U3A newsletter 68 for web

Newsletter
No 68 November 2020
Editors David Beamish and Rona Black
email:[email protected]

MONTHLY MEETING

ZOOM TALK u3a has a new look!

Tuesday 17 November 2-4pm At the Annual General Meeting of the Third Age Trust on 29
September, a new visual identity for the u3a was launched.
A Short History of Revolutions It can be seen on the national website at www.u3a.org.uk.
The new look is modern, lively and colourful and we are
and how they have delighted to feature it in this newsletter and in our next
Directory which will be posted to you early in November.
shaped the Modern World
We need your input
a talk by Peter Ruben
Our new internal communications secretary,
Full blooded revolutions are few and far between, Dulwich Richard Elliott, wants to improve our
by understanding why these events happen one can communications with you and needs your views.
better understand political and economic instability. Please watch out for a short communications
The talk focuses on liberal, Marxist and modern views
of what causes revolutions.

DulwichThe speaker, Paul Ruben is Head of Politics and Dulwich and
District
economics at a leading independent school.
Contact secretary@dulwich-u3a for the link to u3a
the Zoom meeting

For more information about
Dulwich and District U3A
activities see Website at

dulwich-u3a.uk or find us on
Facebook

survey we are sending out to all members.
This will go out electronically by email within
the next week and there will also be a paper
version in a postal mailing to be sent out a
The speaker will suggest that by few days later which will be enclosed with
understanding major revolutions the new Directory .The paper version is only intended for
such as those in France and Russia, completion by those members without easy access to
it becomes possible to better email who have not replied by email. We welcome your
comprehend less dramatic times of views on communication matters and will report back on
political and social unrest, and also what you said.
periods of stability. The talk will focus
on liberal, Marxist and modern views of STOP PRESS!
the causes of revolution. Other events
which will be considered include the Email addresses going down
English Civil War, the American War of
Independence, Indian decolonisation, D&D u3a email accounts will be out of action on
the Arab Spring and current events in Sunday 22 November
Hong Kong. On 22 November all the D&D u3a email accounts (email
addresses ending @dulwich-u3a.uk) will be down for a
period of about 24 hours. Anyone trying to email us will
get a message saying that the email address
doesn’t exist! The reason for this
outage is that we are transferring
our email accounts over to our
own G-Suite account.
Peter Ruben enjoys a career teaching
politics and economics, and is currently
deputy head of Bromsgrove School, one
of the UK’s largest independent schools.

learn,He is also a senior A level examiner, and

a house parent.
laugh,Poster delivery volunteers needed

We recently advertised for six volunteers to deliver posters announcing our

livemeetings in the Dulwich area. Three kind members have come forward and
we need three more to deliver to Dulwich Village, East Dulwich and Forest

Hill areas. The commitment involves taking three posters once a month to

suitable sites for display e.g. supermarkets.

lease respond to [email protected]

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u3a High Street Project

The u3a ‘High Street Project’ has been designed to try to take a
snapshot of retail outlets throughout the UK.
The organisers have asked u3as to select shopping areas, photograph
the shops in them, and describe their function, size, content and
features. This information will be fed into a national database.
Researchers will then revisit the same high streets in 18 months’ time
to note any changes that have taken place. The findings, including
anecdotes from u3a members who recall high streets of the past, will
form a landmark report for publication by the Trust in 2022, so helping
to raise the u3a’s profile in its 40th anniversary year.
D&D has submitted the Dulwich Village group of shops which, although
not the largest shopping centre, is an important centre for our group.

Neil Abrahams

Groups news Art History 1
Group Visit
Photography Group outing to to St Albans
Jacob’s Island Cathedral

On 25 September six members of the Photography On Wednesday 14 October
Group took part in a socially distanced visit to six members of the Art
Jacob’s Island, an area on the south bank of the History 1 group travelled
Thames downstream from Tower Bridge, which was by train from Herne Hill
a notorious slum in the time of Charles Dickens. to St Albans to study
It featured in his novel Oliver Twist which was the magnificent Abbey
published shortly before the area was cleared in the which later became a
1860s. Cathedral. We all kept
masked and socially
Photograph by Katy Shaw, shows members Trevor Roberts distanced throughout a
(Convenor), Lauraine Turner, Will Anderson, Rodney Pinder and really enjoyable day. The
David Beamish history of St Alban dates from the 3rd century, and the
earliest parts of the building are 11th century Norman
with many later additions, making it a fascinating
mix of architectural styles. We had an excellent tour
from a professional guide who explained in detail the
evolution of the building. A particular pleasure was
viewing faded grade 1 paintings on the pillars which
had a computerised overlay projected on so we could
admire what were thought to be original details and
colours.
A very successful day. Where will we go next when
travel restrictions allow?
Rona Black
Photograph by Rona Blackshows the group in front of
the magnificent rose window

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Reviving opera groups using Zoom In last month’s Newsletter we encouraged
members to send us a poem for inclusion
In the spring I hoped that my two opera appreciation groups in the Newsletter. Carole Abrahams rose
would be able to resume some sort of normality in the to the challenge. Here is her poem:
autumn but those hopes died in August. I thought of using
Zoom, although my knowledge was limited to being a guest at The Web
family birthday parties, I registered with Zoom so I could host
meetings. This is free for meetings up to 40 minutes. I found Jewels of autumn hanging in the air,
that it is surprisingly easy to schedule a meeting and notify The dew drops on the cobweb turn each node
members. into a pearl.
However, the difficulty for me was the music. I was adamant I And gossamer shines silver in the sun.
would not run the groups without high-quality music. But Zoom I think of Charlotte working through the night,
is designed for an office environment. It treats all sound that spinning the letters which will save a pig.
isn’t speech as probably coming from office machinery and ‘A true friend and a good writer.’
reduces the volume and clarity of non-speech sounds. But others have visions of Shelob,
After a lot of research and getting tips on the web, I found I hiding in the mists of Mordor,
could change the settings and tell Zoom to play the original wrapping her victims in silk,
sound and share it with the participants. It was a joy when so that the meat will be fresh.
I tested it with some members because everyone received While we are trapped by the world wide web,
excellent sound quality. Using a separate microphone and which lures us in with promises of treasure.
speaker also helped. I have produced a sheet of instructions We follow on our endless search
and am happy to offer telephone support to others who would for the tree of knowledge and the tree of life.
like to use music in their Zoom sessions. If we can find them, will they lead us to
When I contacted the members to tell them we were going the long road back to Eden?
Zooming, there was a really enthusiastic response. Those who Dazzled by words and wonders
had been suffering from depression during lockdown were we wander off along the hyperlinks,
delighted that some sort of normality was returning. We have losing our way
now had two meetings and it was wonderful to see all the as information leads to information,
familiar faces and enjoy the music together as we used to do. until we have forgotten where we started.
The question which first drew us in has faded.
Irene Greene ([email protected]) It was swallowed by the pages
of urgent news and rumours of conspiracies
Singing for Pleasure now on Zoom pro! and entertaining videos of cats.
Losing our way,
By the time you read this our Singing Group will have re-started losing our time.
on Zoom pro. We’ll be happy to have any number of members Can we learn the spider’s secret
join our monthly sessions. Do get in touch with Caroline of trapping the morsel we seek
Knapp ([email protected] or 07810 070848) for further and consuming it at our leisure?
details or read about us on the D&D u3a website. It’s worth These thoughts meandered through my mind
remembering that, as well as being fun, singing is positively as I opened the washing machine
good for us. and pulled the clean sheets out, and took them
Caroline Knapp into the garden.
I gazed for one more moment
Report on the London Region of u3a’s AGM at the delicate structure,
the dew-bejewelled spider’s web
After a brief and efficient business meeting conducted by glittering in the morning light,
Catherine Ware, we had three excellent short presentations. as it hung from the washing line.
The first was from Philippa Russell, Vice President of Carers UK, on The rare November sun was shining.
the importance of increasing diversity in our u3as. The second was The washing must be dried.
from our regional trustee John Bent, who is representing u3a on I draped the sheets across the line
the London mayor’s programme ‘London as an Age Friendly City’ and pegged them to be safe
Promoted by the WHO it aims at improving housing, open spaces, from gravity and the wind.
safety and transport for all, especially older people. The third I thought it was a harmless act, and yet
presentation was from Marvin Formosa of the University of Malta the spider’s web was broken.
who has conducted academic studies of how u3a operates around What would happen to the knowledge
the world. He challenged u3a to become more active in informing and to the data banks of the world
and influencing governments over issues of importance to older if the world wide web were broken?
people. A lively discussion followed. The AGM was ecorded and That was yesterday.
can be accessed, as can the speakers’ presentations, through the This morning I looked out and saw
London Region of u3as website: https://u3asites.org.uk/london-region/ that she has built another web.
page/83122.
Rona Black 24 October,

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Dulwich and District u3a events National and Regional u3a events

Reminders and joining instructions for all of London Region Events
these will be sent around 24 hours before
the time of the event. For further details of London region events, and joining instructions for those
listed below, see the London region u3a website under events
Monthly meetings (https://u3asites.org.uk/london-region/events)

Tuesday 17 November 2pm Tuesday 3 November 4.30-5.30pm: and cities. She is the author of Hungry
A Short History of Revolutions and how they Sheila Kanani, The Fate of the City: How Food Shapes Our Lives
have shaped the Modern World. Universe. From the Big Bang to the (2008) and Sitopia: How Food Can
A talk by Peter Ruben – end of the universe. Where are we in Save the World (2020).
full details on page 1. the universe? How can we work out Monday 30 November 5.00-6.00pm:
where it all started? How is it all going Alan Freeland, Art and Architecture
Tuesday 8 December 2pm to end? Sheila is a planetary physicist, of the Silk Roads. This talk will
broadcaster, comedian, author, and highlight the art, design, artefacts,
FESTIVE FUN teacher. Since 2014, she has been the and architectural motifs that travelled
Education, Outreach and Diversity along the Silk Roads. The focus is
This December monthly meeting will include Officer of the Royal Astronomical more a magic carpet ride from China
a quiz, music and a short talk by one of our Society. to the Caucuses looking for attractive
members on paintings with a wintry flavour. Monday 16 November 5.00-6.00pm: artefacts, entertainment, and
Put this date in your diary now as a cheerful Carolyn Steel, Sitopia: How food can fascination, rather than a merchant’s
addition to the festive season. save the world. Carolyn spoke on camel caravan looking for knowledge
a similar theme at our July meeting. and profit. Alan is a member of the
coffee mornings She is a London-based architect and Farnham u3a who has recently retired
academic and leading thinker on food from a career in the IT Industry.
Monday 9 November
10.30-11.30 am National u3a events
Monday 14 December
10.30-11.30 am Several are detailed below. We list them in the Newsletter and the mid-monthly
These zoom sessions are unstructured friendly news sheet., but also check the national u3a website events section for new
chats led by Sandra, one of our committee events. They tend to get booked up quickly, so do check at least weekly. To
members. Join in and get to know some of your register for any of the events listed below, go to u3a ‘s national website https://
fellow members a little better. www.u3a.org.uk/ and click on events. Registration instructions are found by
clicking on the illustration of the event.
October meeting review
Monday 14 December 5.00-6.00pm: Maths problems and puzzles
On 13 October Geoff Pick OBE, Director of the Quiz. workshop. Part of u3a maths week, and
London Metropolitan Archives, addressed us Further details to follow. an interactive problem-solving session:
under the title of ‘Beacons of the Future’ This Mesoamerican civilisations Wednesday 11 November at 2pm.
turned out to be a quote from Sherlock Holmes The Maya, children of the corn: u3a and crown green bowling: A
to Dr Watson describing schools created by the A 4-week course starting on network and discussion event for u3a
School Board of London which is celebrating its Wednesday 4 November at 3pm. bowlers. Thursday 12 November at 2pm.
150th Anniversary this year.
Geoff went on to give us a fact-filled history of Poetry reading session: A chance for Maths activities and games. Part of
the Board, which between 1870 and 1904 was u3a members to share their poems, u3a maths week: Friday 13 November at
the largest education provider for poor children Thursday 5 November at 2pm. 2pm.
in London. The Board was huge – 50+ members
– and many notable figures vied for election Maths on the back of an envelope. Friday watercolour painters. Five
– Elizabeth Garrett, Thomas Huxley and Helen Part of u3a maths week: weeks of painting sessions on 20 and 27
Taylor to name a few. Geoff described aspects of Monday 9 November at 2pm. November and 4, 11 and 18 December,
the curriculum generally: gardening, housewifery What philosophers say about all at 2pm.
and physical education featured large. happiness. Artemesia, artist, icon and
The managerial and disciplinary talents of Four online talks by the u3a subject entrepreneur. with the National Gallery:
the teachers who taught classes of over 50 advisor on philosophy: Tuesday 24 November at 10.30 am.
were impressive. He then focused on three 10 and 24 November, and 8 and 22 £5,50
local schools, Rosendale, Dulwich Hamlet and December, at 2pm. Living history Ideas for gathering
Goodrich, and regaled us with anecdotes from Cryptic crosswords explained: material for your life story:
the archives concluding with Rosendale’s football Tuesday 10 November at 2pm. Tuesday 24 November at 2pm.
team’s supporters’ chant. An educational,
thought-provoking and entertaining afternoon. Lasting powers of attorney
The talk was recorded – do watch it on
YouTube at https://youtu.be/CqARbk7Rqjo A lasting power of attorney is a legal document which appoints one or
more people to act on your behalf in managing your affairs if you cease
to have the mental capacity to do so yourself. We have had an offer
of a Zoom talk on this subject. Would you be interested? If so, please
contact [email protected] and, if there is sufficient interest, we will
set up a workshop.

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