WEST OXFORD U3A                   Issue109

Registered charity no. 1108125             JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012

www.westoxfordu3a.org.uk

NEWSLETTER

This Newsletter is published on the Internet simultaneously with the printing. If any material relating to any individual should not be so published, please contact the Editor.          

FROM THE CHAIRMAN

   60 members enjoyed Christmas Lunch at the Four Pillars on Wednesday, 7 December. This is the first time we have had our Christmas get-together in this hotel which has the advantage of being within Oxford and having plentiful car parking, as well as being very comfortable. Special thanks are due to Lorna Kohen who sussed it out for us in the summer and made the arrangements again this time, and to Elizabeth Stevens who painstakingly prepared individual cards to remind us of our food choices. It was all very satisfactory.

   Our Talks sub-committee has done us proud again with a series of stimulating speakers on matters of current interest; for example the future of Africa and the Scott expedition to Antarctica, fortuitously timed to coincide with the new exhibition in Cambridge. Next term’s programme looks equally attractive so if, up to now, your U3A experience has been confined to belonging to a special interest group, why not come along to one of the talks at Botley Baptist Church Hall on a Monday afternoon?

   Don’t forget to check our website: www.westoxfordu3a.org.uk You will find general information about West Oxford U3A as well as future events organised by the Thames Valley network and the Summer Schools arranged by the National U3A Office.

   Best wishes for a Happy Christmas and as prosperous a New Year as circumstances permit.

                  Clare Balme – clarebalme@tiscali.co.uk

YOUR NEWSLETTER  

Please send all contributions, notices, etc. for the next issue covering November/December 2011, to: Elizabeth Stevens, 104 Kennington Road, Kennington, Oxford OX1 5PE, (01865 739252) not later than Friday, 24 February 2012.

AREA REPRESENTATIVES

The representatives, to whom all matters relating to Newsletter distribution should be referred, are:

Botley:     Angela Sheppard (01865 793261)     Chawley:   Betty Boyce (01865 864275)

Cumnor:   Joan Airey (01865 864088)        Dean Court:   Brian Dent (01865 862534)

Elms Rise:   Angela Sheppard (01865 793261)     Osney:     Tony Roberts (01865 721596)

MEETINGS IN BOTLEY BAPTIST CHURCH HALL

Meetings are normally held on the 2 nd and 4 th Mondays of each month at 1430h. We look forward to welcoming you all, and hope also to see some new members.

Everyone welcome to the talks:   For non-members there is a temporary membership fee of £4.00

           For members of other U3A groups there is a fee of £2.00

TALKS COMMITTEE

A reminder that the Talks Committee will be meeting, briefly, after the talk on 9 January. Any further suggestions for subjects or offers to help arrange the programme by joining the committee would be welcome. Please give me a ring on Oxford 155387.

                     Gordon Balme

09 January:   Professor Brian Livesley: “The art of seeing; an observer’s view”

Brian Livesley is a retired forensic physician and a medical historian. He describes how Keats’s family history and account of himself has not only shown the inaccuracy of his portraits but also enabled his previously undiagnosed medical conditions to be recognised. The reason for Keats’s pugnacious behaviour at school is explained as well as how this was modified to provide some of the best of English poetry.

23 January:   Lynne Plummer:   “The making of an Opera”

Lynne Plummer has been in and around music most of her life, both as an amateur performer and later as a presenter on radio at home and abroad. Until recently she prepared audio descriptions of Covent Garden operas for partially-sighted member of the audience. She will take us behind the scenes to tell us how some of the people turn the director’s dream into reality and make an evening at the opera possible.

13 February:     Sobell House Hospice (Speaker to be confirmed)

Sobell House Hospice Charity was formed to give support to Sir Michael Sobell House, which offers physical,psychological, social and spiritual care to those facing life-threatening illness, death and bereavement. In partnership with all involved, they focus on quality of life, respecting the uniqueness of each person. They are part of Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust and their multi-professional team is supported by volunteers.

27 February:   David Gilbert:   “Tormented genius: Caravaggio, his life and work”

David is a regular speaker to the U3A and other groups. Since student days he has been a keen devotee of everything connected with Florence and the Italian Renaissance, especially the Medici “dynasty” and the artists of the High Renaissance. This led him to the magnetic pull of the works of Caravaggio, perhaps seen as the last effulgence of that fertile period of art before the whole tenor of painting changed, in no small part due to his innovations. The focus of the talk juxtaposes and illustrates the genius of Caravaggio, only given fairly recently the recognition it deserves, with the dramatic events of his wayward and disreputable life and his mysterious end.

ART HISTORY/APPRECIATION (15 members)   Contact: Terence Carter (01865 863379)

Visits to the Ashmolean Museumnormally take place on the second Tuesday or the second Thursday of each month, meeting just inside the main entrance to the Museum, at 2.30 pm sharp. For our standard guided tours, there is a suggested donation of £2.50 per person. Please let Terence know if you would like to attend. The next tours are as follows:

Tuesday, 10 January: Guided Highlights of the Egyptian Galleries. Take this opportunity to be guided round the newly-opened galleries of Ancient Egypt and Nubia.

Thursday, 9 February: People at Work (Western Art). Lynne Ward

N.B. Monday, 27 February: U3A Talk – Caravaggio, his life and work.

BRIDGE ONE   (14 members)   Contact: Gordon Balme (01865 511387)

Meetings take place on the 1 st and 3 rd Mondays of each month from 2 pm to 5 pm. The group will meet on the following datesin January and February: 2 January at Leslie Horwood’s house and 16 January at Mary Normington’s. Venues for 6 and 20 February will be agreed later.

Will Group members please remember to phone 01865 511387 with any queries or alterations to their availability as soon as possible so that places can be filled to make tables of 4.

BRIDGE TWO   Contact: Gordon Balme (01865 511387)

The aim of this Group is to discuss different aspects of the ACOL bidding system and how to improve your card play, all done in an informal way. Some members play with the other group from time to time. The following dates (Wednesdays) and venues have been arranged for January and February: 4 January at Gordon Balme’s house,18 January at Pauline Martin’s and 1 February at Martin Cuss’s. The venue for 15 February will be agreed later.

CHURCHES AND PUBS   (20 members)   Contact: Joan Airey (01865 864088)

Visits are held on the first Friday in the month at 11.30 am unless otherwise stated.

   No meeting in January.

   03 February:         Kidlington    Contact: Joan Airey (01865 864088)

CINEMA GROUP - 1   (10 members)   Contact: Liese Cattle (01235 524307)

We meet on the fourth Tuesday of each month for discussion over a shared meal, taking turns to be host. We choose a couple of films each month, mainly from The Phoenix programme, which we view independently, and occasionally we choose a DVD.

CINEMA GROUP – 2     Contacts: Pam and David Eyton

We meet on the second Thursday of the month to discuss a variety of films (mainly from the Phoenix) over a shared meal in a member’s house.The membership is restricted to 10 because of the dining arrangements. If you are interested in going on a waiting list or being invited when space is available, please e-mail Pam pameyton@gmail.com

COMPUTER USERS’ GROUP   (10 members) Contact: Richard Sills (01865 721644)

All meetings will be held at The Map House, Vernon Avenue, OX2 9AU. Meetings begin at 10.30 am usually on the first and third Monday of each month.

Next meetings are: 16 January; 6 and 20 February. Please note – no meeting on 2 January.

CRAFT GROUP   Contact: Sally Strang (01865 240310)

Meetings are normally held on the 3 rd Friday of the month at 10.30 am at 68 Montagu Road. We are interested in exploring various crafts. So far we have tried knitting, crochet card making, quilling and beadwork. Visits have been arranged to specialist craft days and craft fairs. New members welcome. Dates for the next meetings are:   20 January and 17 February.

I have been privileged to be the co-ordinator for the Craft Group since its inception. However, I have not been able to attend many meetings this year due to ill health and grandparent duties. Kay has ably held the fort for me and I am grateful to her. I am very happy to announce that Sally Strang will be our new co-ordinator from 1 January. I wish her well and look forward to fresh ideas within the group.

                         Janice Marshall

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY   Leader Gilliane Sills (01865 721644)

The Digital Photography group meets from 10.30 am to 11.30 am on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month at The Map House, Vernon Avenue, Oxford OX2 9AU. Meetings will be on 12 and 26 January and 9 and 23 February. These meetings will particularly explore the use of Picasa. This free Google software is a powerful and user-friendly program to manage photos on the computer, to manipulate photos (for example, cropping, correcting red-eye, adjusting the colour balance, adding text, creating collages) and to share photos either by e-mail or by posting them on to the web.

FRENCH

Please contact Lyliane Doumeche on 01865 429281. Meetings will take place on the first Monday of every month at 10.30 am for one hour. However, for January the meeting will be on Monday, 9 January due to New Year holidays. Soyez les bienvenus!

ITALIAN   Contact: David Taylor (01235 525455)

The Italian course is now up and running, with a viable number of participants.

LISTENING TO MUSIC   (8 members)   Contact: Michael Dowsett (01865 721147)

Meetings are normally held on the third Thursday of each month, at 2.15 pm. We meet in members’ homes and the host plays CDs of broadly classical music. New members are welcome.

SPANISH   (4 members + 1 from Oxford U3A)   Contact: Elia Brown (01865 723589)

Meetings are held on Mondays at 1030-1200h at Elia Brown’s, 12 Tumbling Bay Court, Botley Road, Oxford. If you would like to join a group learning Spanish, please contact Clare Balme who can give you information about Oxford U3A.

VISITS   Contact: Joan Airey (01865 864088)

A coach trip to the ROYAL ACADEMYfor the DAVID HOCKNEY exhibition has been booked for Tuesday, 13 March 2012. The inclusive cost will be £27.00 per person. First pick-up: Seacourt Pub at 8.15 am. Return journey leaving the Royal Academy at 3.00 pm. Please note this date in your diary. Booking forms will be available at our first meeting in January, or contact Joan Airey (01865 864088) or joanairey@btinternet.com (not before January, please).

WALKING GROUP      (15-20 members)   Contact: Terence Carter (01865 863379)

Walks normally commence at 10 am on the 2 nd and 4 th Fridays of each month. If bad weather threatens, please ring Terence (or the named leader of the walk) on the day of the walk to check whether it is going ahead; otherwise you may have a wasted journey.

Due to potential flooding/mud at this time of year, the January and February walks will concentrate on the hills around Oxford.

13 January:   The Cumnor Range (4 miles). Park at the Botley Shoppers’ Car Park (parking free/limit 3       hours) in plenty of time to catch the 9.48 am No. 4 Abingdon Bus to Wootton from Elms       Parade, Botley. We shall walk back over Boars Hill and Cumnor Hill to Botley, and then       drive to “The Fishes” in North Hinksey for lunch.

27 Janury:   Horspath, Shotover and Wheatley (4.5 miles). From the Eastern Ring Road          (anticlockwise), take the first turn right after the Cowley Motor Works. On reaching         Horspath, proceed straight ahead towards the church (visible), and park at “The Queen’s         Head”, just up the hill on your right.

10 February:   Sunningwell – Boars Hill – N. Hinksey (4.5 miles). Park at “The Fishes”, North Hinksey      Village. We shall then take the minimum number of cars to Sunningwell (for pick-up later),      and walk back to North Hinksey for lunch.

24 February: Wytham Woods (4 miles). Park at the Botley Shoppers’ Car Park for a walk along one of       the main (drier!) circuits in Wytham Woods, followed by a short drive to the pub of our         choice.

THE THIRD AGE VISITS THE ARCTIC – by Margaret Attwood