxons dealt with their everyday niggles -- toothaches, headaches and runaway cows! |
Dr Rebecca Fisher |
20 April |
Comedy – with Particular Reference to Morecombe and Wise |
Dr Eric Midwinter |
18 May |
Curious Entertainment in Sheffield – a History of the Fairground and the Circus |
Ian Trowell |
15 June |
Enigma, Bletchley Park and the Battle for the Atlantic
Venue: Millennium Galleries Price £3 NB Ticket-only event, booking via April LINKS |
Mark Baldwin |
20 July |
Africa Up Close and Personal! |
Ken Dunn |
21 September |
An Audience with Mr Speaker
NB Ticket-only event, booking via June LINKS |
John Bercow |
16 November |
The Spanish Civil War |
Prof Mary Vincent |
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Lunch and Lecture
Our next Lunch and Lecture is on Friday 16th March 2012 when the speaker will be Professor Melvin Jones, giving an illustrated talk on the Gatty family of Ecclesfield.
Details and an application form will be in the February 2012 edition of Links.
Date |
Speaker |
Topic |
Venue |
Time |
Friday 16th March 2012 |
Professor Melvin Jones |
The Remarkable Gatty Family
(The West Riding’s “ Bronte Family”.) |
Sheffield Park Hotel
Chesterfield Road South |
12 noon for 12.30 p.m. |
Friday 19th October 2012 |
Ian McMillan
The Bard of Barnsley |
Yorkshire wit and wisdom – probably! |
Doubletree by Hilton Sheffield Park Hotel
Chesterfield Road South |
12 noon for 12.30 p.m. |
Doreen Bezant.......................Coordinator............(0114) 236 6596
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Monthly ‘Drop-In’ Sessions
The monthly ‘Drop-In’ sessions are held at the United Reformed Church, Chapel Walk entrance (opposite the Crucible Theatre) on the first
Tuesday morning of every month - For dates please see the SU3A Calendar
Everyone is welcome to drop in at any time between 10.00 am and
12.00 noon. Free refreshments will be available There is no formal
programme - this is an opportunity to meet up with friends, make new friends from different Groups, exchange ideas, ask questions and promote forthcoming events. There will be several Committee members present each month.
Denise West ......... Chairman ......... 0114 2746797
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Free Legal Advice
The Third Age Trust has an arrangement with FirstAssist to provide legal advice to U3A members. It is a free service, available 365 days a year, 24 hours a day.
Just phone 01455 251 500. You will require a code number obtainable from your SU3A Secretary, Vera Dyer on (0114) 237 7854
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Computer Software at educational prices (a big reduction) is available to U3A members at www.software4students.co.uk
Simply fill in Third Age Trust as the educational establishment when ordering.
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2012 NATIONAL U3A SUMMER SCHOOLS
SUMMER SCHOOL 1
Harper Adams University College, Newport, Nr Telford
Monday 16 July to Thursday 19 July 2012
Subjects: Cinema History; Design Principles in Art; France; History; Music Appreciation; Philosophy/Fiction; Poetry; Recorder Ensemble Playing; Writing Fiction.
Costs for the complete Summer School, including a welcome reception on the first day for all delegates, full board residential delegate in en-suite accommodation, £315 per person; non-residential day delegate including lunches, £118 per person. Deposit £70 per person.
SUMMER SCHOOL 2
The Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester
Monday 20 August to Thursday 23 August 2012
Subjects: Drama; History; Literature; Needlepoint Lacemaking; Philosophy; Psychology; Singing for Pleasure; Website Design.
Costs for the complete Summer School, including a welcome reception on the first day for all delegates, full board residential delegate in en-suite accommodation, £315 per person; non-residential day delegate including lunches, £118 per person.
Deposit £70 per person.
These summer schools are extremely popular, so early booking is advised.
Further information can be downloaded from the national website (members’ area/events: www.u3a.org.uk, or paper copies are available from SU3A Secretary, Vera Dyer (contact details inside the front cover of Links)
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