in East Suffolk

TRANSPORT COORDINATORS FOR FELIXSTOWE AND SAXMUNDHAM/LEISTON AREAS

Deborah Stones (01394 284988) kindly agreed to take on this post in Felixstowe and Margaret Dale (01728 833280) likewise for those living in the Saxmundham (IP17) and Leiston(IP16) areas.

If you want a lift from either of these areas to a general meeting in Kesgrave or Saxmundham or an outing either because you have no transport or to save the earths resources then contact Deborah or Margaret (as appropriate to where you live) at least one week beforehand and they will attempt to give you a name for you to contact.

Therefore if you are willing to give a lift on a regular basis or for a particular day then also please contact Deborah or Margaret at least one week beforehand.

Petrol costs will be shared.

IT WOULD BE GOOD IF WE COULD FIND VOLUNTEERS TO ACT IN THE SAME WAY IN IPSWICH AND WOODBRIDGE.

FESTIVE FAYRE - "SLOIGHTLY ON TH' HUH

I make no excuses for ‘borrowing’ the title of one of the hilarious books written by the speaker at this year’s East Suffolk Christmas Lunch on 10th December – for a short while it seemed it was going to be that kind of day! Some 132 members from all parts of our region made their way to Ufford Park for the annual Christmas get-together. Early arrivals were to discover that, with no forewarning, the venue had been drastically revised since our last visit, the result being that we were to be the opposite end of this rather large establishment to that which had hitherto been the ‘norm’. After a very satisfying meal, well cooked, generously portioned and pleasantly served, it was time for the guest speaker to perform. Charlie Haylock, suitably attired in flat cap and waistcoat, will have been no stranger to some of the audience or many of our readers, having made numerous after-dinner appearances, as well as one-man shows at pubs, theatres and on local radio. But he thoroughly enthralled each and every one at the lunch with his wonderful explanations of the origins of Suffolk expressions, a humorous round-Britain tour of dialects and culminating in some incredibly funny tales he has collected from fellow ‘South Folk’ over the last several years. Our thanks must go to Pat Dowding and Pat Ruthven for making the bookings and arranging Charlie’s attendance and Sue Thompson for handling the ticketing and table place cards to ensure a very well-organised and outstandingly entertaining occasion.

Shingle Movement across the Deben Estuary

Following on from the excellent talk by John White on shingle movement across the Deben estuary, interested readers could follow this up by reading the abstract of a paper to which John White contributed by following this link into "Marine Geology" proceedings.

NEW & EMERGING GROUPS OCTOBER 2008

GARDENING

A social forum centred on the theme of gardening. Contact. Nancy & Michael Matthews 01473 659670 or mwnjmatthews@yahoo.co.uk

Newsletter Group

Another member (or two) needed for this small group to produce our Newsletter 3 times a year, especially someone who could collate and layout material delivered by email (or memory stick) and who could produce the final newsletter ready for email to printers. Contact: u3anewsletter@yahoo.co.uk

NEW LEADERS NEEDED FOR EXISTING GROUPS

GARDEN VISITS

Having successfully run this group for many years, Margery Sheldrake has announced she will be retiring June 2009. It is essential that a new group leader and small team of volunteers are found to continue this popular interest group. We also need a leader and team for the 2nd Garden Visits group.

CHURCH CRAWLERS

Jennifer Jones is also retiring in 2009 and has run an excellent and popular group for many years. A meeting will be arranged soon to promote another group for all those who have registered interest.

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS

This established group meets monthly to discuss newspaper articles of interest relating to genetics, health, evolution, wildlife etc. As well as attempting to understand the science behind the news, we are also interested in the way the media deals with the issues. I believe there is sufficient interest for another group to be formed. If there were someone with a fairly wide scientific background who would consider taking the lead in such a group, I would be very happy to discuss it with them. A second group could have a similar or a quite different focus depending on the members' interests. Mary Knight 01473 726584, Geoff.MaryKnight@care4free.net

SUFFOLK AND DISTRICT NETWORK OF U3AS

is looking for a new Treasurer - can you help? The next meeting of the Network is on 20 November in Bury St Edmunds. For full details please contact: Doreen Hawkins, 01473 231340

EQUIPMENT FOR GROUP USE

Using money from the Catchpole legacy and from Gift Aid tax rebate we have purchased a laptop computer, projector, stand, and screen, specifically for use by groups. Chris Cushing, as caretaker of the equipment, will be the person to contact to book your group's use of it.He is contacting group leaders to see if their group would like a trial run and will be on hand to set-up the equipment when a group uses it for the first time. Reports from an early trial say the equipment was excellent, worked well with no problems, and was very useful.

U3A RESOURCE CENTRE

U3A RESOURCE CENTRE

19 East Street
Bromley
Kent
BR1 1QH
Tel 020 8315 0199
Email resource.centre@u3a.org.uk

The Resource Centre

The Resource Centre in the National Office in Bromley has a collection of non-book material available to all U3A groups to borrow free of charge except for the cost of return postage. There are slides, videos, cassettes, dvds and cd roms available in a wide range of subjects. Individual subject lists are available from the Resource Centre on request and the whole catalogue is available here on the web site with an ordering facility.Please note that you have to first register with the Resource Centre as a user either by telephoning between 9.30am and 3.30pm on either a TUESDAY or a THURSDAY, or online by going into the resource centre catalogue and clicking on 'sign up'. Bookings can be made 9 months ahead and loans are for an initial period of 3 weeks. Over 75% of U3As are making regular use of the Resource Centre to support and enhance their study groups and if you would like more detail about a particular item do not hesitate to contact the Resource Centre.

Geology Group Field Trip to South Africa 2009

13 June to 4 July 2009. Maximum numbers 14. Further details from Derek Barbanell 01728 454563 or derek.barbanell@dsl.pipex.com

Orford Ness Trips Prove Very Popular

by

Pat and Roy Dowding

Following the successful talk given by Paddy Heazley last year, Robin Nicholls, a member of U3A, arranged two trips to visit Orford Ness taking advantage of the tractor drawn trailer tours operated by The National Trust.

Read the full story (with pictures)...

RAINY PAVEMENTS - WRITERS' CIRCLE MEMBER PAT JOURDAN'S LATEST BOOK IS PUBLISHED

Sometimes books, just like buses, arrive all at once. Pat Jourdan joined the writers’ group of East Suffolk in 2005. She is also the spring tutor for the online U3A Poetry Course, designed by Jean Thompson.
Trained as a painter at Liverpool School of Art, Pat has lived in Ireland for many years, winning several awards.( A previous book of short stories, Average Sunday Afternoon came out from Poetry Monthly Press in 2005.) This brand-new Rainy Pavements is a collection of prize-winning short stories covering quirky situations – a Christmas afternoon burglary, an Easter-Egg factory on strike, a painting becoming menacing. Published by Exposure Publishing at £6.99, ISBN 978-1-84685-494-1 it is available from Amazon.co.uk.

From “Charity Excess” –
Thank goodness I thought, as we sat there alone, thank goodness this place is open on Christmas Day, what on earth would people like us do if it were ever closed? The lights of the launderette were the only ones in all the road except for the pedestrian crossing with its non-stop yellow warning lights way into the distance. We were the only people about in the empty perfection of the evening.”

The poetry collection The Cast-Iron Shore covers several places, from Paris to Iraq, with some taking Liverpool as starting point. This is published by Erbacce Press Liverpool, available from them (erbacce-press.com) at £4 plus p+p, ISBN 978-0-9555754-9-5.

An example, from “ Winter Afternoons”
Houses demolished, families’ links unknown,
sideboards discarded, clocks wound down;
radio’s geography remains –
Luxembourg, Kalundborg, Hilversum, Athlone.

There is more to tell on the website patjourdan.co.uk