East Dartmoor

November 2012 News Letter

CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE
Margaret Marsh
DEPUTY CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 2021

I am sorry to have been out of action for the last few months and would like to say thank you for all the cards, and kind messages I have received following my recent operation.
It is really good to see East Dartmoor U3A up and running again and I hope to join you all soon. With Best Wishes
Following her operation and subsequent recovery, Margaret has asked me to provide a brief report for inclusion in this newsletter. So here goes ........
Well – we are back!! After some twenty months our u3a branch is back up and running and a very big welcome to all our members. With the slow recovery and relaxation of restrictions we held our first branch meeting in September. Since then we have held a further two full meetings and are looking forward to our next meeting on December 1st
STOP PRESS In view of the recent substantial increase in the number of Covid cases in Devon, your U3A committee has taken the decision to postpone the free Christmas buffet scheduled to follow our December meeting. We now plan that this event will take place at our March 2022 meeting when we will hold our AGM & have a visiting speaker. However our monthly meeting will take place as advertised on Wednesday Dec 1st at 10.00am. Jon Morton will lead the meeting which will be followed by complimentary coffee & Christmas cake & mince pies. These will be served individually @ tables for safety reasons. Whilst we regret this change of plan, we hope that members will agree that it is in the best interests of all. In the meantime we look forward to seeing you in December and wish all members a safe & happy Christmas. We look forward to our New Year meeting on January 5th 2022
Our Group meetings are beginning to restart (Walking Cricket next meeting November11th and 25th, 2.00 pm at Moretonhampstead Sports Centre – more details of our Groups elsewhere in this newsletter.
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Sadly, we have lost some members during this year, our thoughts and condolences to both Jenny and Edward who have so sadly lost Ken and Jackey. Ken undertook sterling work for us all in organizing our calendar of Speakers as well as arranging theatre (and pantomime) trips. He will be sorely missed and we are so grateful to his wife Jenny for being willing to continue Ken’s efforts in this latter role (although we will need to find a new organiser/coordinator for our Speaker programme. Likewise Edward who with his wife Jackey arranged countless pub lunch venues has offered to continue this work starting in the New Year. We are grateful to you both. More recently we lost Pauline Payne who had been a member for many years. Our condolences to her family and all who knew her
In the meantime we will need a new leader of the Creative Writing Group as Wendy Cannon has decided to put down her pen following her 90th birthday – our congratulations and thanks for all her efforts over the years. Anyone interested please let me know as soon as possible. Also Mary Foote has decided to hang up her walking boots and John and Jane Morton have indicated that they are willing to pick up the poles and maps and continue her good work. Thank you to all of you.
So there are a number of changes afoot and we will keep all members informed and up to date, not least in giving a very warm welcome to those new members who have recently joined us. We look forward to stimulating meetings, friendship, activity and conviviality – what more could we ask for?
Finally, I do want to record our very best wishes to Margaret, a speedy return to “full working order” in the New Year and being able to preside over the months remaining to the completion of her Chairmanship of our u3a branch and our AGM in April.
JohnWilliams 01647433910
CRAFTS
The Craft Club is held on the 2nd Wednesday of the month at The Community Club, Court Street, Moretonhampstead at 2pm. We have had 2 sessions so far and have enjoyed activities of upcycling an everyday item, made cards using Decoupage papers, we have had a go at learning to crochet and made paper flowers.
I am putting 2 activities on each time we meet for you to try your hand at and have a play.
In November we are going to make a Christmas Decoration and Christmas Cards using Heat Embossing. In December we will be making Christmas Wreaths.
You can always bring your own crafting project to do if you prefer. The cost of each session is £3 which includes a cuppa and cake, but depending on what the activity of the month is there will be an extra charge to cover the cost of materials.
For any more information please contact Pamela Manning 01647 441193
CREATIVE WRITING
With regret, Wendy Cannon has advised us that she cannot continue to run the Creative Writing Group but if someone would take this on she would be delighted to join them.
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Here are a few words from Wendy
For many years I have been involved with Writing and with Hazel Brown in Erryl Oxborough's house. I have always enjoyed writing. The teachers said, "Too flowery and long winded"!
The Pantomime - I think this poem is apt at the moment
The curtain rises, the audience wait, The lights, two characters, illuminate Motionless the scarecrow stands The straw is scraggly on his hands. I fancy I see a very slight smile
The fun begins the crowd, to beguile. The floppy scarecrow leaps and spins Gyrates and laughs and sings and grins Searching for a brain, but nothing else On the stage, most certainly, he excels. A great performance from our dear friend This show, to all, we recommend.
I shall always write and enjoy the challenge but will someone else man the group?
I must tell you that a member of our group, Kay Dunn had her Memorial Service in Chagford Church on Friday 15th October. She was a great strength and sometimes held the sessions in her house.
Let us hope and pray that this Pandemic will end soon. ALWAYS WEAR YOUR MASK. BE WISE AND CARING. WendyCannon
EAST DARTMOOR U3A WEBSITE
We now have our own website that you can access through the following address:
https://u3asites.org.uk/east-dartmoor/home
We will be trying to keep it up to date but that will depend on members and group leaders informing me of any events that may be of interest.
You can keep up to date with all that is planned by visiting the ‘Events’ page and find out about groups.
In addition, if you have any photographs of U3A activities please send them to me and, if they are suitable, I will put them onto the website.
As time goes on I hope that the website will expand but in the meantime please take a few moments to keep yourself up to date with what is happening and any news about group activities.
I would be grateful for any comments you might have as well as material for inclusion onto the website.
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You can send any comments or material to me on: jon.d.morton@gmail.com I look forward to hearing from you. Jon Morton
INDOOR WALKING CRICKET
Indoor Walking Cricket is due to start on Thursday 28th October and thereafter every fortnight with the last session on the 9th December before the Christmas period. The sessions will be held at the Moretonhampstead Sports and Community Centre, North Bovey Road between 2pm and 4pm.
The main purpose of the activity is to allow everyone the opportunity to participate regardless as to whether members have either played the game previously or not and to have fun and enjoyment.
Equipment is provided we use plastic bats and a soft ball. Footwear appropriate to a Sports Hall to be worn.
Members bat in pairs, have the opportunity to bowl either overarm or underarm.
The group also have the opportunity to participate in basic fielding skills, which are game based, if they so wish.
The cost per session is £2 which includes Coffee/Tea and biscuits.
Andy Manning 01647 441193 MAKATON (signing )
KAthryn and TONy.
I'm often asked what the term MAKATON actually means. Well, it is simply an acronym
of the names of three speech therapists whose aim was to develop a language program, using hand
signs, to improve the communication skills of those with profound or severe learning difficulties, be
they children or adults , in the 1970s. The three speech therapists concerned were a MArgaret ,
Margaret Walker became the Project Co-Coordinator for the ensuing Makaton Vocabulary Development
Project.
The signs used are from the British Sign Language of the deaf, but the Makaton Vocabulary is a specially
selected vocabulary considered to be the most essential and useful in providing basic communication,
and is taught in stages that follow the normal pattern of language development. Initial stages deal with
basic vocabulary to express essential needs; later stages expand them and introduce more complex
language concepts.
In our group sessions, we aim to learn Stages 1 and 2 (of eight) so that we could communicate with a
Makaton user if the need or opportunity arose, remembering that facial expressions and body language
are important too! Although our Makaton user may only have a few key words they can sign, normal
grammatical English should be used as we sign.
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We use songs, nursery rhymes and games to practice our signing, make our choice of
Unfortunately, Covid is still ruling us of course and it does not seem very sensible to
take unnecessary risk of pressing together just yet, so we'll consider meeting again in the New Year.
Mary Foote 01647 440124
PARLOUR GAMES
tea or coffee etc. in sign - and have fun!
If you would like to join us, we normally meet on the second Wednesday of the month,
10 - 12 am, in my home in Doccombe, so please talk to me if you are interested.
In the past year we have sadly lost two dear members of our group.
Ken Burdett and Pauline Payne had been members of our parlour games family since its inception and we have spent many laughter filled evenings together. Ken tried to persuade his future wife Jenny to join the group but at first she thought that we would be too high brow and competitive for her. Happily she came along and soon realised how wrong she had been!
We play any game of choice and have a maximum of 12 in the group. During the past 18 months we have been able to have garden games and plan to start games evenings for a reduced number in December. We will however stipulate that all attending take a lateral flow test beforehand.
If you would like to start a mini group of your own in Moreton or Chagford please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Sue Keenan Home: 01626 832126, Mobile: 07974107570
PLAY READING
I know back in March (and doesn’t that seem a long time ago?)I was talking about getting our play reading group up and running again and had hoped to have some dates arranged by now. As we have been away for most of October I haven’t had the chance to look at scripts. I intend to get in touch with Exeter Library to see what scripts are available and then arrange a series of dates to meet up early next year. Hopefully by then we will all have had our boosters and have recovered from Christmas festivities, particularly after having missed out for the last two years!
I plan to host as I did before but with just a maximum of 6 people at each session. We will also have to
abide by the rules and guidelines at the time so I will need to choose scripts for the relevant number of participants and make sure everyone has a part in a play during the following months.
Obviously, I will contact everyone on my list but any newcomers who would like to be involved or anyone who no longer wishes to be part of the group, please let me know.
Until we are able to see each other again do keep safe and well.
Jane Morton 01647 253005
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POETRY GROUP
The Poetry Group meets every other month in the member's homes on the 2nd Tuesday of the month at 2:00. We bring poems to read on a topic that has been chosen at the previous meeting and finish about 3:30 or 4 PM with tea and cake. Our last meeting was held on Nov. 9th and our next meeting will be next year on Jan. 11th
For further information please contact Carole Mason 01647 281185
PUB LUNCHES
Edward Hobson has kindly agreed to take over arranging future Pub Lunches. These will recommence on the 16th February 2022 (venue yet to be decided) and thereafter every other month on the 3rd Wednesday.
All details of the menus will be available at our monthly meetings at the Union Inn, Moretonhampstead or by contacting Edward Tel: 01647 440466
SOCIAL PROGRAMME
As you can imagine visits have not been easy to arrange due the pandemic.
Dartmouth Naval College; various gardens; and Arla Foods.
In the spring of 2020 we were due to visit the only remaining China Clay workings in the country but as
you can imagine now is not the time to ask anyone for a favour in terms of a visit to a private company.
I do have a list of everyone wanting to go on this trip and will publicise it again when I am brave enough
to seek a date.
to see old friends again in a safe environment.
lovely sunny day!!
For the benefit of new members I shall explain what my task is within the East Dartmoor group. I
arrange visits, preferably ones which are educational and where we return home a little wiser.
In the past we have visited: The Royal Mint (very interesting but sadly no free samples; the Met office in
Exeter; The BBC Spotlight studios in Plymouth; backstage at the Theatre Royal; The SS Great Britain;
On the 14th July this year 28 of us met at Stone Lane Gardens for a guided talk by the head gardener.
The weather was beautiful and the arboretum was so peaceful. If none of you have been I can
recommend visiting. We then went to the cafe where we had a delicious cream tea. It was really lovely
Fourteen of us went on a more specialised guided botanical visit to The Langaford Farm Charitable Trust
near North Bovey. Professor Peter Beale showed us the protected habitat of the Marsh Fritillary
Butterfly and Narrow Bordered Bee Hawk Moth.
Langaford is a 100-acre site which has been a conservation farm for years and run as a Charitable Trust
since 2002.
I have arranged a return visit to see the butterflies in Spring 2022. This will of course have to be on a
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On 4th November 21 of us went to the oldest working wool museum in the country at Uffculme near
Cullompton. We learnt from our guide that the original main supply of wool was from the Devon
Longwool sheep developed from an ancient breed called the Bampton Knott. The factory was started by
the Fox family and at some time employed approximately 10,000 people. What I hadn’t realised was
that the expression 'cloth ears’ relates to the noise of the machinery rendering the workers deaf!
Our visit was on a Thursday, which is the only working day of the week, so we were able to watch the
wool being transformed into tartan via a succession of machines spread across several floors of the mill.

Sue Keenan Home: 01626 832126, Mobile: 07974107570
THEATRE VISITS
I will be taking names of those interested at our November and December meetings and would appreciate payment at our January meeting when tickets will be available to hand out.
In the past we have supported our local dramatic societies, Dunsford Amateur Dramatic Society, Teign Valley Players, Northcott Theatre Exeter, with occasional visits to Plymouth Theatre Royal.
Information on possible future theatre visits will be announced at our monthly meetings
Jenny Burdett 01626 821923
Theatre visits will recommence in the New Year and the first visit will be to Dunsford Pantomime on
Thursday January 13th. The Pantomime is Ali Baba and his Four and a Half Thieves. Venue: Dunsford
Village Hall. The performance will commence at 7.45 pm and the cost is £8 per ticket.
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VERNON’S BOOK READING GROUP
Before the lockdown the Reading Group had in mind to discuss a selection of Le Carre books. However, I noticed as the lockdown wound on and on so did Le Carre. I was finding it difficult to keep up with the abundance of characters. You need more memory than I have now.
However I am sorry to have missed holding the sessions with the U3A group on Le Carre's stories. We could have identified (in a guide book) one or two of the possible secret houses used by the spies and walked the walk suggested by the locations mentioned below.
There were flats in Cambridge Circus that they used as well as a house in Abingdon Road, Kensington next door to the church where my parents were married. (They were not spies as far as I know). Formerly Baptist it is now used by an Egyptian Christian group.
And the Russian Embassy is of course in Kensington quite close to Kensington Palace. The spies must have walked past the latter many times, so keep your eyes peeled when passing there yourself. You might find secret information. Pretend you have accidentally dropped your handkerchief and pick up any pieces of paper blowing about there.
Best wishes, Vernon Hall
WALKING GROUP
Thanks go to Mary for all the hard work she put in to organising our walking programme in the past.
We’ve not yet decided on which day of the week to hold our walks, but can confirm it won’t be on
Wednesdays.
We look forward to seeing you.
Jon & Jane Morton 01647 253005
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Articles on any holidays enjoyed or otherwise by members, tried and tested recipes or anything you would like to be included in our newsletter will be gratefully received.
Newsletter Editor
Jenny Burdett 01626 821923
The walking group will start again, hopefully, in January when Jane and I will endeavour to arrange
some walks that are between 2.5 and 4 miles on reasonably easy terrain and be fun for all those that
participate.
If you are already a Walking Group member or would like to join please could you email me with you
details. jon.d.morton@gmail.com